A weekend workshop analysing short films by some master film makers.

Overview:

Short films, one of the most exciting expressions of cinema, generally get overshadowed by the more illustrious and industrious sections of cinema, i.e. feature-length fiction cinema. From the very early days of cinema, the search for new modes of presentation was often carried out through the domain of short films, be it fiction, non-fiction or experimental, avant-garde cinema. Some of the artistic quests articulated in short films in the due process got integrated into feature length fiction and documentary cinema in due process. Short films, being shorter in duration, often could take up formal experiments with acute sophistication, some of which may not even be possible to be placed in the cinema of longer format. 

While short films can be seen as laboratory for the experimentation and advancement of cinematic expressions, the systematic academic literature, pedagogy and discourse about short films have not been developed adequately over the years. Even in the best film institutes in the world, often analysis of feature length fiction cinema becomes the pedestal for learning cinema, while the students are finally expected to make short films as their exercises and diploma films. The proposed course would address the domain of short films for its own sake to highlight the creative possibilities available within this short format of cinema.  

In the proposed course several short films by some master filmmakers would be taken up for detailed analysis in terms of: 

  • structure of narrative
  • temporal structure
  • formal segments 
  • dynamics of scene-sequence
  • visual and sound treatment
  • intra-shot and inter-shot formations
  • affective qualities
  • qualities of ‘flow’.

Participant Profile:

Participants interested in narrative and formal structures of cinema, learning about structures of short films, expressive possibilities of short films, scripting and making short films are welcome. 

Mode Of Teaching: 

Online via Google Meet. Details will be shared with selected participants in time.

Medium Of Instruction:

English

Workshop Director Profile:

Deb Kamal Ganguly: An alumnus from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata. Independent filmmaker, researcher and teacher of cinematic arts. Taught for 08 years (2012-2020) and designed curriculum in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune,  in the departments of Film Editing, Film Direction and Screen Studies. Taught as guest faculty in National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, Flame University, Pune, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar. Video work got published under special curator-ship from Lowave, Paris. Video art has been featured in the exhibition ‘Indian Highway’ and showcased in galleries of various cities of Europe and Asia. Video and film works done in the capacity of editor, script-writer and sound designer have been shown in competitive sections of various national and international festivals and received several awards, including ‘Tiger Award for Shorts’ in Rotterdam (IFFR 2007). Presented papers in various international and national seminars and conferences on various themes related to cinema, Deleuze studies, visual art, interfaces of art practices, translation studies, collective memory, Bengal studies, Media studies, pedagogy of cinema, film editing as a discipline, immersive sound etc including CARA-CIECT conference in Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg (2018), CILECT conference in VGIK, Moscow (2019), Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater (2019). Participated in an international project for artistic research involving BRICS countries, being the coordinator for India (2018).