AFI Film Workshops At Montgomery College

In partnership with AFI, Montgomery College Takoma Park Campus offers film workshops each year in February, May and July, providing students the opportunity to study with recognized professionals in the field.

To register for any of the workshops listed below, please call 240.567.1407.

For further information on AFI Film Workshops @ Montgomery College, click here

WORKSHOPS

FCP 101 An Overview of Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Express

This two day hands-on course introduces students to the primary feature set and basic interface of Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Express. In this course you learn to perform basic editing functions such as: edit in the timeline, trim, set markers, capture video and audio, apply transitions and import/export media files. This course is designed for the beginner looking to learn the basics of Final Cut Pro. Familiarity with MAC OSX preferred.

Instructor: Abba Shapiro (see bio below)

Saturday, March 1, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 2, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Fee: $350

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 20 STUDENTS

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FCP 201 Advanced Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Express
(FCP 101 or 6 months experience with FCP required)

This two day hands-on course takes students deeper into the editing environment using Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Express. Topics include adjusting and customizing preferences and settings; advanced video capturing; audio techniques; various editing and trimming techniques; ripple, roll, slip and slide tools; audio editing and audio creation; compositing, layering, and motion paths; finishing and final output.

This course is designed for those who want to learn to edit professional quality video using Final Cut Pro.

Instructor: Abba Shapiro (see bio below)

Saturday, May 17, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 18, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Fee: $350

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 20 STUDENTS

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: BOTH FCP WORKSHOPS FEE: $600

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DIGITAL VIDEO MOVIEMAKING FOR THE BEGINNER

Learn the basics of digital video moviemaking. You will shoot, direct and edit a short scene and leave with a DVD copy of the scene. You will learn and perform the jobs of director, director of photography, sound recordist, camera assistant and editor. The course will consist of four days over two weekends. Each day, lunch will be provided. Students will need to provide at least one actor, available for the director's four-hour shoot on the first Sunday of the workshop (April 6). All equipment is supplied by the workshop.

Learn:
• Shooting with a Canon XL1
• Basic composition
• Basic lighting
• Basic sound recording and use of microphones
• Working with actors
• iMovie digital editing (picture, sound and music)
• iDVD and Garage Band

Instructor: Perry Schwartz (see bio below)

Saturday, April 5 & Sunday, April 6, and Saturday, April 12 & Sunday, April 13, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. each day

Fee: $650

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 12 STUDENTS

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SUMMER DIGITAL MOVIE MAKING WORKSHOP 2008
Make Your Own Short Movie

This comprehensive movie production experience offers aspiring filmmakers a chance to put their own vision on videotape. In this intensive three-weekend workshop, participants will learn the nuts and bolts of motion picture production. You will write, direct and edit your own two- to three-minute short movie. As a crew member of a four-person team, you will also operate a camera, set up lighting, use a boom mic and record sound. Come to the first meeting with a script idea. You'll learn to:

• Work with professional actors (provided by the workshop)
• Shoot with a Canon XL-1
• Use Final Draft (screenwriting) and iMovie (editing) software

Instructor: Perry Schwartz (see bio below)

Three Weekends
Friday - Sunday, June 13 - 15, 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday - Sunday, June 20 - 22, 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday - Sunday, June 27 - 29, 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Screening at AFI Silver: Sunday, July 13

Call 301.650.1407 for special application form and detailed schedule.

Fee: $1,200 (NO DISCOUNTS)

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO EIGHT (8) STUDENTS
Adults, age 16 and older, only.

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BASICS OF LIGHTING FOR FILM AND TELEVISION

Day 1: Saturday morning will be spent learning the basic principles of lighting for film and television. These principles will be followed by a lighting demonstration which will incorporate the principles learned.

Saturday afternoon will be spent with the participants doing a hands-on workshop. Participants will set up various lighting assignments and shoot those setups on miniDV Canon XL1 cameras.

Day 2: Sunday morning the previous days shooting will be reviewed and analyzed. The lighting principles learned the previous day will be evaluated in terms of the setups that were shot on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon will be spent reviewing current product developments, lighting planning and ordering, samples of lighting packages for small productions, documentaries, and features.

Instructor: Stephen Lighthill (see bio below)

Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23.
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.

Fee: $200

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 20 STUDENTS

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DEVELOPING STORIES THAT MATTER IN DOCUMENTARY FILMS

Successful documentaries come from the heart, reflecting the passions of the filmmaker. But how does a documentary filmmaker working on a story that can make a difference avoid being preachy or didactic?

