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Fall 2024 welcomes the 14th Cinema Laboratory!

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In May 2022, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Cinema Laboratory, or “Cinemalab”! Founded in 2012 by Deborah Eve Lewis, Cinemalab provides opportunities for filmmakers to hone their personal cinematic voice through consistent weekly practice of fast, yet precise, filmmaking.

 

In the Cinema Laboratory, you’ll make around ten film "sketches" – most shooting happening during our class time – with the emphasis being on making, taking risks and exploring the cinematic form on an elemental level. There will be failures and triumphs—all work strengthening and stretching your ability to express ideas and feelings through picture and sound. Since equipment is checked out for you, all you need to do is show up, receive your prompt, and get to the work of making a film! Note: Some participants bring their own equipment, but that's not necessary. 

 

Cinema Laboratory’s practice of consistent moviemaking aims to create a space and time where filmmaking efforts are not expensive and precious, but intuitive, brief, engaging, and challenging in a fast-paced workshop setting. Cinema Laboratory 14 seeks participants who are self-motivated, hard-working, curious and creative.

 

Throughout the semester-long laboratory, you'll sharpen your cinema-making skills through attention to process and experimentation in order to move to a higher level of precision in your work. There's an exercise taken from the notebook of Robert Bresson, who wrote, “It is with something clean and precise that you will force the attention of inattentive eyes and ears.”

 

Precision arises through both practice and experimentation.

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"Cameras do not make films; filmmakers make films not by adding more equipment or personnel, but by using what you have to the fullest capacity. The most important equipment is yourself, your mobile body, your imaginative mind and your freedom to use both."

- Maya Deren

Cinema Laboratory seeks self-motivated RTF graduate students, upper level RTF undergraduates (especially those in their last semester at UT), MFA screenwriters, film studies students (with some production background), photojournalism students, Michener students, and students from the Schools of Theatre & Dance, Architecture and the Art School. We welcome students from all across campus who have basic video shooting and editing skills.

 

Please contact Deb Lewis with any questions regarding Cinema Laboratory to be sure your educational interests are in line with the course.  deb.lewis@utexas.edu

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