Meshes of the Afternoon from cronopio on Vimeo.

Film Technology I: 

This has been a really fun and hands on class, every time we are in it we go to the soundstage and learn practical applications for on-set. The last two weeks we went over film editing, which I would love to write more about but to put it simply: cutting and taping together film to make a movie. Yes, actually.

We also went over lighting in the last class. We were shown various lights, going over warm/cold, amps/wattage, what certain lights would be used in certain scenes (ex. a cigarette/dash light for scenes in the car). The lights we were shown for the modern filmmaker are Kino Flo lights.

One of the most interesting things about attending film school in this day and age is seeing the mesh of past and present, we were shown the old tungsten lights that have now transitioned to LED lights that can be adjusted for daylight or indoor lighting.

And lastly, one of the great learning experiences was our Q&A with a CBC Producer/Exec who was really encouraging about being an artist but also realistic about funding for filmmakers. She provided a great list of areas we can get funding from for our films (BravoFACT, Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm) and answered our questions about projects we wanted to produce and the legalities behind production.


Film & Sound Editing:
Film and Sound Editing is a super hands on, practical course. We are given rushes for a film/tv series and instructed to use Adobe Premiere CS6 to edit the clip down. My finished clip is below, we get marked on this.

Our second assignment is all about sound editing and inputting sound effects, ambience and voice overs into a clip. We were given "Sin City" and have to record our own VO for Mickey Rourke and adjust all the sound effects. Just starting on that one and it's a doozy!

My finished X-Files Editing Assignment here:




Screenwriting:
We've gone over the basics of screenwriting such as formatting and the three act structure. The next topic was 'Writing Funny'. This is where our teacher went on to discuss what makes us laugh (pain/truth) and showed us various clips from comedic movies/shows.

An exercise I really enjoyed was one where he talked about the 9-1 rule, where for every ten ideas you have, one will be good. We went through the class and read out 10 names we came up with for a sports team, some flopped but some were surprise hits!

The thing I really enjoyed about that was getting the fear of failure out of the way, because the only thing holding you back from writing anything is fear.

Other topics we covered were the One Page Synopsis for Film and Loglines.


All in all, film school is proving to be intensive, exhausting and educating. There are a lot of things you can teach yourself using the internet or books and there are a lot of frustrating moments where I ask "What am I paying for?". 

But then that would be the wrong attitude because, like life, you get what you put in. So far I have been immersed in the film world and even if I did know some of the things before, now I am more acquainted with the theory or technical side. Also, it's only been three weeks and the knowledge that is crammed in my head is worth the dollar bills that have been dropped on this program - if not just getting to play with all those shiny cameras ;-)

Tuesdays mean cheap movies, so I decided to pop into to Carlton Cinemas and randomly picked "Dom Hemingway". I knew absolutely nothing about it other than its genre (dark comedy), lead actor (Jude Law) and also, that Daenarys Emilia Clarke was supporting. 

Jude Law plays the titular character, a safecracker with magical fingers who has served 12 years in prison for remaining silent. On the day of his release he is let out into the modern world of London - first stop? To beat the man who married his wife to a bloody pulp. 

Freedom in the civilized world quickly spirals from there. Dom meets with his best friend/partner, Dickie (played by a marvelous Richard E. Grant) and is brought to France to meet with Mr. Fontaine, his old boss that he protected and served jail time for. You're ensured a crazed night with liquor and cocaine; a beautifully shot, slow-motion car accident, and the loss of riches. 

Dom is a notorious criminal who is hungry for payment after 12 years of imprisonment... the only thing that scares him now is his estranged daughter, Evelyn.

This is what separates Dom Hemingway from being just a witty, dark comedy about some Cockney convicts doing the "get rich or die trying" plot. The complexity of Dom is a great vehicle for Jude Law's subtlety while playing a larger than life character. Many times his performance can speak for itself, showing the pain and incredulity at his life circumstances. Dom's greatest flaw is not knowing what's important in life and that is definitely a lesson that is knocked right into the audience's head. Don't let that stop you from watching the film, it's not a morality tale - it's more of a wake up call to all of us.

The genre has become scarce in movie theatres and festivals but this film gives me hope that more black comedies will be popping up in the future. I was thoroughly impressed with the writing, acting and plot - this is a dark comedy with heart.

Each day of the week we attend a different course and are taught all about the film industry and what's expected of us. There are 27 students and it is definitely a nice mix of experience and different backgrounds. We have business students, teachers, ex-military, writers and pretty much anything else you can think of. 

Monday was our first day of Film Tech I and as soon as I walked in, I knew it would be a good class... why? Because, there were three cameras lined up at the front, two of them were beauties that I've always wanted to play with: the Arriflex 535 and the Black Magic. Our teacher then proceeded to show us different film cameras and explain the age of digital filmmaking. 

The coolest thing about this program so far is we start learning on 16mm film! Using a Bell & Howell 16mm camera for the first few weeks, we'll shoot and edit and create 2-3 shorts. He walked us through opening the camera and loading the film - which, for a digital person, like myself - was a bit of a trial. 

Then, after lunch, we went for a tour of the Image Arts campus and I was impressed. Not only do they have full photo studio bays and film editing labs and dark rooms, there is a huge sound stage and green screen! That's where we spent time building and taking down a full set - a living room, complete with a door, windows and a fireplace. I also got to climb up a scaffold and took down lights.  

The course was already impressing me with how hands on we got in the first 5 hours! Then, our prof pulled out the dolly and a Panasonic digital camera. Volunteers took on roles as directors/actors/camera ops and we played out a scene using the dolly. 

The amount of equipment I got to play with on the first day really makes me excited for the rest of the summer. Also, the fact that the school has a carpenter who will help build set pieces... well, any ideas for a great short film? 

Then Day 2 brought Motion Picture Production. We learned extensively about cameras: exposure, film versus digital, ISO, fps - the list goes on. Our first assignment is to film a 30 second, black and white, silent documentary.  We're going to be pitching our ideas tomorrow and begin filming and editing, pretty much right away. I have a feeling this course will be particularly challenging and informative.

And, last but not least, today was our first Screenwriting class. It was very informative and went through formatting, story structure and the film industry. Every question was answered and a few samples were read out loud. 

I had a good class but felt maybe this was a bit too introductory for me, I would recommend it if you have never touched a screenplay before.

Three days in and I can say that the course has not been a disappointment yet. I definitely feel more knowledgable on cameras and being a crew member for films. 

For my readers that don't want to fork out for film school, stay tuned for more updates and enjoy the suggested reads from film school.

Reading List:

Mandatory:

• The Screenwriter's Bible - David Trottier 
• The Filmmaker's Handbook - Steven Ascher & Edward Pincus

Recommended:

• Film art, An Introduction - Bordwel & Thompson
• Film: An Introduction - William H Phillips
• Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen - Steve Katz *
• The Complete Film Dictionary - Ira Knoningsberg
• Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting - Syd Field *
• Comedy Writing Secrets - Mel Helitzer with Mark Shatz
• Writing for Emotional Impact - Karl Iglesias
• The Hidden Tools for Comedy -  Steve Kaplan
• The TV Writer's Workbook - Ellen Sandler
• SAVE THE CAT! - Blake Snyder * 
• The Comic Toolbox - John Vorhaus
• Essentials of Screenwriting - Richard Walter
• The Whole Picture - Richard Walter

Courtesy of johnaugust.com / Ryan Rivard.