USC SCHOOL OF CINEMA-TELEVISION

CTPR 290 – PRODUCTION ONE SPRING 2009

INSTRUCTOR: Alan Shapiro : Writing/Directing

a.shapiro@usc.edu www.lakewalloon.com

(626) 844-1849

CTPR 241:

Gary Wagner : Cinematography gwagner_cinematog@yahoo.com www.gwagner-dp.com (562) 491-3441

CLASS: Mon/Wed 6-10pm / SCA 203

S.A: Robert Hill robertgh@usc.edu 850-225-9306

ACTING LAB: John Furarrow JAFurarrow@aol.com

(323) 666-1870

OTHER CONTACTS: Peter Kolstad (213) 743-4685 Joe Wallenstein (213) 740-7126 Avid Labs (213) 743-4673 Zemeckis (213) 743-2702 Nic Wagner (213) 743-5230

Course Description:

An introduction to the fundamentals of filmmaking through hands-on exercises and projects, including the principals and craft of story, aesthetic criticism and ethics, and the technical means of visual storytelling.

290 SYLLABUS / SPRING 2009 : SHAPIRO

W E L C O M E ! A long time ago I had the good fortune to begin film school under the tutelage of the fiery grand-daddy of NYU Film, the late great Haig Manoogian, mentor to Scorsese (to whom he dedicated “Raging Bull”), Oliver Stone, Marty Brest, and countless others. Haig championed the take-no-prisoners New York City brand of film making, which all but guaranteed us newbies a full helping of clusterf*#!s. Precisely what he intended. It was befitting that we shot on the mythic Bell & Howell Filmo -- a windup 16mm tank of a camera from the battlefields of WWII built to take a bullet and bring home the footage. I liked to think of that camera as a metaphor for the perseverance and thick skin he taught us any good filmmaker needed to succeed. Haig’s celebrated beginning film course at NYU was called “Sight & Sound,” and 290 is essentially USC’s equivalent. It was a safe harbor to experiment and fall on your face, over and over again. I took a lot of other classes over the ensuing four years. With cooler cameras. But it was in “Sight & Sound” that I learned the immutable fundamentals of making movies. I’m here to tell you that after all the classes, apprenticeships slave labor, and 25 years writing and directing features and TV, I continue to draw on my “Sight & Sound” experience for sustenance. I’m no Haig, but I hope I can make your 290 semester similarly meaningful. Because at the end of the day, if I’ve learned anything, it is this: From USC 290 to big studio features, the essential work of making a great movie -- telling a good story with pictures -- remains the same.