There are not many talented film workers in Russia, but they still exist. And most of them graduated from the leading Russian cinematographic university - the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov.
About the institute
Named VGIK in honor of the great Soviet director, actor and screenwriter - Sergei Apollinarievich Gerasimov. This man made a huge contribution to the development of cinema in Russia. During his life, he received a huge number of various awards, including the Lenin Prize, the Stalin Prize three times, the State Prize of the USSR, and was also awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
In addition to cinematic activities, Gerasimov was actively involved in politics, was a member of the CPSU (b), as well as a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 3-4 convocations.
The institute itself was actually founded on September 1, 1919, but then it was called the “State School of Cinematography”. It received its current name in 1938, however, then instead of the word“All-Russian” used the word “All-Union”.
Faculties
The All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov trains almost all categories of specialists in the field of cinematography. The main faculties are as follows:
- Acting.
- Director's.
- Artistic.
- Faculty of Production and Economics.
- Operator's.
- Screenplay.
- Animations and multimedia.
All faculties of VGIK prepare specialists of the highest level, and students are recruited according to the principle of workshops. The bottom line is that one of the teachers in a particular field opens his own workshop, in which he recruits a certain number of students and supervises their training throughout the entire period. Students attend lectures by professors (VGIK), whose speci alties cover various subjects, but the master is responsible for students in the first place and teaches the main professional subjects.
Director's Department
The director's profession is one of the most important in the production of a film, because it is this person who decides what the tape will be like, what it will be about, who will star in it, and, accordingly, it is on his shoulders that the main burden of responsibility for success falls project. The directing department of VGIK over the years of work has produced many talented and successful directors who have contributed both todomestic and world cinema. Among them are people like:
- Andrey Tarkovsky.
- Nikita Mikhalkov.
- Vsevolod Pudovkin.
- Sergey Bondarchuk and other talented cinematographers.
The directing department prepares specialists in four different areas: feature films, non-fiction (documentary) films, sound engineering and animation. These directions are very different, and the approach to work in them is fundamentally different, so each of them has its own workshop.
The term of study in general is 5 years. During this time, students attend lectures, both in the main disciplines directly related to directing, and in general education. The latter include, for example, the history of world cinema and the history of fine arts, as well as a number of similar subjects.
In addition to lectures, future directors perform practical tasks, and at the very end of the training they shoot their main work, which is a full-fledged short film.
Applicants
Recruitment takes place on a competitive basis and is carried out in 3 stages. The first is an interview. It takes place after the applicant has already sent all the necessary documents. At the interview, the commission determines the general cultural level of a person, as well as the degree of his awareness in various fields of art. At the same stage, an analysis of the applicant's creative works takes place, which must be attached to the documents when sending. These works representsome of the most successful photographs taken by a person, a biographical sketch, as well as a story about some interesting case from life.
The second stage is a creative test. It is also a written work, but this time the applicant writes it on the proposed topic and in the institute building. No more than 6 hours are given to complete the work.
The third stage is a professional test. This stage consists of two parts. The first is reading an excerpt from fiction, a poem and a fable. The applicant chooses the source texts independently. The second part consists of various creative tasks that will help determine the degree of development of the applicant's creative thinking. It is impossible to describe these tasks, since they can be absolutely anything, but what they have in common is that in any case you will have to show creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
That's it. After the applicant has passed these 3 stages, he can only wait for the results.
Actors
Despite the fact that the faculties of VGIK produce specialists mainly in the field of cinema, the acting department also prepares theater artists.
The term of study at this faculty will be 4 years. During this time, students go through all the stages of becoming a professional actor, starting with the drawing of small sketches, and reaching large performances and films. The basis of training is the methodology of the famous Russian theater and film figure K. S. Stanislavsky.
Students of the acting department study not onlyprofessional subjects, such as stage speech or stage movement, but also general education, which include the history of world cinema and theater.
How exams work
Admission to the acting department also takes place in 3 stages. At the first stage, applicants pass photo and video tests in order to demonstrate their ability to stay in front of the camera.
The second stage is a creative test - reading by heart a poem chosen by the applicant, a passage of prose, and a fable.
The third stage is the interview. It is carried out in order to determine the general cultural level of the applicant. Members of the commission ask a variety of questions, one way or another related to the subject of art and acting.
After all three stages, the commission determines the list of those who entered the acting department and recommended for budget places, that is, those who scored the most points.
Cameramen
The cameraman plays a huge role in the perception of the picture by the viewer, because it is he who is responsible for how expressive the frame will be, and how much the viewer can understand from it.
The work of the operator is difficult not only creatively, but also technically, because modern cinema equipment is at a very high level and not everyone can cope with it.
Graduates who graduated from the VGIK camera department leave the institute as true professionals. They are capablecreate beautiful videos and photos, and they also have the opportunity to participate in major film projects and make themselves known to the whole world.
The term of study is 5 years, and during that time students are engaged in both theoretical and practical work, honing their skills in photography and video shooting.
Admission process
For admission to the camera department, as well as to other faculties of VGIK, you must send a folder with documents, but you must also attach a portfolio of the most successful shots, after which the commission evaluates these works and conducts a number of additional tests. If the applicant copes with all the technical tasks, he is invited to an interview, at which the commission determines its final decision.
In conclusion
On the territory of the Russian Federation there are not so many universities that train specialists in the field of cinematography. This is largely due to the fact that the profession does not require a large number of people who are ready to simply work for money. It requires a creative approach, a deep understanding of your business and a high level of professionalism. And they teach all this at the leading Russian cinematographic university, the faculties of VGIK, we examined in the framework of this article.
