Teacher: Jennifer Biyinzika

Prerequisites: None

Ages: 13 and up

Class size: 2 - 25

Materials fee: $65 (one-time fee) This covers the cost of handouts and helps with renting equipment and other supplies for film days.

Tuition: $40

Supplies Needed: Please buy, borrow, or swindle a copy of this book: Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, by Blake Snyder (2005). We will be reading it. Having access to a device that can record video (smartphone, camera, or an old camcorder) and a computer at home is a huge bonus, but we can work around it if they are not available.

COURSE DETAILS: Our first half of the school year will begin with a strong focus on how our faith plays a role in art and film and then move into the various elements of story, lighting, audio, music, editing, and camera. Filmmakers learn best by doing, so in the second half of the year we will put all those components together by creating various short films in group projects - music videos, short stories, and documentaries. As the year comes to an end, the class will host a film showcase, complete with popcorn, for the rest of Master’s Hand and their families to enjoy. Each student will come away with a copy of all their work that they can using to launch into other film and media endeavors in the future, should they choose to.

As a filmmaker who is also a follower of Jesus, my goal is to make God-honoring content and use care when choosing which materials to use while teaching. Below is a list of the resources I will be using. The list is not exhaustive but will give a sense of the type of material I use. During summer, I will send out a more exhaustive list, and I am willing to work with parents if there is a film on that list they do not want their kid to see. If you have any questions concerning materials, homework, worldview, films, or anything else, please feel free to contact me.  NOTE: In May, there will be one extended class that will run until 3:30.  This will allow more time to work on our final project.

HOMEWORK: Some weeks will have no homework, and other weeks will have up to 3-4 hours. This includes group projects, occasionally watching films, filming, editing, and writing.

SUGGESTED HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT: 1 High School Credit as an elective.

Resources for Filmmaking Class This list of resources is incomplete, but the hope is that this will give you an idea of the caliber of material used. I will send a more exhaustive list to parents closer in mid to late summer. If there is a film on the list that you have deep concern over your kids seeing, I am happy to find an alternative and run it past you.

Teaching materials:

· Audio and video clips from the former Independent Christian Filmmakers Guild and their successor, the Christian Worldview Film Guild.

· Possible excerts from the books: Inside Story, by Dara Marks; The Director’s Eye, by John Ahart, and Outside Hollywood, by Issac Botkin

Films that may be analyzed, pulled from for examples, and discussed:

· The Ten Commandments (1956), by Cecil B. DeMille

· The Wizard of Oz (1939)

· Charlie Chaplin films

· Princess Bride (1987)

· Lord of the Rings (2001/2002/2003)

· Finding Nemo (2003)

· Monsters Incorporated (2001)

· Romeo and Juliet (1996)

 

I will not show clips with foul language, sexual immorality, or sorcery.

A couple YouTube videos that may be used (list will grow): How To Be Creative: How an Artist Turns Pro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lTcgSzf0AQ&list=WL&index=1

Anakusigula Bobi Wine ft Sylver Kyagulanyi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S90iG8aUwDg&list=WL&index=1