"The making of a film is my life. The film is not."
- John Cameron Mitchell
- John Cameron Mitchell
Oh, so I decided to put an entirely new layout and title. While Scribbler will forever be my film nickname thanks to DRA 170 class with Jose, I needed a more professional-looking blog. And to claim a production company this early in my career just seemed too cheesy. Yes, cheesy. Like Velveeta. In any case...
My first semester as a grad student Dodge College is officially over. Whoa. Yes, I survived the beginning of my film school adventure. And it was a damn good adventure. I met a lot of new people--and for the first time I felt like, "Wow, these people actually understand me!" Film people meeting other film people--quite the concept, isn't it? I have my own film school family here. I mean, when you do Wednesday Karaoke night with the same group of friends each week that basically means you're all family. If those people can stand your horrid karaoke singing each week that means they love you. But of course it's not film school without the film. It seemed like every weekend there was a movie to be made. I've made movies at the beach, in deserted roads, from the trunk of a car, and in bathrooms. I played an abused woman, a girl attacked by a doll, a dream girl, and a pregnant teenager with a slit throat. Not many people can say that they've had fake blood sitting in their fridge, or that they sat on top of a moving car holding onto the camera to shoot a tracking shot. It was truly a joy working working on my own as well as other people's films. Yes, it was stressful. Yes, we were all sleep-deprived. But we loved it because we were creating something. Together. And of course, free food makes up for most of the pain, as well as the drinks. They don't call it the Martini Shot for nothing. Shazam.
When I look at the exercises I've done for my production workshop I know they weren't the most cinematic or "professional" looking, but I'm truly proud of my work because I learned from each project. Each exercise helped me to delve deeper into understanding the filmmaking process. It's more internal than simply pointing the camera and pressing the record button. I'm learning how to better communicate to my actors and crew. And, more importantly, I'm learning how to get out of my shell in order to make the movie I want to make. And my shell does need an extra tap or two. People don't often realize how difficult it can be to look someone straight in the eye and say something. Or to touch someone you barely know, put your own hand on their thigh and say, "This is how I want you to touch her for this scene." If you can't tell already, many of the lessons I've learned while making a film are just as relevant to real life. I'll be cliche and add the famous Jean-Luc Godard quote to make my point, "The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second."
In closing, I can honestly say that I've grown as a filmmaker, and as a person within these 4 months. I can never look at movies the same way again, nor can I ever really look at myself the same way either. (Thank you, acting workshop!) I know more, yet there is, of course, more to learn. I'm still in progress, but this semester has showed that I'm off to a decent start. It wasn't smooth. The transition was sure as hell not savvy, but I did it. And that should count for something.
When I look at the exercises I've done for my production workshop I know they weren't the most cinematic or "professional" looking, but I'm truly proud of my work because I learned from each project. Each exercise helped me to delve deeper into understanding the filmmaking process. It's more internal than simply pointing the camera and pressing the record button. I'm learning how to better communicate to my actors and crew. And, more importantly, I'm learning how to get out of my shell in order to make the movie I want to make. And my shell does need an extra tap or two. People don't often realize how difficult it can be to look someone straight in the eye and say something. Or to touch someone you barely know, put your own hand on their thigh and say, "This is how I want you to touch her for this scene." If you can't tell already, many of the lessons I've learned while making a film are just as relevant to real life. I'll be cliche and add the famous Jean-Luc Godard quote to make my point, "The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second."
In closing, I can honestly say that I've grown as a filmmaker, and as a person within these 4 months. I can never look at movies the same way again, nor can I ever really look at myself the same way either. (Thank you, acting workshop!) I know more, yet there is, of course, more to learn. I'm still in progress, but this semester has showed that I'm off to a decent start. It wasn't smooth. The transition was sure as hell not savvy, but I did it. And that should count for something.
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