Allesee Master Class w/filmmaker Julie Dash accepts applications by 11/16...
Department of Communication
Allesee Master Class with Filmmaker Julie Dash
COM 6680 Sec. 001 CRN# 27209, 3 credits
Winter 2013
Course Topic: From Screenplay to Screen
Course Description: Under the guidance of internationally acclaimed writer, director, producer Julie Dash, students will work in teams to create high quality short dramatic films within a fixed budget and production schedule. Emphasis will be placed on the preproduction process and the artistic collaboration between screenwriter/director, production designer/art director, and the director of photography in preparing projects for location production. Admission is by competitive application.
Course Meets: Mondays 6:00 p.m.-10p.m. in 4130 Old Main. Students will also be expected to spend significant time outside of the course conducting pre-production, location production and post-production activities.
Application Criteria & Eligibility: Applications are currently being accepted from Film and Media Arts production majors, and from students who are pursuing a course of study within the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts with creative and technical skills applicable to film production. (CFPCA students with skills in production design and art direction are strongly encouraged to apply.) Applications will be considered from students who 1) have completed at least intermediate coursework in their major discipline; 2) hold upper class, graduate, or post-baccalaureate status; and 3) whose coursework, sample materials, references and experience demonstrate substantive skills in one or more of the following areas: screenwriting, film/video directing, producing, production design/art direction, cinematography, costume design, sound recording, sound design, editing.
Applications are required for admission to the master class as core members of production teams that will comprise working groups throughout the term. Students who are applying for the position of screenwriter/director or screenwriter will also be applying to have their projects selected for production. Students may apply for one or more production team positions (See Part 2 of the application.)
Application Deadline: Friday November 16, 2012, 4p.m. (see application for submission information). Selected students will be notified on or before November 26, 2012. Please note, in some cases students may be accepted for the class prior to determination of the exact position they will hold. Selected students will be required to register for the course no later than December 3rd to secure their space in the course.
Project Selection: Applicants for the position of screenwriter/director or screenwriter must submit a short screenplay (completed or work in progress) for production consideration (completed length not to exceed 30 pages; under 20 pages is preferable). Screenwriters with works in progress may submit a detailed treatment and sample script pages in lieu of a completed script. Selection of projects for production will be based upon the quality of the story, previous sample work, and the ability of the project to be produced over the 15-week period. Selection of screenplays for production will be contingent upon final delivery of the screenplay no later than Thursday January 3, 2013. Selected students will be notified on or before November 26, 2012. Please note, in some cases students may be accepted for the class prior to determination of the exact position they will hold. Students applying only for the role of screenwriter will be admitted to the class only if their screenplay is selected for production.
About Julie Dash: Julie Dash is the 2013 Bob Allison (Allesee) Endowed Media Professor in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University. She holds an M.F.A. degree in Film from UCLA. The following bio is from the UCLA Film and Television Archive: Born in New York City, Julie Dash is a filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author and website creator. Her film studies began in Harlem in 1969, but eventually led her to the American Film Institute and UCLA, where she made The Diary of an African Nun (1977), based on a short story by Alice Walker, which won a student award from the Directors Guild of America. Dash's critically acclaimed short film Illusions (1982) later won the Jury Prize for Best Film of the Decade awarded by the Black Filmmakers Foundation. Dash's first feature - Daughters of the Dust (1991) - was the first film by an African American woman to receive a general theatrical release in the United States; the Library of Congress named it to the National Film Registry in 2004. Dash returned to the film's characters and their Gullah milieu in her novel of the same title, published in 1999. Her television films include Love Song (2000), starring R&B singer Monica Arnold, the romantic thriller Incognito (1999), and the domestic drama Funny Valentines (1999). Dash was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for The Rosa Parks Story (2002) starring Angela Bassett. She has directed music videos for Tony! Toni! Toné!, Keb' Mo', Peabo Bryson, Adriana Evans, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Tracy Chapman.