CTPR 499 Special Topics (18602): Visual Effects for Filmmakers 2-units TH 2-4:50 PM in SCA 110 Fall Semester 2012 Syllabus

Michael Fink [email protected] Office Hours: Mon, Fri 10:00-12:00, & by appt. Offices – SCB 210J, SCA 422

SA: TBD

This course is focused on how and why visual effects are done, how they have been used in filmmaking from the beginning of motion pictures to the present, and how they can be used today to enhance the story and enhance the movie audience experience. While we will investigate the “how-to” of visual effects, the main thrust of the class is to focus on why visual effects are used, how they are used effectively, how they are integrated with other disciplines such as production design and cinematography, and how they are produced, staged, and completed.

The goal for this course is that students come away with an understanding of how to think about, plan for, produce, supervise, and direct, visual effects. The power of visual effects to help filmmakers tell stories should be understood by all those who choose filmmaking as a career. When considering telling a story using visual effects, knowing the possibilities and the limitations of the many techniques available will put filmmakers ahead of the game in planning their productions.

This course will combine discussions of the history and practice of visual effects in the context of conceiving, writing, designing, producing, directing, and shooting a visual effects film. The goal is to explore the rich opportunity visual effects offer to enhance story and character. We will analyze and dive into the creative problem solving that went into early films, and how that compares to what is done today. Going back and looking at early efforts, as well as current work, is not only fun (and funny), but is also incredibly revealing of the creative process.

Beginning with a brief discussion and viewing of Western art and film clips in the first class, we will proceed as the weeks go by to view and discuss specific shots, scenes, or entire films, looking at them both technically and dramatically.

In the second week of the semester students will be asked to formulate a question, or questions, regarding visual effects. Questions can be on any topic relating to visual effects - production, execution, concepts, methods, specific shots in films or videos, specific techniques. In the weeks that follow we will skew the topics listed in the schedule to include answers to those questions. As questions are covered in the lecture material, students are invited to submit additional questions as the semester continues. Students are expect to write questions throughout the semester as indicated in the schedule below.

Basing our discussions on film clips we view in class, and on reading and written assignments such as the "question assignment" above, students should be prepared to analyze and present their assumptions and guesses as to how the effects being considered were done, how they might have accomplished these shots/scenes, and how effective (or not) the effect is in enhancing the film. From this, we will discuss how the shots/scenes were actually accomplished, and what the reasons were for the techniques used to get the final result.

We plan to have, twice during the term, guest film directors who will join Professor Fink in presenting a story of how a film is conceived and executed in terms of visual effects. The focus of these discussions will be the relationship between the director and the visual effects supervisor, but the talks will range over production, production design, cinematography, editing, and post-production.

The Final Project will be a written piece analyzing a specific film or group of films relative to their contribution to the art of filmmaking, the quality of their visual effects, unique aspects of those effects, etc. Specific requirements for the project will be discussed in class just after the Mid-Term. The Final Project will be due the day of the Final Exam.

The Final Exam will be given on the scheduled Final Exam day, December 13. In the final exam students will be asked to present an answer to the final exam question that demonstrates a real grasp of the concepts on which visual effects are based. The final exam answers can range from discussion of very technical to dramatic issues, but always with the focus on how the effects were done, and how they helped the filmmakers tell their story.

Consult the following schedule for more specific information.

Your Final Grade is Based On:

Unswerving Attendance Compulsive Reading and Viewing of Assignments Dedicated and Heartfelt Discussion and Participation in Class Artfully Crafted and Wonderfully Perceptive Written Work, particularly in the Mid-term and the Final Project. A Sense of Humor

As percentages:

Class Participation –10% Homework – 15% Mid-term – 25% Final Project – 35% Final Exam - 15%

Missing homework or assigned projects, such as the "questions", will not be excused without documented medical or personal emergencies. A late assignment may not be accepted. There are no unexcused absences - you need to document explanations of absences for which you want to be excused. You will receive a reduction of one-third letter grade for each unexcused absence.

Tardiness will not be tolerated, as there is simply too much that needs to be accomplished. There will be one “official” warning for tardiness, and then we will lower grades by one-third letter grade each occurrence.

Required Reading:

VES Handbook of Visual Effects - Focal Press, 2010 Edited by Jeffrey A. Okun, Susan Zwerman I recommend you purchase at www.amazon.com, as they seem to have the best price.

