Summer Course in Film Production - IED Milano

Language

English

Start date

June 2026

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

75 Hours

Price

2.800 €

Immerse yourself in film language, experiment with visual storytelling, and create your first cinematic project.

Cinema is one of the most powerful and versatile forms of expression today—a space where narrative, images, sound, and creative vision intertwine in a deeply collaborative process. Understanding its mechanisms provides critical and creative tools, not only for making films but also for interpreting and engaging with the contemporary world.

The Summer Course in Film Production is designed to cultivate a foundational understanding of cinema as both an expressive language and a collaborative practice.

The course provides participants with a solid grounding in film language and the key stages of production. Students explore processes from writing to directing to editing, applying these skills firsthand through the creation of a short film.

The skills acquired can be applied in areas such as audiovisual storytelling, video content production, and independent creative practices, offering a strong foundation for future academic or professional paths in the field.

Information to decide

The Summer Course in Film Production is structured as a progressive journey, guiding you from discovering the language of cinema to completing a short film.

Through lectures, guided screenings, and hands-on exercises, you will gradually acquire cultural knowledge and practical tools essential for audiovisual storytelling and video production.

The first part of the course focuses on cinema as an expressive language. You will learn to read and interpret films, analyzing structure, direction, cinematography, and editing. This module also provides an overview of the main film genres, with a special focus on Italian cinema, building a shared vocabulary and a solid theoretical foundation.

The core of the course is writing for cinema. From developing a narrative idea to drafting a complete screenplay, participants are guided through each stage of the creative process.

Next comes the practical phase: directing, cinematography, and shooting. From storyboard to set, you will experience firsthand the production of scenes, acquiring practical skills in smartphone filmmaking and audiovisual production.

Throughout the course, participants work in teams to produce a short film shot on a smartphone, applying every stage of the filmmaking process, from ideation to post-production.

The final day is dedicated to the presentation of projects, including participant pitches and instructor feedback—a moment of professional exchange and shared growth.

The Summer Course in Film Production is ideal for anyone interested in cinema and audiovisual media, even without prior experience.

It is particularly suited for participants from creative fields such as visual arts, design, communication, media, or cultural studies, but is also accessible to those exploring film language for the first time.

No technical skills are required. Participants should bring curiosity, an interest in visual storytelling, a collaborative mindset, and a smartphone with a video editing app.

The course provides a solid foundation for continuing studies or starting a career in the cinema and audiovisual industry.

Syllabus

Film semiotics: how to read a film

This module introduces essential tools for understanding and analyzing film language. Through guided screenings of sequences and films, participants gain insight into how cinema constructs meaning and evokes emotion.



Film genres: a history of cinema through genres

This module explores the history of cinema through the main film genres that have shaped its evolution. Using examples and case studies, participants gain an overview of key genres, with a focus on Italian cinema. They learn to recognize recurring narrative structures, styles, and codes—valuable references for writing and directing.



Writing for cinema: the fundamentals

This module combines theory and practice, focusing on screenwriting and its essential tools. Participants are introduced to concepts such as subject, outline, treatment, and screenplay, alternating theory with practical exercises. The writing process is progressive, guiding the development of a narrative idea and forming the foundation for the short film created during the course.



Directing, cinematography and shooting: from storyboard to set

This module guides participants from visual planning to actual shooting. Principles of direction, framing, composition, and lighting are introduced, from storyboard to set. The activities are primarily practical, allowing students to experience set dynamics firsthand and understand coordination among the various roles in film production.



Editing: rewriting a film

This module treats editing as a central phase of the filmmaking process, where the film takes its final shape. Participants learn to organize footage, build rhythm and continuity, and create narrative coherence. Through hands-on exercises, editing is approached as a form of film rewriting, capable of enhancing or transforming the meaning of the images captured during production.

News

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Three awards for the documentary The Designer is Dead by Gonzalo Hergueta, IED Madrid Alumni

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