Topics in Acting for the Screen (377-0-20)

Topic

Devised Narrative

Instructors

Kyle Henry

Meeting Info

Louis Hall 106: Wed 12:00PM - 2:50PM

Overview of class

This class is an exploration of how to create narrative fiction films without a pre-existing script or other literary source. You will work together in collaborative teams of actors and directors, experimenting with alternate techniques and devices used by directors throughout cinema history that challenge traditional methods of story creation, from surrealist games (e.g. Luis Bunuel, Apichatpong Weerasethakul), to process generated improvisations (e.g. Mike Leigh, Chloe Zhao, Christopher Guest, Sean Baker), to radical collaborations guided by actuality observation and research (e.g. Andrea Arnold, Peter Davis, Kogonada). Class participates will explore together improvisation techniques, active imagination exercises, as well as field observations assignments, then will generate and create together short film works in small groups. In class we'll explore a variety of exercises and devices in a laboratory environment as directors and actors working together to share and create. Come ready to play!

NOTE: Please research the list of sample directors above. Most films screened will include their works, which are often "counter-cultural" and were created to provoke strong emotional responses. Many contain what might be for some viewers disturbing situations or images. Most are chosen because they are recognized by the field as exceptional for narrative experimentation. You are encouraged to respond and critique each filmmaker's approach to discover more about your personal voice as artists.

Learning Objectives

- Explore alternate devised fiction filmmaking processes (from development through post-production), analyzing ways in which they posit other "world views" to dominant script-based narratives

- Play with techniques and methods in a "laboratory" workshop environment to determine what you can port into your own practice moving forward

- Generate an alternative narrative short fiction film in small groups based upon your own concerns as a media artists from a chosen devised process

Class Materials (Required)

• "The Method: How The Twentieth Century Learned to Act" by Isaac Butler. Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1635574777 $12

• Additional readings posted to Canvas, including excerpts from "Devised and Directed by Mike Leigh", "Improvising Cinema" by Gilles Mouëllic