On Our Way
So I have been at the summer program at BDFI for about two weeks now and it is fantastic. I am learning so much and I absolutely love it.
It is really fast paced, because of the 10-week limit, but it is worth it, no question.
I am taking classes at Cal and working so it definitely keeps me busy. We have gone over casting and location scouting recently and I have several options for both. There is so much that goes into filmmaking that people don’t realize, and that I didn’t even realize myself until now.
I really enjoy the screenwriting class because it allows for our creative side to come alive. I have SO many ideas for films and it is getting very hard to choose just one of to really pump out a final script, I just keep changing my mind and thinking of new things.
It really is fascinating how characters seem to just create their own fate once you develop them. And the infinite possibilities and outcomes of the story make it quite difficult to keep our first film down to only three minutes. We read a few scripts this past week, which were all amazing and most people went over the 3 page limit, which is currently my problem as well. Hopefully, I will be able to be concise as well as thorough in my final draft.
Editing class was overwhelming at first because the first day Sharif just showered us with tons of key commands and instructions on how to navigate through final cut pro. I have worked with it very little before, so I was unaware of a lot of what he was introducing to us.
However, since the class, his instructions have been on colossal help and have allowed me to edit much faster and certainly much more efficiently than I would have otherwise on my own. Our fist assignment due date is coming up quickly, this Thursday in fact.
We are supposed to edit clips from a movie to music according to Ballistics, which Patrick gave a lecture on in class. The theory of ballistics really does make a huge difference in film editing and is of tremendous consequence if one really wishes for a beautiful and stylistic final product.
I had a little trouble at first getting final cut onto my laptop but as soon as that got fixed up, I started working with it as well as Mac the Ripper and MPEG Streamclip to compose my short 1 minute “music video.” I am already at about a minute right now so I think that I will definitely go longer, for the whole song ideally, but that really depends on how much other work I have to do this week, so I guess we’ll see on Thursday!
Patrick’s classes on Tuesday’s are especially enlightening. He unquestionably has just so much experience in the film industry and can tell us so many things that can be of real use when we embark on our careers. From how to work with cast and crew to making sure there are enough bathrooms on set, he is the expert. So much just goes unnoticed and people overlook the simplest of things, but in doing so create the worst of disasters. For this reason, he reminds us constantly of the importance of being prepared and staying calm and professional.
The whole class is really starting to feel more and more comfortable and open. My classmates are all wonderful and very friendly and everyone seems very willing to help each other out, which is great because we will all probably need each others help at one point or another. I think this is going to be a great learning experience for all of us and will undoubtedly shape us into the filmmakers we wish to be.
-Felicity Trevino
