Basic Film Production - Back to the basics of film!

I thought I would tell you about each of my classes at KU in more detail - the highlights, the stressful parts and the overall journey of the courses themselves.


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.

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!

First couple of classes...

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!

Who's this foreigner? Oh yeah its me!

I remember my first day of class quite clearly...

My very first class was Basic Film Production with Professor Ed. Small. It was nothing at all like I expected...

Professor Small is quite eccentric to say the least. He is no doubt a fascinating man with an interesting past, but I suppose you could say he was set in his ways. As I looked around, I noticed that there weren't a lot us taking the class and that I was the only girl. Prof. Small read out the roster (that's what they call the register in the US), telling us to raise our hand if our name hadn't been called.

So he called out names...I sat there cringing, knowing I would probably have to correct him when he read out mine (which still happens in Scotland as much as it does in the States). Funnily enough, he didn't call out my name. So I raised my hand. He looked at me like I was a weirdo. Then after a couple of minutes he asked me why I had my hand up. I was told him, "You didn't call out my name."

At first he didn't hear me so he was like, "What?"...I should probably note that this was a response I got a lot from Professor Small. He either couldn't hear me or understand what I was saying. Usually it was the latter. So after telling him my name about six times and spelling it out, he eventually wrote it down on his register (or the roster as the Americans call it). I was so embarrased, especially as some of the guys were laughing and smirking about it. So I suppose you could say I didn't get off to the best start. 

Most of the time Professor Small spoke I had no idea what he was on about. I actually found him quite hard to understand myself because he mumbled a lot and took a while to make a point. I remember in that first class  he explained that for this course we would not be using digital film cameras or computer editing - but real 16mm film. Having never done photography before I was a bit worried, especially when he told us that it would be difficult without a background in photography. He also added that we would be working individually and that for group production we should take the video production course. 

I did think about changing to video production in the first place but couldnt because it clashed with Basic Screenwriting, which I really wanted to give a chance. So I stuck with Basic Film as it was approved by my Overseas Advisor at Stirling Uni.

To be honest, I left the class feeling dissapointed as I expected to be working in groups and using Final Cut Pro software and it sounded hard. Plus, I wasn't sure that knowing how using a wind-up camera and 16mm film would be relevant in the digital age of film...but there you are. However, I felt determined to impress him and decided to give it a try. The course did give me a broader understanding of how film works and it was really interesting to learn how they made films in the old days.

My next class, which was on the same day, was International Women Filmmakers which was taught by a woman called Professor Catherine Preston. She was a lovely woman and the course sounded very interesting as she explained that we would be analysing films made by women from around the world.

Although she was a very nice woman the first class was...interesting to say the least. At the beginning she told us that she specialised in visual communication and so took a picture of us so she could get a better sense of who we were. It was a bit embarrasing but not so bad as everyone was doing it. Then after she went over all the introductory part of the course we watched a film called, "Filming Desire" by Marie Mandy. 

The film was a particularly interesting one...it was about how women directors film sex scenes in comparison to male directors. I knew it would have sexual content but I didn't realise it would be so graphic! I wasn't offended by it or anything but it was really awkward sitting in a class full of people I didn't know and watching a stranger getting wanked off (or 'jacked off' for you american peeps) and a guy peeing on a naked girl etc. It was pretty explicit.

"Well this class certainly won't be boring!" is what I thought when it ended...

Find out how my other classes went on Monday by becoming a follower of the blog! Comments/questions are always welcome!

We Caught the Swine!

When I told my friends at home that I caught the Swine Flu most of them seemed to think it was funny!

The swine flu pandemic took place a couple of months before I moved to the States with only several cases being reported in the UK in the comparison to the US. Just our luck that we would catch it while studying abroad!

Basically, we got home on the Sunday night. The next day I had my first two classes, including my Basic Film Production class and International Women Filmmakers. I still wasn't too sure of where I was going or how the buses worked so it took me half an hour to get to my classes at Oldfather Studios! Doesn't help when the uni is built on a hill and you have to walk.

I'll save the stories of my first week of class for another time.

My last class, however, finished at 7pm (its not unusual in the States to have a classes either really early at 8am or finish til late like 9pm). That day I noticed I was developing a cough, I was sneezing a lot and I had a really runny nose. Plus - I wasn't sure if it had been the way I was sleeping - but my joints were starting to get sore (although it didn't feel too bad - like it felt like the pain would go away in a couple of hours). The symptoms got worse as the day went on, so by the time my class was finished and made my way home,  I was exhausted.

At this point (still August) the evenings in Lawrence were still pretty warm and light outside - so I wasn't too worried about walking home alone. That was before I found out about the serial rapist. I did get lost which got me a bit stressed out as I wasn't feeling well....

As I was walking home though, my phone rang. It was my roommate, she said we had stuff to discuss when I got home.

I wondered what was up - was she okay? Had I done something wrong?

When I got home my roommates were sitting together in the living room. It had turned out that the frat guy whose RV we slept in at the Lake...had caught the swine flu! My roommate suspected she had it too because she hadn't been feeling well since the day before and we all had slept in the RV. 

I must admit I did panic a bit. As far as I remember I tried not to overreact when she told me but I think it might have shown that I was worried. I felt really bad for her and hoped she would be okay - but I was concerned because I'm asthmatic. I had a really bad asthma attack when I was four years old and was hospitalised for a week where I couldn't breathe. The whole swine flu hype was still happening at the time and as far as we knew - it was worse if you had asthma.

