Comments on: What Do You Think Film Students Need To Know?

By: Valentijn

Valentijn — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:04:58 +0000

Hey Shane,
I am an Emerson student and was incredibly inspired by your talk on the 5D in November. I use the very similar 7D and have landed a huge project for this summer (shooting in my home country of Aruba) where I was able to convince the producers to let me shoot it on my camera. I have spent the past month researching camera mounts, follow focus rings, viewfinders and the works. However, I’m starting to get overwhelmed by all of the technology out there and the incredible variety of options. Do you have any advice on where to buy? Specifically, I need a good camera mount/viewfinder and follow focus that will help in a narrative documentary style shooting, is there any specific one you recommend? I remember you had one with you at Emerson that looked a lot more mobile and easy to use than some of the (in my opinion unnecessary) shoulder mounted rigs. Thank you so much in advance for your help.

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:01:18 +0000

Jun, Yun, I am sorry you missed it. I think with the tools that Emerson is providing you and the amazing talented professors you will rise to the top of all of this video noise that this disruptive technology will create. Keep dreaming, creating and never say die. I started at the bottom and worked my way up, it gave me the depth and the experience to move forward in this tumultuous time of the entertainment business.

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:56:38 +0000

Nick, thank you so much for your kind words. It was so amazing seeing how incredible your facilities are. Emerson is giving all of the students an amazing playground to explore, dream, and create. I am glad you liked the footage I showed. I am out their leading the charge. I had a great conversation with the faculty, and hopefully you will see some cameras coming your way soon. I was inspired by all of you. I want to thank all of the students for making me feel so at home and I cannot wait to come back. Pass the word around about the blog, I would love to stay in touch with as many of you as possible.

By: Jun Yun

Jun Yun — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:16:20 +0000

I wish I was there to hear your thoughts on the 5D and the relationship of new technology and the recent surplus of videos being shot everyday and what that will mean for film students hitting the industry.

I just want to say that I fell in love with 11:14 when I first saw it and have been following your work ever since. It’s good to see an Emerson alumni talk about paying your dues and doing what you love instead of preaching how to become a millionaire before your thirties.

By: Nick Keating

Nick Keating — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:31:46 +0000

Shane, I just wanted to say thanks for coming to Emerson and talking with all of us yesterday, it was a pleasure meeting you and hearing the impact these tiny dslr’s are inevitably going to create. The footage you showed us was incredible and I was blown away by the heli rescue pieces, the way the footy holds up on the big screen is pretty damn exciting! What really sealed the deal was how with the use of twixtor you could alleviate many of the artifacting problems known to plague these cameras. I think your discussion was inspiring and I hope it leads to the school picking up some 5D’s for future student projects. Thanks again, definitely appreciate you making the trip out here!!

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:06:45 +0000

Dustin, I just finished my talk at Emerson tonight and I felt very good about it, I feel that we are talking the same language. I discussed everything with them, taught a cinematography class for 4.5 hrs. Really enjoyed the experience. The students were awesome, very eager to learn and for the most part not to arrogant. The facility was very impressive. I would have loved all of that when I was a film student. Emerson blew me away!!!!!

By: Marc Margulies

Marc Margulies — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:04:35 +0000

Hurlbut Visuals Elite Team Marc Margulies checking in with a thought of learning the basics. When two of my three daughters were in high school, I had the opportunity to teach a cinema class, with the girls in attendance. The class learned composition, lighting and how to edit the finished project, culminating with the airing of their weekly assignment on the local TV station. Several of these students are now pursuing cinematography careers, due in part to the excitement of “Learning the Basics.”

By: Dustin McKim

Dustin McKim — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:39:58 +0000

I agree with David on using the new technology and just shooting!

When I was at Art Center early 2000’s they took our camera’s away, made us study massive theory, work on irrelevant projects, and made us poor students take out million dollar insurance policies so we could rent from Clairmont Camera.

I know a lot of ex students still paying some hefty bills off. The whole mini dv revolution was just starting and the faculty turned up their noses. We couldn’t shoot much back then because it cost a fortune when it’s on your own dime.

I have learned more about blocking, directing, and shooting just by working with people instead of watching a film and taking notes. And with the wealth of knowledge that is on the internet for any particular subject, students are learning at the speed of light.

I embrace the new technology and will never shoot film again unless an agency wants to blow the money. With the new HDSLR’s, footage looks amazing and students now have a cost effective way to experiment with new ideas. They can also shoot with multiple cameras, and if something doesn’t work out, grabbing a camera to finish pick ups or reshoots isn’t a big deal anymore.

I’m 100% on the bandwagon!

By: David McCarty

David McCarty — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:36:33 +0000

With all due respect to the person above who said they believed it was important to study film, I’m a Creative Director for an international ad agency and I can’t tell you the number of students I see who are forced to spend time going through arcane exercises that have little use in the real world. There’s nothing wrong with film, but it’s not the future. We still shoot a lot of 35mm film for commercials but we shoot 0% film in stills. I don’t see the purpose of going through all the trouble of shooting 8 or 16mm when what they need to learn is composition, story telling, editing and the like. Why kill yourself with film when it’s so easy to shoot high quality footage with a DSLR?

It’s the same thing I saw with students still being taught paste-up long after it had gone the way of the Dodo.

I also think that the greatest thing about youth is that they are unafraid to try new things. It’s great to study the masters, but it’s also worthwhile trying something new. I don’t think you need to know all the rules before you can start breaking them. Be bold.

By: kevie

kevie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:55:56 +0000

Story is way more important than the latest gear, its like polishing sh!t no matter how much you try and polish the thing its still sh!t. Just look back a few years ago on what people were shooting with and still telling compelling stories the gear will always change but stories are the key.