Working as a crew

Communication is the most valuable thing that I have learned working as a crew. It has been very difficult to express my ideas to others efficiently. Moreover, trying to make your crew happy with all their different personalities is an exhausting process. I think that experience will help in the future when I have to select the people to work with. I have realized that not only we should become good professionals who know how to use the camera or how to record sound, but also easygoing people who can follow directors’ guidelines. Sometimes, I have felt that I had put too much influence in the type of frame the director wanted to use. I would like to be less intrusive in future projects.

Critique

Just as others have expressed - I was incredibly nervous before the first critique. Until then, my creative work had never been judged in a classroom, and I had no idea what to expect. Before watching any of the films, it was only the idea of showing my work to others that gave me butterflies. Once the lights were down and we were about to watch the first movie, I started to worry how my work might measure up against the work of others. My movie was shown near the end of class, and I felt my stomach lurch in anticipation each time a new film started, wondering if was finally my turn. My palms sweat an awful lot that day.

Of course, I was overly concerned, and the first critique was not a terrible experience. I still feel the butterflies in my stomach just as my movie starts, but I look forward to hearing from everyone, and I enjoy finding out what worked and what didn't for each person. At first I found all the contradictory advice and opinions to be somewhat maddening, but I have come to accept it as inevitable. Our individual tastes vary, and each person's viewing experience is unique for a variety of reasons. Now I expect to hear helpful criticism alongside advice that I'll never agree with. I think this relates to the most valuable thing I learned from the Dean's critique workshop: learn to separate the problems from the solutions. Some people will give you a solution, and it's your job to figure out the underlying problem (whether or not you want to accept the proposed solution).

At first, I didn't mind that the filmmaker wasn't allowed to speak during the critique. But I'm very glad we've moved on from that phase! In many instances, I've felt much better equipped to give constructive criticism once I'm clear on the filmmaker's intentions. I also want each filmmaker to be able to raise questions or concerns about his or her own work. I don't care if we talk before or after our movies screen, or if we only speak when a classmate asks a direct question - but I like having a dialog of some sort.

I'm in the minority, but I don't find the hat method to be especially helpful. It's fun and can be a good exercise, but, in general, I think it negatively impacts the quality of the critique session. I don't think it makes sense to force certain people to say good things and others to say bad things. When I was a black hat, I sometimes found myself reaching for negative things to say. If I don't truly stand by my statement, I don't want to have to say something negative about a film. As a filmmaker, I'd much rather hear everyone's honest opinion about my movie, especially since I know that perceptions can vary wildly.

Crew

As other people have been saying, working with a crew can be a little awkward at first but it is worth it in the end. I think it is a balance between control and trust. On one hand, it's your project so you want to be in charge of the camera and the sound and asking interview questions and everything else and it just isn't possible. You have to have a crew you can trust to take care of some of that stuff for you, which is why I think it is good that we are all stuck in all the same classes together because basically we have no choice but to start trusting each other! Shooting for my final project was a great learning experience for me cause while I had a camera, I was also asking interview questions and as a result most of my footage is crap because I couldn't focus on both at the same time. However, I luckily had Federico there with a second camera and his footage turned out quite well. (As it turns out I'm glad I had a camera too just for the sound- Federico's camera was hooked up to mics and for future reference if you are going to have little kids crawling all over your interview subjects while they are wearing mics the sound won't turn out so well.) If I were to do the shoot over, I think I would still have two cameras, but I would get someone else to do the filming while I interviewed. I also agree with Danny's suggestion that the crew should continue to help through editing process- getting feedback from the people that were there with you is hugely helpful, especially in cases like my final project where I'm trying to take the sound from one camera and match it to the footage from another. I think the biggest adjustment to working with a crew is that you have to think about it more like a group project. That sounds obvious but it is easy to say "it's my film, my grade, my project" but in actuality to have a good shoot you have to think more along the lines of our film, our project. I can control some of the decisions, but in the end I just have to trust that whoever I have working the camera or the sound is going to care as much about the project as I do.

crew

the times that i have gone and shot by myself my work has definitely suffered. just having someone there to remind me of simple things - white balance, color bars, sound levels, nd filters, gain - all the shit that can totally screw your shoot if you are not aware of them. i really enjoy working in groups on my films and others - it builds good relations out of class, gives us a chance to see people's creativity, and really it is just fun.

