Digital Filmmaking 211

07:211:100 Video Editing Lab (1) In this course students will learn the fundamentals of video editing for both documentary and fiction narratives. Students will learn how to shape existing footage into a complete digital narrative. Students will learn basic postproduction workflow that will guide them through the many stages of video editing; includes capturing, organizing footage, and exporting media. Students will develop not only the technical skills required for video editing but also a theoretical framework that encourages them to explore the ways in which story and meaning can be generated through juxtaposition and sequencing of visual images.

07:211:102 Film Narrative: Bridging Fact and Fiction (3) Gives film students the foundational understanding of narrative film structure and cinematic grammar through the use of fiction and nonfiction filmmaking. During this course, students will create two one-minute films--one scripted and one built from a real-world story. This course inspires students to see the art of cinematic stories not as a narrow construct, but rather that which allows the filmmaker to blend veracity and creation to produce original narratives.

07:211:120 Cinematography (3) In this class students will work with high-definition and digital cameras to learn composition, lighting, lenses, and filters. Students will study the language of film with a focus on visual storytelling. Students will become proficient in technical aspects of shooting digital cinema, both for documentary and narrative scenarios. Students will also expand their knowledge of art history and cinema history. In the final classes students will bring these techniques together by shooting, editing, and color correcting a narrative scene.

07:211:191 Introduction to Fiction (3) This introductory course puts basic film theory, language, and dramatic structure for the screen into action to produce an original four-to-eight minute digital film. The semester focuses on story structure, how to use camera framing, lighting, sound, dialogue, and editing choices to drive the digital narrative.

07:211:192 Introduction to Documentary (3) In this class, we will explore how recorded material (images, sounds, and dialogue) from the real world become the words we use to shape a documentary story. Documentaries are the creative selecting, organizing, and presenting of factual material. Students will learn how to conduct an interview and will use these interviews to compose documentary narratives.

07:211:200 Digital Post-Production (3) Provides training in a wide array of postproduction processes necessary for the final shaping of student digital films. Students will learn techniques to expand and compress time for narrative purposes, and how to create compelling sound tracks mixing dialogue, music, sound effects, and production sound. Students will learn postproduction software programs for audio mixing, titling graphics (including After Affects), and color grading. Students will also learn how to manage and convert codecs, professional media filing, and postproduction organizational workflow.

07:211:205 Script to Screen (3) This introductory screenwriting course allows students to use video technology to enhance the development of their short film, 18-to-22-page screenplays that they will finish at the end of the semester. This unique screenwriting process will allow students to create video drafts of three select scenes, providing them with the opportunity to explore ways that visual composition, framing, lighting, and subtext drive the narrative, making the screenplay more efficient and effective. Students will also learn cinematic dramatic structure, the importance of character development, and how to write dialogue.

07:211:212 Digital Field Production (3) In this dynamic new course the emphasis is placed on group field production and the individual responsibilities of a producer, director, cinematographer, and lighting and sound technician in all stages of digital film production. The course will consist of lectures, reading assignments, in-class demonstrations, workshops, and field assignments. Students will learn how to prepare for shoots collaboratively and how to produce assignments of high quality with limited resources.

07:211:220 Advanced Cinematography (3) Advanced Cinematography is an intensive hands-on production experience, intended to serve as a venue through which students will expand upon the skills they have acquired through Cinematography (211:120). In this course, students will learn the ins and outs of advanced high-definition cinematography and explore the various aspects of digital acquisition, compositing, and projecting. Students will think critically and creatively about how to apply shooting techniques in diverse fields such as commercials, music videos, and narrative/documentary film.

07:211:230 Animation 2-D (3) Introduces the basic terminology, concepts, and principles of 2-D animation intended to illustrate or reinforce narrative concepts. It covers three distinct techniques within 2-D animation: animating for the web, stop motion animation, and 2-D vector-based animation. While focusing on technical aspects of 2-D animation, this course takes into consideration the historical perspective, current technologies, and applications of animation within documentary and fiction film.