Award winning filmmakers Susan and Christopher Koch are known for making films about serious issues that are entertaining and engaging. In this workshop they reveal the methods and techniques for making films that matter that people will watch and enjoy.

With examples from their own, other documentaries and selected readings, they will present the essential first steps for successful filmmaking:

• Identifying an issue and finding people whose personal stories will be compelling and moving.
• As the filming begins, nurturing and developing these central characters by gaining their complete trust and getting them to open up in front of a camera.
• The filming style must lend itself to story telling, to the creation of scenes with a beginning, middle and end.

Each participant is expected to bring a story idea that will be developed in groups using these and other basic documentary storytelling principles.

Instructors: Christopher and Susan Koch (see bio below)

Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4.
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.

Fee: $200

ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 20 STUDENTS

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INSTRUCTORS

Abba Shapiro is an award-winning writer/producer/director with over 20 years experience in video and film production. He is also a lead instructor for Apple's certified training program and the administrator of the Washington DC Final Cut Pro Users group. He is co-author of an advanced tips and tricks book, Final Cut Pro on the Spot. His production company, Shapiro Video & Multimedia, has done work in every format, from DVCam to 35mm film, for a wide range of clients, including USA Today, The Associated Press Television Network, NASA, and the Department of Defense.

Perry Schwartz is the head of the film program at Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. He has been a theater and film director for the past 40 years. His production company, Ol' Black Bear Productions, has produced several short films, including the 1992 Rosebud Award winner for best narrative film, SOAP OPERA. Schwartz has an MFA in filmmaking and theater directing from Ohio University. His most recent project is a video adaptation of the short play, Rats, by Israel Horovitz, which won an ITVADC 2007 Peer Award.

Christopher Koch's work has appeared on ABC, NBC, HBO, PBS, National Public Radio, The Discovery Channel, Turner Broadcasting, National Geographic Television, American Movie Classics, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, and the Hallmark Channel. He has received six national Emmy Awards including the first President's Award for superior, socially responsible programming;the George Foster Peabody Award; a Cable ACE; the Environmental Media Award; and the Overseas Press Club's Edward R. Murrow Award. He produced the Peabody award winning documentary, NORMANDY: THE GREAT CRUSADE and created/produced, for five years, the award-winning series INVENTION on the Discovery Channel.

Susan Koch is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker. Koch's most recent feature documentary, KICKING IT, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and will be released theatrically, on DVD, and broadcast on ESPN. Koch directed the critically acclaimed documentary CITY AT PEACE, which screened at film festivals throughout the world and broadcast on HBO. Koch co-directed and produced the feature documentary, MARIO'S STORY, which premiered at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival where it received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. She was a producer at NBC News and WETA-TV, the public television station in Washington, D.C., working on a wide variety of documentary specials, news programs, live concerts, and political events.

Stephen Lighthill, ASC, is the Senior Filmmaker-in-Residence: Cinematography, at the AFI Conservatory. During the 1960s while shooting for CBS News and 60 MINUTES, Lighthill created one of the first shoulder-held news cameras. His film SONS AND DAUGHTERS, about the Vietnam War, launched his career filming social issue documentaries. Among the hundreds of documentaries he has filmed are GIMME SHELTER, and BERKELEY IN THE '60s. His cinematography credits for independent features include OVER-UNDER, SIDEWAYS-DOWN; HOT SUMMER WINDS; and SHIMMER, for PBS' American Playhouse. Lighthill served as Director of Photography on the TV series VIETNAM WAR STORY for HBO, EARTH 2, NASH BRIDGES and THE HUNTRESS, and many made-for-television features. In 2005 he returned to documentaries with HBO's, BOFFO! TINSELTOWNS BOMBS AND BLOCKBUSTERS. In 2000, the Society of Operating Cameramen honored him with its President's Award.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

Cancellation Policy If you wish to cancel a course registration, you must submit a request in writing no later than two working weeks prior to the beginning of the course. No refunds will be granted after that period. Refunds may take 8 - 10 weeks to process and will reflect a 10% handling charge.

Other Requirements and Policies AFI and Montgomery College reserve the right to refuse admission at any time to those who do not meet the published requirements or who are deemed disruptive or disrespectful to other participants or instructors. AFI and Montgomery College reserve the right to replace pre-announced instructors or speakers with professionals of equal caliber.

How to Register All registrations will be taken by Montgomery College Takoma Park Campus, not by AFI. Please register early. All registration is on a first-come, first served basis. Class size for some sessions is limited; space cannot be reserved without payment in full and is not guaranteed at the door.

Registration form download PDF

For more information, please call 240.567.1407

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