Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Film schools have so much to offer if one wants to pursue this as a career. Writing courses as well as cinematography, editing, acting, and directing courses as well. Schools have different things to offer as far as curriculum and the time it takes to complete the degree. One must decide where they want to go and then start the process of qualifying for the school and finding out what they need to do to meet the requirements.
Cinema schools are all over the world. In every continent, one can find a school of this nature. There are so many to choose from. Some places of learning require a student to take courses that are not in their discipline such as a writing student taking an editing class or an editing student maybe having to take a cinematography course.
Having an overlap in majors and courses gives each student a different perspective which is good as the whole world of film has so many different aspects to it. It is so multi-dimensional and needs to have a well-rounded approach or something will be missing. What a rewarding experience it can be and it can really change one’s life. Going to school for this subject is recommended as it gives you many contacts you would not get otherwise. It also gives you a foot in the door as you will learn from others who have gone before you and will teach you what mistakes not to make.
Schools have various curriculum to choose from. It is a good idea for the prospective student to work with their admissions representative to get a thorough idea of what will be required of them before they apply. That way there are no unpleasant surprises.
It is also good for the cinematography major to take a screenwriting or acting course as well. It may not seem to be helpful, but after one is in the class and has experienced it first-hand, they will see the benefits. The world of film is so vast and creative that all the aspects of what it takes to make a full-length feature film need to be learned as much as possible.
Schools for cinema are quite different in the United States as they are in other parts of the world such as Europe. Europeans see the world of cinema totally different than Americans do. They usually see it in a less commercial light. They look at the characters of a script and what they want and make the magic happen between them. Hollywood in America will make sure all of that happens as well with the power of the dollar largely attached to the whole project.
The bottom line in American movies is money. If it does not look like it will bring in any money, it will not get made. Very few risks are made as people are often discouraged from taking gambles. In Europe, the quality of the project is taken more into account. Also, in Europe, less drama surrounding car chases or large explosions are seen which helps cut down the costs of the movie’s budget as these special effects can cost quite a bit of money.
Since culture has a large impact on film school and the multiple ways of teaching this subject, one must decide where they want to live before they decide where they want to be a student. This is so important when deciding where to apply. Also, timing may be an issue. One may look favorable now, but may look different later.
Ready to channel your inner creativity? Enroll in a photography school or film schools in Canada. There are many fine video production courses to choose from. The career you dreamed of may be just around the corner.
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Friday, January 21st, 2011
Film Studies is growing field of academic study that is focused on the critical appraisal and appreciation of cinema as a form of art together with its role in shaping contemporary society and culture. Scholars in the field concerns themselves with analyzing how best to view and appraise movies in order to understand all their many meanings and impacts. The discipline sits within the larger fields of media and cultural studies.
The discipline is a relatively new one dating back to the second half of the twentieth century. The growth of cinema studies as a discipline following the end of World War II has spawned a number of academic peer-reviewed journals. Examples include the influential British journal Screen, Cinema Journal and the Journal of Film and Video.
Academic journals have introduced many important concepts in cinema theory over the years and remain and important vehicle for the exchange of ideas. For instance Laura Mulvey, the leading cinema theorist and British university professor, published her famous 1975 article titled Visual Pleasure & Narrative Cinema in Screen. The article employed a Freudian psychoanalytic framework to analyze how women are portrayed in cinema. Her article was the first serios writing to tackle the issue in this way; it combined cinema theory with psychoanalysis and feminist thinking. Mulvey remains active today as professor of cinema and media studies at the Birkbeck College, University of London, Bloomsbury.
The Hollywood studio and star system have operated to dominate movie making and marketing in terms of its influence on pop culture. Given this commercial success, some people may perhaps be surprised at the prominent early historical influence that Europe and Russia have had on both the technical aspects of filmmaking and cinema theory. The clearest example of this point is perhaps the Moscow Film School. Founded as early as 1919, the school was the first organization to focus on the technical aspects of movie making.
Similarly, the first serious cinema theorist is widely acknowledged to be Frenchman Andre Bazin (1918-1958). He started writing on the subject in 1943, during the World War II, and was a co-founder of the prominent magazine Cahiers du cinema in 1951 (together with Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca). His writings remain a major force in cinema theory and criticism today.
A 4 volume set of Bazin writings was published and released after his death. Those volumes were titled Qu’est-ce que le cinema? (What is Cinema?) and released over the years 1958 to 1962. A selection of those essays was translated into English and published as two volumes, the first in the late 1960s and the other in the early 1970s.
These two volumes became key texts for many film courses in the English-speaking world, but were never updated or revised. In 2009, a specialist Canadian publisher of film texts, Caboose, spotted an opportunity to take advantage of the relatively favorable copyright laws prevailing in Canada. Caboose compiled fresh translations of many of the most important essays and published them as a new single-volume with annotations by translator Timothy Barnard. That text became the only corrected and annotated edition of the original Bazin writings.
Bazin argued that the best objective for films was to attempt to present an objective reality. He therefore favored documentaries and films in the style of Italian neorealism. From a technical perspective he argued that directors should seek to make themselves invisible; advocated the use of deep focus or large depth of field (favored, for example by Orson Welles) and wide shots (Jean Renoir). Bazin also supported lack of montage, that is, extended continuity through mise en scene rather than montage editing and special effects. All of these Bazin viewpoints are challenged by the modern film studies community. Bazin is nevertheless celebrated as having been an original thinker in his time.
Tarintino had to start somewhere. Film school can open the door to a lucrative and enjoyable career. The industry requires hard work and long hours so get started at a Canadian Art Institute. If film does not interest you then try taking web design courses or photography courses.
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