07:211:291 Directing for the Screen (3) This course covers the film director's craft and gives students a hands-on experience as a director with the emphasis on the scene as the building block of the narrative. This will consist of classroom instruction of how a director and actor interpret a script and bring it to life. Through video exercises, lectures, and reading assignments, the students will learn about how a director breaks down the screenplay, development of themes, actors motivations, beats of action, camera blocking, composition, and lighting. Students will produce, direct, and edit their own material and assist on their classmates' productions. The semester will culminate in a final three-six minute short film.

07:211:292 Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking (3) In this class students refine their nonfiction filmmaking by creating character-driven stories built from real-world experiences. Student are encouraged and trained to employ a variety of cinematic techniques to create documentary films that allow audiences to connect to real people on real journeys while experiencing emotional truth generally associated with fiction storytelling. Class emphasis will be on creating a cinematic experience from a character's point of view, while also technically training students on how to prepare for field shoots through storyboarding and proper selection of equipment needed to capture the intended visual style. Students will be expected to produce their own short film during this semester or they can choose to complete a scene for one of the larger Rutgers Film Bureau productions.

07:211:295 Special Topics in Digital Filmmaking (BA) Explores in depth a unique topic in filmmaking. Topic determined by the division.

07:211:305 Advanced Script to Screen (3) This is an advanced-level course that further develops the skills and knowledge from the introductory screenwriting course Script to Screen. The objective of the course is to structure and write a completed rough draft of a full-length feature screenplay.

07:211:306 Web Series Filmmaking (3) Gives students hands-on experience as a producer, writer, director, and editor of their own web-based serialized narratives. Students will learn how to conceptualize and structure a web series. They will write two screenplays (or documentary treatments: the pilot and episode #1. The students will gain theoretical and practical experience in producing, directing, and editing as they work to complete these episodes through preproduction, production, and postproduction. By the end of the semester, students will complete two episodes and gain confidence in multimedia expression by creating their own internet-based narrative series that can be viewed by the public.

07:211:330 Animation 3-D (3) This course introduces the basic terminology, concepts, and principles of 3-D animation. It is designed to remove the complexities of modern digital 3-D development tools by examining each segment individually and reinforcing it with in class workshops and weekly assignments. This course takes into consideration the historical evolution of 3-D animation, the current technologies, and applications of animation within documentary and fiction film.

07:211:391 Advanced Directing: Short Film (3) This advanced course is designed to enable students to produce from conception to completion an 8-to-15-minute short fiction film. This course will give students hands-on experience as a director as they work to finish a short film through preproduction, production, and postproduction. The first part of the semester will focus on the director's work of preparing the script for production. Then, before production starts, students will complete video drafts of scenes from their screenplay. Students will shoot their short film, and then present numerous versions in class. By the end of the semester students will have produced, directed and edited their own 8-to-15-minute short film that can be sent out to film festivals around the world

07:211:392 Documentary Directing (3) This intensive course is designed to train young filmmakers to think about nonfiction filmmaking from a director's perspective. The goal of the class is to capture beautiful, meaningful footage despite the chaos that may surround a typical documentary production. Teaches students what documentary filmmakers look for when developing documentaries: this includes an understanding of the dynamics of light and how it can be manipulated and controlled within a verite setting; how editing shapes narrative structure; how to record quality audio in the field; and above all, the relationship between the documentary director and the people who are featured in the film.

07:211:393 Research in Action for the Screen (3) This advanced course provides training in the creation of compelling, character-driven, science and research short documentary narratives for broad audiences.

07:211:400 Producting Digital Media (3) In this culminating course, students will be immersed in the business side of filmmaking including fundraising, grant writing, pitching proposals, securing talent and location releases and, finally, distribution opportunities, partnership, and platforms.

07:211:406 Filmmaking for New Media (3) This is a culminating and dynamic course that focuses on the production of short films and visual narrative content for a wide array of new digital platforms.

07:211:410, 411 Senior Thesis I,II (3,3) This two-semester culminating course provides the framework and opportunity for students to integrate three year's worth of filmmaking training in the Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking program by producing, directing, and editing a substantial (10-20 minutes) short film. Integral to this process, the students work one-on-one with a faculty member who will help guide the development of the project.