Directing: Creating Your Short Film

Anyone with a smartphone can make a movie. But if you know how to scout some great locations, where to place the camera, and how to work with actors then you can make a great movie.

Sanford Bookstaver has worked as a director and producer in film and television for over twenty years on shows like: Dexter: New Blood, House MD, Power, Chicago Fire, and many others. As a USC alum, he’s excited to share his industry experience with aspiring filmmakers and demonstrate how to use creativity in lieu of professional resources.

Guiding you through the entire process of production, students will learn how to prepare a script for filming, assemble a highly collaborative team, and utilize readily available tools to pull off a successful shoot. Students will then learn how to use those tools to capture classic types of coverage and essential shots to bring their script to life. After shooting, students will learn how to navigate the post-production process to bring all of the parts together for an edited final cut.

By the end of the filmmaking process, students will earn a certificate of completion, engage in creative exercises, hear from industry experts, and get inspired from film clips and real-world examples of movie-making in action. At the culmination of the course, students will have completed a short film.

Featured Topics

• Pre-production
• Actors and Casting: Bringing Your Characters to Life
• Production Part 1: Preparing Your Scenes
• Production Part 2: Using Your Tools
• Post-production

Learning Outcomes
This course guides students through the entire filmmaking process from the early logistical stages of pre-production to successfully executing a film shoot and editing that footage. Through strategically using easily accessible tools and equipment, students will learn how to make a short film as professionally as possible with any budget.

Following the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Build a collaborative film team, scout locations, and prepare sets
• Conceptualize a script through creating a storyboard, shot list, and schedule
• Audition, rehearse, and prepare actors to get the performances you need
• Understand professional filmmaking tools and how to use alternative DIY equipment
• Execute the most classic types of coverage to capture a master shot
• Use different camera movements, lighting setups, filters, and lens to achieve a range of cinematic styles
• Undergo post-production to assemble footage, edit, apply elements of sound design and music to arrive at a final cut

Format and Course Length
The course consists of recorded lectures and demonstrations, film clips, and industry connections. Each topic provides context for key elements of creating a short film from pre-production to post. Students will engage with creative exercises to generate and revise work in order to complete the course with a final cut of a short film.

Combined coursework of recorded lectures and demonstrations, readings and watch lists, and assignments is approximately 20-25 -hours to be completed at the student’s own pace. Students are expected to complete the course in four-weeks but have 90-days of access if more time is needed.