The Director is simply one who takes charge of, and is responsible for, all the elements that go in making a movie. Directors are versatile people- independent, creative and sometimes geniuses; the directors are the driving force in shaping an art of cinema and leave behind their personal stamp on film making. They are the real superstars of movie business. They are the God.
The world is full of aspiring directors. Only the best make it.
Those students selected for the IMI's 18 Months full time Film Direction course will be provided with a once in a lifetime opportunity to strengthen and increase their directing skills to the point where they stand out from the crowd.
First Semester
In the first semester of Advanced Diploma in Film Direction program, you don't just attend the classes; you live every moment of it- morning, noon, and night, total immersion in all aspects of filmmaking. As a Direction student, you are required to have a broad knowledge and mastery of many skills. It focuses on the many responsibilities of the director and film crew to successfully take a project from script to screen.
Term One - A Foundation in Filmmaking
The first term is dedicated to the principle of learning how to think an idea as images, how to tell a story in pictures. The centre of the term is the film exercises, which provide the platform for basic teaching in film language and its grammar, the foundation of filmic storytelling - story structure, characterization, pattern of script development, format and genre through lectures, extensive hands-on workshops and immediate directing experience. You will also have to practice basic production management skills and learn business procedure of filmmaking.
In parallel, students will learn camera skills, exposure control and lenses, practical on Sony Full HD PMW-300 Camera & Canon C-500 Camera, sound recording exercises and editing on AVID Media Composer.
Every four weeks you direct one short film, in which students work in units of five to six and in rotation share the responsibility; from screenwriting to operating camera, production designing to recording sound, securing permission for outdoor shooting to editing. You try your hand at every discipline. An emphasis is placed on the cooperation and interaction of various disciplines and director's ability to communicate with team, to know what everybody does on a film, the difficulties and technical issues. It gives you empathy. You get proper command of this collaborative craft.
Each student gets the hand-on experience of working on at least 12 film projects, 6 of which he or she directs him or herself on series of assigned topics.
Their work is constantly assessed critically by their teachers who are industry professionals. The student applies the experience gained through this process to the next project, and the learning process continues.
Term Two- Advance filmmaking Techniques
The second term is intense and exciting. Their aesthetic, technical and craft skills of filmmaking techniques are further honed in the core areas- developing drama script, scripting & interviewing techniques for documentary, principle of continuity & break down of scene into shots.
The term introduces students to theory & practical for location & indoor lighting, camera operation, recording sync sound on location, different editing style, artistic and technical use of sound & music, laying multiple sound tracks and sound mixing- drawing upon a rich pool of international and national award winning films crossing themes and genres i.e. drama, comedy, thrillers, documentaries. The students master skills in advance filmmaking techniques:
Sequence construction
Multi-camera set up
Personality based and social issue Documentaries
By the end of both the term of first semester, students finish close to 20 films, 6 of which are independently directed projects.
These film exercises serve as a practice and foundation for more complex and ambitious group projects in the second semester where students take all the aesthetic decisions, solving problems similar to those faced by professional director.
Second Semester
In second semester, the requirements and expectations from students are very high. The students are encouraged to develop their personal orientation to this most complex of all arts: their syntactic narrative skills, their understanding of the pattern of possibilities presented by a script, their capacity to create results with their collaborators, their ability to construct expressive mise-en-scene.
Term Three- Directing Actors
By the middle of second semester, the course involves an element of observation of professional practice where students learn by doing. There are an important series of directing actor workshops and working with actors is a major component of these which include:
Casting professionally and successfully
Communicating effectively with actors from a wide range of background
Diverse range of acting methods and techniques
Working with children and non actors
Directing rehearsals using improvisation exercises
Character development
Giving playable direction under the pressured environment of a film set
Creating Dynamic, moment by moment performances
Q&A sessions with established actors and directors
The course includes a trip to India's leading film making centre- Mumbai in which students visit finest acting academies to gain first hand experience of how actors are trained for the screen. The students take part in acting classes to experience receiving direction as well as giving it.
Simultaneously, through series of master classes, workshops, extensive exercise and complete production, students gradually enhance their story telling skills by interpreting- feature scripts, TV script, shorts for drama, comedy & thriller and they learn how to asses the dramatic and filmic merits of a script. Each student directs multiple projects that include Dialogue exercises and Mise-en-Scene exercises.
More details of Third Semester - Advanced Screen Direction and Faculty
At IMI I have not only understood the "mechanics" of filmmaking but also its "human element". One most important aspect to succeed in this movie making business that I learnt here is the people skill. We learnt how to develop immediate bonding with the crew members. I have understood my short-comings, my weaknesses. Having learnt to understand the needs and views of my colleagues, now I have become a better team worker and a good organizer.
Abhirama Motiani, Software Engineer / Film Director
The term introduces students to theory & practical for location & indoor lighting, camera operation, recording sync sound on location, different editing style, artistic and technical use of sound & music, laying multiple sound tracks and sound mixing- drawing upon a rich pool of international and national award winning films crossing themes and genres i.e. drama, comedy, thrillers, documentaries. The students master skills in advance filmmaking techniques: