I've been chronicling my MFA in Film journey by posting weekly updates on Facebook. (Yes, people still use Facebook)
In the process, it was suggested to me that I post here on FilmSchool.org so here I am.
I am a screenwriting major but Stony Brook's program has us producing, shooting, directing and editing as well.
It's really a program for people who want to call themselves "filmmakers" rather than someone that may be certain that they only want to write.
After my first semester, I am finding myself more interested in directing and also more interested in documentary filmmaking than I was when I started.
I'm trying to keep an open mind about where I want to land after the program, while also making sure I can use my skills to earn a living!
One thing I'm certain about is that I want to write and direct at least one feature film. I already know what film, too. The great thing about Stony Brook's program is that they offer a two semester microbudget class in the third year and then (I think) they support production (with gear) in the summer after graduating.
In the beginning of the semester I was second-guessing my decision to enroll because the commute and the work load was a lot more than I had been doing in the previous year. On top of five 3-credit classes, I was interning as a reader for Flynn Picture Co. But by the end I had got into the rhythm of my schedule and now that it's over I barely know what to do with myself.
Here were the classes:
Writing the Short -- covered the basics of writing a short film. We wrote/rewrote six different shorts and learned about visual storytelling, characterization, inciting incidents, etc. The second to last assignment was our Directing 1 final project and the last assignment was our big "first year" project we'll direct in the spring. It's a 7-10 page story.
Advance Party -- in this class of ten people, we each created a character then we used each other's characters to write a short. The class culminated in a table reading with local NYC actors. This is the class where I learned I have an easier time writing/revising stories which I don't have an emotional attachment to... maybe I have a future writing Open Writing Assignments.
Masterclass with Christine Vachon -- Every Tuesday, we chatted with Christine and her guest. The semester started with a screening of A DIFFERENT MAN and then we met the director, the director's manager, the publicist. We also sat down with James Schamus (!) and a variety of pros who gave us their takes on their niche of the industry. The producer in me thinks this class is probably the highlight of the whole program. Christine offers this class again in the spring of year 2 so I'm psyched about that.
Film Tools -- An intro to the tech aspect of filmmaking. It's possible to test out of the class and two people in our cohort did. Started out very basic with "this is how to set up a tripod" and ended with learning about color correction and sound editing. The instructor of this class is a pro editor but has also worked as a DP. I had tested out but ultimately decided to take the class and it was worth it because I showed up to our directing assignments with a bit more confidence in what I was doing.
Directing 1 -- probably the most time consuming class. We were shooting assigments every weekend in our 4 person groups. We shot mostly in New Jersey where one of our classmates had a house with parking (all 4 of us have cars). This is the class where I discovered I might have a love for shooting/editing documentaries. The final project for this class was a 3-5 minute short film. I shot my short film TASTE in Manhattan and up until the shoot I was a nervous wreck.. mostly because I was working with actors for the first time but also because I was spending money on the location and wanted to make sure it wasn't money wasted.
Here are some stills from the film:
That's the overview of the semester. After the new year, I'll be back to post more about what I'm working on and what I'm loving and/or hating about the program.
Thanks for reading
In the process, it was suggested to me that I post here on FilmSchool.org so here I am.
I am a screenwriting major but Stony Brook's program has us producing, shooting, directing and editing as well.
It's really a program for people who want to call themselves "filmmakers" rather than someone that may be certain that they only want to write.
After my first semester, I am finding myself more interested in directing and also more interested in documentary filmmaking than I was when I started.
I'm trying to keep an open mind about where I want to land after the program, while also making sure I can use my skills to earn a living!
One thing I'm certain about is that I want to write and direct at least one feature film. I already know what film, too. The great thing about Stony Brook's program is that they offer a two semester microbudget class in the third year and then (I think) they support production (with gear) in the summer after graduating.
In the beginning of the semester I was second-guessing my decision to enroll because the commute and the work load was a lot more than I had been doing in the previous year. On top of five 3-credit classes, I was interning as a reader for Flynn Picture Co. But by the end I had got into the rhythm of my schedule and now that it's over I barely know what to do with myself.
Here were the classes:
Writing the Short -- covered the basics of writing a short film. We wrote/rewrote six different shorts and learned about visual storytelling, characterization, inciting incidents, etc. The second to last assignment was our Directing 1 final project and the last assignment was our big "first year" project we'll direct in the spring. It's a 7-10 page story.
Advance Party -- in this class of ten people, we each created a character then we used each other's characters to write a short. The class culminated in a table reading with local NYC actors. This is the class where I learned I have an easier time writing/revising stories which I don't have an emotional attachment to... maybe I have a future writing Open Writing Assignments.
Masterclass with Christine Vachon -- Every Tuesday, we chatted with Christine and her guest. The semester started with a screening of A DIFFERENT MAN and then we met the director, the director's manager, the publicist. We also sat down with James Schamus (!) and a variety of pros who gave us their takes on their niche of the industry. The producer in me thinks this class is probably the highlight of the whole program. Christine offers this class again in the spring of year 2 so I'm psyched about that.
Film Tools -- An intro to the tech aspect of filmmaking. It's possible to test out of the class and two people in our cohort did. Started out very basic with "this is how to set up a tripod" and ended with learning about color correction and sound editing. The instructor of this class is a pro editor but has also worked as a DP. I had tested out but ultimately decided to take the class and it was worth it because I showed up to our directing assignments with a bit more confidence in what I was doing.
Directing 1 -- probably the most time consuming class. We were shooting assigments every weekend in our 4 person groups. We shot mostly in New Jersey where one of our classmates had a house with parking (all 4 of us have cars). This is the class where I discovered I might have a love for shooting/editing documentaries. The final project for this class was a 3-5 minute short film. I shot my short film TASTE in Manhattan and up until the shoot I was a nervous wreck.. mostly because I was working with actors for the first time but also because I was spending money on the location and wanted to make sure it wasn't money wasted.
Here are some stills from the film:
That's the overview of the semester. After the new year, I'll be back to post more about what I'm working on and what I'm loving and/or hating about the program.
Thanks for reading
