Techniques of screenwriting at the English literature department
San Diego State University, Fall 2023
We all tell and consume stories. We tell stories to our friends and family and consume stories from other people, the media, and wherever we go. These stories shape our understanding of the world and our place in it. We also know by instinct how to tell if a story is good. If we want to write for the screen, we must learn to make a good story into a good script.
During the course, students will learn the fundamentals of writing screenplays for narrative films and acquire the practical tools needed for cinematic storytelling. They will develop a deep understanding of narrative structure, character development, and dialogue writing. Through engaging class discussions, insightful screenings, and challenging writing assignments, students will refine their screenwriting skills and learn how to flesh out their characters and stories. By the end of the course, students will have created a professional and compelling script for a short film, equipping them with the necessary skills for a successful career in the film industry.
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Israeli cinema from scripting to production and post-production at the film school
San Diego State University, Fall 2023
This is an enrichment course in which the students will not only get a glimpse of the wide world of Israeli cinema but also understand the Israeli society reflected through it, the cinematic choices of filmmakers, and the cinematic language used in the composition of these films. This understanding will enrich their cultural knowledge and enhance their appreciation of Israeli cinema.
The course will be led by the esteemed Israeli scriptwriter/ director Uri Bar-on, who has over 20 years of experience in the Israeli film industry. He has written and directed numerous award-winning films and documentaries, and his works have been screened at prestigious international film festivals. Uri will generously share his wealth of experience and showcase examples from his diverse works -Fiction and documentary feature films, Documentary series, and shorts. This unique and privileged opportunity to learn from a renowned figure in the Israeli film industry should not be missed.
Each lesson will deal with a crucial subject to Israeli society and cinema and focus on a film relevant to this topic. We will watch excerpts of the movie in focus and other films pertinent to the subject of each lecture.
This course will also take students through the filmmaker's journey, including scripting, production, post-production, and even distribution of films for festivals and television.
The assignments during the semester can be either written assignments or small film productions in teams that should be influenced by the style and topics of Israeli cinema.
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Lecturer since 2012
3 times award winner
"Outstanding Lecturer"
Introduction to digital storytelling – directing and scriptwriting
Reichman University Israeli and international school
​In a world where everything is visual, from advertising and interactive television to social and digital media, our students and graduates need basic storytelling knowledge. The 'Storytelling for Digital' workshop provides practical tools for media and digital production and for developing creative and critical thinking. How do you tell a compelling story that manages to influence and reach hundreds of thousands and millions of users, viewers, or audiences? Those who master the skill of storytelling will later know how to sell an idea for an advertisement, pitch an idea for a TV series, or create a video for a product presented to investors. This course is designed to equip students with the storytelling skills they need to succeed in today's digital media landscape.
Students will learn the basics of visual language and story production processes accompanied by industry-leading directors, producers, and content editors. They will have access to various learning resources, including textbooks, online articles, and video tutorials. They start with the idea and progress through familiarity with the script, production stages, roles of professionals on the set, basic concepts in photography and cinematic expression, and digital editing to the finished video.
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Web series workshop – From a script to a final episode
Reichman University Israeli and international school
Web series provide an alternative content world to Television & cinema.
The annual workshop explores comedies, dramas, and experimental, branded content series that have the potential to achieve many views and engage an audience.
The students will work on an original project and develop it from the early writing stage to the production stage throughout the year. The first semester will be dedicated to introducing the web series world, the basics of scriptwriting, the development process, finding the proper format, plotlines, auditions, and building a series 'Bible.' We will practice advanced directing methods, cinematography, and editing. The second semester will be dedicated to the production, from the pre-production stage through directing, shooting, and post, to the course's final assignment: editing a pilot or an episode.
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Marketing and distribution of Israeli cinema | School of Business
Reichman University Israeli and international school
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In this seminar, students will examine the business world of Cinema and learn about the various aspects of financing, marketing, and distribution of films in international markets.
The course will include various lectures on the business aspects of the Israeli film industry, general information, leading players, and practical ways of financing and distributing films. It will also discuss the method of international film distribution and examine a practical distribution plan. The knowledge and skills gained in this course will directly apply to students' future careers in the film industry, whether they choose to work in production, distribution, or marketing.
During the course, the students will watch three to four Israeli films in different genres—documentary, classic art house, blockbuster, and horror—and will meet (probably via Zoom meeting) the producers/filmmakers/sales agents to understand each film's distribution and marketing plan. They will also have access to various learning resources, including film reviews, industry reports, and case studies. After choosing the genre they like the most, students will be attached to producers/filmmakers who will soon distribute a film of this genre globally. Students will watch the film's latest draft and prepare a distribution plan.
After choosing the genre they like the most, students will be attached to producers/filmmakers who will soon distribute a film of this genre globally. Students will watch the film's latest draft and prepare a distribution plan.
Students will work individually on their projects within groups of up to 4 participants.
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World documentary cinema– between reality and fiction | Elective general studies
Reichman University Israeli and international school
The documentary film is a continuous negotiation between reality and its cinematic representation. This definition is only one possibility to refer to a fascinating, elusive, and captivating genre that has become one of the leading genres of film and TV in the last decade.
Documentaries are always between the art of cinema and what we can find in the news. They are a genre that maintains complex relationships between reality and fiction, between the documentarist and the documented people and subjects, and between the image of the world captured in the film and what we usually call "the real world."
During the course, you will learn essential films in the history of documentary cinema. We will watch examples and discuss different approaches and styles: the 'direct cinema,' which observes, compared to the 'cinema verite,' which intervenes in the happenings; poetic cinema; Personal cinema; Video Activism; and true crime documentary.
