Up until now, I’ve felt only like a film student. I have studied different aspects of film, tried some things out with my personal 10-minute project, and done exercises in editing, sound, and directing.
However, this past project, the 5-minute short story adaptation, has felt different. The music video was the first project where I felt everyone in the crew put in at least 100% effort, but this project is where I felt everyone became, or at least aimed to be, 100% professional. Dev and I discussed the logistics of his script and really worked hard to make it the best it could be. Merissa toiled endlessly to make sure we could shoot in the locations I wanted and that we had everything needed to make our film the best it could be. Vicky and I worked together to make sure we had good storyboards and a clear idea of how the film should look, then she and Anna set up the lights to make sure we had an actual professional-looking film. Anna set up radio mics and placed the boom strategically to make sure we had great sound. Simon then spliced the best bits together to make each cut flow smoothly, pace the film appropriately, and develop the emotion within the story.
And me... I looked at the monitor and yelled “Action!” and “Cut!”
This, of course, isn’t all that everyone did. We had a very small crew, so some had to fill in for extra job roles, of course. But it really felt like everyone worked hard to make a proper film and that, in the end, that’s what we got.
And so now, at least for me, I feel the bar has been raised. Sure, we might not be able to get this level in our course exercises, but those are for learning. The film projects are for applying what we learned. So my goal for my future projects: to be at least as good as our 5-minute. Of course, maybe I’m hyping up our specific film too much and people will be disappointed.
...But I don’t think so...
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
20.12.09
15.9.09
Celebrity-ish Encounter
Today I had a lecture from Jan Harlan on various aspects of film production and had the good fortune of sitting down and talking with him in a small group after lunch. He was very kind and curteous and always excited to share his wisdom with us young folk. And furthermore, he genuinely seemed to be excited by the energy we had. He even accepted a manuscript for a children's book written by one of my classmates.
I would be surprised if anyone reading this had previously heard of Jan Harlan and knew who he was. He is not a big-shot Hollywood producer, he certainly seems to have no interest in the spotlight whatsoever. But, he is an extremely important person to be familiar with in the film industry. He was Stanley Kubrick's producer from 1975 until the man's death in '99.
The enthusiasm I got from Jan (he doesn't really seem like a Mr. Harlan) felt so incredible and earnest. I believe he was truly excited for our generation to start making new films and thinking of new creative ways to approach our productions (a big part of his lecture was on production expenses, especially in relation to music).
Even better, he will be around for supper, all 3 meals tomorrow, and has 2 lectures and an introduction to The Shining to give us. So there is much more to come. He has reinforced all my passions towards art & filmmaking, and I don't doubt he will continue to do so with his future lectures and, simply, his future presence at the school over the next 28 hours or so.
Jan said passion is the most important thing. Even if your story is not about yourself, you must have a passion for it, something that draws you into the story. Either you relate to it or it is about something that is very dear to you, that you feel very strongly about. You need to have Knowledge + Passion or Love, as he put it in his lecture. I think he's right.
And I plan to capture this passion in my own filmmaking. Even if it does run the big risk of "putting all my cards on the table" as Jan put it.
I would be surprised if anyone reading this had previously heard of Jan Harlan and knew who he was. He is not a big-shot Hollywood producer, he certainly seems to have no interest in the spotlight whatsoever. But, he is an extremely important person to be familiar with in the film industry. He was Stanley Kubrick's producer from 1975 until the man's death in '99.
The enthusiasm I got from Jan (he doesn't really seem like a Mr. Harlan) felt so incredible and earnest. I believe he was truly excited for our generation to start making new films and thinking of new creative ways to approach our productions (a big part of his lecture was on production expenses, especially in relation to music).
Even better, he will be around for supper, all 3 meals tomorrow, and has 2 lectures and an introduction to The Shining to give us. So there is much more to come. He has reinforced all my passions towards art & filmmaking, and I don't doubt he will continue to do so with his future lectures and, simply, his future presence at the school over the next 28 hours or so.
