Workshops
This extraordinary 10-week filmmaking intensive offers a package of classes taught by accomplished working professionals to equip the complete filmmaker.
There are no available registration dates at this time.
How to register
This 10-week filmmaking intensive offers 2 registration options that allow students to choose whether they would like to take The Steadicam Workshop or Nonfiction Camera in Action in week 8. Please view the workshops below and select your registration option to sign up for your chosen tract.
10-Week Filmmaking Intensive with The Steadicam Workshop:
To realize their vision, a filmmaker must intimately understand not only the key creative and practical dynamics of their job – but also the roles of their closest collaborators during the development, production, and post-production process of a film.
This extraordinary intensive offers a package of classes to equip the complete filmmaker. Each workshop is led by an accomplished working professional who will provide a uniquely qualified real-world perspective on the realities of the craft, the art and business of filmmaking, and the dynamics of working in collaboration with one another to create and direct a film.
Please note: Each of these workshops can also be taken individually if you are looking to take a specific class. Please contact Registration for information on room & board fees for intensives at [email protected].
PLEASE NOTE: An hour-long training session on Set Etiquette and Safety will be required of anyone registered for a workshop that involves production. Students only need to participate in this session once during their time on campus.
The 10-Week Filmmaking Intensive courses (Aug 21-Oct 27, 2023)
4-Week Film School | Alex Burnett
This course will be a full immersion into every facet of filmmaking, all the way from the development of an idea, to editing and finishing. Through lectures, in-class exercises, and projects, students will learn story structure, shot design, preproduction, set etiquette, camera operation and movement, cinematography, lighting design, composition and scene coverage, working with actors, audio acquisition, and editing & post-production workflow.
Week 5: Grip & Electric
Gain the fundamental knowledge of lighting, grip, and set procedure, essential to begin working in industry production. Students participate in a series of exercises, lighting and shooting a variety of interior, exterior, day, and night scenes. They build and light sets within the soundstage, as well as shoot in practical locations, all while becoming familiar with each of the various roles of a film crew. Set etiquette and safety will be taught and emphasized throughout the week.
Week 6: Framing The Narrative
The class will examine how different choices in framing and lens choices can impact the power of a scene. Special attention will be paid to how framing, lenses and lighting can be used to illuminate a character’s emotional and psychological state. Students will weigh how traditional scene coverage versus an unconventional approach can enormously alter how the audience experiences a dramatic moment.
Week 7: The Art of Cinematography
This workshop covers the fundamental technical aspects and aesthetic considerations of the craft and process of cinematography. Students explore the camera as a tool, and the theory of cinematic storytelling. They are introduced to fundamental concepts through lectures and demonstrations. They explore the theory and use of exposure, lens selection, frame rate, shutter angle, depth-of-field and composition. Through hands-on exercises in-studio and on location, led by a career cinematographer, participants get their feet wet shooting with digital cinema cameras, as well as with various lenses, filtration, and lighting units.
Week 8 (Optional): The Steadicam Workshop | Paul Taylor
In this unique and intense Steadicam course, students learn to interpret a script in visual terms based on the director’s vision, the DP’s requirements, and the editor’s needs. They will learn the “language of Steadicam” and how to properly employ it to produce riveting images that enhance the narrative. Students gain practical experience in using the equipment as they are introduced to the technical skills, set etiquette, and the aesthetic vision required to become a professional Steadicam operator.
Week 8 (Optional): Nonfiction Camera in Action
Through lectures and hands-on production, students will learn the best camera techniques for documentary and narrative work in order to deepen their mental and physical understanding of scene coverage. We will explore shot design, camera movement, and point-of-view. Students will also gain insight into the working relationship between the Director of Photography, the Director, their crew, their environment, and most importantly, their subjects.
Week 9: Feature Film Lighting
This course will be an immersion into advanced lighting design. Students will explore a wide range of lighting techniques used in feature films, commercials, and episodic television. Through lectures and discussions led by an industry cinematographer, the class covers the importance of lighting design in visual storytelling, and the processes and industry practices used to execute a wide range of complex lighting set-ups. Students will learn how to scout a location and plan lighting requirements for a shoot and will practice working as a crew, and rotate the roles of DP, gaffer, G&E, and more, to light a variety of interior and exterior scenes, in studio and on-location, as well as car interiors, day and night street scenes, and dramatic scenes with actors.
Week 10: The Camera & Visual Storytelling
This workshop will focus on the cinematic language and grammar of shot design, composition, camera placement, and movement, and how these techniques are employed to tell effective and emotional stories. Students will work with a distinguished cinematographer as their instructor. The subtle differences in visual styles and their effects on the viewer are addressed through exercises and screenings. The course will be heavily project-based and the entire latter half of the week will be dedicated to shooting original concepts. By week's end, participants will have created a short, portfolio-quality, cinematic piece, and worked with an editor to see their vision to completion. Projects are screened at the Friday Night Showcase of student work.
Mentor & Course Manager: David Martinez
David believes in the idea of Docendo Discimus. He enjoys teaching and has taught more than 30 different workshops at Maine Media on topics ranging from camera, lighting, color grading, and cinematography theory. He has been working as the Film Program Manager at the workshops since 2018 designing curriculums and syllabi for both in-person and online workshops. His role at the school has given him an opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of industry professionals across many areas of filmmaking and film production.
