FILM STUDIES
Documentary film workshop with Benoit Rossel
with Benoit Rossel
The 2025 documentary film workshop for 1st year students was lead by french swiss director Benoit Rossel.
Learning Objectives
First year
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The 1st year offers a global approach to cinema through collective work. Students are introduced to every stage of the film-making process. This immersion in the world of cinema also includes meetings, trips to film festivals and numerous workshops, all part of a resolutely multidisciplinary approach, both inside and outside the school.
- Acquire basic artistic and technical notions related to writing (script) and directing personal and collective fiction and documentary films.
- Deepen the technical tools related to image (light, camera, editing, etc.) and sound (set, sound editing, Pro-Tools software, etc.) as well as to the direction of actors/actresses.
- Learn about film theory (writing logbooks, sequence analysis, courses in Film History & Aesthetics, History of Art, Photography, Digital Culture, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Contemporary Photography, exhibitions and publications).
- Benefit from numerous masterclasses with personalities from the world of cinema and other disciplines.
- Actively participate in the Clermont-Ferrand Festival and in a workshop organised on site with students from theatre conservatories.
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The 2nd year aims to deepen knowledge and skills in each field by making at least two short films, one fiction, the other documentary, in workshops led by recognized filmmakers. Students also deepen their critical thinking skills by writing a theoretical essay.
- Write, direct and post-produce a short fiction film.
- Write, direct and post-produce a short documentary film.
- Enrich their knowledge through theory courses (internship logs, writing portraits during masterclasses and interviews, depending on the discipline chosen, writing a research paper on an open-ended topic).
- Participate in festivals (one-week stay at the Visions du Réel/Nyon festival, as well as the Cannes festival and the Berlinale/Berlin festival).
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The 3rd year is dedicated to the diploma project, enabling students to acquire specific tools in the fields of directing, scriptwriting, image and sound, as well as teamwork.
Students can specialize in one of six options: Directing - Screenwriting - Photography - Editing - Script Supervision - Sound.
For all options, the entire year is devoted to making the graduation film (free work, fiction, documentary, experimental film, etc.)
Direction Option- Participate in festivals (one-week stay at the Venice Biennale, possibility of going to the Locarno Festival).
- Write the script for the diploma film - a short film (over 6 months), then pitch the project to producers.
- Draw up a professional production file (including budget) for submission to film authorities (Cinéforom, OFC, RTS, etc.).
- Assemble a film crew with professionals from each trade and follow up production with an assistant director.
- Participate in an acting workshop and castings.
- Shoot the film, then edit it in collaboration with La Fémis students in the Editing Department.
- Mix the film at La Fémis with students from the Mixing Department.
Learn about film distribution (television, festivals, etc.).
- Learn about various image-related professions (camera assistant, point-of-view workshop, lighting & electricity, machinery, security, etc.).
- Participate as camera operator, camera assistant, electrician or machinist on fiction, documentary and diploma films for Bachelor's and Master's students.
- Learn to use specific cameras in various workshops (film workshop, camera workshop, etc.).
- Carry out location scouting and cutting in collaboration with directors.
- Write a thesis on a subject related to the chosen specialization.
- Take part in festivals (one-week stay at the Venice Biennale, possibility of attending the Locarno Festival).
- Write and direct short fiction and documentary films.
- Over a two-year period, write a feature-length fiction film and practice writing exercises (short synopses, notes of intent, sequencers, treatments, characterizations, non-dialogue continuity, dialogue scenes...).
- Shoot a sequence from you feature-length script.
- Participate in festivals (one-week stay at the Venice Biennale, possibility of attending the Locarno Festival).
- Write a thesis on an issue related to the chosen specialization.
- Work as a sound engineer on fiction workshop films and diploma films by Bachelor and Master students.
- Direct a documentary film (from writing to sound editing).
- Learn specific techniques (boom, HF and ambient sound recording, mixing exercises, etc.).
- Develop free sound creation.
- Learn how to use the ECAL sound studio and prepare projects before mixing in the Auditorium.
- Write a theoretical dissertation on a subject related to the chosen specialization.
- Participate in festivals (one-week stay at the Venice Biennale, possibility of attending the Locarno Festival).
- Work as an editor on fiction, documentary and diploma films for Bachelor and Master directing students.
- Learn how to work as an assistant editor on feature films (project preparation, de-rushing, synchronization, workflow, etc.).
- Practice advanced software (Avid, Première, Pro tools and Da Vinci).
- Participate in a one-month exchange program at La Fémis in Paris (Editing Section).
- Participate in festivals (one-week stay at the Venice Biennale, possibility of going to the Locarno Festival).
- Work as a script supervisor on the fiction, documentary and diploma films of Bachelor and Master directing students.
- Immerse yourself in workshops on playlists, timing, chronology, continuity and stripping, technical cutting and ground shots, continuity joins, learning to work with other trades (HMC, sets, props, ....).
- Collaborate on diploma films with students from the Scripte Department at La Fémis.