Jan said passion is the most important thing. Even if your story is not about yourself, you must have a passion for it, something that draws you into the story. Either you relate to it or it is about something that is very dear to you, that you feel very strongly about. You need to have Knowledge + Passion or Love, as he put it in his lecture. I think he's right.
And I plan to capture this passion in my own filmmaking. Even if it does run the big risk of "putting all my cards on the table" as Jan put it.
2.9.09
Landed
So I've arrived in Denmark, I am at the European Film College (EFC) in quaint little Ebeltoft. It's fuckin' beautiful. I'll make sure to upload the photos I took from my room so you all can be jealous of my beautiful view. It's quaint. I love it.
There's not really too much to say. It's orientation week (frosh week), so we've just been getting a lot of information about what to expect, seeing our way around the college and the local town. I was delayed in communicating with the outside world, however, because upon arriving at the school, we found out the internet was down. Not just in the school, but in the entire town, which I suppose gives you an idea of just how quaint (and remote) this area is.
I had my first lecture today - "On The Performing Arts" by this Danish producer who does some guest lectures at the school. It was really cool. It also opened my eyes to just how different the European (and Danish in particular) approach to film is. At the Canadian film schools I had considered, they had a much more commercial approach to film, talking more about films that simply "addressed the human condition". But when they talk about "the genius of Lars von Trier" or the beauty in various abstract "expressionist" European films, it's... I dunno. It's not like in North America.
We got to have a sneak preview screening of Taking Woodstock (it hasn't come out in Denmark yet) and Soren Høy, our school president, was talking about how it is nice, fine film. But he also talked about how most films are "what you see is what you get" (like Taking Woodstock). And he's right. There might be some metaphors to analyse and so on, but few movies do what Lars von Trier or some other European filmmakers do (like the guy who did Run Lola Run), where they make movies that have many deeper layers to be examined and discussed. I have only seen one von Trier film, although I will be seeing another tonight (Breaking The Waves), and so it will be interesting to see how this movie can be deeply examined.
In the meantime, everything is cool and hunky dorey and I will start actual film projects next week, where we will make several short films a day in an exercise called Shooting Games, and I will (without instruction) get to try writing, directing, producing, editing, camera filming, lighting, and everything else.
Anywho, I am feeling anti-social huddled in the corner of the dining hall on the public computer. I'll write more later. I arrived. I'm alive. And I'm lovin' this shit right here.
Peace!
There's not really too much to say. It's orientation week (frosh week), so we've just been getting a lot of information about what to expect, seeing our way around the college and the local town. I was delayed in communicating with the outside world, however, because upon arriving at the school, we found out the internet was down. Not just in the school, but in the entire town, which I suppose gives you an idea of just how quaint (and remote) this area is.
I had my first lecture today - "On The Performing Arts" by this Danish producer who does some guest lectures at the school. It was really cool. It also opened my eyes to just how different the European (and Danish in particular) approach to film is. At the Canadian film schools I had considered, they had a much more commercial approach to film, talking more about films that simply "addressed the human condition". But when they talk about "the genius of Lars von Trier" or the beauty in various abstract "expressionist" European films, it's... I dunno. It's not like in North America.
We got to have a sneak preview screening of Taking Woodstock (it hasn't come out in Denmark yet) and Soren Høy, our school president, was talking about how it is nice, fine film. But he also talked about how most films are "what you see is what you get" (like Taking Woodstock). And he's right. There might be some metaphors to analyse and so on, but few movies do what Lars von Trier or some other European filmmakers do (like the guy who did Run Lola Run), where they make movies that have many deeper layers to be examined and discussed. I have only seen one von Trier film, although I will be seeing another tonight (Breaking The Waves), and so it will be interesting to see how this movie can be deeply examined.
In the meantime, everything is cool and hunky dorey and I will start actual film projects next week, where we will make several short films a day in an exercise called Shooting Games, and I will (without instruction) get to try writing, directing, producing, editing, camera filming, lighting, and everything else.
Anywho, I am feeling anti-social huddled in the corner of the dining hall on the public computer. I'll write more later. I arrived. I'm alive. And I'm lovin' this shit right here.
Peace!
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