After a rather theory-centered semester 1, semester 2 has begun with the promise that studios will be more heavily focussed on “practical” work.
My studio, titled “Film 3”, states that ‘By exploring the methods that traditionally distinguish documentary production from drama we will develop individual approaches to short film projects’.
Terms like “production”, “methods” and “projects” genuinely excite me here, as they connote the practical approach to media that I was hoping for. This, indeed is what I truly want out of this course, rather than developing a research-based understanding in order to avoid mistakes, I want to go straight into making content, regardless of the problems I encounter due to lack of experience. It’s my desire to go out to make mistakes, so that I can learn from those mistakes, and therefore not make them again.
As I stand, I have a reasonable understanding of media as a theory, yet little to no physical experience in creating media content. To put it simply, the overall outcome I desire from the course more than any other is to have confidence when creating media content. The sleepless nights before a shoot, or the fear of changing a cameras settings are not fears which I believe would plague an experienced student nearly as much as they plague an inexperienced one like myself. To feel confident in using media tools, knowing what everything does, and understanding the possibilities of everything that it allows me to do, that is my primary goal from this studio. When considered practically, this could translate to understanding the possibilities for manipulation when shooting, or how I can properly light a scene, as well as gaining a wide understanding of an editing program such as Premiere Pro.
This, naturally, leads to the question of what can I do? in terms of achieving these goals. How can I employ my own lack of knowledge and experience now to gain further experience? Well, that question arguably defeats itself. If I truly knew how I could learn, in the way that I knew how, then I would be a lot more confident than I currently am. In being honest, I would have to admit I truly have no idea how I can achieve these goals. Learning how I can achieve them, and then achieving them is the thing I would most desire to be true when I flash forward to the end of this semester and Film 3 for 2015.