I originally heard about this class through a friend of mine who had taken it a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. She figured it would be perfect for me, as she knew I had an interest in filming and editing my own videos for YouTube, and she was right. Since my school doesn't offer a solid film production class, I had been looking for a way to improve on my skills without having to pay for a class outside of school that would probably only last a couple of weeks.
2. In general, what did you like most about this class?
The thing I liked the most about this class was that we were able to take out equipment if we needed it. I feel like this is really helpful for anyone still starting out with filmmaking and for someone who doesn't have a lot of the equipment needed in order to make a video sound/look good. It really saved me a couple of times, since I don't have my own attachable camera microphone yet or a dolly.
3. In general, what did you like least about this class?
In my opinion, the tutorials we had to complete (such as the Photoshop tutorials at the beginning of the year) were quite tedious and sometimes hard to follow due to the amount of instructions we were given. It was nice to learn how to do certain things in each of the programs, however, and I did learn a lot. It was just rather frustrating trying to follow the directions, and I was afraid that I would accidentally press the wrong button and the project would be ruined and I'd have to start from the beginning (which I did have to do at one point). But, I suppose that happens when working on real projects as well, so I guess it helped me deal with the frustration of having to redo something.
4. What was your most favorite project and why?
My most favorite project that we did this year was the fictional short film. I love fictional stories and creating my own worlds and characters with different goals and feelings (I mean, that's basically what I've been doing for the past seven years). It gave me a chance to work on my own and use my imagination to come up with a creative story. I was also able to act as the main character and find out how hard it is to convince a cat to act for you in your film. It turned out quite well, I believe, even though I had to cut some things from the script to make the 10 minute time requirement.
5. What was your least favorite project and why?
My least favorite project was the ASMF "Sleep Story" PSA, mainly because I'm not a fan of making PSAs, but also because my original idea fell flat and I had to quickly come up with a new idea in order to turn the video in on time. I initially had a storyline for the video, but I had to turn it into the generic, informational, narrative PSA, saying "don't do this" and "try doing this instead". I just didn't have as much fun making PSAs this year than I did making the fictional short, poem video, and final project.
6. Discuss the overall effectiveness of the instructor (for example: preparation, availability, interest, content knowledge, expectations, etc.).
I give Ms. Licata a 10/10 in teaching. No, but honestly, she's been really helpful this year to me, and I've learned a lot from being in this class, listening to her video critiques and demos, from her giving us sheets and packets with valuable information on it (that I'll probably save and look back to for years to come), and from her just generally helping me out with something, giving advice, and helping me (and my mom) find colleges to apply to.
7. What are the most valuable things you learned in the class?
WATCH YOUR FOCUS!!! Is definitely one thing I learned this year, haha. Curse you blurry clips! I'm still working on learning how to focus the camera while looking through the small preview screen/when I'm recording myself. Also, lighting and color correction are very important! Not only can it make your clips more visually appealing, but it can also help with conveying emotions. Looking back on my older videos, I realized I made some of my clips so overexposed for no reason at all, and it doesn't have much of a 'cinematic look' that I probably should have been going for initially.
8. Do you feel that this class will help you achieve your future academic or career goals? How or why (or why not)?
Definitely! This class has really helped me improve, and I've realized just how much my perspective of filmmaking has changed from going back and watching some of the videos that I made previously. I began noticing major flaws in my older videos that I never thought of while I was making them, and I kind of wish I had a room of people that could critique my personal projects after I finish making them. Although critiques always made me really anxious, they were quite beneficial, in my opinion. But I'm really glad I took this class, as it gave me a chance to change my perspective, meet friends with the same interests, go out and film with real people, and give me the experience need before going and learning more about film in a college class.
9. How could this class be improved?
Quite honestly, I've been contemplating over this question for a few days now, and I really can't think of any specific way that this class could be improved. Maybe, since we now have the new DSLR cameras, students can be taught more about ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, which I don't remember going over much this year. It was really confusing to me when I first found out about it, and I'm still having trouble remembering what each adjustment does.
10. What would you tell incoming students to help them be more prepared for the class?
If you're really serious about becoming an animator and/or filmmaker and succeeding in this class, you need to study the material outside of school. Around the middle of the school year, after being rather confused about certain camera controls and such, I decided to start taking matters into my own hands and subscribe to some helpful YouTube channels that upload videos explaining different editing and filming techniques. I went to Walmart and bought a simple, journal-like notebook that I could use to write down important information, and bring it with me to every filming location just in case I need to remember how to do something. I also bought it so I can write down potential video ideas that hit me out of nowhere. But, watching video tutorials, tips, and tricks are definitely something I recommend for incoming students looking for film advice or wanting to learn more about, say, camera ISO, aperture, or shutter speed, for instance.
11. Additional Comments:
I'm really going to miss being in this class. As the end of the year began to creep nearer, I started to realize just how much I love coming here in the morning, seeing people who are interested in the same things that I am, working on different projects that forced me to leave the comforts of my home and venture out into the world to complete a video, and learning more about the one thing that I believe I'm truly good at in life. I really loved being here, and I wish everyone the best on their future endeavors!
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