Year One: Day One

First off, you may notice I now have my name at the bottom of all my posts. Due to a lack of real commitment to the whole anonymity thing on my end, and the super-sleuthing of one of my fellow film students, I'm giving up pretending to be some shady undercover agent feeding you secret USC information. If this shatters some strange fantasy anyone had (other than my own) I'd be both surprised and weirded-out.

All the same, I'll be keeping things relatively anonymous, and still posting all the "secret" documents I can that don't specifically tell me not to distribute them. Or, until someone of any importance tells me to stop.

The first day, as first days are apt to be, was slightly confusing.

It occurs to me that I haven't explained at all what classes a first semester film production student takes; they are deceptively simple.

507: Production I - 4 units
510: Concepts of Cinema Production - 2 units
599: Ideation - 2 units
507 LAB - 0 units

510 is the only class that has all the production students together. The remainders have been arranged such that you are with the same people all the time (except for a few people which seem to have some sort of rogue scheduling which I either can't quite grasp or haven't given enough thought to). I am unsure if they randomly create these groups for 507 and 599 or if it's some sort of prearranged system; most likely the former, though the latter wouldn't be out of the question.

Ideation seems to be SCA's fancy word for brainstorming. However, before you think they are at all stuck up about this, I have yet to run into a professor that didn't slightly mock the word after saying it.

Today began with 510, as all the Production students dutifully filed into the Norris Theater, a giant theater on campus. On a personal note, it's AMAZINGLY COOL to be taking a class in a movie theater. Appropriately enough, the class began with a meditation lead by Pablo Frasconi, possibly the coolest professor I have ever known. The man exudes calmness, and somehow commands respect through that. At any rate, the class consisted of the viewings of a few very exceptional short films (one by David Cronenberg of Eastern Promises fame), and some analysis and lecture about the nature of film.

This is where the confusion began.

Unlike most days where 510 would last for a few hours longer, instead we broke up into our 599 groups and were to meet those professors in various locations in and around the film school. The problem occurred in that a number of people (myself included) were unsure as to their exact 599 section number, however, everything was actually handled rather quickly, which very few issues as far as I could tell.

The idea of meeting our 599 instructors today, rather than tomorrow or Wednesday when the classes themselves were scheduled is due to an alteration in the scheduling. The first two 599 classes would not be about Ideation, but rather an Avid editing software boot camp. This is an extremely excellent idea, as I’m sure I’m not the only one to have very little experience using Avid.

The only downside being that it makes the first little bit of the school year confusing, a small price to pay.

Speaking from only my own experience, the 599 group was very enjoyable, and I think it will be an extremely useful class. Even the introductions around the circle of people were very interesting. Everyone spoke briefly about their background, how they came to film, and what types of films they were interested in making. I was surprised by the variety of paths people had taken to reach USC. There seems to be no profile for USC film students: some have film degrees, while others (like myself) have differing degrees, some have had completely different careers and lives, and everyone seems to be from somewhere different.

There was a two hour lunch break for most people after the morning, in which a good chunk of people seemed to head to the book store, and of course, lunch.

We returned to head to our first 507 session. As I said before, this group included the entire 599 group with just a few additional students. This class is clearly the one which will take most of the efforts of our first year. 507 is the Production class, which means it is the class in which we actually make films.

I mentioned these films in the last post, but with a little more clarity I can explain them better. The class was divided into 5 groups of 3 and one group of 2, strangely (probably due to my last name) I am in the group of two. Each member of the group is then assigned a letter: A, B, or C. As there are not enough cameras for everyone to have one for the whole semester, the letters signify who will be making their films first; A's then B's then C's. In roughly six weeks the A's will get the camera for a weekend (Fri-Mon) and edit the next week, passing the camera on to B's for the next weekend. In addition, Group A will then screen their films the Monday after, in what is probably an unimaginably nerve-wracking experience where the rest of the class comments on your film.

The first film is fairly simple, as it is to be completed completely on one's own:
5 minute max
one weekend shooting
one week editing
No dialogue

I already have an idea I've been kicking around for a month. I have to write it out and decide if it's doable and under the 5 minute limit. I think it will meet both criteria. However, I will have to learn a great deal about Avid, the camera, and general cinematography to not make a complete ass of myself in front of people...but I digress.

The second film occurs later in the semester and is more involved.
5 minute max still
use location sync-sound, optional production recording/dialogue
four weeks of production (shooting and editing)

The biggest shift in the second film is that it is crewed, rather than just you and a camera. The crew is made up of other students in the class. Everyone gets to direct their own show, so I'm sure there's some somewhat intense scheduling that occurs during the end of the semester to accommodate everyone's needs.

Additionally, we screen our dailies, cuts and sound design for faculty and, I believe, our fellow students, which at this point I would imagine is way less intense than dealing with screening our super personal one-man shows from earlier.

The 507 class seems like a generally no nonsense kind of class. It's four hours long and taught by an actual working Producer who seems to be yet another incredible asset; focusing on the practicalities and the craft of producing. The class also rotates, from producing the first few weeks to other aspects of filmmaking, and even involves our professors from 599 later on to practice pitching our 2nd film among other activities. The professor of 507 is so no nonsense that our very first assignment is to create a 3 minute pitch for a film, TV show, or webisode and be ready to pitch it on Monday for the class. Nothing like hitting the ground running.

The 507 Lab is actually a class called Fundamentals of Directing, and focuses every week on cinematography and camera familiarity. However, as I have yet to experience this class I'm not sure what to expect other than I have been repeatedly told we will handle and use 16 mm film in this class which is exciting.

I have to say, I feel like we did an incredible amount in one day. I'm sure this is just the beginning, and that the days will only get longer. I can only imagine that once we start our films it'll be a schedule none of us have experienced before, but if we want to be in this industry we will have to get used to these hours I imagine. It's refreshing that the classes began so seriously. Somehow I would have felt very cheated if the semester ramped up very slowly. If this is the premier film school of the world, as it and many others purport it to be, then there should not be any time to waste. We're here for three years, and we have to learn how to make movies. It's a crazy task, and I'm not sure if there is a right way or a wrong way to do it. But USC certainly has a plan.

In a lot of ways it all still feels like a dream of sorts. Every class is incredible, every teacher is seemingly brimming with information to impart, and every student is a dedicated, interesting, excited filmmaker. It's difficult to describe, but for the first time in my life I'm in a place that seems to have possibility sewn into the air. When I'm sitting in a class, being taught by an actual industry professional, in the Robert Zemeckis Center, the dream doesn't seem nearly as far away.

Till next time....