Tuesday, May 1, 2012

15. Course Reflection

TCF 312 (and this semester in general) has been a whirlwind. For whatever reason, I've never had a semester that seemed to go by as quickly. I have learned or at least been exposed to numerous things because of this class. I have learned more about the fundamentals of film theory, the why to propel the how of filmmaking, which it seems often has mixed priorities. I really feel like my eyes have been opened to a different way of thinking about the filmmaking process. The readings in the Cinematography for Directors book were probably most beneficial for that, followed by The Filmmaker's Eye. Since I have an interest in directing more than being a cinematographer, those books clarified the most important thing for me, which is the thought process. I've spent a lot of time worrying about how things will work out in my life, when really knowing the why is the more important knowledge. Understanding the reasons a film goes through from an idea in someone's head to a finished film in a theater is vastly more important than understanding how every piece of equipment or technology works. This class also helped me (through our class discussions and readings) to become more familiar with the different roles and working relationships in filmmaking, which had previously been kind of a grey area for me.
Theory aside, however, I was very happy to be able to use more equipment in this class, because I can remember going in the equipment room in 201 and being so frustrated; I didn't know what half of it was, and I had no way to find out or start using it. Now I feel like I have a much better grip on some of the tools at my disposal. And while our lighting textbook was rather dry, I did learn a good bit of information about the technical aspects of gripping and gaffing.
Aside from all that, I think 312 really gave me a good opportunity to try a lot of things out that had been swimming around in my head. I appreciate the emphasis on shooting actual projects outside of class because it was more beneficial and more gratifying. It takes a lot of time and coordination, but I think it's the best part of a class like this. In my opinion the in-class exercises or short partner type things were not nearly as helpful. That might just be my personality, but I don't like to halfway try something or do it just to know how it works- it doesn't stick for me. Showing me how to use a dolly is pointless until I have a really great shot to film with a dolly, and then that knowledge is useful and it stays with me. So I particularly enjoyed the longer-form projects.

Overall, this class was like putting on training wheels, but at least finally being able to ride. The next step, of course, will be taking off the training wheels and shooting more advanced projects independently, but I know this class has prepared me well.

No comments:

Post a Comment