Recommended Reading:

Special Effects – The History and Technique Richard Rickitt Aurum Press, 2006 History of Art 8th Edition – Janson ISBN 10: 0-205-72700-X The Annotated Mona Lisa – Strickland ISBN 13: 9780740768729 The Invention of Infinity – Field ISBN 10: 0198523947 Masters of Deception – SeckelI SBN 10: 140275101X The History of Photography – Newhall ISBN 10: 0870703811 A Trick of the Eye – Hollmann & Tesch ISBN 10: 3791331639 An Animated Life – ISBN 10: 0712349197 ASC Manual ISBN 10: 0935578153 And: Magazine

Course Outline:

Week 1 – August 30: Introduction to Visual Effects in Film In preparation Read: VES Handbook of Visual Effects - Chapter 1 – Introduction Viewing of history footage and images going back centuries to examine the common thread of story telling through the use of visual effects.

Week 2 – September 6: We will watch Bladerunner in its entirety in class this week. In preparation Read: VES Handbook – Chapter 2 pages 37-49 – Designing Visual Effects Shots to be posted on Blackboard. Cinefex Magazine – article to be posted on Blackboard. Complete this week your "Visual Effects Question" and submit it to Prof. Fink and the SA via email prior to this class.

Week 3 – September 13:

How not to make a visual effects movie. An in depth analysis, with much viewing of "making of" shots, of the film The Golden Compass. In preparation read: Cinefex Magazine - The Golden Compass article to be posted on Blackboard. Submit: Via email questions regarding The Golden Compass to Prof. Fink and the SA during the week prior to this class.

Week 4 – September 20: Old School #1. In preparation Read: VES Handbook - Chapter 3, pages 273-283 – Stop Motion Animation. Read: About Charles Bowers – Internet Research. View: Any Charles Bowers clips or films that you might find online. We’ll view many clips of Bowers’ films in class. Submit: Via email to Prof. Fink and the SA, a short question or statement about Charles Bowers or stop motion animation.

Week 5 – September 27: Old School #2 – Ray Harryhausen In preparation Read: About Ray Harryhausen – Internet Research. View in class: Clips from Mighty Joe Young (1949), Mighty Joe Young (1998) Clash of the Titans (1981), Clash of the Titans (2010), Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956), Mars Attacks! (1996).

Week 6 – October 4: Discussion of Mid-Term Exam, then… Old School #3. In preparation – In-camera Mastery - Peter Ellenshaw research on internet. Read: VES Handbook – Chapter 2, pages 292-296 – Acquisition/Shooting View in class: Clips from Darby O’Gill and the Little People, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and short documentary about Peter Ellenshaw.

Week 7 – October 11: Open Discussion about visual effects with a feature director (tba), and Professor Fink, regarding the relationship of the director and visual effects supervisor while working on a feature motion picture. Also – a brief discussion and description of the mid-term exam for the following week. Submit: Via email, questions to Prof. Fink and the SA that you think would be pertinent to a conversation with a visiting director and a visual effects supervisor.

Week 8 – October 18: Mid-Term Exam, followed by: War of the Worlds, new and old – View in class: Clips from War of the Worlds 1953 & 2005 Read: About these two films - Internet research.

Week 9 – October 25: Guest Lecture Eric Nash – Real Steel 2011 – A new way to produce visual effects. In preparation -Watch Real Steel.

Week 10 – November 1: Lessons from Robert Zemeckis In preparation Read: Articles from Cinefex Magazine – Posted on Blackboard, regarding the following films: View in class: Clips from Roger Rabbit/Contact//Cast Away.

Week 11 – November 8: Guest Lecture Joyce Cox – A Discussion about Visual Effects production on a Very Large Scale. In preparation – Read Cinefex articles on X-Men 2, Avatar, Men in Black 3 to be posted on Blackboard.

Week 12 – November 15: Assignment and Discussion of Final Project. Telling a Story: Clips from a Career in Visual Effects. Discussion, and descriptions, of the planning and execution of visual effects for these films. In preparation – Watch Constantine (2005), and Tree of Life (2011). View in class – Clips from the above films.

Thanksgiving Recess – November 21-24

Week 14 – November 29: Braveheart (1995) – A discussion of the economical use of visual effects, and how these techniques can be used in other (student) films. In preparation – Watch Braveheart View in class – Clips from the film revealing many cheats and interesting ways to create the illusion of mayhem from simple techniques.

Week 15 – December 6: Open Discussion about visual effects with a feature director tba, and Professor Fink. In preparation – Read article from Editors’ Guild Magazine entitled So You’re Editing a Visual Effects Film? To be posted to Blackboard. Submit: Via email, questions appropriate to a conversation between a director and a visual effects supervisor.

December 13: Final Exam - 2:00 to 4:00PM in room tba. Final Project is DUE and needs to be delivered at this time.

Students With Disabilities:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to Instructor (or S.A.) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301, and is open 8:30am-5:00pm Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity:

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/