3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Why are we drawn to stories … and why do we react so emotionally, viscerally, even physically to flickering images on screens (of all sizes)? What techniques do the most skillful, most agile cinematic storytellers apply to affect their audience and compel us to journey alongside? This course will examine cinematic “storytellers” and the multiple creative decisions they make in some of the most impactful films of the past 50 years. By “storytellers”, we include directors (of course) but also the writers, cinematographers, composers, editors, actors and other key personnel (sometimes creative producers as well) who join with the director to collaborate and elevate a story and the characters who dwell within. Discover how choices in sound, lighting, acting, music, shot selection and story/character development can dynamically and instrumentally affect the audience. Cinema provides a deeply personal lens, coupled with an enormous public reach, acting as both a reflection of - and an agent for - shifting perspectives on the world around us and our society. Together we will explore and analyze how cinematic storytellers' distinct choices on character, composition and conflict humanize our perspective on others' lives , different cultures, and complex issues far removed from our own --- and how you as developing storytellers can learn from such creative decision-making to craft your own stories.