TFM 670
GRADUATE SEMINAR II
Wed. 3:30 p.m. – 6:10 p.m.
Professor Greg Durbin
OFFICE HOURS:
OFFICE LOCATION:
E-MAIL:
PHONE (VM):
Tues. 2 – 3:30 p.m., or by appointment
Comm. 101
gdurbin@mail.sdsu.edu
(619) 206-5674 (cell)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This seminar centers on the development and execution of one film, the
“Midway Project,” which will be presented to a Jury of TFM faculty who will
critique the work and determine if it is of sufficient technical and conceptual
quality to merit advancement to candidacy for the MA degree. The imprimatur
of the jury will also determine eligibility for the Thesis Proposal course (TFM
675).
TFM 670 emphasizes the imaginative creation of the Midway film. The process
must be informed by reflection, feedback, and analysis. The seminar will
assume the format of concentrated production meetings with the instructor and
scheduled class sessions. The production meetings will entail weekly
assignments tailored to each production. The instructor will serve in a capacity
analogous to the executive producer. Class sessions will pivot on group
discussion and the exchange of ideas with the aim of incorporating this valuable
feedback into the production process..
In the production meetings, students will be asked systematically to deliver the
preproduction and production elements to include:
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Scripts and script revisions
Task timeline
lined scripts showing intended camera coverage
location scouting data sheets
Pre-visualization: storyboards, shot lists, and overhead blocking diagrams
director’s notes (beat sheets, crib notes)
equipment lists
detailed shooting schedule
lighting diagrams
budgets and revised budgets
insurance waivers
camera reports
Sound reports
Alphabetized list of phone and e-mail contacts
production stills (both with crew and from film)
A vimeo link with password to downloadable version of the project.
RESOURCES:
The instructor will make available via blackboard a wide variety of production
resources including casting information, production forms, “Keynote” lecture
presentations addressing aspects of the craft and the management of
productions, and compilations of information categorized in folders by craft
topic (see “course materials” folder in blackboard).
Even as video streaming looms larger in the distribution landscape, DVD/BluRay
design, jacket art, commentaries, and other bonus features are still a fact of life
for independent filmmakers. Accordingly, a portion of this seminar will be
dedicated to such presentation.
Finally, a portion of this seminar will be dedicated to the subject of the Masters
Thesis: the selection of an appropriate creative project, the development of a
project proposal, and the format and content of the four-chapter supporting
written defense. This will be covered in detail in the TFM 761 seminar, “Thesis
Proposal,” which is a required course towards the Masters degree.
Although grades will be assigned individually to each filmmaker, TFM 670
students are encouraged to work collaboratively, drawing both on the talent
pool of the seminar class and particularly that of the TFM undergraduates, a
very rich resource.
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of TFM 670 is to complete a festival-quality original short
film (the Midway Project), to be presented in high-definition (1080 p, 23.976
fps) to a faculty jury at the end of the semester. This film will be accompanied
by other deliverables such as a press kit, withoutabox.com profile, BlueRay or
DVD with flat art design, and a vimeo link
Other course objectives include:
• To establish an atmosphere of serious, professional creative endeavor (as
opposed to dilettante or “hobbyist” activity). This implies a mature attitude
towards the art and towards deadlines and other collaborative commitments.
• To share work-in-progress with the seminar, as well as relevant films, and
to generate discourse aimed at producing fresh approaches to the creative
work.
• To encourage, through the above, calculated creative risk-taking.
• To gain familiarity and comfort with the research process that will buttress
both the Midway Project and the capstone (thesis film) proposal.
• To identify and develop personal themes in your creative work that will
resonate with your intended audience.
• To master the organization and management of a substantial short
film/video production.
• To gain a working understanding of the practical strategies necessary to
sustain a career as an independent filmmaker/artist, including film the festival
circuit, alternative distribution options, and the use of social media networks.
SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will be able to:
1. identify and develop and articulate personal themes in their creative work
that will resonate with intended audiences.
2. master the organization and management of a substantial short
film/video production.
3. gain a working understanding of film festivals and other strategies
necessary to survive as an independent filmmaker.
4. demonstrate competency in directing, shooting and editing film.
5. master production deadlines and other collaborative commitments.
6. generate incisive and objective analysis and evaluation of one's own
creative work.
READING:
Jason Tomaric – Fil mmaking: D ire ct You r Movie fro m Sc ri pt to Sc reen Usi ng Prove n Hollywoo d Techn ique s
David Mamet: On Film Directing (Required)
Jason Tomaric: filmmaking: Direct your Movie from Script to Screen Using
Proven Hollywood Techniques (Required)
Strunk & White: Elements of Style 4th edition (recommended)
Sharon Badal: Swimming Upstream Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-80955-7
(Highly recommended)
SUGGESTED TEXTS:
Gordon Farrell: The Power of the Playwright’s Vision: Blueprints for the
Working Writer
Michael Rabiger: Developing Story Ideas
Judith Weston: Directing Actors
Delia Salvey: Friendly Enemies: The Director-Actor Relationship
Michael Rabiger: Directing Film techniques and Aesthetics
Michael Rabiger: Directing the Documentary
Michael Weise: Film and Video Budgets
Nicholas Proferes: Film Directing Fundamentals
Steven D. Katz: Film Directing, Shot by Shot
Stephen Lowenstein: My First Movie: Twenty Celebrated Directors Talk About
Their 1st Film
Yvete Biro and M.G. Ripeau: To Dress a Nude: Exercises in Imagination
GRADES: The following details the evaluation breakdown of student work:
SEMINAR PARTICIPATION (WORTH 20% OF GRADE):
Active participation in the full sessions is expected and essential. The success
of the seminar depends on a high level of trust and critical interaction among
the students.
