Summer Filmmaking Program

ESRA International offers a 4-week Filmmaking Summer Program in Paris that includes 3 independent modules: screenwriting, directing, and cinematography.

Our summer programs offer eligible students from all over the world the opportunity to engage in challenging academic work in the company of peers who share their exceptional abilities and love of learning.

All faculty at ESRA are recognized teachers and working professionals. Our focus is on rigorous academics and learning but also on the social experience that results from bringing international students together.

This program introduces students to directing, shooting, and editing a short movie (3 to 5 minutes long). Students learn to write their scripts, and how to use digital filmmaking equipment during workshop sessions and go into production. It introduces students to every step from the creative idea to the finalization of a short movie project. The program lasts 4 weeks and can be divided into two parts of 2 weeks that can be taken individually during July.

Fashion Film - Cannes

In this course, students will be introduced to fashion film and its many facets. Guided by the faculty, they will watch, analyze, and discuss various fashion films from commercials and campaigns to independent artistic projects, multimedia art, and documentaries. This will serve as the research for the collaborative realization of various cinematic ideas. After creating visual concepts and short storylines, and a brief introduction to filming and editing, the students will create several moving images on a sketch-based level. As a subject for the students’ own film material, they either work with (if fashion students) their own previous projects or collections, the styling of brought, bought or borrowed ready-to-wear or vintage clothing, or even create new simple pieces or sketches of clothing (limited workshop availability).

Intro to Filmmaking - Cannes

In this course, students work in teams to produce a short movie. They master the fundamental steps of audiovisual production through theoretical lectures and practical workshops. They learn the basic principles of film analysis and screenwriting for fiction, essential for understanding the essence of storytelling. Working in groups, they write a short movie script, prepare and organize the shooting, shoot scenes, complete each step of the post-production process, and deliver the master. They engage in hands-on workshops on screenwriting, learning to direct the actors, use the camera, adjust lighting, make sound recordings, and edit the film. Lectures and workshops as well as productions are presented by industry professionals.

Cinematography

The two-week Cinematography summer program introduces students to the fundamentals of visual storytelling and the technical aspects of filmmaking. Students learn through lectures and ‘hands-on’ practical workshops about photography, film, video, lighting, and sound, from early cinema to contemporary film technologies.

While the lectures explain the science or narrative purpose of a technique, the ‘hands-on’ workshops give students an opportunity to practice their camera operating skills with a variety of cameras, learn the essentials of lighting, and develop their skills as practical filmmakers.

Directing

The two-week Directing summer program introduces students to every step of the technical preparation of a film – from screenwriting and pre-production to shooting, editing, and post-production. It also offers them a first experience to learn about directing actors, ‘mise en scène’, and stage direction.