End-of-semester Reflection

As the semester comes to a close, I have a lot to think about and a lot to reflect upon; mainly, the new-found appreciation I have for the field of film production. Before this class, I can confidently say that I already knew much more about the industry than the vast majority of my friends. I've always had an appreciation for the film industry and for those who work in it, but not to this level.

Last year, I took an intro to field production course, and I certainly learned a lot from it, but my overall opinion of film production was not at all affected through the experience. Fiction Field Production 1--through the semester-long project we had to complete--taught me a whole lot more about the industry than I ever would have thought possible.

What was so different about this class was the fact that, for the first time since I've gotten to this school, we were assigned a legitimate project that really put everyone's skills to the test. The project was simple (or so I thought): make a film that's based off a news story. The story can cover any topic and can be from any time period. Everyone in the class brought in a story, we voted on the two we liked best, and then we split ourselves into two groups.

With two groups of seven students, everyone was able to have their own crew position, instead of having everyone split the work evenly like in the intro class. The most exciting part was that we, for the most part, chose the group and position we would stick with for the entirety of the semester. As one who has never been particularly fond of preproduction work, I was ecstatic to be able to step aside and let someone else take care of it.

Now, while this was an especially exciting part of the project for me, it was also one of the more nerve-wracking aspects of the process. While it was no longer my responsibility to write, schedule, direct, or shoot the film (I was given the position of editor), it also meant that a whole lot of things were out of my control. Sure, I could give my input on whatever I wanted--and it was often well-regarded--but for the most part, the final decision on most things was not mine.

My point is that while it's nice to not have to bother myself with certain aspects of the project, it also meant that I had to have faith in my fellow group members. As one who tends to take control in a group setting, this was something I had to quickly learn to get over. From the very start, I had to constantly remind myself not to intervene in others' work and to trust them more than I usually would have in the past.

With everyone working on their own portion of the film, a whole lot more effort could be put into each aspect of the project, as opposed to when everyone had to split their efforts amongst everything. With every student putting forth a whole new level of effort into their work than I've ever seen before, I was able to really watch and admire everyone's talent while also taking the time to appreciate the amount of work they were each completing.

Yes, my job as editor had a lot of work that came with it as well, but to truly be able to see the amount of work that goes into the entire process of a film's production and the high level of skill that's required to make a quality product is unbelievable. I used to think we simply weren't using the proper equipment to make a good film, but it turns out that what it really takes is a group of talented students who are willing to put forth the effort. Duh.

Thank you, Arturo Sinclair, for a brand-new experience and for passing your knowledge onto all of us.

Here's the Facebook event for the screening this upcoming Saturday!

Certain and uncertain endings

Alright. So early this week I watched Shutter Island starring a Mr. Leonardo DeCaprio.  Overall it was a very good film but that is not my concentration.  What I am concerned with is the ending.  I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone that has yet to see it, but I will say it is an ending that leaves the audience questioning what exactly happened.  It is one of those endings that you have to take an extra period of time and try to figure out what exactly just happened.

In this period of attempted epiphany, I instead came up with a general question.  Why do some directors or writers decide to end their films in a state of uncertainty.  At the same time, however, why do some choose to end in concrete or obvious endings.  Is it that one leaves a more powerful impact on the audience, or is it something more then that.  Could it be that they do not know a clear way to end it that will be memorable so they leave the ending up to interpretation.  Personally any ending that confuses me usually causes me to watch the movie for a second, third, or fourth time, or at least sit on the plot and try to figure it out.  However I do tip my cap to any movie that has a definite powerful ending.  When a movie has a straightforward, powerful ending (sorry I am drawing a blank on a specific piece) I tend to just sit there in a state of awe.  At the same time though, if the ending is awful or not what I was hoping for, I sometimes become enraged and don't want anything to do with the movie.  Very often people say things along the lines of "yea it was good, but the ending sucked".  And I feel this is a reaction many people leave with after movies.

 Sometimes many times an uncertain ending is the way to go, but I would say a powerful concrete ending is the way to go.  A good ending is what you leave the audience with and everything that happened for the last hour and a half or so goes out the window.  So what is the way to go.  Personally I feel like leaving the audience in a state of confusion is usually more powerful and leaves everyone wanting more, but if you are able to pull of the ending of the century that people don't hate, well then go all out for it.  Sometimes having some closure is the way to go.  I guess as the viewer, our opinion really doesn't matter and the ending is determined by the sinister writing and directing tactics by the people in charge of production.