Over the course of the semester, students as directors/actors will work together to experience and explore the working methods in scene study, improvisation, rehearsal and videotaping. Exercises such as improvisation and beat to beat breakdowns will also be done in class.

There will be two scripted scenes assigned by the instructor to be rehearsed and videotaped in the course. The first scene, the mid-term video project, will be rehearsed in class and turn out to be a long take. Students will then select another scripted scene that will be shot outside of class, and this will culminate in a final video project.

The course will focus on three major aspects of film directing and acting—first, the conceptual understanding of story and dramatic structure, both in a single scene and in a long form structure; second, the exploration of emotional and psychological relationships in visual terms by examining the language of communication and working methods in the director-actor relationship; third, the ability to collaborate with each other toward a unified understanding of the piece. These will result in the final short film project.

The communication between director and actor is the emphasis of this course. Students will experience the whole process through class exercises, script analyses, rehearsals, shooting, post-productions, and etc.