FILM M315-001 DIRECTING FOR CAMERA
Course Term: SPRING 2021 Course Location: CM Building, Rm 422/402 Class hours: MW, 3:30-4:45 Screening: W, 4:55-7:35
Instructor: Miles Doleac, PhD Office Location: CM Building 412 Phone: 504-865-3430 Email: [email protected] Office hours: Tu/Th, 11:15-1:00, M-W 2:00-3:15 or by appointment
“To make a film is easy; to make a good film is war. To make a very good film is a miracle.” -Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
REQUIRED TEXTS: Lumet, Sidney. Making Movies. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.
Rabiger, Michael and Hurbis-Cherrier, Mick. Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics, 6th edition. London: Routledge Press, 2020.
Weston, Judith. Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television. Studio City: Michael Wiese Books, 1999
COURSE AIM: This course aspires to answer seemingly simple questions: What does a director do? What is the director’s relationship and responsibility to the film? How should a director talk to actors and achieve the desired performance from said actors? How should they communicate their vision to cinematographers? In addition, the course screens and examines films from directors, who have been considered influential and/or pathbreaking in the medium and seeks to unpack, understand, and analyze the reasons for their significance.
Directors are often likened to conductors. The best of them are able to deliver a clear, consistent vision, while enlisting cast and crew members to contribute their own unique talents and perspectives to serving that vision. We will cover every element of the directing process from script analysis to the editing room as we try to uncover the secrets to that elusive brand of direction that leads to the telling of coherent, entertaining, surprising, and inevitable stories.
GRADE BREAKDOWN: READING, VIEWING, PARTICIPATION, AND DISCUSSION: 25% ATTENDANCE: 10% SCENEWORK: 25% IN-CLASS QUIZZES/ASSIGNMENTS: 20% FINAL PAPER: 20% READING, VIEWING, PARTICIPATION, AND DISCUSSION: 25% of your grade will be based on your responses to readings, screenings, and participation in class discussions and in-class assignments. Another 10% is just showing up. You are expected to have read and considered the reading assignments BEFORE coming to class to have reasoned responses to them. If you fail to read the assignments and to participate in class discussions, your participation grade will reflect as much. Do the reading, watch the films, be present, and contribute to the discussion in class and you’re on your way to a 35% A.
SCREENINGS: You are REQUIRED to attend screenings for this class in the Wednesday block. Most (but likely not all) screenings will begin at 3:30 pm, followed by a short break and discussion. As such, please hold open the ENTIRE window between 3:30-7:35 on Wednesdays for this class. If you are unable to attend a screening, it is YOUR responsibility to screen the film on your own. First screening: 1/20, 3:30 pm, CASABLANCA, 1942, dir. Michael Curtiz, 4:55
COMPLETE SCREENING LIST:
1/20: CASABLANCA, 1942, dir. Michael Curtiz
1/27: THE SEVEN SAMURAI, 1954, dir. Akira Kurosawa
2/3: REAR WINDOW, 1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock
2/10: THE SEARCHERS, 1956, dir. John Ford
2/17: BREATHLESS, 1960, dir. Jean-Luc Goddard
2/24: THE APARTMENT, 1960, dir. Billy Wilder
3/3: DR. STRANGELOVE, 1963, dir. Stanley Kubrick
3/10: DOG DAY AFTERNOON, 1975, dir. Sidney Lumet
3/17: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, 1981, dir. Steven Spielberg
3/24: THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, 1988, dir. Martin Scorsese
3/31: DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST, 1991, dir. Julie Dash
4/7: THE PIANO, 1993, dir. Jane Campion
4/21: PULP FICTION, 1994, dir. Quentin Tarantino
4/28: Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, 2001, dir. Alfonso Cuaron
5/5: 25th HOUR, 2002, dir. Spike Lee
PAPER: This assignment will require a five to seven page (that means the paper must take up at least five FULL pages, double-spaced, with font size of 12 pt, in Times New Roman font, bibliography does not figure into page count) paper that provides a detailed analysis of the direction of a film we have screened or discussed in class during the semester. You will be expected to discuss casting, performance, camera angles, lighting, editing, score and other elements that fall under the director’s charge and why the director’s choices made for a successful (or unsuccessful) film.
CHEATING is BAD, primarily because it hurts YOU. If you must cheat to be successful in this course, you are wasting your time and your instructor’s. Cheating will not be tolerated. This includes the offense of plagiarism. All work you do for this class is expected to be your own, and academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism on papers or cheating on exams) will be punished. A summary of the University’s definitions and procedures concerning academic integrity can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin (pp. 46-47 of the 2003-5 Bulletin). If you are uncertain how to use and cite the work of others within your own work, consult reference works such as The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Ed., The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff, eds (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017) or Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed., revised and by John Grossman and Alice Bennett, Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), or see the instructor. Offenses will be penalized to the full extent university policy allows—a failing grade for the course.
SCENEWORK/COVID TESTING: 25% of your grade will entail directing and (separately) acting in a scene in studio with cameras/monitors, a shot list etc. On the week your scene is assigned, you and everyone in your group must receive and present a negative CoVid test taken no more than 48 hours before you are due to present. Consider this part of the assignment. These tests are readily available at the student health center on campus. You will also be required to act in your classmates’ scenes. I expect you to take this charge seriously. Directors oftentimes fall down because they don’t know how to talk to actors. It will be of significant benefit for you to understand, at least briefly, what it’s like to stand in the actor’s shoes.
ATTENDANCE/ENGAGEMENT POLICY: Attendance is mandatory and the expectation is that this course will meet on-the-ground whenever possible. If you cannot meet the class on-the-ground, you need to get with me immediately so we can discuss whether or not it’s advisable for you to remain in class. Missing class, of course, is never advised, but things happen and we live in complicated times. As such, you will be allowed TWO unexcused absences before absences begin to affect your grade. Thereafter, with each unexcused absence, two points will be deducted from your attendance grade. After four unexcused absences, I will begin to deduct points from your FINAL GRADE. For your absence to be excused it must be cleared with me before the class in question. This includes formal Loyola commitments (which will be excused if you let me know before the class in question). Exceptions to this rule will be made only in the case of dire circumstances such as INCAPACITATING personal illness or injury, death in the family, natural disasters, or other circumstances deemed legitimate by the instructor. Communication and engagement is key. If you let me know what’s going on and talk with me, we can often work it out.
CAMPUS CLEAR/MASKS: You may be asked to show your clearance to be on campus via the Campus Clear app at any time. Masks must be worn (over the nose and mouth) for the duration of class, and you are expected to remain six feet apart, unless you receive special dispensation for scene work. Further, you are expected to adhere to all other university-related CoVid guidelines.
LATENESS: If you are more than TEN minutes late to class and you have not cleared it with me beforehand, you will be counted absent.
CELL PHONES: Please turn OFF or silence cell phones during class.
COMPUTERS: You may bring computers to class for the express purpose of reference reading and taking notes. That means computers should not be used for social networking, shopping, streaming, etc. I reserve the right to revoke computer privileges for individuals (or the entire class) if this becomes a problem.
MAKE-UP QUIZZES, TESTS, LATE ASSIGNMENTS: No make-up quizzes or tests will be given except in the case of dire circumstances (as noted in the attendance policy). Late assignments will not be accepted unless cleared with instructor in writing beforehand.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS: If you have a disability and wish to receive accommodations, please contact Disability Services at 504-865-2990. If you wish to receive test accommodations (e.g., extended test time), you will need to give the course instructor an official Accommodation Form from Disability Services. The Office of Disability Services is located in Marquette Hall 112.