ROSEMONT COLLEGE

 

COURSE TITLE: COM 0412 02: Special Topics: INTRO TO FILMMAKING

 

CREDITS: 4

 

SEMESTER: Fall 2006

 

INSTRUCTOR: Mark A. Hauck, M.S., cell 610.772.0972, email: prof.mark.hauck@comcast.net

 

Office hour: 5-6 PM in Lawrence 208 or Science 111 (TBA).

 

MEETING TIMES: Every Wednesday, 6-9 PM.

 

Please note that this class will meet in Lawrence 208 until further notice, pending the completion of the Science 111 lab.

 

TEXTBOOK: TBA

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY: All students are required to attend class and be on time. Students must notify the instructor in advance of class if they are going to be absent or excessively late. Notification must be either by phone or email. Miss a class and 5 points will be deducted from your Class Participation/Attendance grade. Lateness is a 2 point deduction for each occurrence.

 

DESCRIPTION: This course will be a combination hands-on experience and lecture. Students will have the opportunity to produce 2 short films. Students will learn to operate digital camera and will learn to edit their camera footage using Apple’s iMovie program. Students will also complete reading assignments and write film analysis papers.

 

Basic concepts to be covered in this course:

 

Pre-production conceiving ideas and scriptwriting format

Production: camera operation, lighting, sound, and shot composition.

Post production: editing

 

During the coverage of the three main phases of production, the students will be producing two short films.

 

Please note that the film production and editing assignments may be subject to change, due the availability of the Science 111 lab.

 

Film #1 – “A Day in the Life” subject. Students will select a person to document, with a mix of interview footage and “action” footage of the subject going about their everyday activities. (This can be played straight or as a spoof)  4-6 min. total

 

Film #2 – Any topic or subject of the students choosing (per instructor’s approval). 8-10 min. total

 

Three film analysis papers will be required. Students will view films from a list provided by the instructor and complete a series of in-depth analysis questions pertaining to the film’s form, content, themes, etc.

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

 

  1. Punctuality and excellent attendance
  2. Excellent attitude and a willingness to learn.
  3. Participate in all class activities.
  4. Read any assigned material.

 

EVALUATION CRITERIA

 

1. Film project #1                                             50 pts  

            2. Film project #2                                             50 pts

            3. Class Participation/Attendance                      50 pts                          

            4. Film Analysis papers                                     150 pts (50 pts each)

 

COURSE SCHEDULE:

 

Please note that this schedule is subject to change, due to the availability of the Science 111 lab.

 

Week 1           8/23

Course intro and explanation of syllabus. Discussion of the process of producing a film.

 

Week 2           8/30

Scriptwriting.  Intro to digital camera production & practice.

 

Week 3           9/6

Camcorder exercise. Note: Students must have miniDV tapes for this class.

 

Week 4           9/13

TBA

 

Week 5           9/20

Film #1 script due

 

Week 6           9/27

Film Analysis paper #1 due.

 

Week 7           10/4
TBA

 

FALL BREAK

 

Week 8           10/18

Film #2 script due.

 

Week 9           10/25

Film Analysis # 2 due

 

Week 10         11/1

TBA

 

Week 11         11/8

TBA

 

Week 12         11/15

Film Analysis # 3 due

 

Week 13         11/29

TBA

 

Week 14

Films 1 & 2 due at the start of class and will be then screened.

 

The Final Exam will be in a “take home” format and will be posted on my website during finals week. Instructions and details will be announced at a later date.