Production

Cinema Workshop's films start with the pitch. Near the end of the fall semester and into the winter break, the executive board listens to student pitches. The process and guidelines are outlined here. If you'd like to pitch your film to us, you'll have to fill out this form.

Once a film is approved, and the director and producers are decided on, it goes into pre-production. This group will decide the logistics, such as the crew, necessary equipment, locations, and shoot dates. The director and the chosen Director of Photography (DP) will then sit down and discuss the visuals of the film, creating a shot list. The DP will create a series of storyboards to later guide filming. The shot list is handed off to the Assistant Director (AD) who uses it to create a schedule for each shooting day. Before filming begins, the producer will make sure that everything and everyone is accounted for, and that the project has all of its legal clearances to begin filming.

This is the process of principal photography and direct sound recording. The process varies from set-to-set, but the usual process is as follows: The crew arrives on set and sets up their equipment. The director and DP work with the camera crew, lighting crew, sound crew, actors, and vanities to set up and record each shot. The AD makes sure things stay on schedule, and the script supervisor oversees continuity between shots and takes.

After the shoot has concluded, all recorded footage and audio is passed on to post-production. The editor(s) will work to process and put together these pieces to create the film. They may bring in others to complete specific parts of the process, such as a sound designer to score and mix the soundtrack.

When everything is set and done, Cinema Workshop usually unveils our finished projects at the Spring Premiere. After the premiere, films are posted on the club's YouTube channel. From there, the films' directors can take their final products where they wish, such as to film festivals. Crew members and actors can add these films to their portfolios.