PRODUCTION MEETINGS (20% OF GRADE)
MIDWAY PROJECT (WORTH 60% OF GRADE):
In nearly all cases, students will put into production the script they developed
in TFM 615. This can be a short fiction piece or a short documentary piece. It
will be presented as an authored DVD with “bonus features” that might
include commentaries, storyboards, interviews, or whatever else you deem
valuable. The film will be presented and screened in the seminar on the last
day of class (week 17). It will subsequently be screened before the TFM
Faculty Midway Review Committee, who will judge your eligibility to move on
to the next step in your graduate career: The Masters Thesis Proposal.
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
Timely delivery of:
(Note: delivery deadlines will be specific to each production, and will be
determined in individual production meetings)
1. Task timeline, crew list, budget
2. Lined script, shot list, location data sheet
3. Storyboards (flat art or video) for fiction work; detailed shot list for doc
work; insurance waivers and Producer’s Contract
4. Dailies
5. Rough Cuts (Mar 21, April 4)
6. The Midway Project (May 9). This will be evaluated on several criteria:
A. Degree of depth and challenge. How ambitious, imaginative and
challenging is the production?
B. Originality: Does the project challenge our predictions and
expectations? Does it take a fresh and imaginative approach? Is it
compelling, provocative, intriguing?
C. Organization: Is there evidence of thorough preproduction and smart
planning? Was the production carried off efficiently, on time and on
budget?
D, Craft and Technical Competence: Is the project well executed in terms
of lighting, framing, sound recording and sound design, editing and
graphics? Are the visual and audio elements well integrated into the
narrative? Was the visual conception clearly thought out? Is the technique
and style appropriate to the subject matter?
E. Depth and quality of DVD “bonus features.”
F. Completeness and effectiveness of Festival press package.
The written project analysis will be evaluated as follows:
Quality and clarity of writing: Are ideas lucidly and logically presented? Is
the paper properly formatted according to the SDSU style sheet? Has the
author proofread to eliminate grammatical and syntactical errors?
ONLINE RESOURCES:
www.withoutabox.com
www.imdb.com
www.findsounds.com
www.filmfestivalspro.com/filmmakersoffice/wwe.shtml
www.shortfilmdepot.com
www.sundance.org
www.slamdance.com
www.berlinale.de
www.ifilm.com
www.atomfilms.com
www.findfilm.com
COURSE SCHEDULE
WEEK 1 – JAN 21
Introduction to seminar, students make brief presentation of their projects.
Determine student presentation order. Keynote presentation on Directing.
Assignments: Read David Mamet (On Directing Film)
Tomaric Reading Assignment 1:
Development Chart (pgs. 3-4)
Preproduction: pgs. 46-74 (28 pages)
WEEK 2 – Jan 28
Table readings of Student Scripts
Tomaric Reading Assignment 2:
Breakdown and Scheduling: pgs. 77-97 (20 pgs.)
Locations: pgs. 105-118 (13 pgs.)
WEEK 3 – FEB 4
Individual Production Meetings
DUE: Time task schedule
STUDY: Keynote Presentation: Scene Analysis
Tomaric Reading Assignment 3:
Casting: pgs 121-140 (19 pgs.)
Crew: pgs 143-167 (24 pgs.)
WEEK 4 – FEB 11
Individual Production Meetings
DUE: Lined script, detailed shot list, location scouting data sheet.
Tomaric Reading Assignment 4:
Lights & Grip: pgs. 193-204 (11 pgs)
Production Design: pgs. 207-231 (24 pgs.)
Week 5 – FEB 18
Individual Production Meetings
DUE: Storyboards (conventional or Video); Docs: Proposed scene and shot list
Tomaric Reading Assignment 6:
Directing: pgs. 251-290 (39 pgs.)
WEEK 6 – FEB. 25
Individual Production Meetings
Tomaric Reading Assignment 7:
Cinematography: pgs. 293-358 (65 pgs.)
WEEK 7 – MAR. 4
Individual Production Meetings
Tomaric Reading Assignment 8:
Audio recording: pgs 361-377 (16 pgs.)
Hair & Makeup: pgs. 379-385 (6 pgs.)
Craft Services: pgs 387-391 (4 pgs.)
WEEK 8 – MAR 11
Individual Production Meetings
Tomaric Reading Assignment 9:
Editing: pgs. 395-431 (36 pgs.)
WEEK 9 – Mar 18
Individual Production Meetings
Tomaric Reading Assignment 10:
Visual Effects: pgs. 435-451 (16 pgs.)
Postproduction Audio: pgs. 453-464 (11 pgs.)
Music: Pgs. 467-479 (12 pgs.)
WEEK 10 – MAR 25
Individual Production Meetings
DUE: Rough Cuts – each student will present a rough cut of his/her project for
discussion in meeting.
WEEK 11 –APRIL 2 (NO CLASS – SPRING RECESS)
Tomaric Reading Assignment 11:
Distribution: pgs. 480-507 (27 pgs.)
WEEK 12 – APRIL 8
Individual Production Meetings
DUE: Rough Cuts (continued) – each student will present a rough cut of film for
review in meeting
WEEK 13 – APRIL 15
Individual Production Meetings
WEEK 14 – APRIL 23
Individual Production Meetings
WEEK 15 – APRIL 29
Discuss Thesis Proposal process, advancement to candidacy, Formation of
Thesis committee, and TFM 799A (Thesis Project).
Screenings of work-in-progress
WEEK 16 – MAY 6: CLASS SESSION: Screenings of student work
WEEK 17 – MAY 13
DUE: FINAL MIDWAY PROJECT to be screened before faculty jury. Film to be
presented in Hi-definition format (1080p, 23.976 fps). Also due: vimeo link and
password for film