INFO SESSION: SPRING 2021 343/388P CINEMA LABORATORY • DEBORAH EVE LEWIS

In the Cinema Laboratory, you’ll make around ten short films – most shooting happening during our class time – with the emphasis being on making, taking risks and exploring the cinematic form on an elemental level. There will be failures and triumphs—all work strengthening and stretching our ability to express ideas and feelings through picture and sound.

Cinema Laboratory’s practice of consistent moviemaking aims to create a space and time where filmmaking efforts are not expensive and precious, but intuitive, brief, engaging, and challenging in a fast-paced workshop setting. Motivated, hard-working, curious and highly creative students are sought to participate.

Throughout the semester-long laboratory, we will sharpen our cinema-making skills through attention to process and experimentation in order to move to a higher level of precision in our work. We will take many exercises from the notebook of Robert Bresson, who wrote, “It is with something clean and precise that you will force the attention of inattentive eyes and ears.” Precision arises through both practice and experimentation.

Please contact Deb Lewis with any questions regarding Cinema Laboratory to be sure your educational interests are in line with the course. Or check out the course webpage.