Adventure Filmmakers’ Seminar
Course Outline 2007
Thursday, November 1
Morning Session
Introduction to course
Session 1
Anatomy of Success: An examination of previously completed and broadcast films: their production history, strengths and weaknesses. What can we learn from them and how might they shape our own future work?
An opportunity to analyse a small number of broadcast programmes to see what made them successful. While the emphasis will be on structure; story telling, acquisition and post production, in some instances we’ll have an insight into how they were pitched and sold to broadcasters.
Examination of the films that are successful in festivals vs. those sold to television.
Afternoon Session
Session 2
The Perfect Pitch, Part 1: Four examples for course participants to work on.
Is there such a thing as the perfect pitch? What are the qualities of the best pitches you’ve seen (or done!) How do you gain and hold commissioners’ interest and work successfully with co-production partners? How is the commissioning process evolving?
This will be a practical session where we’ll also be asking participants to either ‘adopt’ one of our four stories or to offer one of their own, work on it overnight and pitch it to the group tomorrow.
Additionally we’ll be discussing what materials are most useful in supporting a pitch and how you turn ‘interest’ into that elusive ‘firm offer’ for your next project.
Pitching to:
Sponsors
Investors
Studios
Television Networks
Friday, November 2
Morning Session
Session 3
The Perfect Pitch, Part 2: Pitching to the group – editorial and presentation skills.
Hone your pitching skills through the experience of pitching to the group. We’ll provide real-time feedback on how to make the most of the pitch; what elements of the story to highlight; on the strengths and weaknesses of the project as presented; and on the call to action that clinches the deal.
Afternoon Session
Workshop 1
Development
A chance for participants to undertake development work on their own project and receive feedback from the course resource people.
In an industry that is concerned with communication, many of us have to work in isolation – often not sure if we are maximising the successful potential of our project. This is an opportunity for course participants to discuss, in confidence, their own work and receive feedback on specific examples of it. These sessions can be based around any aspect of the production process on your next project, e.g. story development; structure; acquisition and post production elements.
Saturday, November 3
Banff Mountain Film Festival: an opportunity to view, examine and analyze a broad range of adventure films, and network with filmmakers, film festival directors, distributors and broadcasters.
Sunday, November 4
Banff Mountain Film Festival continued
Monday, November 5
Morning Session
Session 4
Shooting and Technology: Acquisition – getting the best out of the technology and making the most of what you’ve got.
Both Michael Brown and Richard Else are key players in developing and implementing a variety of new technologies in broadcast production. They will present an overview of the available technologies with an emphasis on low-cost but high-quality solutions for acquisition. With no sign of a slow down in these technologies, we’ll highlight the advantages they offer but also give some cautionary advice about the pitfalls. Course participants are invited to bring examples of their own work to this session. We'll also explore the opportunities offered by the various forms of High Definition video.
Afternoon Session
Workshop 2
Editing and Post Production: A chance for participants to work on their own projects in consultation with our resource people.
A further opportunity for course participants to discuss and develop aspects of their own work – with a chance to build upon earlier advice and upon lessons learned from films shown during the Mountain Film Festival.
Tuesday, November 6
Morning Session
Session 5
Narrative: Structure, script, narration and powerful story telling.
It can be argued that these elements are the Holy Grail of successful programme making. Yet while we can often recognise such elements in other peoples’ work, how do we continually improve them in our own work and choose the techniques appropriate for any particular project? Using examples of previous films from the Banff Festival together with participants’ own work, we’ll analyse what turns a good film into an award- winning one.
Afternoon Session
Workshop 3
Editing and Post Production: A chance for participants to work on their own projects in consultation with the group.
It is envisaged that this final workshop session will involve a number of specific case studies based on course participants’ own experience.
Whether you’ve struggled to achieve the perfect dub or wanted to know how to improve the feel of your images, this session will allow you to gain from everyone’s experience and share your own.
Depending on equipment availability, there may be an opportunity for participants to undertake a practical editing sessions using 'real world' rushes provided by the course team. The emphasis won't be on which button to press but on how sequences are structured; stories are developed and making the most of the available material.
Wednesday, November 7
Morning Session
Session 6
Post Production: an analysis of the suite of solutions that is available – and how to use them for maximum effect.
The post production process has been transformed by the arrival of desktop editing systems – perhaps most importantly, but not limited to, Apple’s Final Cut Studio. Today individual programme makers can not only cut their films but finish them with dubbing, effects, graphics and grading packages that only a few years ago were the preserve of high end facilities houses and producers with large budgets. We’ll be investigating the skills needed to get the most out of these packages.
Preparing for the edit, organizing tapes, ideas and resources. Music, titles, credits, Colour Correction, Audio Mix and get the finished feature broadcast ready.
Afternoon Session
Session 7
Open session: a summing up of the course & strategies for success.
An opportunity to review the main elements of the course and how to translate these into more successful programme making. A review of the opportunities now available to experienced adventure filmmakers and how to capitalise on them.
Summarising the similarities and differences on two sides of the Atlantic and even between Canada and the US.
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