Module I – **AUGUST CLASS*OPEN REGISTRATIONS**
Teacher: Daniela Castilho is a plastic artist, designer and art director, graduated in Fine Arts from Mackenzie University, São Paulo, with a specialization in Art History. She is currently General Coordinator at Educine – Cultural Association of Education and Cinema.
Daniela Castilho has been working in photography and digital art since 1990. He worked from 1991 to 1995 as the author and producer of courses in distance learning by IUB/IUBRA, being the author of Photography, Silk-Screen, Artistic Drawing, Advertising and Painting courses. The experience with distance learning is reported in the article “New teaching and learning technologies: the internet, technology and virtual environments” published in the Journal O Olho da História.
Daniela worked as a designer and Art Director in short films awarded from 1993 to 1995, with directors Helena Tassara, Daniel Moreno Sant’Anna and Luis Dantas and in advertising cinema with directors Walter Salles Jr, Ricardo and Léa Van Steen, Daniela Thomas, among others. He worked from 1996 to 2004 with design and art for websites, online multimedia and video. Developed 3D projects for online VRML and add us for PC games. From 2005, he began to teach digital photography (still) and art direction in cinema, assuming the overall coordination of Educine.
The course of Art Direction in Cinema was created in 2005 and taught in the Planet Screen Cultural Space, the NGO Propensar and the NGO Educational Action, through Educine. Daniela has already given lectures on cinema at Espaço Cultural Planeta Tela, at the Seminar of Audiovisual Direction Educine, at SENAC-SP (for students of the audiovisual course) and at the Carlos Gomes Cultural Workshop (Limeira).
Daniela Castilho aka DanicastDanicast is a graphic designer and artist.
Art Director Associated with ABCine – Brazilian Film Association
Art Director Associated with ABC – Brazilian Academy of Cinema
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MODULE I PROGRAM
General Objective of the Course:
– Provide students with a general sense of the production process and about the process of audiovisual art direction (cinema 35 mm and digital)
Specific Objectives:
– Encourage and develop interest in the process of audiovisual work production
– Encourage and develop interest in Art Direction for cinema
– Show the importance and process of Art Direction in cinema
– Develop a theoretical and practical basis for continued study of Art Direction in cinema
Program:
The Cinematic Process
– What is a film script and how does the Art Director work with that script
– Production and Direction Briefings; Direction and Photography: the inseparable partners of the Art Director
– Department of Art: scenography, costume, makeup, special effects
– Art Production: what it is and how it works, how to tailor the production to the desired result, how to carry out the art production
– Art Direction Work Methodology: how is an art direction created, the necessary elements, the process of assembling the team, distribution of tasks, how to fit the budget, how to assemble a schedule
– Scenario versus rental: how to choose; Object production; Costume production; Makeup: natural and special effect makeup; Special effects: elements that require special production (mockups, mockups, weapons, water, smoke, explosions, blood)
Techniques and work methodology
– The art direction as a complement to the story of the film; How to decouple a film script to know all the necessary elements that the art department will have to work with; Storyboard; Production Plan
– Art and Photography Direction: working in a team; Lighting and photography as interfering elements; The framing of the camera and the light in the composition of the Art Direction
– Preparing to film; Research in Art Direction, its importance in realization; Art production team; Checklists, Scene Objects
Concept and Technology
– Creativity and knowledge: the necessary techniques, the important elements to realize an efficient and qualitative art direction; What makes an art direction efficient; What makes an art direction be awarded; creativity versus budget
– Technology applied to art direction: what digital cinema and computer special effects techniques added to the work of the Art Director
– Commented classes: Analysis of films that had their art direction awarded; Directors, Photographers and the Art Direction: Kubrick; European cinema, Asian cinema; Contemporary cinema and innovations; how the work methodology of art direction has evolved through the decades
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MODULE II PROGRAM
General Objective of the Course:
– Provide students with a general sense of what style is in audiovisual art direction (cinema 35 mm and digital)
– Provide students with basic concepts of aesthetics in the audiovisual
Specific Objectives:
– Clarify the importance of style in authorial work
– Provide concepts of aesthetics, composition and use of colors
– Encourage and develop interest in the process of audiovisual work production
– Develop a theoretical and practical basis for continued study of Art Direction in cinema
Program:
What is style in art direction?
– Aesthetics as science; aesthetic concepts; composition and color
– The issue of style, the elements that define a style, the customization of the style
– As the sectors of the Department of Art (scenography, costume, makeup, special effects) contribute to modify visual elements and alter the final aesthetic product, the influence of each one on the style
– Working methodology of Art and Style Direction: analysis of how some art directors work in function of the film directors with whom they work
– Film directors who conduct author cinema: how do the art directors of these directors work, the contribution of art direction in author cinema
Techniques and work methodology
– Art Direction and Photography: the interference of light on objects; incident light and reflected light
– The question of color: how directors transform the color palette in support of narrative and personal style elements, color in light, color in objects
– How to use colors to compose the palette of a film
Concept and Style
– Technology applied to art direction: how to choose technologies to aesthetically complement an audiovisual product
– Commented classes:
– Shakespeare in the cinema
– Painting and Art in cinema
Analysis of films by directors who have their own style in art direction:
– Tim Burton: Gothic and dreamlike universe
– Peter Greenaway: the director who composes his films as paintings
– Fellini: the surrealism of the false artifacts and the imaginary universe of the director stuffed with cartoon characters
– Robert Altman: critical realism in character-centered stories
– David Cronenberg: complex visual universe
– Jim Jarmusch: “marginal” universe of the “American dream”
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Also read:
– Art direction: the difference is before your eyes – published in Gazeta Mercantil, in the Notebook Weekend
– Brazilian cinema in debate – Cultural Digestive, June 07, 2005
See also the course Fashion in Cinema.
Alumni
Commercial of Mizuno, directed by Oca Filmes, art direction by Luiz Ernani, a former student of the course of Art Direction in Cinema in the class of August 2006.
The advertising film can also be seen on the website of Oca Filmes, in the section “Recent Works”.
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The Documentary “HQ: the 9th art”, awarded the 19th HQMIX Trophy, as the best course completion work of 2006, directed by Priscilla Sodré, Daniela Santana, Vivian Conesa and Janaina Guimarães was chosen to represent the Anhembi Morumbi University at the Gramado Festival. The documentary was also selected for the following exhibitions and festivals:
– Festival de Belém do Cinema Brasileiro
– MOSCA – Cambuquira Audiovisual Show
– IV Panorama Documentary Reef
– Represent the Anhembi Morumbi University at the Gramado Festival
In addition to being one of the directors, Priscilla Sodré also made the art direction of the documentary. Priscilla took the art direction course in May/June 2007.
Guilherme Pedreiro is from Belo Horizonte and took the course in September 2006, taught at UNI-BH. The video below, _PósNeoPseudoFagia_ was selected for the 10th Tiradentes Film Show, held from January 19 to 27, 2007.
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Meet Mario Surcan’s Blog, where he puts making-of photos of the shorts he’s working on as an art director. Mario took the course in May/June 2006.
The music video below is a professional production of Thâmara Giampaolo for the band Fell City Girl. Thamara took the course in 2005 and has been living and working in London since late 2005.