The Process of Making Movie Magic - Life on a Real Movie Set - Conclusion
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
Beginner Level
In this fifth installment of Life On A Real Filmset, students get a more interactive experience by having all their questions answered in a class-friendly discussion. Behind the scenes of a film set. We will: • take a dive into Post Production; • learn about various crew positions associated with those departments; • basic concepts of editing; • introduction to sound scoring; • color theory; • discuss variable frame-rates (time-lapse, stop-motion, hi-speed/slow-motion); • introduction of basic visual effects concepts; • understanding of blue screen / green screen fundamentals; • vfx methodologies and best practices; • a tour of before and after visual effect sequences; • inspire and encourage students to create their own productions; The world of post-production, showcases the various departments within that help finish the project and that take the movie or TV show to the big screen. We dive into how visual effects are utilized before, during and after filming has wrapped. Afterwards, a demo VFX video is shown where I go into various VFX shots and briefly discuss the challenges we had to overcome to get it to the big screen. Students are usually very curious about this part of the process and we take time to carefully address their questions as they arise. It’s amazing to witness firsthand the creative wheels spinning in these innovative minds and see how they can apply this new information to their own creations. Topics that are covered: PRODUCTION: • Process of Film / TV production; • Essential crew positions and key roles; • Breakdown of primary departments on set; • Introduction to Cine cameras; • Showcase most camera types (Cine, Dslr, Video, 3D, VR); • Setup and assemble Cine cameras as demonstration; • Basic understanding of the camera sensor; • Showcase various lenses and explain how images travel through the optics; • Discuss variable frame-rates (time-lapse, stop-motion, hi-speed/slow-motion); • Camera dissection and assembly; • Introduction to scene composition and depth of field; • Breakdown of key lighting setups; • Examples of light painting by adding color to your own creations; • BTS – Behind the scenes breakdown POST-PRODUCTION: • Introduction to Post-Production; • Discussion of the process after filming has completed; • Importance of the Editing process; • Breakdown of the Editorial, Color & Visual Effects departments; • Introduction to Visual Effects; • Understanding Blue Screen / Green Screen Fundamentals; • Breaking down the VFX reel – showcase before/after shots; • Introduction to Sound Mixing, Foley & ADR 60 minutes. Ideal for ages 13-18 All learners are required to be on camera, if you have any concerns with this, please contact me BEFORE the beginning of class. Due to the copyrighted nature of the material I will be presenting, I will NOT be able to provide classroom recordings afterwards. I’m really sorry about that, studios make it very difficult to publicly release their intellectual property even for educational purposes.
Learning Goals
STUDENT TAKEAWAYS:
• Inspire and encourage students to create their own productions;
• Promote non-vanity style of filmmaking;
• A better understanding of how cameras work;
• Expansion of their knowledge of Production and Post-Production;
• Visual Effects de-mystified;
• The ability to apply some of this newly learned information to their own creations!
• Their questions answered by an industry veteran of 25 years
Other Details
Parental Guidance
no third-party tools are used
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Teacher expertise and credentials
ABOUT ME:
Meet Eli Jarra, Senior Artist and VFX Supervisor in Los Angeles.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Eli graduated from Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts with a degree in Broadcasting. Over the span of his 25 year career, Eli has contributed to over 150 projects, including feature films – Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame,
Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Captain America: Civil War, Oblivion, Black Panther, Television series – Veep, True Detective, Big Little Lies, Survivor, Mad Men, Mozart in the Jungle, Grey’s Anatomy, Eastwick, Smallville.
Eli's work on Smallville has garnered him multiple VES Award nominations and two VES Awards: one for Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program and the other for Best Matte Painting in a Live-Action Broadcast Program. He is a member of the Visual Effects Society, Academy of Television Arts & Science, The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and The Planetary Society.
One of Eli’s funnest moments was working with Will Smith on Hitch. He says working in the new ACES color format on Oblivion and shooting high frame rate 3D stereo on dual Red cameras rank at the top of his greatest professional accomplishments. He is thankful to be able to work with the most talented and inspiring individuals in the industry.
Eli is excited to be developing content specifically designed for immersive technologies and is actively participating in the latest VR movement. He cites MC Esher, James Cameron, and Roger Deakins as his artistic influences and he would love the opportunity to work with Alex Proyas, Michel Gondry, and Gaspar Noê.
The best advice Eli has been given and embraces every day is “don’t make decisions when you’re angry”, “ignore the naysayers”, and, “happiness is having something to look forward to.”
Eli’s recent feature credits include:
• Jumanji 2
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2
• Captain Marvel
• Black Panther
• Thor: Ragnarok
• The Revenant
• Ant Man
• Dolphin Tale 2
• Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Captain America – Civil War
• Noah
• Avengers: Endgame
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Spider-Man: Homecoming
• Social Network
• The Internship
• Oblivion
• Ant-Man and the Wasp
• The Revenant
• The Amazing Spiderman
• The Internship
• SpaceJam
INTRODUCTION:
Hello! My name is Eli Jarra.
My job often brings many challenges and rewards when working in Film & Television. It's something I've been doing for a long time and something I find very rewarding. As people would inquire into what I did for a living, I found they were intrigued by hearing about the behind-the-scenes of some of their favorite movies or TV shows.
A few years ago, in 2013-2017 I started speaking about some of these experiences to the kids at Pinecrest Schools here in southern California. The presentations quickly evolved into more elaborate breakdowns of the various departments.
Kids found this not only compelling but extremely inspiring as well. Since then, I continue enriching students with the process of what it takes to get a movie to the big screen.
I encourage students to keep an open mind about what they’re learning in regards to the importance of teamwork and professionalism on-set. By breaking down and simplifying the process, my goals are to give them the confidence and courage they need to implement some of this new information into their own creations. I plant a seed of curiosity where they can imagine themselves as a writer or director, or perhaps a cinematographer filming on camera or setting up lights, maybe seeing themselves building something special in the art department.
I try and cover the many different roles on set and well as in post-production where I discuss editorial and sound, color and visual effects. These are the departments that are instrumental to completing the project once production has wrapped.
At present, I speak to a variety of age groups, starting from 4th grade all the way to high school. I have also done a master class with the Animayo animation festival and WonderConn.
I find presenting and teaching to these young minds quite rewarding, sometimes even more so than the actual movie work itself!
That’s why I created the class “The Process of Visual Arts”.
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CLASS POLICIES:
1) Age Range:
My Process of Visual Art classes are ideal for students between 4th through 8th grades. I’m open to high school learners if they fall within an age range of five years.
2) I aim to keep classes close to the scheduled amount of time, however, classes with low enrollments or especially talkative students may run a few minutes under or a few minutes over.
3) If a class does not meet the minimum enrollment requirements, I will contact the parents and learners to confirm they want to continue class 24 hours before class is scheduled to begin. I will teach the class unless the parent or learner requests to transfer to a more-full section.
4) Classes will begin at the scheduled time, even if all learners are not in the classroom (unless there appears to be a technical issue). I will not contact absent learners during class time so I can focus on the learners who are present. However, I will contact absent learners after to transfer them to another section.
5) If no learners are in the classroom, I will wait 10 minutes before exiting the classroom. In this situation, I will contact the families after I have left the classroom to transfer learners to a new section.
6) Due to the copyrighted nature of the material I will be presenting, I will NOT be able to provide classroom recordings afterwards. I’m really sorry about that, studios make it very difficult to publically release their intellectual property even for educational purposes.
Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$25
per classMeets once
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
1-12 learners per class