Click here for Storytelling Class Dates and Details

Overview and Purpose

For our whole lives, we’ve all seen movies; so most people, even actors and filmmakers, think they know everything there is to know about them. You just make up some story, get some actors and point the camera at them. I mean, what could be so hard?

Well, I’ve been in the film business as a production assistant, location manager, assistant director, production manager, writer, director, producer and actor for about 50 years (see short bio in details link above). I’m not famous. I don’t have an academy award, yet. And I’m not rich. I’ve just been doing some version of filmmaking long enough to collect a bunch of facts, techniques and insights about storytelling and acting on film. So, I think (to mix a few metaphors) that not-seeing “the forest for the trees” aptly applies to many who set out to make movies. Too many times I’ve seen, writers, actors and filmmakers barking up one or more of the wrong trees. Sometimes, it may be the right tree; but without knowing about the other trees, they often don’t know what the hell are they doing in their own forest, or even if they are in the right forest.

This course is my attempt to bring some clarity to the Filmmaking Forest for viewers, writers, filmmakers and actors. The goal is (1) to familiarize actors with the process and the techniques of movie making, (2) to acquaint writers and filmmakers with the challenges that actors face and (3) to remind them all that it takes more than one tree to make a Forest.

This course will examine many of the filmmaking trees (story, acting, being, camera and shot selection, lighting, sound and editing). It will largely be a lecture, discussion and demonstration course, but will also use hands-on exercises, scene study, and video recording. One lesson will cover the technical aspects and acting challenges of self-recording a “taped” audition, and at the end, we will make a class movie.

Section 1 will cover the basics of story structure and how those basics relate to and inform the direction and performances of actors. Section 2 will explore how those lessons of story and performance are expressed in the artistic and technical aspects of digital storytelling. In short, Section 2 will focus on storytelling and acting on film.

It is my hope that this course will provide you with an informative visit to the Filmmaking Forest. Send an email to (Enable Javascript to see the email address) for more info and/or to apply.

COURSE OUTLINE

Section 1: The Story and Acting Basics

Table of Contents for Section 1

The Story—its structure and why. How it works.
Acting Basics—Descriptions and illustrations of basic terms: Given Circumstances, Objectives, Variations, Beats
Acting Basics (continued)—Being not acting–different schools and techniques

Section 2: The Elements Of Filmmaking:

Class organization for Section 2

Each separate lesson in Section 2 will consist of a lecture/demonstration and discussion of that subject, which will include film clips and/or photos to illustrate the topic. A second segment of each class will involve scene study. At the beginning of Section 2, Lesson 1, all students will be assigned a scene to work on for the rest of the course. Exercises focusing on the technical topic of each successive week will be demonstrated using the performances of the student actors in these scenes.

Table of Contents for Section 2

Film Grammar—how different shots (wide, close, etc.) say different things about the story.
Working with the camera—geography—180 line—hitting a mark, eye-line, 15 takes. The camera never lies, a close-up is close up.
How editing affects acting for the camera: the Kuleshov affect, timing and pacing, leaving handles for cutting, pickups.
Lighting and Sound—how to paint with light, basics of sound recording, telling the story with both–nothing works if they can’t see or hear you.
Your equipment for filmmaking, low budget production tips, using iPhone and iMovie
Recording your video audition.
Making a class movie