tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post2145086638710998180..comments2023-09-15T04:27:57.129-04:00Comments on Commentarama: Film School Follies: Part 11 – The Best of TimesAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-91086578735014287102010-01-24T12:20:34.143-05:002010-01-24T12:20:34.143-05:00Andrew - Too true! There is a school of thought th...Andrew - Too true! There is a school of thought that says, "Don't bother with film school. The best way to learn filmmaking is to make one." But at school, you get access to expensive equipment and you meet people. Both ideas have pros and cons.<br /><br />As for me, my dad recently asked, "Do you regret going to Full Sail?" I'm not making movies anytime soon and I plan on pursuing improv comedy. But I couldn't tell him "no." Like anything else, it certainly built character and it's worth it for the people you meet.ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-8752575165189216002010-01-24T12:17:11.694-05:002010-01-24T12:17:11.694-05:00Stan -
You are correct. However, not all filmmak...Stan - <br /><br />You are correct. However, not all filmmaking is by committee (the Star Wars prequels seemed to suffer by having no one question Lucas on anything, unlike the originals). Student films are, of course, a different story.<br /><br />I'll be talking more about this in a couple weeks re: our 35mm films. It all points to a lack of leadership. But when you have the instructor saying one thing, the UPM saying another thing, and the director saying yet another thing, it gets a little confusing. And everyone has an EGO.ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-76901108401460731862010-01-24T12:15:05.098-05:002010-01-24T12:15:05.098-05:00Scott, That's the lament of getting older, if ...Scott, That's the lament of getting older, if only I'd know then...<br /><br />There is this company that puts college courses on DVD (great stuff), and their motto is "college is wasted on the young." Very true!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-87570274840754200122010-01-24T12:11:59.012-05:002010-01-24T12:11:59.012-05:00Thanks, Writer X!
A film about a film crew making...Thanks, Writer X!<br /><br />A film about a film crew making a film? It's been done before and a few titles come to mind: Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending, 8 1/2, and a Three Stooges short titled "Movie Maniacs" among others.<br /><br />After our 35mm films, I realized I should've been the guy doing the making-of documentary. (Full Sail used to have a student serve in that position but not anymore.) You'll find out more in a few weeks but considering some of the calamitous events that happened during the making of our 35mm film, I could've come out of school with an award-worthy documentary on my hands!ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-25554965663257592362010-01-24T11:21:16.813-05:002010-01-24T11:21:16.813-05:00Seems like a lot of fun. It would be tuff however ...Seems like a lot of fun. It would be tuff however doing everything by committee, it’s seems a bit of pushme-pullme process.StanHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07395708786509590321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-73059179752076037842010-01-24T10:36:25.975-05:002010-01-24T10:36:25.975-05:00Fun post, Scott. It's cool to read about the ...Fun post, Scott. It's cool to read about the behind-the-scenes world-building. Has anyone ever done a film about a film crew making a film? Throw in a romance and possibly a werewolf or vampire and you've got yourself a blockbuster! ;-)Writer Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16505411188186283813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-20311907342469817742010-01-24T00:09:21.208-05:002010-01-24T00:09:21.208-05:00I agree (but we've been over all that before)....I agree (but we've been over all that before).<br /><br />One thing I haven't mentioned in the blog is that, by focusing on nothing but directing, I inadvertently deprived myself of other learning opportunities. I could've focused on, say for example, audio and worked as a sound tech and/or boom op. Those are marketable skills in Hollywood and elsewhere. But to say "I'm a director." "Oh yeah? Prove it!" :-)<br /><br />Same goes for jobs like camera assistant, editor, etc. But while I learned this stuff along with everyone else, I was so focused on directing a short film that I sort of missed the forrest for the trees.ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-84672925058890837012010-01-23T23:47:01.842-05:002010-01-23T23:47:01.842-05:00Scott, I too would like to see BH make some change...Scott, I too would like to see BH make some changes. I'd like to see them offer a little more technical/insiders look at times, and I'd like to see them do more forward looking pieces -- things they'd like to see happen, rather than things they are upset about.