August 9, 7:30 pm
Cinemagoers today know a great deal more about how films are made than they ever used to, what with film-set reports, video diaries, social media posts, trailers and teasers. This wealth of additional material has become an integral part of promoting a movie, creating a buzz and generating audience interest in the latest blockbuster, in some cases years before the film is even released. At the same time, we moviegoers are beginning to understand more fully not only how films are made, but also who actually makes them. By analyzing footage from film-sets, this lecture sets out to scrutinize the questions of creativity, collaboration and working practices in media-production. What is «creativity» in the context of film-making? Whose work is creative, and whose isn't? Who is included in or excluded from the movie business? And finally, are films made in the way that we see them – is there a dark side to film-production lurking off-camera? Over the course of her lecture, Bridget Conor will address these questions using examples drawn from films well-known to the audience.Dr Bridget Conor is a senior lecturer at King's College London, her main research interests focus on the work of film industry professionals. She is author of the book Screenwriting: Creative Labour and Professional Practice (2014).
This lecture is organized in collaboration with the Higher School of Economics in St Petersburg.
Admission is free of charge. The number of participants is limited. Please register in advance.
The Higher School of Economics has prepared a series of multidisciplinary lectures that seek to offer the general public a fresh perspective on the social phenomena and processes that we encounter every day. Leading Russian and international social scientists will use non-intuitive examples and innovative methods to show the audience just how the world in which we are living is changing before our very eyes. The speakers will present new readings on everyday phenomena, sharing recent research findings from the last 2-3 years, as well as their own personal methodologies. Each lecture offers its own introduction to the social sciences. The course is divided into three thematic blocks: Everyday Life, Culture and Big Data and New Technologies.
