Faculty:

     The course will be moderated/facilitated/conducted by Mr.O.Arivazhagan, a Certified Film Director and Producer from Hollywood Film Institute, Los Angels, USA and Certified Project Management Professional from PMI, USA.

He has to his credit as director/producer/creative director the following titles:

Films:

1. Nodigalil
2. Valaivu
3. Saathuryam - A Digital Feature Film under Production.
4. The Perfect Knot
5. Paarvaigal Palavitham

TV Shows:

1. Sollathan Ninaikiren

Ad Films:

1. IIPM Educational Ad
2. Event Management Services
3. Madhus Family Restaurant
4. Soft Drinks - Fresh Today

Affiliation to Associations:

1. Member, Film and Television Producers Guild of South India
2. Member, Television Directors Association
3. Member, South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce

Opportunity to work on a live Film Project:

     Select meritorious students/participants will be given an opportunity to work in any of  a live ongoing Ad film/Short film/Telefilm/TV Serial/Feature Film. IDM is currently producing the digital feature film titled “Saathuryam” in which select participants may get an opportunity to work as Assistant Director/Assistant Cameraman /Assistant Script Writer/Set Assistant /Production Assistant etc as deemed fit by the Producer/Director/Faculty.

Rush your enquires to:
Suite # 203, Kassim Plaza, # 19, Dhandapani Street, T Nagar, Ch – 17.
Ph : Sangeeta : 9600025157 / 9884015136.
G. Kalai : 9884414900.
Email: director@idm-madras.com , admin@idm-madras.com , marketing@idm-madras.com ,

Course Contents:

1.   A Short History of Filmmaking

1.1 The Birth of the Feature Film
1.2 The Talkies
1.3 The Golden Age of Hollywood
1.4 A New Medium: Television

2. An Overview of Film Genres

2.1 Dramas
2.2 Love Stories
2.3 Comedies
2.4 Thrillers
2.5 Action and adventure Film
2.6 War Films
2.7 Crime, Gangster, and Detective Films
2.8 Film Noir
2.9 Westerns
2.10 Science Fiction
2.11 Horror
2.12 Musicals
2.13 Animated Films
2.14 Non-Fiction Films
2.15 Short films

3. Basic Elements of Films and Videos

3.1 The Lens
3.2 The Camera
3.3 Film Stock
3.4 The Lab
3.5 Videotape
3.6 Mixing the Sound
3.7 Telling the Story

DAY 2

5. Developing the Script

5.1 From Concept to Script

5.1.1 Three-Act Dramatic Structure
5.1.2 Character Arc and Premise
5.1.3 Plot Points, Climax, and Resolution
5.1.4 Build it Visually
5.1.5 A Scene Outline

5.2 Top Ten Reasons Scripts Get rejected in Hollywood
5.3 The Non-Fiction Script
5.4 The Short Film Script

6. Script Breakdown and Shooting Schedule

6.1 Breaking Down the Script Manually

6.1.1 Marking Up the Script
6.1.2 Filling Out Breakdown Sheets

6.2 Breaking Down the Script on the Computer
6.3 Preparing a Production Board
6.4 Determining the Schedule

6.4.1 Shot Lists
6.4.2 Other Scheduling Factors

6.5 Using Storyboards

7. The Budget

7.1 Choosing the Medium

7.1.1 35mm Film
7.1.2 16mm Film
7.1.3 Hi - Eight
7.1.4 Beta SP Video
7.1.5 Digi-Beta Video
7.1.6 24p High Definition Video

7.2 Shooting for No Budget to Low Budget

7.2.1 Cast and Crew Deals
7.2.2 Equipment and Post-Production Deals
7.2.3 Location and Film Commission Incentives
7.2.4 Product Placement

7.3 Selecting Tools for Budgeting

7.3.1 Computer Programs
7.3.2 Industry Directories and Word-of-Mouth

7.4 Adding Up the Above-the-Line Elements

7.4.1 Writing
7.4.2 Producer and Staff
7.4.3 Director and Staff
7.4.4 Talent or Cast
7.4.5 Fringe Benefits

7.5 Filling in the Below-the-Line Elements

7.5.1 Production Staff
7.5.2 Camera
7.5.3 Other Production and Post-Production Budget Categories

7.6 Estimating documentary Budgets

8. Hiring the Cast and Crew

8.1 Casting the Leads and Supporting Actors

8.1.1 Casting Director
8.1.2 Auditions
8.1.3 Bits and Extras

8.2 Unit Production Manager or Line Producer
8.3 Director of Photography
8.4 Production Designer
8.5 Editor
8.6 Production Sound Mixer
8.7 Other Departments and Crew

8.7.1 Gaffer or Lighting Director
8.7.2 Grips
8.7.3 Assistant Directors
8.7.4 Location Manager
8.7.5 Transportation Captain
8.7.6 Costume Designer
8.7.7 Make-Up and Hair
8.7.8 Script Supervisor
8.7.9 Production Assistants

