This fast pace intensive camp will give students hands on experience producing a film from pre-production to post-production. Each student will write, produce, direct, shoot and digitally edit his or her own film on digital video. Students will work with award winning film makers from the industry.
Beginner film making workshop goal:
This class was designed to introduce novice film makers to the process and to help familiarize them with the equipment and concepts needed to make a successful film. This class is an excellent introduction for students contemplating a longer term education in filmmaking or a career in the industry. Students will gain an understanding of the requirements and rigors of filmmaking, as well as the exhilaration of seeing a completed project.
Each student writes, shoots, directs and edits his or her own films
The program focuses on the fundamental elements of visual storytelling that enable the participants to direct their own projects. Students will receive hands-on instruction in: directing, cinematography, editing, writing and producing, as they learn to cover all creative and technical demands of telling a story with moving images. Each student will have the rough cut of their film screened and critiqued weekly in class with the instructor.
Equipment and facilities
Enrolled Students will use HD digital video cameras and digital editing software.
________________________________
DIRECTING
Directing is approached as the art of visual storytelling. Students will be introduced to the language and practice of filmmaking as they learn to put together detailed shooting plans for their film projects. Students will learn that there are many nuances to directing the camera beyond just camera placement. Hands-on demonstrations and exercises will show students how camera movement, visual arrangement and editing patterns help to express the underlying drama of a scene in addition to the action. Students will take turns leading and rotating among the principal film crew positions in teams of four, as they direct and produce their own original series.
WRITING
Story structure, theme, character, tension, and conflict will be explored as students learn to take a story from initial idea, through treatment and step outline, to a finished script for their final film.
HANDS-ON CAMERA
This is a no-nonsense camera class where students will learn proper loading, operation, and maintenance of the different cameras available. Students will learn essential camera prep such as screen tests for focus, exposure, lens perspective, film latitude, slow/fast motion, and contrast.
EDITING
Students will learn to edit their films with digital editing software. The class will cover both the technical aspects of the editing process, as well as the conventions and theory behind editing choices and styles.
*Conservatory Program
In The Michelle Danner Los Angeles Film Conservatory Program, international students will have the ability to apply for a student visa.
actor training in Los Angeles. Meisner class in Los Angeles, acting instruction, acting classes in LA
[blockquote]To be an actor is to recognize that you have a responsibility to the craft, you are contributing to the world by being a storyteller that embodies the human condition. Deep down you know it’s your destiny to express yourself as an actor and no matter what you cannot quit! – Michelle Danner[/blockquote]
[title]FAQ[/title]
What is our teaching technique?
The Michelle Danner Acting School recognizes that every actor is unique. We help students to develop their own “Golden Box.” You will accumulate a comprehensive set of “acting tools” when approaching a role or a script, whether it be for film, television, or theater. This Los Angeles Acting School’s acting technique encompasses tools based on Meisner, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Chekhov, & the Stanislavsky Technique.
We provide a safe and pro-active environment that fosters creativity in our students. Our students are encouraged to take risks and work on challenging and daring material that will stretch them as actors and push them beyond their limits.
Our classes are kept small so that each student has the opportunity to work in every class. We ensure that each student receives the care and attention necessary to grow as an actor.
Where have our faculty trained?
You will be taught by one of the most-well respected and in demand acting coaches in Hollywood. Michelle Danner has worked for years privately, and on set with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Our faculty of acting teachers have graduated from some of the most prestigious programs in the world, including Yale, NYU, and Juliard, and they are currently working as actors, and directors.
What opportunities are there for actors?
The Michelle Danner Acting School not only provides world class training; our students have the opportunity to audition for parts in Michelle Danner’s latest movies, audition for the various theater productions, and participate in our yearly film festival. These projects give students the chance to build their resumes and IMDB credits, through practical training.
All In Films is an independent film production company. At the helm are Michelle Danner, Alexandra Guarnieri, and Brian Drillinger. The mission of All In Films is to produce high-quality, independent movies geared to entertain & spark social commentary. Check out the website at www.allinfilms.com.
Through the improvisational classes students have the opportunity to be part of the latest Web Series“Uncensored Hollywood” & gain IMDB credit as well as add professional reel footage.
What experiences do our coaches have?
