Filmmaking Curriculum

During the summer at Studio Village — the unique on-campus movie set at UNCSA — high school students and rising college first years immerse themselves for four weeks in the exciting world of narrative filmmaking. The conservatory’s dedication to developing the whole filmmaker extends to this comprehensive hands-on college-preparatory summer program. Students here will experience all elements of filmmaking first–hand: screenwriting, cinematography, directing, producing and digital editing.

Students will also gain an understanding of the creative, analytical, organizational and cooperative elements of filmmaking and develop their own individual short narrative films, all with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, professional instruction from our artist-teachers, enthusiastic coaching and feedback from college teaching assistants and the collaborative efforts of fellow student filmmakers.  The Filmmaking intensive course offers curricula for Rising Filmmakers (any and all students with no prior experience), and Advanced Filmmakers (returning students and students with previous filmmaking courses and experience).

The Filmmaking Summer Intensive program is a five-week curriculum from June 15 to July 19 and is divided in two portions.

Phase One

Sunday, June 15 to Friday, June 20 is held online. It covers the theories of screenwriting, directing, cinematography and editing. Students check into their UNCSA Residence Life facilities the morning of Sunday, June 22.

Phase I Schedule

Sunday, June 15

• 4 p.m. EST (1 p.m. PT) All School Orientation Session

Monday, June 16 through Friday, June 20

• 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (EST) On-line classes on Screenwriting, Directing Cinematography, and Editing
• 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. (EST)  Lunch break
• 3:30 – 7 p.m. (EST)  On-line classes on Screenwriting, Directing Cinematography, and Editing

Phase Two

Sunday, June 22 to Friday, July 19 is held at UNCSA.  Students move to campus the morning of Sunday, June 22.  Phase two instruction starts at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 22 with an Orientation Session for students and parents in Film Village Main Theater. The face-to-face portion of training will begin on Monday, June 23 with hands-on training on hardware and software. Students will be enrolled in sections made up by 11 to 12 students and supervised by upper classmen Teaching Assistants (TAs). Classes are held daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a hour-long lunch break from 1-2 p.m. Please note that classes will be held on Friday, July 4 in order to cover all of the curriculum material.

Saturdays and Sundays are generally free, however, students are expected to work on writing and revising their narrative scripts and conceptualizing and visualizing them according to the training they received during preparation and preproduction period. Also, screenings and subsequent seminars will be held covering classic and recent films of worth and value will we held Saturdays and Sundays to help students develop equally balanced creative and analytical skills. Attendance at the weekend screenings and analyses is optional but highly encouraged.

As students progress in their training they will be enrolled in a production schedule and will serve in leadership positions in a rotating order. As projects gradually complete their postproduction students will be enrolled in specialty classes on portrait photography, screenwriting, directing, cinematography, editing and producing.  Final screenings of all student films developed in the program are scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, July 17 and the morning and afternoon of Friday, July 18. Instruction will end on Saturday, July 19 with an optional morning Q&A session for both parents and students on film programs in higher education. All residential students must be moved out of their dormitories by 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 19. Both domestic and international students are welcome to participate in the UNCSA School of Filmmaking renowned summer program.

View a Sample Schedule of Phase 2 (on campus)

For further information, contact Janos J. Kovacsi at 336-770-1341 or email kovacsi@uncsa.edu.