9. Planning the Sheet

9.1 Arranging for Sets and Sound Stages
9.2 Scouting Locations

9.2.1 Light and Space
9.2.2 Cover Sets and alternate Locations
9.2.3 Adjustments to the Schedule

9.3 Permissions and Permits
9.4 Equipment

9.4.1 Camera Package
9.4.2 Lights and Grip Equipment
9.4.3 Stock or Tape
9.4.4 Special Effects Planning

9.5 Laboratories and Sound Facilities
9.6 Food, Drink, and Accommodations
9.7 Insurance

DAY 3

10 Directing the Crew

10.1 Be Prepared

10.1.1 Preparing the crew
10.1.2 Set Walk-Through
10.1.3 When the Shooting Begins

10.2 Knowing What Will Cut

10.2.1 Consistent Direction of Movement
10.2.2 Consistent Direction of Looks
10.2.3 Matching of Shots
10.2.4 Cutaways and Transitions

10.3 The First Take
10.4 Pick-Up Shots and Wild Tracks
10.5 Preventing Crew Fatigue
10.6 Respect for the Locations and Community

11. Directing Actors

11.1 Knowing What You Want

11.1.1 Knowing the Characters
11.1.2 Communicating What You Want

11.2 Rehearsals

11.2.1 A First Script Reading
11.2.2 Scene Work and Blocking
11.2.3 When to Stop Rehearsing

11.3 Respecting the Actor's Style

11.3.1 Method Acting
11.3.2 Other Acting Techniques

11.4 Directing the Actor on the set

11.4.1 Technical Assistance
11.4.2 Dealing with Camera Fright
11.4.3 Maintaining Energy Levels
11.4.4 Avoiding Overacting

11.5 Handling Difficult Actors

12. Directing Yourself

12.1 Creating Movement
12.2 Finding the Right Pace

12.2.1 Time Expansion
12.2.2 Time Compression

12.3 Communicating Through Composition

12.3.1 Accurate Detail
12.3.2 Filling the Screen and stable Horizon
12.3.3 The Rule of Thirds

12.4 Introducing Sound Effects and Music
12.5 Focusing on the Narrative
12.6 Maintaining Consistency of Style

13. Dealing with Production Problems

13.1 Dailies Can Save Your Film
13.2 Solving People Problems

13.2.1 Personality Clashes
13.2.2 Creative Differences
13.2.3 Unskilled Crew Members
13.2.4 Untrained or Unskilled Actors
13.2.5 Sexual Harassment

13.3 Going in New Directions
13.4 Dealing with Equipment Breakdowns
13.5 Anticipating Weather Problems
13.6 Dealing with Scheduling Problems
13.7 Facing Budget Problems
13.8 Preventing Accidents and Injuries

DAY 4

14. Preparing to Edit

14.1 Editing History and Current Options

14.1.1 Editing on Film
14.1.2 Editing Digitally
14.1.3 Advantages of Digital Editing
14.1.4 Disadvantages of Digital Editing

14.2 Getting Ready to Edit

14.2.1 Preparing for a Traditional Film Edit
14.2.2 Preparing for Editing Video
14.2.3 Telecine for Editing Film on Video

14.3 Working with Your Editor

15. Editing the Rough Cut

15.1 Knowing Basic Editing Principles

15.1.1 Matching cuts
15.1.2 Understanding the Purpose of the Scene
15.1.3 Deciding How Little to Show
15.1.4 Using Shorter or Longer Cuts
15.1.5 Jump Cuts
15.1.6 Relational Cutting

15.2 Scene Changes
15.3 Editing Dialogue
15.4 Creating the First Assembly
15.5 Editing Documentary Films

15.5.1 Preparing the Paper Edit
15.5.2 Adding Narration

16. Fine-Tuning the Film

16.1 Starting the Fine-Cut Process
16.2 Finding the Pace and Rhythm
16.3 Using Optical Transitions
16.4 Focusing on Structure

16.4.1 The Opening
16.4.2 The Middle
16.4.3 The Ending

16.5 Getting Feedback from Test Screenings
16.6 Finding the Right Length

17. Finishing the Film or Video

17.1 Planning the Sound Edit

17.1.1 The Dialogue Edit
17.1.2 Looping

17.2 The Sound-Effects Edit
17.3 Adding Music
17.4 Mixing the sound
17.5 Adding Opticals, Titles, and Photographic Effects

17.5.1 Optical Track
17.5.2 Titles
17.5.3 Photographic Effects

17.6 Finishing on Film

17.6.1 Negative Cutting
17.6.2 Answer print and Color Correction

17.7 Finishing on Video

18. Completing Other Post-Production Tasks

18.1 Getting Clearances: Legal and Copyright Issues

18.1.1 Using Public Domain and Fair Use Material
18.1.2 Clearing Music
18.1.3 Clearing Film Clips

18.2 Preparing Credits

18.2.1 Directors
18.2.2 Writers
18.2.3 Cast credits
18.2.4 Other Credits

DAY 5

Part 5: Marketing/Financing/Distributing your Film