Michelle Danner, who is the leading acting coach and director of the studio, is a renowned actor, director, and an acclaimed acting coach. She has worked with many A-List Actors privately as well as on set. She directed Hello Herman, starring Norman Reedus from the Walking Dead. The film opened nationwide and was distributed by Warner Brothers. It premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival and won the award for Socially Relevant Film at the Monaco Charity Film Festival.
She teaches internationally in Europe, Toronto, Vancouver, Dubai, Australia, South America, and New York. She was voted favorite acting coach by Backstage readers. Michelle trained with Stella Adler and Uta Hagen
We are considered one of the top acting schools in the country because of our Acting Techniques. The most in-demand and lasting acting techniques are taught, and this includes tools from the Meisner, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Chekhov, and Stanislavsky techniques. Students will have multiple options to select from for different ways of learning. We recommend methods that work for the individual actor and that inspire the actor to be the best that they can be..
Our faculty teaches our students to look at the craft of acting from a place that is non-dogmatic. They don’t limit students into thinking that there is only one way to find their way into a character script analysis and making choices. The faculty at the acting studio are highly trained professionals; graduates from Juilliard, NYU, Yale and working artists.
What is the proven track record?
To add to the drama school’s belt of achievements, A-list actors in Hollywood can attest to the quality of teachings. Michelle Danner’s roster of actors she has worked with include James Franco, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Zooey Deschanel, Chris Rock, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Kate Del Castillo, Michael Pena, Catherine Bell, Gabrielle Union, Michelle Rodriguez, and many others.
Is there flexibility in scheduling our Acting classes?
Our acting programs are customized for each actor. We understand that each student will have varying needs based on their skill levels and age. Development takes time, and this is why each applicant is personally interviewed before being fitted into one of our numerous programs. We have acting classes for children and adults of all levels.
[title]Acting Techniques[/title]
Stella Adler Technique
The Stella Adler Technique deals with in-depth script analysis. The actors will master the breakdown of a script into beats and the use of action exercises and emotional doings to understand the character’s through-line.
Lee Strasberg Technique
Lee Strasberg’s “Sense Memory and Method Technique,” are used to help the actors develop and explore all their senses, bringing their instrument in tune with their environment and their emotional states. The use of imagery is introduced to connect with emotionality and body language.
Stanislavski technique
Stanislavski’s system is a progression of techniques used to train actors and actresses to draw believable emotions to their performances. The method that was originally created and used by Constantin Stanislavski from 1911 to 1916 was based on the concept of emotional memory for which an actor focuses internally to portray a character’s emotions onstage. Later, between 1934 and 1938, this technique evolved to a method of physical actions in which emotions are produced through the use of these actions.The latter technique is referred to as Stanislavski’s system.[1] This approach was developed by Constantin Stanislavski (1863–1938), a Russian actor, director, and theatre administrator at the Moscow Art Theatre (founded 1897).
Michael Chekhov
Following Stanislavski’s approach, much of what Chekhov explored addressed the question of how to access the unconscious creative self through indirect non-analytical means.Chekhov taught a range of movement dynamics such as molding, floating, flying, and radiating that actors use to find the physical core of a character.
Despite his seemingly external approach, Chekhov’s techniques were meant to lead the actor to a rich internal life. In spite of his brilliance as an actor and his first-hand experience in the development of Stanislavski’s groundbreaking work, Chekhov as a teacher was overshadowed by his American counterparts in the 1940s and 1950s and their interpretations of Stanislavski’s ‘system,’ which became known as Method acting.
Sanford Meisner Technique
The established Sanford Meisner Technique leads the actor through a procedure of self-investigation, the use of Independent Activities, Entrances, Point of View, Emotional Preparation, Action and Scene Work. The actors learn to craft their independent activities to their fullest emotional, sequential, imaginative and challenging possibilities as well as the crafting of their entrances and exits. Other aspects of the improvisational exercises include the Domestic Exercise, the Shared Circumstance and the Life Goes on Activity.
UTA HAGEN
Uta Hagen, a three time Tony Award winning actress, became a highly influential acting teacher at New York’s Herbert Berghof Studio and has authored several best-selling acting training books. She believed in being rather than acting and that the characters were not characters, they were a part of who you are. Her fundamental idea that she taught was that all of the roles exist within us.