As I said before, I took Basic Film Production which was taught by Professor Small. I took the class hoping it would give me an introduction to film production, including working collaboratively to make a short film.
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| Bell and Howell 70 |
This wasn't what the class was about.
The basic part didn't mean easy (like I had hoped), it meant back to the basics of film. We learned how to use a 1930s camera, 16mm film and how to edit using a splice. Basically we learned how people made films in the olden days by doing it ourselves.
Having no experience in photography myself made the class especially difficult, especially as there were many ways that things could go wrong or you could make a mistake with. We had to take special care as the equipment we were using was ancient (probably from the 30s) and it was very expensive and difficult to replace.
Professor Small had an unusual grading system. He had an 'A' option and 'B' option which meant you had to make 2 films to get an A. Even if you sat the exam and did well in it and/or if you're first film was good - it was impossible to get an A unless you made two films. At first this seemed fair because working in film or media industries means you have to meet deadlines. But after undertaking the course this was actually very difficult - especially as aspects of the course were time consuming. Things were slightly more difficult for me as an exchange student because I was still adjusting to living the US in general and this created problems for me in this course.
First we had to learn how to use the camera- which is very difficult (at least it is for me). The cameras we used were not like analogue or digital cameras you could just switch on. We had to learn how to load the film into it (which got easier with practice) and it was important to do this correctly, otherwise we could damage the film and waste it. We had to learn how to set exposure with a light meter (which could very easily go wrong) and we had to learn about the focal lengths of the lens and how to set this correctly (otherwise the picture would be blurry). Although professional photographers probably use this on a day-to-day basis - most digital cameras do these things for you and you only have to fix the lighting conditions. With 16mm film, you didn't know whether you did it right until you're film was processed - and this took a lot of time.
First we had to order the film. That wasn't too bad as we were told which film to purchase, but it took a while to be delivered. Then when I finally had it I had to book the camera equipment. This actually wasn't too difficult either. However, as I couldn't drive or have a car I couldn't get around easily with the camera. Thankfully, a guy in my class suggested that we film on the same day and offered to drive me around.
Being naive, I trusted that he was doing me a favour and took the offer. Little did I know I was about to be betrayed (whether it was intentional or not). The weekend came and we agreed to film. I waited to be picked up from Jayhawker Towers. Fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn't came. So I phoned him.
No response.
Half an hour passed and still no sign of him. I phoned again. No response. I phoned and phoned and phoned but he didn't answer. I didn't know what was going on. I assumed that if he couldn't take me anymore that he would have let me know. So I went upstairs to check my email. My inbox was empty. He just never showed up without an apology or reason...
...until around 9pm that night. He told me that he had been drinking the night before and that he was sleeping because he was hungover, so that's why he didn't answer his phone and so he apologised. Although I was pissed off, I forgave him and asked him if he could take me tomorrow instead. He said, "Yeah, of course! I still want to help you out and you can help me out with mine."
I should have known by then not to trust him but he seemed like he genuinely wanted to do it with me like we agreed, so I waited for him again the next day. Of course - he didn't show up. I was so annoyed and extremely stressed out. If I could have got my filming done on that weekend then I wouldn't have ended up so far behind!
My roommates didn't seem to get why I was so pissed off the situation. I planned to do my filming on Mass St to film traffic lights, so they asked why I didn't just get the bus. I explained because the equipment was old and expensive that I didn't want to carry it on the bus, plus I needed a buddy to look after it while I was filming and it made sense to do it with someone from the class. None of them offered to help me, but then again - I didn't ask. I didn't want to drag them with me if they didn't want to go and most of them had other arrangements and studying to do by this point. So I basically grovelled on Facebook that I was fucked.
Thankfully, Cheryl seen the grovelling and offered to help me - including driving me around Mass St and helping me out in general. It was really unexpected and I was so happy when she offered. Eventually I managed to get my filming done just in time because of her!
At home I'm pretty independent and have always been self-reliant. Of course I like to take help if someone offers but I don't necessarily like to ask for it. In the States, I learned that if you need help - you have to ask for it. Americans generally will try and help you out if they can and ask for nothing back. I always felt that back home, people will only help if there's something in it for them and if you give them a favour in return.
This is the ethic I've always followed, if someone helps me out I have to do something for them. But in this situation, I knew there wasn't much I could offer in return which is why I didn't ask my roommates to help me. Also, it made sense to do it with my classmate and I could help him with his film too.
Oh well, it got done in the end - thanks to Cheryl. Filming was only half the battle. Then we had to send off our film for processing. This would have been okay if I was more familiar with the US Post Office system at this point. In the UK, if you stick a 1st class stamp on it you can send it anywhere in Britain. However, as this was a package, I needed several stamps on it to be sent to Massachusetts.
My film ended up being sent back to Oldfather Studios and I had to resend it again, which delayed the film processing. Then when it got back, we had to spend a lot of our free time editing it. This took for ages as we had to learn how to use the splice and viewer and editing itself takes a while. I finished the film with only a couple of weeks left at the end of the course, in which we had to make our second film. I spent so much time on the first film that I knew I would never be able to get the 2nd film done. Perhaps if the 2nd film had been a group project then we could have done it. Only the graduate students in the class managed to do the 2nd film, which meant everyone in the class either got a B, C or failed.
Professor Small decided to give me a B-. Thanks for that Small!
If the teaching assistant, Julie Pitzer, hadn't been in the class - I wouldn't have passed the class at all. It was only after she explained how to use the equipment that the class understood what was going on. Small just assumes that we know what he's talking about before he's even taught us anything. Small liked me though, even though he couldn't understand me. I think its because his mother was Scottish - which he told me randomly several times.
Although the class was challenging, there were good times to be experienced. At first I didn't like Small because I didn't get him. But the more I got used to him the funnier he became (usually when he wasn't trying). One time he randomly jumped on his desk. It was so bizarre that it was just funny. He always ate a banana because he had Attention Deficit Disorder. He always closed his eyes when he explained something and one time when we was showing us how to shoot movement he pretended his banana was a gun and kicked over the bin. I was in stitches because any time something crazy happened it was completely random.
I remember one time I was in Oldfather Studios and the walls had just been painted white (although they were already white). Which is fair enough, except there were no wet paint signs. So a guy in my class learnt on the wall and got paint all over his clothes. I felt so sorry for him but had to laugh at the stupidity of the situation. Why didn't they tell anyone the paint was wet??? Crazy stuff!
Would I recommend anyone at KU to take this class?? I'd say you're best to avoid it if you can. Unless you like Professor Small and like a challenge...and Julie Pitzer's the assistant...and if you want to work on your own...and if you want to learn how films were made in the olden days. Don't take it if you want a class thats relevant to the digital age of film and technology.
Find out more about my International Women Filmmakers class next week! Comments/questions are always welcome!
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