508 Semester is nearly over, I shall try to explain it

Alright, last I left off with a general description of the 508 semester as it was presented to us before we started. I'd like to now go into my direct experience with it and speak a little to the general feelings I think our class has expressed about the semester.

Before I start, it should be said that this is the FIRST semester of this particular set up for 508. As was the case for our 507 semester, we are the 'guinea pigs' for the new curriculum. As such, as I begin to rail upon some of the things I find annoying or frustrating with the program (as well as when I mention things I enjoy) it should be taken with that in mind. This is really the best first guess of the administration. I have already been told that next semester will run differently and it seems to be a step in the right direction.

So, as can be expected by a random assignment system, there are many groups in the program that have had conflict. Mostly, I believe that it's been what you'd expect in terms of certain people getting on each the nerves of someone else and it eventually culminating in some arguments/blowups/etc. Most of the groups seem to have gotten along in that fashion, which is to be expected. A few groups have had major issues, ultimately coming down to statements like "I'll never work with PERSON again!" But again, I would have been surprised if this had not been the case.

Personally, I count myself as lucky. My group has functioned pretty well throughout, and I think that I'm being the one to cause the most friction, though that may also be because everyone thinks that when they are directing rather than doing one of the other crew positions.

The semester itself is extraordinarily busy. That's not to say that it is difficult. The difference being that all one needs to have to succeed in this semester is the ability to effectively time manage. This is primarily due to the fact that we have 20 hours of class a week, nearly all of which is during business hours. This makes it very difficult to find time to do many of the other production requirements (location scout, prop hunt, rent equipment and return) without skipping class.

I believe it is designed this way. I don't have a very good reason for you other than they want to know we aren't wimps who will run crying when loaded up with work.

I find it to be frustrating, especially in that much of our class time is not spent incredibly productively. We spend a lot of our time in class watching dailies and screening cuts, which I'll begrudgingly admit has its benefits, but we could be doing that at any time of the day other than 9-5, but that is in fact the only time when we do it.

We also occasionally have classes in Sound, Cinematography, Directing, and Editing. The editing sections almost always fall close to picture lock, (the date in which our movie must be edited completely and then only sound can be altered) so they are often useful if for no other reason than to focus on our cuts of our films.

However, the other disciplines are very sporadic which makes it very difficult to get any kind of cohesive lesson plan together for them. It's like a year of watching dailies, cuts, and getting ready for production, spritzed with random classes along the way. It makes the whole thing feel very discordant.

Here's something of a fun fact. USC has required zero assigned reading from me this semester. I have had virtually zero required assignments outside of the three projects. Now, I'm not saying that they need to pile on to the semester, or that reading is the only way to learn filmmaking or even the best way. I am saying that I have personally had to just pick books at random from lists to continue learning, and that for a program in which I will receieve a Master's in Fine Arts one would expect to have some required reading in the subject in which one is earning one's degree.

There are a lot of frustating things about this semester. Recenetly, a friend and I spoke of the rapport that our 507 had achieved by the end of the semester last year. He commented that while he initially thought that it would be good to work with new people in the comming semester he now thought that breaking up our class only resulted in being thrown into a room with people you didn't particularly know with brand new faculty and no one knowing what anyone else was used to in terms of feedback.

I know that by the end of my first semester, my professors and my classmates all felt extremely willing to offer completely earnest opinions on anyone's film. Also, I believe there was an honest sense of kinship among the class. Sure, not everyone got along with everyone, but there was a sense of being baptised by fire together which I do not think can ever be easily created.

In a completely assy analogy, I would liken it to a squad in a military capacity. You all enter in together, excited but afraid, and being to learn a series of brand new terms, skills, and habits. Everyone gets to know everyone else a little bit at a time, people start to take on larger roles and sure people make mistakes and are mocked but by the end of it even the people you don't like on a personal level, you respect on a professional level because you know you all did it together. I think we left 507 with a sense of trust in each other.

Thrown into a new semester with new people, who never saw your stupid silent film about the couple arguing with books, there is a temptation to make yourself anew. I know there are people I had507 with who act very differently about their film this semester than they ever did in 507, and to be honest it saddens me. In addition, I find it awkward and difficult to comment in class. It's gotten better over the semester, but for the longest time I had a hard time giving a good god damn about anyone's film I wasn't working on. I don't know you, why should I care? Make whatever movie you want. Even worse, after the semester began and we found some footing I found myself being harsher at times than I would have liked to have been. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one as some people tend to get a trip on that sort of thing.

At any rate, in a way I can't fully explain, I'm very happy the second semester is nearly over. I have to shoot one more day, and then comes all the post work with editing picture and sound, but more than that, I'm just glad to be free of this class. It feels as if a great burden is about to be lifted and I will then be freer to do as I like here at USC.

Next time I'll talk about how the remaining years at USC are supposedly supposed to shake out.