Once I discovered this hidden gem, I was invited to visit the campus for a tour earlier this year 2009. Upon meeting Patrick, the Dean, I knew right away this was the place for me.

Being a part of such a great institution, while attending BDFI the first five weeks has surpassed anything I learned in university regarding cinematic studies. I enrolled in BDFI primarily because the atmosphere is very family-like, but also because I would be learning from instructors who care. All the classes are intimate so you get to know everyone which has truly been a measurable experience personally for me.

The school has a unique spin on how to learn filmmaking, as each class is structured to learn by a hands-on approach. Since I am a visual person, this has been essential to how I have been able to learn quickly in the shortest amount of time. Really the first five weeks has been a serious learning curve. Every aspect of this school has changed me in some way professionally for the better. Within in the first three weeks, I learned to understand cinematography as not a skill, but an art.

Learning from the instructors is always inspiring. The fact that every instructor is a specialist in their field makes me more confident in how I am learning.

All my classmates have been great to work with because everyone brings something unique to the table. In class I enjoy learning new perspectives from editing to cinematography. Also, I am learning the art form of how to feel the editing process naturally.

One of my favorite aspects of the campus is the ability to have access to the HD camera & film equipment. I find it fascinating to have hands-on classes in the first few weeks that teach you how to edit in Final Cut Pro and use pro lighting gear. Even though our class projects are incredibly challenging, they have taught me unbelievable amounts of applications on ways to view professional filmmaking.

The senior students are a great resource when it comes to letting you know how to tackle tough situations in a real world setting. As a student, I have experienced opportunities to advance my knowledge, even through casual conversations over lunch. Learning how to perform auditions, castings & call backs has educated me on how to start a talent agency.

Instructors provide guidance and mentoring on whatever level you want to focus on in the industry.

Because of this I think BDFI is a genuine place to start for anyone.

I enjoy the intimate classes, knowledge of my instructors & inspiration I draw from my classmates. It feels great to belong to a place that has a wonderful atmosphere where you can learn through osmosis, it seems sometimes.

I mean the place oozes with a tantamount of hospitality & synergy. I feel the collective intelligence has basically increased my passion for filmmaking through this program. It is all about your ability to understand what is required of you then really committing to the process because it works.
I am truly enjoying filmmaking from a more organic process of learning from instructors who actually have worked in the industry.

Nevertheless, I have visited other bay area film schools, but felt that this one had what I was looking for. I feel BDFI has a futuristic philosophy that is training students who will succeed. It is creating a new generation of prominent filmmakers.

Kevin Tucker

At the fifth week mark of the first semester I am preparing to shoot my first project this weekend.

It has been an intense first five weeks, since day one the classes I have taken have been preparing me for this first project. The program in my opinion is incredible.

As an SF State student studying cinema I feel like I have learned more in my short time here than I have at the SF State program. I feel that the SF State program is too theory based as oppose to hands on production.

When the program started almost immediately we began the process of developing an idea and turning that idea into a three-minute script. After developing a solid idea, our task was to find a location to shoot. The process of finding a location and actually dealing with property owners is essential as a filmmaker, and its something that most college programs don’t teach.

Once I found my location the next step was to cast my project. We were taught how to hold auditions in a professional manner. The process to me was very surreal, all the stuff I dreamed of doing as a filmmaker, I’ve had the chance to do at this school. It’s amazing witnessing the creation of your idea turn into an actual reel. The experience is extremely valuable. It also helps having classmates who have the same amount of passion for film that I have.

Unlike other classes that I have taken in various other universities I actually want to show up everyday to class. I feel like each class I attend I learn so much about the business. I also enjoy working and communicating with my classmates. Everybody in my class is very anxious to learn and to help out in anyway possible. Everybody helps out everybody, each classmate has an understanding that these projects are difficult and take a lot of planning and effort.

This school does demand a lot of attention; it was wise for me to quit my job to pursue this program. But believe me I have been very busy.

