Final Film Project

As a class, we will be producing a short (20–25 min) film (or an anthology of shorter films). Throughout the term, you will work in small teams on various aspects of the film (production, screenwriting, filmmaking, post-production, and marketing). All of the other assignments you complete for the class will serve as ancillaries for the finished film. During our first weeks together, we will begin to discuss the shape of the final film and divide into teams.

Once in your department, you will need to work together to delegate the various duties. I have offered a sense of the various things each group might accomplish; however, I encourage individual departments to also consider other ways they might fulfill their role.

Production: The production team will be in charge of legal, financing, casting, and location scouting. They will produce a production schedule for the film and will work on coordinating the release of our film. The production team will also work on a short behind-the-scenes documentary.

The members of this group will be leaders in charge of organizing the end-of-semester event and coordinating the interactions between the rest of the groups. This group’s work will be spread relatively evenly across the semester, and there will be quite a bit of flexibility for due dates for specific components.

Screenwriting: The screenwriting team will create a screenplay and storyboards for the film and will work on a published shooting script (a polished and formatted version with images, etc.).

This group’s work will involve creative writing, document design, photography, drawing, etc. The members of this group will complete be working very quickly to produce a screenplay and storyboards from Feb. 28— Mar. 14. The rest of their work will be paced relatively slowly over the rest of the semester.

Filmmaking: The filmmaking team will be in charge of shooting, lighting, directing, sound, etc. The filmmakers will be responsible for acquiring equipment, building sets (if necessary), assembling costumes/props, etc.

This group’s work will be primarily creative, involving cinematography, make-up, costumes, set-design, etc. The members of this group will complete much of their work from Mar. 14 — Apr. 4.

Post-production: The post-production team will be in charge of editing, music, sound-effects, titles and credits, visual effects, etc. In advance, they will begin to prepare music, sound effects, and visual effects.

This group’s work will be primarily technical, using video and sound editing software to finalize the film. The members of this group will complete much of their work from Mar. 21 — Apr. 18.

Marketing: The marketing team will produce a teaser trailer, a full preview, a press-release, a website, and be responsible for coordinating a print advertising campaign.

This group will be jacks-of-all-trades, given the varied small components they will produce. Members of this group will have the option of working independently on some of these ancillaries, some of which will require technical writing (e.g. the press release), whereas others will offer lots of creative freedom (e.g. the teaser trailer and website). This group’s work will be spread relatively evenly across the semester, and there will be quite a bit of flexibility for due dates for specific components.