Film Directing Fundamentals

Nicholas T. Proferes was the director/cameraman and editor of Free at Last, a 90-minute documentary on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which was awarded Best Documentary at the Venice Film Festival in 1969; director of photography and editor of Wanda, a feature film directed by Barbara Loden, awarded Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival in 1971; and co-producer, director of photography, and editor of The Visitors, a feature film directed by Elia Kazan. In 2008, his screenplay Romeros, Julieta, & the General won best screenplay at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival; and in 2009, his screenplay Handsome Harry, directed by Bette Gordon, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. He is Professor Emeritus at Columbia University. Laura J. Medina is an educator and filmmaker. She has professional production credits on a wide variety of productions including studio and independent feature films, documentaries and TV series. Laura directed three short narrative films, screened at film festivals all over the U.S. Since 2011 she has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Film and Theatre at the University of New Orleans, where she teaches producing, directing and advanced production. Laura has a BA in Political Science from Antioch College, an MFA in Filmmaking from New York University, and is a member of the Directors Guild of America.

Part One: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1: Introduction to Film Language and Grammar
Chapter 2: Introduction to the Dramatic Elements Embedded in the Screenplay
Chapter 3: Organizing Action in a Dramatic Scene
Chapter 4: Staging
Chapter 5: Camera
Chapter 6: Camera in NOTORIOUS Patio Scene

Part Two: MAKING YOUR FILM

Chapter 7: Detective Work On Scripts
Chapter 8: Staging and Camera For The Piece Of Apple Pie
Chapter 9: Marking Shooting Script With Camera Setups
Chapter 10: Work With Actors
Chapter 11: Managerial Responsibilities of the Director
Chapter 12: Postproduction

Part Three: ORGANIZING ACTION IN AN ACTION SCENE

Chapter 13: Staging and Camera for Over Easy Action Scene

Part Four: ORGANIZING ACTION IN A NARRATIVE SCENE

Chapter 14: Staging and Camera for Wanda Narrative Scene

Part Five: LEARNING THE CRAFT THROUGH FILM ANALYSIS

Chapter 15: Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious
Chapter 16: Peter Weir's The Truman Show
Chapter 17: Federico Fellini's 8 1/2
Chapter 18: Styles And Dramatic Structures
Chapter 19: What's Next?

Bibliography

Index