By watching film excerpts and reading relevant articles, we will discuss the main questions that documentary cinema raises, including its making, viewing, and morality. At the end of the course, students will submit a final paper. The report should analyze two films discussed in class and refer to one of the articles we read.
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Directing TV magazine
Reichman University Israeli and international school
Television reports are the most watched genre by the general population and are sometimes the first jobs communication students get after graduation. As part of the course, we will learn how to develop a television report. Each student will choose a topic, research it, find relevant characters, and prepare a complete article from the development stage through photography to editing the final TV magazine.
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Scriptwriting
Reichman University Israeli and international school
We all tell and consume stories. We tell stories to our friends and family and consume stories from other people, the media, and wherever we go. We also know by instinct how to tell if a story is good. We don't know how to make a good story into a good script.
The course will teach the essential elements of screenwriting and include a theoretical review of these elements—the technical tools for scripting, classic screenplay structure, characterization, and conflict.
In class, we will view and analyze Israeli and world cinema scenes.
Throughout the semester, the students must hand in writing tasks. Some of the work will be read in class for learning purposes.
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Contemporary Israeli cinema
Reichman University Israeli and international school
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The course is given with the cooperation of the Herzliya Cinematheque, and the workshops and lectures will be held at the Cinematheque Theaters.
Since 2001, Israeli cinema has blossomed with the application of the Israeli Cinema Act. A growing number of films are made yearly—that number has reached almost 40 feature films yearly in recent years! These films often achieve great success in international festivals. Still, when they are released to Israeli cinemas, too few people go to the screenings, and as a result, this flourishing remains outside the realms of most Israelis' consciousness.
This is an enrichment course where the students will glimpse the wide world of contemporary Israeli cinema. Israeli society is reflected in the cinematic choices of filmmakers and the cinematic language used in the composition of these films.
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Focus on Israeli cinema | The history of Israeli cinema and its relationship with Israeli society
Reichman University Israeli and international school
This is an enrichment course in which the students will not only get a glimpse of the wide world of Israeli cinema but also understand the Israeli society reflected through it, the cinematic choices of filmmakers, and the cinematic language used in the composition of these films. This understanding will enrich their cultural knowledge and enhance their appreciation of Israeli cinema.
Each lesson will deal with a crucial subject to Israeli society and Israeli cinema and focus on a film relevant to this topic.
We will watch excerpts of the films in focus and other films relevant to the subject of each lecture. All excerpts will have English subtitles. We will also deal with the vital personnel of Israeli cinema over the years - – directors, writers, photographers, editors, producers, and actors, and their contribution to Israeli culture.
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Lecturer since 2010
Filming the documentary | History and workshop
Minshar School of Art
This is a year-long documentary workshop. Part of it is learning about documentary film history, and part of it is creating hands-on short documentary films. The documentary is a continuous negotiation between reality and its representation in cinema. This definition is only one possible way to refer to a fascinating, elusive, and captivating genre, which is, on the one hand, the art of cinema and, on the other hand, the press; a genre that maintains complex relationships between reality and fiction, between the documented and the documented, between the image of the world captured in the film and what we are used to calling the 'real world.'
During the year, you will learn about critical works in the history of documentary cinema. We will look at examples and talk about different approaches and styles: the 'direct cinema,' which observes, compared to the 'cinema verite,' which intervenes in the happenings, poetic cinema, and Personal cinema.
The course's heart is a series of four exercises, each building on the previous one. The first exercises are observation exercises, followed by a personal exercise. In the second semester, we will work on a written investigation leading to the concluding exercise.
While working on the exercises, we will learn investigation and interview methods, casting, and script writing for the documentary. We will emphasize the written submission of short proposals and editorial scripts. We will watch the exercises together, which will all be submitted during the school year.
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Lecturer since 2022
Fiction directing
Beit-Berl College
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The goals of the feature directing basics course are to understand the shot, the scene, and the use of cinematic language. Understanding the director's role in all phases of filmmaking. Acquiring tools for understanding a director's interpretation of a script and planning its transformation into a finished audiovisual segment. Familiarity with different directing styles and how they can be applied. Introduction to sources of inspiration for directing and practicing practical work in all the roles of the set and filmmaking, giving each student confidence in their ability to direct a short film as a film at the end of the first year and performing a pre-production process for this film.
At the beginning of the course, several introductory lectures will be given on basic concepts of cinematic language and different emphases for feature directing and teamwork on set. Later, the students will be divided into groups of about seven students. Once every two weeks, each group will be required to bring to the lesson a recapture exercise by one of the group members with the help of the other group members who will serve as team members. In class, we will observe the exercises, analyze them, and consider how they can be improved. Each student will be an exercise director at least once throughout the year.
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Documentary in the community workshop
Beit-Berl College
One of the main motivations of documentary filmmakers may be social change. In the "Community Documentary" course, we will focus on creating short documentary films on topics important to the immediate community of Beit Barel. We will divide into teams, choose the topic, research it, go on filming days, and ultimately conclude that the short film can change the community.
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Germany – Israel mutual films projectÂ
Beit-Berl College
A collaboration course between the Israeli college Beit Berl and the IFS Film School in Köln, Germany.
Students who are chosen to participate in the course will be able to get European funding to travel from Israel to Germany for two weeks and create a short documentary with German partners. After that, the German students will come to Israel to shoot their short docs with the help of an Israeli crew of students. This is a unique opportunity to experience working outside your comfort zone and get to know professionals worldwide.
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