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-11231213356315013732010-01-23T23:11:45.101-05:002010-01-23T23:11:45.101-05:00Oh, I should mention this. "The Nitpickers Gu...Oh, I should mention this. "The Nitpickers Guild" was real. It was started by a MIDI programmer named Phil Farrand. Back before Paramount started cracking down on unauthorized Star Trek books, he wrote one called The Nitpickers Guide for Next Generation Trekkers. He followed it up with a monthly newsletter and books on the original series, DS9, The X-Files, and a TNG volume 2.<br /><br />For that one, he took member submissions so if you ever find a copy of The Nitpickers Guide for Next Generation Trekkers - Vol. 2, you'll see my name in the fine print at the beginning. :-) I don't know what Mr. Farrand is up to now.ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-41691522339358100412010-01-23T23:08:24.763-05:002010-01-23T23:08:24.763-05:00Tennessee -
Thanks! I remember getting really in...Tennessee - <br /><br />Thanks! I remember getting really into the production design part before realizing what I really enjoyed was the research - it's important but production design encompasses so much more. And as I mentioned in the blog, I wasn't a big fan of the heavy tools and I knew nothing of architecture (though I bought a book on the subject after graduation - A Visual Dictionary of Architecture by Francis D.K. Ching).<br /><br />One of the other films took place in the future and their people built sterile 2001-style corridors and had cool props. I remember almost wishing I had worked on that film. I say "almost" because their crew was very disorganized for the longest time (not that ours was a model of efficiency).ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-27324605118470257202010-01-23T23:00:40.082-05:002010-01-23T23:00:40.082-05:00LawHawk -
I did enjoy myself, only learning late...LawHawk - <br /><br />I did enjoy myself, only learning later how many people weren't necessarily enjoying my presence at the time. That's life, I guess. (And it gets worse, as you'll find out in a couple of weeks.)<br /><br />As for Bowling..., yeah, I'm pretty sure we had a good discussion. Many folks I went to school with are anything but the usual "Hollywood crowd." Hell, we had actual church-goers! And this was early 2004, just before election fever. While some people were threatening to leave the country if Bush won, one of my classmates said the same but about Kerry.ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-68795365117929022942010-01-23T22:56:12.265-05:002010-01-23T22:56:12.265-05:00Andrew -
Thanks, as always (Florida Panthers won...Andrew - <br /><br />Thanks, as always (Florida Panthers won the game; I just got home!).<br /><br />Most people don't think of all the work that goes on (I wish the BH folks would write more about the various behind the scenes technicians and what they do - they're the unsung heroes of the biz). When I lived in LA, I worked as a non-union extra for a month. Now my parents pay attention to the background actors when they watch TV, knowing how much effort goes into that sort of thing.<br /><br />Re: info overload, I assume you're referring to the script supervisor gig. Yeah, lots of info there. Thank God we were doing a small student film. I couldn't imagine being script sup on Lord of the Rings!ScottDSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-19316660006614655702010-01-23T21:42:12.885-05:002010-01-23T21:42:12.885-05:00Thanks Scott - interesting as always, particularly...Thanks Scott - interesting as always, particularly the duties of production designerTennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-81981662121067112782010-01-23T19:57:06.832-05:002010-01-23T19:57:06.832-05:00Scott: It sounds like you may have enjoyed yourse...Scott: It sounds like you may have enjoyed yourself, despite the byzantine twists and turns of the courses.<br /><br />It's nice to know that even at film school, there was discussion about <i>Bowling For Columbine</i>. I guess I'm used to the Hollywood crowd that would universally praise its brilliance.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-40687352261511883242010-01-23T18:04:47.990-05:002010-01-23T18:04:47.990-05:00Nice article Scott. I'm glad that you learned...Nice article Scott. I'm glad that you learned something out of film school! LOL!<br /><br />It's funny that you never think of all the work that goes on besides simply framing the shot and shouting go. In fact, the amount of information that you talk about recording sounds like a real candidate for information overload.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com