Alexander Mackendrick on Film-making:

An introduction to the craft of the director

with Paul Cronin

18 & 19 June 2005

The Directors Guild of Great Britain presents

a two day workshop with Paul Cronin,

editor of the new book

On Film-making:

An introduction to the craft of the director

by Alexander Mackendrick

 

‘Invaluable...

I can easily imagine a college without a film program

building a curriculum around these writings.’
Martin Scorsese

director of TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS

 

This two day workshop is an excellent opportunity to learn about film-making from one of the masters of the medium. Mackendrick’s practical approach serves as one of the best introductions to the craft of film-making available to film students today. More experienced directors will also be able to refresh their knowledge and benefit from the wisdom of Mackendrick's thirty year career as a film-maker and his twenty-five years as a teacher.

A legendary teacher of cinema, Mackendrick’s writings were designed specifically for students, and are masterful studies of the two primary tasks confronting the film director: how to structure and write the story he wants to tell, and how to use those devices particular to the medium of film in order to tell that story as effectively as possible. Devoid of obscurantism, concentrating on the tangible rather than abstract and theoretical concepts of cinema as art, they reveal that Mackendrick had the talent not only to make films, but also to articulate with clarity what that process involved.

The workshop is structured around the new illustrated lecture MACKENDRICKON FILM which features never-before-seen footage of Mackendrick teaching and talking about his approach to film-making, and interviews with some of his former students and colleagues who discuss his ideas in detail.

Topics covered include:

-        Crafting a narrative screenplay

-        Turning your script into a film

-        How the director works with actors

-        ‘When not to write a shooting script’

-        Why you should always try to cut dialogue from your script

-        How ‘Movies show and then tell’

-        Why a ‘clever plot’ might not be a good starting point for your story

-        Why props and 'incidental business' are crucial to the job of the director

-        ‘The Pre-verbal Language of Cinema’

-        Why you should beware of flashbacks

-        ‘Exposition is boring unless it is in the context of some present dramatic tension or crisis’

-        ‘Passivity is a capital crime in drama’

-        ‘The role of the antagonist may have more to do with the structure of the plot than the character of the protagonist’

-        Setting the fuse and the obligatory scene

-        How different camera angles and movement help create different emotions in the audience

-        ‘What is happening now is apt to be less dramatically interesting than what may or may not happen next’

-        ‘If you’ve got a beginning but don’t yet have an end, then you’re mistaken: you don’t have the right beginning’

-        ‘Drama is expectation mingled with uncertainty’

-        Use of the foil character

-        Why a good story can be told from the point of view of any character

-        Why you should always look for the longest axis on your set

-        ‘What you leave out is as important as what you leave in’

-        Postcarding as a method of structuring your story

As well as being inspired by Mackendrick’s hands-on approach to film teaching, novice students will leave the workshop equipped with many invaluable craft-based ideas that will help at all times when writing and directing. More experienced students will have their understanding of the craft greatly enriched. The workshop is also a good introduction for students considering lengthier film studies.

About Alexander Mackendrick

Alexander Mackendrick is regarded as one of Britain’s most important film directors. Between 1949 and 1967 he directed nine features, including the classic comedy THE LADYKILLERS with Alec Guinness and the cult favourite SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS. He left film-making in 1969 and spent nearly twenty-five years teaching at the California Institute of the Arts. His book ON FILM-MAKING is used at film schools worldwide.

About Paul Cronin

Paul Cronin spent three years editing Mackendrick’s notes to his students and interviewing former students and colleagues of Mackendrick to produce ON FILM-MAKING and the unique illustrated lecture MACKENDRICK ON FILM. He has published several other volumes, including interview books with Werner Herzog, Roman Polanski and Errol Morris. His documentaries have been seen at festivals worldwide and on the BBC, PBS and the Sundance Channel.

WHERE: The Directors Centre, 8 Flitcroft Street, London WC2 8DL

WHEN: 18/19 June 2005

PRICE: £100 (DGGB members £80)

BOOK NOW: saskia@dggb.org  Tel: 02078363602