So basically we decided to discuss our living arrangements. My roommate said she could either move out and live somewhere else temporarily or we could move out temporarily until she recovered. I was already feeling some of the symptoms and thought it would be pointless to move out. I didn't think it was necessary for her to move out either and our other roommates weren't bothered. So we stayed where we were, although my roommate moved into the living room to sleep instead.

I decided that if I still felt bad the next day I would go to the doctor and get tested - I had to get up early anyways to go to my first screenwriting class. Through the night I was coughing quite bad. Then when I woke up I had a horrible headache, couldn't stop sneezing and felt poor in general. So I went to the Watkins Health Centre.

Going to the health centre was a little scary. I was exhausted by the time I got there - it was only a 10 minute walk. As soon as I walked in there were people wearing masks and there was hand sanitiser everywhere. I felt it would be better to wear a mask myself in case I did have it - especially for other people's safety. So I waited with several other people, also wearing masks who suspected that they had it too. 

So I spoke to the doctor and she was really nice about it. I gave her some general information about my asthma and she gave me some breathing tests and asked me about the symptoms. I had them all except the sore throat and fever, which were the more worrisome ones according to her. She said that if my roommate had it then I probably did too but that it hadn't affected me too badly and that I could still go to classes - because its contagious before symptoms show. So basically she wasn't sure that I definitely had it but assumed I did because my roommate was diagnosed with it. She prescribed me an inhaler to help with my breathing and advised me to take Ibuprofen or Tylenol to help ease the cold symptoms. To be honest - I just felt as though I had a cold.

When I came out of her office I bumped into another of my roommates, she seemed a lot more ill than me and it turned out she had it too!

As I only had that one class early in the morning, I decided to skip it to go to the health centre. I thought that would be best in case I did have it, but I took her advice and went to class the next day. I didn't have any other classes that day. When I got home I felt bad because my roommate (who had originally been diagnosed) was lying on the couch and felt really ill. Unlike me - she had all the symptoms including a sore throat and high tempearture. She couldn't move for exhaustion.

My other roommate who I bumped into at the health centre came home soon after me...she was just as bad. I felt bad complaining and going on about my asthma when my two roommates were in a worse state than me. There wasn't much we could do except let them rest until they started feeling better. 

Funnily enough, our other roommate never caught the swine. She must have a really strong immune system - she did eat very healthily, besides the occasional bowl of cereal...

Besides being ill - find out how my first week of classes went by checking out the blog next Monday!

Road Trip! (Part 2) - Lake of the Ozarks

Quite a few of us went to the camping trip at the lake.

It was a long journey...So luckily for us the frat guy took his RV! It was the coolest thing ever - it had a bedroom, toilet, table and chairs all on four wheels...pretty astonishing (well, for me it was)! 

The RV

As there were a lot of us going, two of the other guys from the frat house went and took their cars and a couple of tents...we had a lot of stuff to bring with us! The journey was long and I spent a lot of it reflecting on how lucky I was. Here I was in the States - I had only been there a couple of weeks and already I was travelling with a great group of people. Time to get drunk!


When we eventually got there it was pitch black...I was still pretty excited but a little bit worried. We were in what seemed like the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night - it was dark, quiet and a little eerie, it felt a bit like something out of a horror movie ('Jeepers Creepers' comes to mind)...But the guy from the RV Park came out and got us - so we found the others who had got there before us.


Lucky for us they had already started a fire. They already had drinks, so they offered us one too. It was really cool but I hate creepy crawlies and there were flies everywhere so I couldn't get comfortable. I was petrified that there would be spiders - my worst fear. So we sat by the fire and relaxed for the first night.


The next day was a great one. A lot the guys wanted to go fishing in the morning so we went to this place with a ton of boats. We didn't actually take the boat out the dock, but we sat in it for a little bit. Some of the group were up for swimming while the others weren't. I was split in the middle...I wanted to go for a swim but was scared to do it in the lake...eventually I plucked up the courage and jamp straight into the water! It was freezing - but quite refreshing in the hot sun.


Some people left but a couple of us stayed nearby - so I soaked up the sun while we were waiting. A family on another boat came over and spoke to us. They were from the area and they were curious where we were from...they got a bit excited when they found out I was from Scotland and the guy I was with from England. Then our ride arrived...

The 'beach'

We went to a different part of the lake - which looked more like a holiday resort rather than a campsite. It was beautiful - there was a manmade beach with sand and a restaurant/bar nearby. So finally I could sit out in the sun properly and attempt to tan, plus go for a swim! Which is what I did...even when some of the others went fishing later in the afternoon.


That night we decided to cook a barbeque...with some alcohol for the night. One of the English guys ended making most of it with the French girl...it was like they were our parents. We played a couple of drinking games...(well, we were in the ‘game room’) like ‘Kings Cup’ and ‘I never’ – but not beer pong. Which is weird now I look back...why didn’t we play that?? Oh well.


It was a fun night. The next day we went home, but not before me and the Swedish girl had done a bit of sunbathing at the pool on the campsite...and off we went.


The ride home seemed much longer than the ride in. It didn’t help that most the others were sleeping...I can’t sleep when travelling – I very rarely do it. So I tried to keep our driver company with some chat (frat boy).

I felt sorry for him because he was clearly exhausted and seemed to be suffering from a very bad cough...


What was to come from that cough, we would find out when we got home.

Read about it on Monday by becoming a follower of the blog! Feel free to ask questions...