JOIN USA peep into a movie set
The workshop focussed on introducing its participants to the chaotic world of movie-making and gave them an insight into the work that actually goes into creating a movie.
During the first half of the workshop, Kurt strived to create an environment that was as close to possible of being on a real movie set. He gave the audience a brief about the struggles that any director has to make, in terms of choices.
After a quick lecture on the different camera angles and shots that a director has to select while making a film, he called up a few of the participants to enact a few scenes.
The first one revolved around two men sitting at a bus stop, with one stealing the other’s wallet and running away. Kurt ran the audience through the difficulties of shooting mobile subjects and the different points that have to be kept in mind while selecting which shot to use – wide-shots to give the viewers of the film a full perspective, medium-shots to focus on smaller details and close-ups to enhance emotions.
The audience was also given copies of a script for a commercial, which revolved around a girl who was shooting a movie at home with her family members and the frustrating process of getting them to cooperate.
Pulling up members of the audience to play the different parts in the script, Kurt once again created an environment that was very similar to a movie set. He focussed on the need for the camera to follow emotions, rather than dialogues, and stressed a few key points that every film-maker must always keep in point – such as the central figure of the piece and the need to follow an actors’s reactions.
During the second half of the workshop, Kurt gave a lecture on different career options in the world of media. While he stressed the fact that the industry is booming and needs trained specialists, he also warned that it wasn’t the ideal profession, since it requires long hours and holds a lot of uncertainity.
The workshop ended with a question-answer session, wherein the audience put forth several queries regarding the manner in which movies are marketed, whether low-budget films can actually do well and the steps they’d need to take to get a good position in the media industry.