« Fall 2012 Courses & Workshops

SPECIAL SCHEDULE
and 1 Sat tba

COURSE DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the processes of video production and editing, emphasizing the development of a personal aesthetic. Besides learning the basics of camera operation and editing, students become familiar with video’s unique technical and aesthetic qualities. Production topics include lighting, shooting, and audio recording for video. Video post-production topics include nonlinear editing (using Final Cut Pro) and output to appropriate formats for distribution. In-class workshops and assignments.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Janet Gilmore is a freelance video editor working for PBS, Little, Brown and Company and several ad agencies in Boston. She received her MFA from MassArt. Her exhibitions include San Francisco Cinematheque; Centro Cultural Santo Domingo, Mexico City; the Collective for Living Cinema, NYC; the Artist Space, NYC; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and San Francisco Art Institute Film Festival. She is a visiting professor at Northeastern University and MassArt.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
An overview of non-linear editing using Apple’s Final Cut Pro. Topics include digitizing, editing, and final output. Source material is provided, but students are encouraged to bring their own mini-DV media. Prerequisite: knowledge of Macintosh operating system.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Janet Gilmore is a freelance video editor working for PBS, Little, Brown and Company and several ad agencies in Boston. She received her MFA from MassArt. Her exhibitions include San Francisco Cinematheque; Centro Cultural Santo Domingo, Mexico City; the Collective for Living Cinema, NYC; the Artist Space, NYC; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and San Francisco Art Institute Film Festival. She is a visiting professor at Northeastern University and MassArt.

SPECIAL SCHEDULE
and two additional classes, to be arranged

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Students are introduced to digital video as a medium for creative expression and are encouraged to develop their own way of observing the world. Subjects covered include digital video camera operation and cinematic language elements, including shots, scenes, sequences, composition, light, movement, etc. Cinematic language and the relationship between media maker, subject and viewer will be explored through a series of short projects. Emphasis is placed on developing personal vision and professional techniques. Students without video experience must take Documentary Video Bootcamp or Introduction to Video Production prior to enrolling in this course.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Allie Humenuk is an award-winning filmmaker whose short films have been seen nationally and internationally. She has worked with independent producers and with PBS, MTV, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel. She taught film and video production at Harvard University, and is now the executive producer at Vida Health Communications, Inc. and a freelance cinematographer. Recently, she completed "Shadow of the House: Photographer Abelardo Morell," a feature length documentary that played in festivals and museums around the country.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
For filmmakers of all levels who want to incorporate the expressive techniques of experimental filmmaking into their production. Students will shoot and hand-edit a short, black and white 16mm film, using alternative "in-camera" techniques to explore the artistic potential of emulsion-based celluloid film. Techniques of "Direct Filmmaking" will be introduced, such as hand-processing the film in-class, painting and drawing on the film surface and treating the film with inks, dyes and other artistic materials. Found footage from existing films may also be incorporated. Participants will collaborate on a class project, and complete a personal project on a subject of their choice. All equipment is provided.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Tara Merenda Nelson is a Boston-based filmmaker, curator, and installation artist. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, basements, and backyards throughout the United States and Canada, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The 8-Fest in Toronto, VideoEx Film Festival in Switzerland, the Sydney Underground Film Festival and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. In February, 2011, she curated a four-city tour for French experimental filmmaker Rose Lowder. Tara has been a lecturer at Montserrat College in Beverly, MA and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston and has worked as an intern at the Harvard Film Archive and WGBH’s Antiques Roadshow. Tara holds an MFA in Film/Video from the Massachusetts College of Art.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
In a writing workshop setting, we address the many facets of writing screenplays for short films. Students will develop at least two scripts (2-8 pages long), from idea to end product, through individual and collaborative exercises, rewriting, and by hearing their works-in-progress read aloud and discussed. A successful short-film is not simply an abbreviated version of a feature film but entails a different kind of storytelling. Edgar Allen Poe’s description of a good short story is as relevant to film as it is to literary fiction. A good short story, he said, is not just "an incident or an episode extracted from a longer tale," but a work of narrative-art that "impresses the reader with the belief that it would be spoiled if it were made longer." Students will be encouraged to write scripts that can be produced with resources available to most students. Course includes screenings and in-class writing. ALL LEVELS WELCOME.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Nancy Salzer’s films and videos have shown at museums and festivals in North America and Europe, on PBS and cable. Screenings include: Margaret Mead and American film festivals, Harvard Film Archives/Short and Edgy, Museum of Modern Art (New York and San Francisco), and the National Film Board of Canada. Grants and awards include the NEA, MCC, AFI, Bunting Institute, and Mellon Foundation. Salzer holds a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from MassArt. She is currently a scholar/filmmaker at Brandeis University.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Participants learn how to think like detectives and develop creative and efficient strategies for finding archival materials for use in documentary films. Students also learn the basic information about copyright and clearance issues needed to minimize legal liabilities. This is a lecture and discussion class. Case studies are used in discussion, and the instructor will be available for an additional 30 minutes after each class to discuss students’ current projects.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Ann Petrone has been documentary filmmaker Errol Morris’ senior researcher since 1998. Her credits include Standard Operating Procedure, a documentary on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal which she co-produced, and which won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival; Fog of War, winner of the 2003 Academy Award for Best Documentary; and Big Ideas for a Small Planet, winner of the Environmental Media Award for Best Documentary. Ann has a BA from Tufts University.

SPECIAL SCHEDULE
and one additional classes, to be arranged

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Documentary, as defined by John Grierson, is the creative treatment of actuality. Grierson coined the term in his review of Robert Flaherty’s Moana (1926). Contemporary culture expands on classical rhetorical and observational forms to include docusoaps, agitprop, advocacy, animation, sensory ethnography, mockumentary, first-person, and more. In this course we will explore the origins of documentary, discuss the central issues of the field, examine historical and contemporary trends, and identify the aesthetic strategies and techniques used by documentary makers along with their rhetorical effects.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
David TamŽs is an independent documentary filmmaker who also has extensive experience in new media. He is currently co-producing a documentary on David Hamilton Smith, who developed a vaccine against spinal meningitis. TamŽs earned an MS from the MIT Media Laboratory, studied filmmaking at City College of San Francisco, and holds a BA and BS from the University of Florida. He is the media arts studio manager in the Studio Foundation department at MassArt.

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