Seminar: Studies in Film and Video Prod (479-0-20)

Topic

Special Effects Cinematography

Instructors

Clayton Brown

Meeting Info

Louis Hall 106: Tues 5:00PM - 8:50PM

Overview of class

This class will introduce you to correctly lighting, preparing, and shooting several kinds of special effects cinematography, including green screen with camera tracking, motion control, camera tracking and projection (as seen in the Mandalorian, albeit on a much smaller scale), and screen replacement. We'll also some analog techniques like miniatures and combining techniques to do "poor man's process" (lighting and shooting a stationary car to simulate movement). We'll bring some of these shots into post using After Effects to finish the green screen and more advanced compositing techniques, incorporating 3D elements. This is a very hands-on course from the very first day. We will be using the RED cameras, so this course will also count as camera training, enabling you to check out this camera from the cage. You'll have exercises throughout to allow you to practice what we learn, and you'll team up to create your own microshort, featuring many of the techniques we learn in class. If time and logistics allow, we'll take a tour of a local FX post-house. It should be a lot of work and a lot of fun! Prerequisite of 380 or 381.

Learning Objectives

Students will learn how to operate the RED camera and other advanced camera gear. Students will learn how to execute several types of special effects cinematography, including green screen, motion-controlled camera, projection, camera tracking, simulating a moving car, and first steps of post-production using After Effects to complete the shots.

Class Materials (Required)

Camera and grip equipment (screwdriver, gaff tape, etc) are required. An external hard drive is highly recommended.

Class Notes

This is a great adjacent class to the Science Fiction Sequence!

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Preregistration: RTVF Majors + prerequisite of EITHER RTVF 380-0 or 381-0 or MFA students until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken one of the prerequisites