So I had Basic Film Production and International Women Filmmakers earlier in the week. I should of had Basic Screenwriting as well, but missed the 1st class because I was ill...
I ended up going to my first Basic Screenwriting class the following week. Although before that, I had my other class - Documentary Film and Video.
I've never really been a huge fan of documentaries, which may sound odd considering I took that class, but oh well. However, I decided to take the class in the hopes that it would broaden my film taste and engage my interest in films that I would never have watched before I became a film student. Plus I had seen really good documentaries before like, "Rich, Famous and Homeless" (UK, 2009) and I hoped we would see more inspirational films.
That didn't happen.
Instead I sat there - bored - watching the most boring documentaries you could imagine. Of course, that might be because that class was also taught by Prof. Small.
He started the class by putting on a documentary called the "Powers of Ten" (US, 1968) which is one of his favourites. I suppose it was quite interesting, but the drawl from Small made it boring. It didn't help that he spoke to the class with his back to us.
That first class gave us the best idea of what to expect from Prof. Small. His teaching assistant, Rich Housh, ran about after him - doing most of the work; there were no lecture notes and/or slideshows (I doubt Small has ever been near a computer) and Small usually delivered lectures incoherently, taking forever to explain a simple point. I know I'm being harsh but I have specific reasons to dislike that class - which almost failed me when it wasn't my fault (I shall explain the story in another post). I just expected better considering I paid so much to move abroad and study there.
It wasn't all bad though. My screenwriting class made up for the documentary class which I hated. It was taught by Professor Willmott, who I can honestly say is one of the best teachers/lecturers I have ever had.
Not only was Willmott one of the most funniest and nicest guy ever, but he had experience writing screenplays for both independent and Hollywood films. Apparently he is more well-known in the US for his mockumentary film, "CSA: The Confederate States of America" (US, 2004) which explores what might have happened if the Confederates (southern states) had won the American Civil War. I found the film on YouTube and watched it (something I didn't ever admit to him seeing as I technically didn't pay to see it - whoops)! It was pretty good, I would recommend it - some of it was pretty shocking.
So I arrived for the first class - late. I was really embarrased but Willmott was cool about it, he just handed me a syllabus seeing as I didn't get it in the first class. Basically he was telling us about the basic formula for writing a screenplay and asked the class what their ideas were. Some people had really cool ideas, I actually felt a bit intimidated. Some people had ideas with potential, but needed tweaking to be a bit more interesting/conventional. Willmott's advice was always really helpful and he never dismissed anyone's ideas - no matter how ridiculous they were. Although he did try and suggest we do things differently if he thought the ideas wouldn't work for the purpose of the class - which was to write the first act of a feature length screenplay.
I didn't have any ideas for my own screenplay yet as I missed the first class, but tried to contribute by making suggestions for others in the class who told us their ideas. I didn't try and change their ideas or anything but suggested they convey the story from another point of view or whatever, as we were encouraged to by Willmott. The idea is that someone else might help you think about your story in more depth or a different way and so you can use their ideas to improve your story/screenplay.
I was really flattered because whenever I made a suggestion, Prof Willmott seemed to like them, like he thought I had the right idea about it. It made me feel more confident about my writing. Of course he disagreed sometimes, but it was amazing to hear his opinions as he is a professional writer. I ended up coming up with my story in that first class...although I didn't want to share it until I had thought about it some more.
I left that class feeling really good about it. It didn't even feel like a class, I enjoyed it so much. After it I kept thinking of ways to improve my story and give it more depth. Willmott is an amazing guy and a great teacher. That class was the one that made me decide I'd like to become a writer.
This is an overview of how my first classes went. Over the next couple of weeks I'll tell you about my classes in more depth. Next Monday, I'll begin by telling you all about Basic Film Production - the best bits and the stressful times! Become a follower or check out the blog and find out how they were!
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