Artistic Structure

The collection of short documentary films " Lodz: From Dawn 'til Dusk" is an attempt to depict the city using camcorders in an un-intrusive way. Participants choose one hour during the day and try to find a situation which is set in that particular time frame. Each film is autonomous part and contains its own dramatic structure. Yet at the same time, all the films assembled together form a one-hour long documentary film. The task repeated every year will create a chronicle of the city. Every student portrays "their hour". Every year, participating students shoot the depiction of a single day which gradually builds the history and story of the City.

Formal Structure

All short films are shot using DV or HDV camcorders, with stereo sound, in a 16:9 aspect ratio. They last between 4 to 5 min. This framework allows for the drama to run its course while still requiring conciseness.

The films are shot from the point of view of an observer, with the filmmaker not being involved in the action. Through a detailed observation, the filmmakers seek greater metaphors.

Educational Aim

The project assumes the cooperation of students with their professors in the form of workshops at all stages of shooting:

• photographic documentation of subjects in the fabric of the city,
• choosing a subject and pitching the idea,
• creating a script outline and an analysis of photographic materials, taking into account both the short form and the whole film (artistic responsibility, both individual and collective),
• editing, with the focus on building extended levels of meaning (forming an organic connection between the picture and sound)

Invitation to the international project – "The World from Dawn Till Dusk"

We want to invite all students from across the globe: from Havana to Helsinki to Tokyo, to participate in the new undertaking, based on the 'Lodz From Dawn Till Dusk' formula.

Our project is an attempt to create a deeper more layered depiction of the world, in strong opposition to the superficial image of reality created by media news.

This is both an educational task (shooting short documentary films forming one big whole), as well as interesting urban research on the cities and their societies, depicting the condition in diverse countries, on different continents. It also creates the possibility to exchange experiences, techniques and afterthoughts.

Aim of the International Project:

• create a collection of documentary films based on the idea "The world from Dawn Till Dusk" - make an international fusion of didactic potentails of film schools,
• observe and compare both similarities and differences between cultures of particular cities and societies,
• exchange skills between students of various film schools (experiences connected both with shooting a documentary short film and cultural and sociological impressions).

End Result on the Project

• joint screening of films "The World from Dawn Till Dusk" - which were created in different cities and by different film schools' students,
• releasing the collection of documentary films "The World From Dawn Till Dusk" on DVD,
• broadcasting the collection on television,
• screenings of the collection at international festivals.

Join us! Please write to world@filmschool.lodz.pl

And of course we hope to meet you in Lodz at a big screening of "The world from dawn till dusk"!