Training

Other courses at this level

Directing Screen Drama

This course will focus on working with actors, capturing their performances and planning the most sympathetic coverage. This course is run by multi-award winning film maker and television director Simon Hook. Students are taught the principals of directing drama with particular focus on working with actors and on day 2 put these principals into practice with professional actors.

Directing Screen Drama is a 3 day long course for students wishing to learn or develop their directing skills. Experience of working on short films and/or completing training courses such as Shooting Video is desirable.

Course Aims
To give the course participants the confidence and skills to make their own dramas to a much higher standard .

(This course replaces the Shooting Drama course Simon Hook used to run at OFVM film oxford.)

Course Dates:

4th to 6th December 2010

Cost
£220 Subsidised rate for EU citizens

£198 (includes10 per cent early booking discount if booked by 9th May 2010- EU citizens)

£320 Full price for non-EU citizens. (Non-Eu citizens with indefinite leave to remain can pay subsidised rate - proof required.)

£288 ( includes10 per cent early booking discount if booked by 9th Feb 2010- non -EU citizens)
(Those on state benefits & non-EU international students, please see FAQ)

SIMON HOOK Director/Writer - Biography

Simon has directed two one-hour episodes of the BBC Scotland show Rivercity, nineteen episodes of the top rated, RTS winning children's television series M.I.High for the BBC (made by the same company as Spooks) and five episodes of Hollyoaks for Channel 4. He also wrote an episode of M.I.High for the current series.
Before television he wrote and directed a series of successful yet diverse shorts: The micro-budget, 6.6.04 attracted Completion Funding from the UK Film Council and premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival, was nominated for Best British Short at the British Independent Film Awards.
His short script Knit Your Own Karma won the First Film Foundation/Sci-Fi Channel Short Film competition from over 2000 entries. Described by jury member Terry Gilliam as poetic and beautifully structured, Simon directed it in May ‘01 and it played nationally in UCI cinemas in front of Planet of the Apes. At the Britspotting festival in Berlin that year, it won Best Short Film.

Amongst his earlier shorts, Same Dog...Whitewashed won Southern Arts David Altshul Award for creative excellence in film-making and the Halloween Society’s Audience Prize in London and Paris. Later, Uncle Gilbert and the Hurlo-Thrumbo was voted Best of Festival at Winter thur film festival and was sold for broadcast in the USA by PBS, in France by Canal+ and to Air Canada.

In addition to developing feature scripts, directing commercials, corporates and pop promos, he has occasionally ventured to the other side of the camera. He took the lead role in Misadventures, a harrowing drama documentary about suicide prevention in prisons, which won a silver IVCA award.

Film 06.06.04

What students said about last Directing Screen Drama course

Really Good, fun learning experience - thankyou - Michelle

Very engaging and positive, very good actors - Daniel

Simon is a a great tutor, my skills have definitley improved and I have learnt a great deal in the process. - Kate

Encouraging and well explained - Jake

I now feel more confident and have learned many, many important things - Martyn

What Students said about previous Simon Hook courses?

Really useful to work with professional actors - I thought the course was first class - incredible value for money - MB
I feel I was given a good intro into the various roles of the crew and the process involved in making a film - DS
Simon did a fantastic job and was very easy to understand - MS
Damn Good, Totally Brilliant - JG
Excellent. Very insightful - JD

Day 1: 10am – 5.00pm

Topics include:

Reading the script as a director.

Working with actors.

Coverage and making camera plans.

Practical exercise in blocking.

Shot selection and it’s affect on the audience.

Students are then allocated a short scene to plan for their shoot on day 2.

Day 2: 10am - 7.00pm

Each student is given a strict time slot to take part in the PRACTICAL SHOOT EXERCISE in which they direct their scene working with two experienced professional actors and a camera operator. The emphasis will be on capturing the performances on screen by developing an understanding of cinematic gramma. Other students will be assigned various roles on the crew.

Day 3: 10am - 6.00pm

We analyse each students rushes in turn, looking at common pitfalls, as well as when and why to cut and it’s effect on the on-screen performances.

To book online or by post, see booking form.

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