Since 1986, the school has been named after the film director and actor Sergei Gerasimov. A full member of the international CILECT network of film schools, the Institute became a university in 2008.
More recently, its alumni were drawn both from the USSR (Soviet Union) and from other socialist and other countries, though it was a requirement for students to first learn Russian prior to attending. It is among the few film schools which offer scriptwriting courses.
Constructivists proposed to replace art’s traditional concern with composition with a focus on construction
Objects were to be created not in order to express beauty, or the artist’s outlook, or to represent the world, but to carry out a fundamental analysis of the materials and forms of art, one which might lead to the design of functional objects.
Design for the Monument to the Third International (1919-20)
Artist: Vladimir Tatlin
Pure Red Color, Pure Yellow Color, Pure Blue Color (1921)
‘The declaration of war against Germany brought an abrupt end to commercial exchanges with the country. On the eve of the conflict, nearly 90 percent of film productions shown in Russia had come from abroad. The conflicts on land and over sea disrupted film distribution circuits. This was an extraordinary opportunity for an industry in which branches of the large French companies, somewhat Russianized, impeded their autonomy; in which studios bearing German sounding names were threatened (e.g. the Baltic Pavel Thiemann); and in which Russian entrepreneurs strove to fill the empty screens. The numbers speak for themselves: from 129 short and medium length films in 1913, national production rose to 230 in 1914, to 370 in 1915, and then to 500 in 1916.’
The institute was founded in 1919 by the film director Vladimir Gardin as the Moscow Film School and is the oldest film school in the world. From 1934 to 1991 the film school was known as the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography.
The founding of the institute was authorized by V. I. Lenin in 1919. Its work in the early years was hampered by the shortage of film stock. It has had an illustrious history as one the oldest of the film schools in existence; many great film directors have taught at the institute. During the period of the Soviet Union it was a requirement of the state to attend VGIK in order to be allowed to direct a film. More recently, its alumni were drawn both from the USSR (Soviet Union) and from other socialist and other countries, though it was a requirement for students to first learn Russian prior to attending. It is among the few film schools which offer scriptwriting courses.
French New Wave constitutes a vital movement in film history. While the movement originated in the 1950s, much of modern filmmaking is still firmly rooted in French New Wave thought—from the works of Quentin Tarantino to Martin Scorsese
The French New Wave is a movement that decided to forgo traditional filming conventions in favour of experimenting with the medium in a way that mean that even some of the most ingrained ideas to cinema were flipped on their heads. Concepts from shooting on location instead of a sound stage or turning away from the camera to leaving in outtakes or breaking the 4th wall were utilised by many filmmakers during this period.
Left Bank – radical, artistic, experimental
Right Bank – established, financially stable, Cahiers du cinéma
Astruc believed that since the director had complete control of every element in the film that they seen them more like authors of a screenplay as they were trying to get their message across to the public through the use of cinema.
examples:
Jean-Luc Godard
his films are “littered with references to films, books, compositions and paintings, as well as the people, places and political ideals that have shaped his personality and psyche”
Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino borrowed characteristics and aspects from French new wave, the main film that does this is Reservoir dogs which includes jump-cuts, a non- linear narration, the use of real location filming and very long shots that lasted up to 25 minutes where he stayed in the same location and introduced a new character without cutting the shot.
