Learning the Trade of Film Making
October 25th, 2008My second week at the Berkeley Digital Film Institute was one of excitement and learning. The more time I spend here the more I realize it really is a fantastic venue for learning the art and trade of film making. Patrick gave us a fantastic class on the “ballistic” paradigm for film editing. A real simple – and critically important - concept once you get the hang of it. I was impressed with his teaching style and ability to package the information in a way that makes it easy to learn. By just attending his one class I already have a lot of confidence going into my first project assignment and am looking forward to putting into place the techniques and concepts he showed us.
The second week also gave me an opportunity to get to know my fellow classmates better. We seem to be really clicking and they are just a cool bunch. Most have some background in film making and they are more than willing to lend a hand with struggling students like myself who have little formal training. I am also impressed with how my fellow students are diving right into it. They are filming projects, coming in on weekends, and burning the midnight oil. That kind of hard work and dedication is great to see. It’s also good to be around because it is contagious!
One of the things that I am really excited about is how the subject matter I am learning in the program will help me with an existing project I am working on. As an amateur documentary film maker, the formal training and exposure to professionals in the industry is a big help. I seem to have a lot of support and interest in my project just from staff, teachers, and other students I’ve met in the last couple weeks. It’s good to bounce ideas of people who know what they are doing and will give you honest and constructive feedback.
The other highlights this week were a great intro class on framing the shot with a camera and proper light settings. We practiced wide shots, medium, medium close, etc. We also saw clips from the movie Seven to see the proper way to frame a shot. Sharif also delved into Final Cut Pro during Thursday’s editing class. Sharif is, well, not much to say about Sharif other than he is as good as it gets when it comes to teaching. Good thing to, because Final Cut Pro is not easy to navigate through unless you’ve done it awhile.
Looking forward to seeing what week three brings. Until then, enjoy your art!




















