Pre-production planning takes the longest and in my opinion it’s the most stressful, because you are in the midst of creating something, a narrative that represents an idea that’s personal to you. With my first production coming up I am a little nervous naturally. But for the most part I think my shoot will go well.

Today I just got done working on a shoot with some classmates. Today’s shoot went very well, and we had a lot of fun. It makes a difference when you work with people you actually enjoy being around. I’m hoping my shoot goes well this weekend; I’m working with many of the same people from today’s shoot. The difference being this Saturday I’ll be the one who is in charge. Wish me luck!
Kingsley Lara

As I finalize my shot list for filming on location tomorrow I can say that this has been the busiest and most exciting few weeks so far this year.

I cannot believe we have been in school for five weeks, the time has flown.

But looking back I am astounded at the amount of material we have covered. Our cute class of ten have incurred so much valuable knowledge in this short period. It is hard to believe that we have penned short film scripts and some of us are on the verge of actually shooting and going into production.

One of our assignments was to edit a music video and we all embraced the chance to jump right in to actually editing a piece as opposed to just learning the editing system in its entirety before practicing what we learnt.

This hands on approach administered by the school is a rarity in other film schools and one of the most favorable aspects of Berkeley Digital Film Institute.

All the lecturers at BDFI are highly regarded and in some instances, award winning industry professionals in their field. This affords the students to not only learn the trade, but also gain an insight into working in the industry first hand from the masters of the art.

The Dean of the school has done an absolutely wonderful job of bringing together an eclectic and enthusiastic group of people to takes classes at BDFI.

This makes for some very interesting takes on critiquing films, story telling sessions and developing into scripts as well as leaving the barn doors open for equally interesting filmmaking methods, editing styles and differing takes on lighting and shooting the short films.

Laura Livingstone

Wow, it’s hard to believe that we’ve only been in school for five weeks! So far, we’ve experienced the tumultuous first stage of movie making known as pre-production. Planning for a short film and making it happen takes a lot of passion and patience. I’ve learned that you have to be able to handle high stress situations because in pre-production, there will be many times when things will not go as planned.

I’ve become close with my classmates. Although we do not share the same levels of experience, I have never felt that I could not go to them and ask them questions with out feeling intimidated or a bother. I feel the exact same way about our instructors. They provide time outside of class to help us with our projects and for this reason I have never felt lost or unsure of my progress.

The first week, we started with lectures on the basics of directing/producing on Monday, Cinematography on Tuesday, Screenwriting on Wednesday, Editing on FCP on Thursday and Acting on Friday.

In the third week, we were assigned our first editing assignment, which was to edit a music video together. Sharif, made it easy to learn this program because he took the time to answer every single question no matter how small or big. I’ve worked with FCP before but relearning it with Sharif has made me more confident with using the program.

In these 5 weeks, I’ve learned so much about the instructors through their stories about their experiences in the business. It comforts me to know that these are real down to earth people who had to start from the bottom to get to where they are now. I’ve also learned a lot about myself as a filmmaker. I am still developing the type of films I want to make.

As far as where I am on my project, I am constantly re-writing my script and expect to up to my actual shoot day; I have my location down, thanks to my producer Chris; my actors are cast and I’ve done a technical scout with my wonderful crew. I am set to shoot this week and in the process of arranging catering for my shoot as well as rehearsal with my actors. In addition, I am also producing two other students’ shorts. Producing is a lot of work, but I absolutely love every minute of it.

One thing about BDFI is that you’ll never know who you’ll meet and what opportunities will come up. In my 3rd week of class, I helped upper division classmates with their auditions. I was walking a talent down the stairs and saw in the hallway MC Hammer with the dean of our school, Patrick. I later found out that he was there to meet with Patrick about a new project. It turns out that he ended up recruiting two of our students to work on his next music video, so awesome!

It’s funny because none of us realized that it has been 5 weeks into the semester. We have 10 more to go but I’m sure it will go by before we know it. I’ve learned so much and have definitely accomplished a lot. I’m excited for what’s to come.

Michelle Chan