Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime?

So it’s time for some harsh words. OK, it’s not that harsh, it’s just frank. Yes, that’s it, let’s be frank. Most of what first year film students shoot isn't very good. Ouch, that’s a little harsh. No, no, it’s frank. OK, it’s frank, but really, is that true?

This last year I had the opportunity to look at the footage that first year film students (that’s people shooting on real film) transfered from film into Final Cut Pro on the transfer station. You just sit down at the computer, open the folders and look at all the clips. They’re not good. (Now I have to confess that it's also true that everyone gets better as the semester progresses, and in the end, they can turn out a product they can be proud of – mostly.)

I guess part of this is also a comparison against the footage of the first year video students who shoot with easy to use HD video cameras. They get good footage immediately (it's not them so much as it is the camera), but the footage of the film folks is mostly dark (getting the exposure right means using a light meter correctly), out of focus (it's really dim in a film viewfinder, not at all like looking at the image in a video camera - you would be surprised), and finally and most damning, they’re all the same. What do you mean their all the same?

Well, they’re not exactly all the same footage, but they do have remarkably similar aspects. Lots of shots of trees, women walking in the woods, close ups of people in dorm rooms, shots out the window, women swirling in large skirts, etc. It’s odd, jumping from student to student and seeing very similar kinds of shots. Why is that?

I think it’s because it feels awkward going to public places with a real film camera (like a $6,000 Arri 16mm). It’s a little over the top, at least unusual; people turn around and look. So the result is that film students go to safe places to shoot. Not what you’d expect is it?

The general public is very used to seeing people shoot with video cameras all the time. No one really stops and wonders what you’re doing, they know. Ho-hum. Film cameras, however, are exotic – lots of chrome and black leather with long lenses and a very different profile, not that of a video camera at all. And the sound they make is the sound of a film camera. It’s unique. You know the sound when you hear it, but few people have actually heard it live, just in the movies or on TV. So people stop and look, and listen. If you’re looking for attention, then that’s the way to get it, if not, then you go where no one is around and shoot.

I guess that’s what filmmaking asks of you. Can you shoot where ever you want and not feel self-conscious or awkward. That’s a lot to ask of a first year student, but, I guess, that’s what separates the amateurs from the pros – the ability to do just that.

When I was shooting with my 8x10 view camera, at night, I’d get startled people looking at it and wondering what the heck I was doing, but mostly they kept on walking by. Except for the weirdos. They stop and tell you where they're going, what they’re doing, where they just came from, and that they have a sick dog at home. Stuff like that. Mostly I’d just nod and try and look busy with my light meter or write something in my notebook. It’s hard standing there for 10 or 12 minutes timing an exposure, holding the slider from the sheet film holder in front of the lens when a car goes by, starting and stopping the stopwatch to keep track of the time and also not get distracted by the people standing there telling you their life story, or some story at least as they take another drink from the paper bag.

So, yes, I know how it is to be out with a camera that draws a crowd and still try to get the shot you need. It may be the hardest part of photography and filmmaking, but you go anyway. As a producer or director of your own film if you’re not out there where you think the action is you end up with just generic footage and a weak film. It’s not really showing off using a flashy camera, it’s showing up.

gunther