Date: June 7, 2025 (10:00 AM – 4:30 PM)
Location: FTM’s Training Space (204-245 McDermot Avenue)
Registration Fee:
$110.00 – General Public
$80.00 – Winnipeg Film Group Members
About the Course:
The Cinematic Fundamentals course is designed for working film professionals to learn about visual techniques and stylistic choices for creatives.
This workshop is designed to demystify the key working elements of film for working film professionals. This workshop is for filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, editors, crew members and anyone wanting to learn more about how a well-cohesive film is planned and created.
This day is divided into four parts:
Part 1: Participants learn how to prep for and shoot drama. Concepts such as master shots, coverage and the axis and the eye line are explored.
Part 2: The class deconstructs a scene from a major motion picture in order to see how the director (and editor) translated the scene as scripted into the finished scene.
Part 3: A number of camera-related topics are discussed, including lighting and lenses.
Part 4: Directorial style is examined. A range of directorial style options is viewed and deconstructed with the aid of a clip reel.
Canadian filmmaker and instructor John Paizs developed this workshop, which hundreds of working film professionals have attended.
About the Instructor:
John Paizs is a director, writer, and actor from Winnipeg.
In 1985, his much-celebrated independent comedy Crime Wave premiered at the Festival of Festivals (now the Toronto International Film Festival). His second feature film, 1999’s Top of the Food Chain, is a stylish, low-budget send-up of the Golden Age 50s science fiction movies.
Paizs is the former Director in Residence at the Canadian Film Centre.
FTM is a non-for-profit charity and member of the Province of Manitoba’s Sector Council program funded through the Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources. FTM builds a highly skilled and adaptable film industry workforce to support the activities of Manitoba production companies. FTM collaborates and partners with members of the film industry to identify training needs to support workforce development.