OLLI@DU / 2023 FALL / COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Creative Image Processing: Post-Production on your Smartphone and/or Computer

VIPA 1026

Tuesday

Dates: 10/17 to 11/7 (4 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Mark Payler

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: On Campus

This beginning-to-intermediate level handson demonstration class will introduce the member to a wide range of skills related to the post-production of images captured on digital devices such as a smartphone (primarily an iOS to be used) or computer (a PC will be used for demonstrations). The course will focus on determining how much post-production work is needed to maintain the integrity of the subject and produce an outstanding image.

The course will feature demonstrations, as well as lengthy discussions about the approach one should take before modifying an image, the use of AI (yes — especially starting to be prevalent in photography), and where photography is headed in the not-to-distant future. Smartphone users, as well as actual digital camera users, will benefit from the content of this course no matter the level of experience one may have with creative image processing. Please note that prior to the first class a list of apps and software to be demonstrated will be provided to the members of this course. Some programs or apps may be “free” while others can be obtained for a 30-day trial period before purchasing the programs. No purchase of any software is mandatory for membership in this course.

Documentary Films

VIPA 1016

Wednesday

Dates: 9/20 to 11/8 (8 weeks)

Time: 12:45–3:15 PM

Facilitator: Richard Reinish, Platinum Facilitator

Location: 1st Universalist

Class Limit: 80 Participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

Each week a different documentary film will be shown in class followed by a discussion. Pertinent readings will be sent out prior to class. None of the films have been previously shown in the facilitator’s prior courses.

Enter the World of Weird and Unusual Films

VIPA 1020

Thursday

Dates: 9/21 to 11/16 (no class 11/2) (8 weeks) Time: 1–3:30 PM

Facilitators: Dixie Vice, Senior Facilitator/John Lungerhausen, Master Facilitator

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: West

As Dorothy said to her little dog, Toto, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” Our selection of films for the Fall Term will feature filmmaking which pushes the boundaries of the craft. If you are looking for a weekly series of lighthearted entertaining films with fluff and frills and happy endings, this is probably NOT the class for you. To say the films are “interesting” would be an understatement. These films will require your full attention. No napping or snack breaks. As with many of the films we choose to show, you will need to think about what the director might have intended in making the film. These films might leave you with questions that may or may not have answers. You’ll have the opportunity to let us, and the other class members, know what you think. The films include the following: Under the Skin (2013), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Return (Russia 2003), Adaptation (2002) and four more (see syllabus for a complete list and schedule.) All movies will be shown in their entirety and with subtitles or closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

The Film Battleship Potemkin and its Groundbreaking Techniques

VIPA 1023

Tuesday

Dates: 9/26 to 10/17 (4 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitators: Arlene Pickett

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: West

The film Battleship Potemkin, directed by Sergei Eisenstein of the Moscow Film School, was commissioned in 1925 as part of a commemoration of early events in the Russian Revolution which occurred in St Petersburg in 1905. Filmmakers were experimenting with camera placement and editing to convey a powerful political statement. The reception in Russia and Europe was enthusiastic. Unfortunately, as the years went by, some distributors made their own editing decisions, removing some portions and rearranging others and the film as envisioned by Eisenstein disappeared. KINO, a German restoration group, produced a new Blu Ray edition in 2010 which included a film score composed by Edmund Meisel. In this course, we will learn some of the historical background which inspired the script while we watch the film in its entirety. We will return to the film on a scene-by-scene basis using study techniques which were popularized by film critic Roger Ebert and we will discuss brief samples of work from other films and directors. Directors, editors and cinematographers have long since employed many of Eisenstein’s innovations and as 21st century filmgoers we take them for granted.