i think what is important is being organized and efficient. this means having all the gear you need, having clearly defined roles for people, having a clear laundry list of shots that you want, and getting those shots in a reasonable amount of time. i think it helps to spell all this out at some point before being on location, although I admit it is hard sometimes because we are still figuring all the stuff out - and the nature of the documentary is that sometimes you just need to film a bunch of stuff and see how it works out later.

i think it would be extremely beneficial to go through the post production phase as a crew as well. i think a lot of the problems we see in editing could be resolved if there was more collaboration in the edit bay.

i think i need to focus on the timing and efficiency of my own shoots and plan them out further in advance so that i am not asking people at the last minute to come out and help. also i think it is important to branch out and work with people that i have not worked with before.

critique

these are getting slightly easier - the critique of my rough cut didn't have me nearly on the edge of anxiety explosion as the previous sessions did - however, it is still something that i more or less don't look forward to. it is wierd because the more nervous i am going into it - the less I get out of it. seriously it is like i don't even hear what anyone else is saying sometimes. it is a great experience however - it humbles, and thickens the skin.

cindy lays it out there and is completely straight forward about our work - which is both good and bad in a way. on the one hand it is great because we don't have to worry about getting softball responses from people trying not to be overly harsh, but on the other hand, i think sometimes a lot of effort goes into making things that cater to what she might like - or at least give a positive response to.

i like the idea of getting to speak before we show our films, but then it sets it up so people echo whatever concerns we may voice about our movies prior to thier screening. however - i do think it is useful to give the class a little context prior to showing. i think the comments that serve the process the best are those that point out mistakes that we may have not noticed: editing issues, sound problems, lapses in the story. i guess these "tech" issues are the best to address.

i don't know if i am getting better at critiques or not. i think i need to watch something more than once to give an accurate measure because too much of the time i will only focus on one aspect - the story, the shooting, the edits, or the sound. i really appreciate cindy and andrew and the whole class for giving honest feedback and pointers about my films this semester.

Working as a Crew

As some of you may have noticed, my first couple films were...not so hot. I worked alone, mostly because of my schedule, but also because I wasn't sure how to approach people about working for me on a shoot. I also feel badly when I can't be as flexible with my schedule to help other people on their shoots to return the favor. From making the portrait of Quinn and working with a crew, I learned that it can be incredibly helpful just to have an extra set of hands, but more so to have a second opinion on a shot, idea, or lighting technique. It is valuable to have other people around to say "Hey, I really don't think this will work because..." Also, I found while shooting my final project, that having people to back you up can also help build your confidence about an idea.
I think the only detrimental thing about having a crew is that you obviously lose some control over the shoot. You can tell someone to get a certain shot, but they may not shoot it exactly the way you would. However, the benefits of having a crew greatly outweigh the costs. As far as my crew member development goes, I could work on a lot of things. Firstly I still need to get more comfortable with the equipment and experiment with different techniques in sound, lighting, framing, etc. I would second Mackenzie in that I also need to have a more solid idea of what I'm looking to do before I get to the shoot (which can be especially tough when showing up to film 100 people dancing in a poorly lit ballroom). Planning the types of shots you want, along with what you want each crew member to be solely responsible for well before you start your shoot makes everything go so much smoother once you get there. I'd say having a solid plan, but not being 100% a slave to that plan is the way to go (it seems you could lose some dynamism if you're too rigid). I'm just looking forward to working with more people in the class, because even if you don't agree completely with what someone is doing, it is really helpful to see a different perspective on how shoots are organized and executed.

Critique process

I am enjoying the critique process very much, specially the method of the color hats. When you are assigned a hat with a specific color, the person that is receiving the critique is not going to take your comments as personal attacks since they know that you are performing a role in that critique method. The most important color for me would be the green. Usually, people make comments about what is nor working and what they like about the film. However, from my point of view, a constructive evaluation that can give you an idea of what could be improved for future projects is the essential part of a good critique process. Moreover, I think that we could be more incisive in our analyses in order to make the person reevaluate the film in depth.