tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post360743450380967895..comments2023-09-15T04:27:57.129-04:00Comments on Commentarama: Film School Follies: Part 18 – Dancing into the FireAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-34099362831262454362010-04-04T17:45:33.463-04:002010-04-04T17:45:33.463-04:00Andrew -
I don't doubt that at all. I think m...Andrew -<br /><br />I don't doubt that at all. I think my problem at the time was that, with the instructors choosing which films were produced, it fell out of our hands and we might've been compelled to pick scripts that challenged us. I mean, a 35mm short film which takes place in one room? What's the point? That was my feeling at the time.<br /><br />Believe me, I'm not crying over spilled milk. :-) Film school, like anything else, is what you make of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-22800777980683941362010-04-04T17:32:20.237-04:002010-04-04T17:32:20.237-04:00Scott, I sounds to me like those are all just some...Scott, I sounds to me like those are all just some of the problems you're going to find in the real world.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-63352140470337972302010-04-04T17:23:47.219-04:002010-04-04T17:23:47.219-04:00Joel -
"Mundane" is just my opinion. A...Joel - <br /><br />"Mundane" is just my opinion. And I didn't ask anyone anything. It breaks down like this:<br /><br />In 16mm, we couldn't shoot on location and we only had two shooting days, yet the instructors chose scripts that would've benefited from location shooting and more time (a movie that takes place on a plane, a war movie, a movie set in the future, etc.)<br /><br />But for 35mm, when we had more time and equipment and we could go on location, the instructors chose scripts that didn't quite take advantage of those "perks." Both Shooting for the Moon and Stepfather took place in living rooms and bedrooms - all of which could be built on stage. Only In the Nude really took advantage of location work and Canadians, which was shoehorned in at the expense of Stepfather, could have but didn't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-48899038030755710072010-04-04T11:50:47.382-04:002010-04-04T11:50:47.382-04:00Scott,
You said that the instructors picked the m...Scott,<br /><br />You said that the instructors picked the mundane films to produce. Did you ever ask them why they did that?Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-9644080110317607562010-04-04T09:36:26.797-04:002010-04-04T09:36:26.797-04:00What's the point of being able to point to a f...What's the point of being able to point to a film and say, "I did that" if the film is total crap? Students should at least try to make a decent movie. I realize the important thing is simply getting the chance to do it but I remember getting into some heated conflicts with people on <i>Canadians</i>. Some folks wanted to use certain camera equipment even though the movie didn't call for fancy camera moves. A crane shot in the middle of the film would've called attention to itself. While it is a learning experience, there needs to be some thought put into the final product and why certain things are done the way they are.<br /><br />The instructors are partly to blame (at least in our case) for not encouraging certain people but also not reigning in others, not to mention they were the ones that picked completely mundane scripts to film! And sadly, much like in the real film biz, ego plays a huge part in it.<br /><br />As for being responsive, I can't really speak to that point. If you ask my friend Mike, he'll say, "I went to film school with the intention of writing and directing a movie, and I did just that." On the other hand, someone like my friend Steve simply wanted to work on films in some capacity and he found his niche as script supervisor/editor. I'm sure there were a couple others who wanted to direct but never got the chance (except for 16mm). To them, I'm not sure what to say. I suppose they could've added another 35mm film to the curriculum but our class size wouldn't allow it.<br /><br />P.S. Happy Easter, everyone!! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-68704377062489620282010-04-04T01:50:09.914-04:002010-04-04T01:50:09.914-04:00Scott, I would say while it may seem like a mess, ...Scott, I would say while it may seem like a mess, the finished product isn't really as important as everyone getting a chance to do part of it and being able to point to something they did.<br /><br />It's easy to say "that's life" but with tuitions these days, schools need to be much more responsive to student, not just some of the students.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-67406049283748034052010-04-04T01:04:55.805-04:002010-04-04T01:04:55.805-04:00I figured you'd get the point... I only added ...I figured you'd get the point... I only added the clarification after reading over my first post. :-)<br /><br />Not everyone who goes to film school wants to direct. And there are only a limited number of films produced so, inevitably, a few students who want to direct will get the shaft. Such is life.<br /><br />In 16mm, as I've mentioned before, anyone who wanted to direct could but since each 16mm film only shot for two days, you'd get a situation like we had with <i>Sanguinity</i> where we had 8 or 9 directors and several of them only directed one or two individual shots.<br /><br />In fact, Full Sail might be unique in this regard. Most film schools don't allow multiple directors, let alone a whole gaggle of them. I think this is Full Sail's way of addressing the very problem you bring up. But the results are mixed to say the least.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-36174725048517034982010-04-04T00:52:03.254-04:002010-04-04T00:52:03.254-04:00Scott, Yeah, I got your point. It sounds like eac...Scott, Yeah, I got your point. It sounds like each of the projects was difficult with a lot of upset people. I guess that's to be expected in that sort of environment.<br /><br />It makes sense to me that as many people as possible would get a chance to direct, as well as do everything else available on the project. In fact, if only a couple people got to direct the entire semester, then there wouldn't really be a lot of incentive for people to go to the school.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-30499024521963945022010-04-04T00:39:23.140-04:002010-04-04T00:39:23.140-04:00The point I was trying to make was that this happe...The point I was trying to make was that this happens with every student film. Obviously, not all of them include a death but there is always stress and peer-pressure and conflict.<br /><br />And the instructors drilled it into our heads that every moment counts, every project counts... when I was a PA in Los Angeles, I wouldn't even sit down out of fear that Spielberg would happen to visit that day and hire the PA who was standing up! (I exaggerate... slightly.)<br /><br />As for the Facebook photo, our 35mm instructor (Rob) also commented with a bit of wisdom: <br /><br /><i>I'm not sure why students are expecting fu&*^#ing Chinatown every time they try to make a film. The big salamis f&*^em up with 100 times the budget and the crew..</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-84445510417194994522010-04-04T00:24:17.073-04:002010-04-04T00:24:17.073-04:00Andrew -
It's funny. One of the lab assistan...Andrew - <br /><br />It's funny. One of the lab assistants recently posted on Facebook a picture of the <i>Canadians</i> poster hanging in one of the school's hallways (standard procedure for every film poster).<br /><br />Several (presumably) recent graduates have left comments for the photo and they are full of nothing but bitching and whining... all the same problems we had. Dennis (our class' elder statesman) chimed in with this:<br /><br /><i>TO SCOTT AND RYAN, folks who actually had something to do with this, is the above set of Posts, not absolutely hilarious ???!!. Just shows how right you guys were, and how insanely wrong the rest of us were. This is why positions are earned....take em, do your role, and shut the Fudge up. Which we finally did and you guys did a great job, along with Jerrod. I think that as time passes our class gets tighter, not on here, bickering like A-Holes. And to the Gal who said she would never be hired as an Editor because of this post.....not true, your work will or wont get you hired, not this assinine thread, this I assure you. But I would not link anyone to this thread...LOL</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-53670267317105752482010-04-03T19:39:29.050-04:002010-04-03T19:39:29.050-04:00Scott, I get more and more amazed that you guys ma...Scott, I get more and more amazed that you guys managed to complete a movie.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com