There are a many of reasons to why we wanted to create this blog, which will most likely possibly cover a tremendous amount of topics that could potentially be both old and new, boring and strange to you the reader. This blog will hopefully possibly gently wake you up. We must dip the toes in first.
First off, none of us like being on camera, so creating a vlog (video blog) was immediately out of the question. This is not a dig at those who do like being on camera (Human Genius I'm looking at your handsomeness). We just tend to cringe at ourselves if we are put on camera, which is probably why we make silly faces any time someone takes a photo of us. It's our defense mechanism. You want a nice, normal photo out of us, you gotta work for it.
The second reason is that I personally like the thought of reading compared to that of watching, which is an odd statement coming from a filmmaker. Don't get me wrong, if I'm learning something physically, Youtube is probably the greatest educational tool ever invented. Literally, you can Youtube anything and there are at least fifty videos on how to do that one thing. If you want to learn underwater basket weaving, there are videos for that. If you want to learn how to be Joe Exotic, there are videos for that. If you want to learn all aspects of independent filmmaking, there are magnificently created videos coming from great individuals for that. There is just so much information on Youtube in regards to filmmaking that it would be silly of us to even attempt a vlog on it. There is just no way we would be able to compete, nor would we want to. Some things are better left to the professionals. Plus, writing almost seems like a lost art form nowadays. A lot of information can be left out when making an informational video. With writing, we can be a little more thorough. And this is how we got into filmmaking in the first place. We started writing scripts.
Lifting the Veil
The real reason we decided to do this does relate to film education, just not in the filmmaking aspect sort of way (although this will be a part of it). This blog will be more of a film study aspect sort of education. Yes, we will try to point some of you who are interested in the direction that we took to physically make a film, and we will talk about our experiences on set, and on the things that went right and things that didn't quite work out for us. Hopefully, the information will be useful. But we will probably talk a lot more about what film does. We will talk about its power so to speak (for lack of a better word). Any random film can tell us a lot about a director, a writer, an actor, an editor, a producer. Any random film can give us insight into the minds of its creators. Any random film can tell us what the filmmaker was trying to say because all films, whether you believe it or not, have an agenda. The agenda might be hidden behind a $3 million dollar sports car jumping from one building to the next. Or it might pop out at you front and center from a sincere young man with crazy amounts of emotion oozing from his eyebrows, sitting in a Ford Flex with his friends. The agenda is there. It always is. We just have to pay very close attention to see it sometimes. That was pretty much my college film education. It was always why? Why did the filmmaker include that scene? Why did the editor use that transition? Why would anybody ever cut the subject's legs out of the frame mid-thigh??? Once you start asking the why and start breaking down films frame by frame, you'll never watch movies the same way. But your love for them will grow.
Tearing Down the Gate
Because filmmaking is an art form, there are no "true" bad films just like there are no "true" good films. It's all subjective. Of course, whenever I would tell any of my film professors this, they would say yes, that is technically correct, but we students of film would be the gate keepers on what was/is important for the world to watch! Which is nonsense. My favorite film is M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. A cinematic marvel that I couldn't really finish when it was first released. I kept thinking why would somebody make this movie? Why does this thing exist? Then, I had to study a countless number of films (writing meh research papers on all of them), and gave The Happening another go ten years after its release. It really is a great film. I think in another ten years, people will really appreciate what M. Night Shyamalan was trying to do. Which was to wake you up. He just came in a little strong.
Overall, there shouldn't be this peer pressure type groupthink on what constitutes a great film. There is, which is such an interesting and dynamic concept in and of itself. Gatekeepers made from the previous gatekeepers from before telling you which movies are worthy and which are not, shaming you into submission for thinking differently (seriously try to mention one negative thing about Citizen Kane and watch as they publicly flog you). See film, in all its glory and beauty, is manipulation. It's another clever way to implement control into a society. Film can be dangerous. Pretty much all forms of media manipulate, but film is the sneaky one. It has the ability to manipulate without you ever noticing and it can do this because it can capture what actually happens in a moment in time. Context is the key however. Context is what is needed for every situation. If you are just looking at the moving images (the facts), you are missing the truth (the context). Don't miss the context. Don't misinterpret what the filmmaker is trying to instill in you. Don't let the gate keepers tell you over and over again what is worthy of being watched. It's like the popular radio songs. You hate them at first, but then you hear them a thousand times and eventually start dancing. If they tell you over and over again that something is great, you start to believe it. Don't let the gate keepers tell you when to start dancing.
Conclusion
We're not really experts, so take whatever you glean from here with a grain of salt. This blog isn't really to tear down the art of filmmaking. We love film and how it connects all of us. There really is true beauty in it. I watched Ten Things I Hate About You a couple months ago. It literally brought me back to when my siblings and I would watch it over and over again when we were younger. And some people hate that movie. We all have those movies. We all have that connection. The reason we want you to enter this world of the filmmaker is because film has this tremendous power to change a person. Yes, a film can change those previously mentioned blank job titles up above, but what we're really talking about is you the audience member. A film can change you the audience member. Because this is entertainment. And you are watching a movie.
Until Next Blog My Friends