The latvian academy of culture

Requirements for the Acquisition of Credit Points:

1. Presence at all seminars and classes.

2. An oral examination

Literature:

The Oxford History of World Cinema, ed. By Geoffrey Niweell – Smith, Oxford Univ.Press, 1996

Film and International History of the Madium by Robert Sklar, Harry N.Abrams, Inc. N.Y., 1995

Enciklopedia of the Movies, gen.ed. Derek Winnert in association with Museum of the moving image. Virgin Books, 1995

Базен А.Что токое кино. Москва, Искуство, 1972

Годар Ж. Л. Страст между чёрным и белым., Изд. Гийом, 1994

Бергман И. Картины., Изд. Музей кино., Москва 1997

Киновидичесские записки 1988 – 2000., Москва

Журнал «Исскуство кино».,1999 – 2000, Москва

DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY COURSE

The Name of the Course: Camerawork
The Scope of the Course: 672 academic hours (96 academic hours per term (7 terms); 130 hours of lectures, 100 hours of watching and analysis of video material, 220 hours of practical classes, 120 hours of individual work, 102 hours of video watching).

20 credit points. The type of assessment: an examination.

Modifications of the course on Camerawork course: in the scope of 192 hours, 80 hours, 64 hours the following is delivered for:

1) the speciality study course in The History and Theory of Audio-visual Culture: 192 hours,

2) the MA study course in Cinema-video Direction: 80 hours;

3) the speciality study course in TV Direction: 64 hours;

4) the speciality study course in Cinema, Theatre and TV Drama: 32 hours.
The Author of the Course: Prof. Kalvis Zalcmanis
Preconditions for the Acquisition of the Course: Prior knowledge in the history of art and the cinema. Skills in taking photos and filming.
The Contents of the Course: Students film their practical work parallely with lectures, then each work is analysed on the screen in the presence of all students. If need be the film is redone. Starting with the 2^nd year starting students film their annual work and present it during the examination spring session. During Term VII applications for BA Work are submitted and approved. The BA Work is filmed during Term VIII. The objective of the course is the acquisition of skills in camerawork. The course provides theoretical knowledge and practical skills in filming. Students acquire composition in a frame, learn to work professionally with a camera, lights and optics.
Thematic Planning:

Theme	Week	Type of Classes and Hours
General characteristics of the profession of a cameraman. The artistic means of expression for a cameraman (light, colour, the movements of the camera, framing).	1.-3.	L2;L2;V4; CXVIII.P4;P4
Composition. The composition of a photograph in contradistinction to the composition of a film frame. Language of composition rules. Lines, forms, masses, movements.	4.-6.	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
Compositional balance. Symmetrical composition. Asymmetrical composition. The centre of interest. Central, diagonal and multi-plan composition.	7.-9.	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
Lighting facilities. Spotlights, the sources of floodlights, battery light, reflectors.	10.	L2; P4;P4
Cinema-video portrait light. Keylight, fill-in light, contrast light, modelling and background illumination. Application. Rembrandt illumination.	11.-14.	L2;L2;L2;V4; P4;P4;P4;P4; P4;P4; P4;P4; P4;P4
Illumination in mode. The relationship of sky and face brightness. Variants.	15.-16.	L2;V4; P4;P4
Effect illumination in the interior, decoration and nature.	17.-18.	L2;V4; P4;P4
The multiplicity of natural illumination. Illumination in the sun. Variants. Tonal Illumination. Air perspective. The characteristic features of light in fog, snow and rain.	19.-21.	L2;L2;V4
The application of artificial light in nature. The specific features of the illumination by the spotlights of the Walt circle in sunlight and in mode. Illumination at night.	22.-24.	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
The specific features of the application of illumination in the interior.	25.-26.	L2;L2; P4;P4
The distribution of lights in decorations. Mise-en-scenes of actors and their illumination. The drama task. General mise-en-scene and the character of light.	27.-29	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4;P4
Tonality and colour in a frame. Filters, textures, filling with smoke, air environment. Coloured illumination.	30.-32.	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
The specific features of filming an “American night”.	33.-34.	L2;V4;P4;P4
Nature in a film. The specific features of filming in the tropics, mountains, the Equator, a desert, volcanic environment, at polar night.	35.-38.	L2;L2;L2;V4
Coverage. Filming in war conditions. The film “The Crossroads”. Candid camera. The application of long-focus optics. The specific features of filming children.	39.-41.	L2;L2;V2; P2;P2
The specific features of filming of documentary portrait films. Ethics of a cameraman (films “Life”, “The Joy of Being”, “A Talk to the Queen”).	42.-45.	L2;L2;V4; V4;V4
The types of a camera position. Objective and subjective camera. The position of viewpoints.	46.-48.	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
The size of the filming object in a frame. Vista shot. Long shot. Medium shot. Close-up.	49.-50.	L2;V4;P4
The position of a filming object. The height of the position of the camera. One level position. High and low position. Inclined camera positions. Application.	51.-53.	L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
A camera viewpoint (progressive, regressive, contrastive and reproductive). Choice and application.	54.-55.	L2;V4;P4;P4
The filming room and the principles of reflecting action. The change of camera position and optics.	56.	L2;P4
The planning of a staged episode. Determinant factors (technical, aesthetic, psychological, dramatic, editing, nature).	57.	L2
Close-ups. Classification. The types of close ups (zooming in , out and moving). The direction of a view. The position of a camera in a close-up. Movement during entering and exiting a close up. The tempo of a close-up. Background.	58.-61.	L2;L2;L2;V4; P4;P4;P4
The method of filming a basic shot. Advantages and drawbacks. Triple shot. Advantages and drawbacks. The choice between the two methods.	62.-64.	L2;L2;V6
Dynamic movement of the picture in a frame. Constant movement. Contrastive direction. Neutral direction.	65.-67.	L2;L2;V6
The axis of an action. The axis of a zigzag action. The axis of the action around a corner and through a pass. The axis of the action in duet shots.	68.-70.	L2;L2;V6; P6;P6;P6
Entering and exiting a frame. Turning back the direction of a picture (using the reaction close up).	71.-72.	L2;V4; P4;P4
The planning of a frame movement. Topographical direction. Orientation in decoration. The static direction of a frame.	73.-74.	L2;V4; P4;P4
The neutral direction of a view. The coordination of the direction of view when the objects are moving, in the classroom and in a circle. The coordination of the direction of view with shots inserted in the basic shot.	75.-78.	L2;L2;L2;V4; P4;P4
Reverse shots. Visual transitions. Classification.	79.-80.	L2;L2; P4;P4
Space and time of a cinema–video film. The course of time. Space. The coordination of the course of time and space.	81.	L2
Visual stylistic research in camerawork. The cameraman U.Brauns, films “White bells”, “Beginning”, “A Building”, “A Worker”.	82.-84.	L2;V6;V6;V6
The expressive features of illumination and composition. The cameraman E.Tise, the films “The Battleship Potemkin” and “Octobre”.	85.-87.	L2;V6;V6;V6
The illumination principles of the cameraman S. Nykvist. The coloristic solution of a picture. The films “A Person”, “The 7^th Stamp”, “Fannie and Alexander”.	88.- 91.	L2;V6;V6; V6;V6
The influence of applied arts on the visual stylistics of films. Renaissance. The film “Romeo and Julliet”, the cameraman De Santis. Wall-painting. The film “Ivan the Terrible”, “Alexander Nevski” and the cameraman E. Tise. German Expressionism. The film “The Cabinet of Dr Caligari”, the cameraman Hameister. Traditional Japanese art. The film “Rashomon”, “Seven Samurai”, the cameraman Miyakawa.	92.-96.	L2;L2;L2;V4; V4;V4;V4;V4;V4;V4
Colour drama in a film. Colour movement in a frame. The film “A Man and a Woman”, the cameraman C. Lelouch. Repainting nature. The film “The Red Desert” M. Antonioni. Colour symbolism, the film “Kundun”, the director Scorsese. “Gabbeh”, the director M.Makmalbaf.	97.-100.	L2;L2;V4;V4 V4;V4
The aesthetics of a black-and-white picture. The influence of graphics by Dürer and Cranach. The film “Hamlet”, “King Lear”, the cameraman J.Gricjus. Asceticism in a picture. The film “The Dead”, the director J. Jarmusch. The film “Joanna, the Mother of Angels”, the cameraman J. Woicki.	101. – 104.	L2;V4;V4;V4 V6;V6;V6
Released camera, the film “A Friend Among Strangers, a Stranger Among Friends”, the cameraman P. Lebeshev. The continuous movement of a camera and the inner editing of a frame, the cameraman of the film “Sacrifice” S. Nykvist. A camera as a participant in an event. The film “The Cranes are Flying”, the cameraman S.Urusevski.	105.-107.	L2;V6;V6; V6;V6; P6;P6
The collision of the visual stylistics of documantary and feature films. The film “A Boy”, “Apple in the River”, the cameraman D.Sīmanis.	108.-109.	L2;V6
The application of the latest technologies in the visual solution of films. The film “The Fifth Element”, the director L.Besson. “Matrix’”, the director E. Lachowski, “Star Wars, Episode1: The Phantom Menace”, the director G. Lucas.	110.-112.	L2;V6;V6;V6