Week 1 (25 hours)

Day 1: Getting started with filming tools (Targeted skills: framing and timing, anticipation)

• Practical exercises on the concept of a shot – composition, duration, transformation, narration...
• Simple actions with a beginning, middle, and end are executed.
• Viewing exercises and screening of "Lumière" shots. Understanding the notion of a shot.
• End of the day: Exercise – Filming sound-light shots.

Day 2: The shot / Filming on your own (Targeted skills: planning the elements of a shot)

• Viewing filmed light shots.
• Seminar on the construction and narrative elements of a shot: fixed frame, handheld shots, tripod shots, camera movements, sequence shots.
• Examples from documentary films and practical exercises.
• Meeting with a director/operator: Why and how to film on your own?
• Choosing and dealing with filming tools, point of view, technical means, and accessories.
• Analysis of a sequence by its director.

Day 3: Optics, sensors, colorimetry (Targeted skills: mastering camera settings, making technical choices, selecting equipment for a film project)

• Concepts of optics, photometry, and colorimetry.
• Sensors, filming formats, ratios, compression, focal length, exposure, menus, etc.

Day 4: The director of photography - sound engineer duo (Targeted skills: developing the relationship between the filmer and the sound recorder, the filmer and the camera, the filmer and the filmed subject... spatial awareness. Anticipating, controlling, reacting.)

• Image and sound relationship: physical exercises linking body work to filming and sound recording: sensing others, spatial awareness, building trust, letting go, and removing barriers that may hinder collaboration.
• Filming movement: Filmed exercises around actions proposed by instructors and participants, with imposed constraints.
• Viewing and analysis of footage by workshop participants.

Day 5: Lighting (Targeted skills: working with light; anticipating the sequence breakdown)

• Light: natural and artificial light
• Light in context
• Complementary lighting: why and how?
• Choosing accessories
• Practical exercises with light equipment
• Breakdown exercise during filming: building a sequence in 3 shots using lighting
• Viewing the filmed exercises

Week 2 (35 hours)

Day 6: Filming with a team/color grading (Targeted skills: filming with a team, basics of color grading)

• Film with a team: discussion with a director/operator duo.
• Preparation, scouting, decision-making. How is the dialogue established?
• Analysis of a sequence by the operator and the director.
• Color grading: possibilities offered by this step. When to make lighting-related choices? Practical sensitization with a simple exercise.

Day 7: Filming speech and visit to a rental company (Targeted skills: making choices in shots, breakdown, and camera angles in a speech situation)

• Screening and discussion of film excerpts where speech is central: speech in context, interviews, dialogues, etc.
• How to approach these various situations in terms of breakdown? Changing angles, listening, off-screen...
• Visit of a rental company: different types of cameras, light sources, and machinery.

Day 8: Filming speech and documentary history (Targeted skills: choosing shots, breakdown, and camera angles in a speech situation)

• Continuation of the "Filming speech" theme.
• Exercise: Filming a sequence articulated in multiple shots. Viewing of the exercise. Discussion.
• Seminar: Documentary cinema over time: the question of filming and technical evolutions in relation to creation.

Day 9: Synthesis and supplements

(Targeted skills: synthesis of developed skills. Scouting: the moment of all anticipations. Returning to questions of framing, lighting... Supplements on camera technique, optics, colorimetry upon request.) **

Day 10: Editing and debriefing

Targeted skills: anticipating editing during filming. Editing the "Filming speech" sequence. Viewing the edits. Debriefing meeting. Questions – answers.

Pedagogy

At the Ateliers Varan, through initiation into the practice of documentary filmmaking, we encourage participants to broaden their perspective on the world. It is not a traditional academic school; rather, our methods emphasize learning through hands-on experience to the fullest extent. Each participant’s focus revolves around creating films in real-world settings. Learn more about the Ateliers Varan pedagogical approach

More Information

Accessibility

Ateliers Varan, a Category 5 ERP establishment, welcomes people with disabilities.

For any requests related to accessibility, please contact Fanny Chapuis contact@ateliersvaran.com / (+33)1 43 56 64 04

Satisfaction

In 2023, 102 people were trained at the Ateliers Varan across all programs. Overall satisfaction rate: 100%.