BCC Film Fest 2010

Student films tend to be .... student films. So how do you make a better experience for both filmmaker and audience? The answer: a five minute time limit. Takes away the chance to drag on. Forces the student to get to the point. Watchable, makeable. Perfect.

The films last night went beyond that, though: it was actually a good, tight set of styles, ideas and approaches. I was proud of the students I knew, and glad to see the work by the students I haven't worked with yet as well.

A fun time.

If It's Thursday, This Must Be TV

As we near the end of the term, my television production students are starting to seem really professional in their approach. The last few shows have been very focused. Today's show needs to be done and out live (to tape) from start to finish in one hour, though. We'll see how they do....

TV or not TV

I've enjoyed teaching TV production this term. Today, we did our fourth show for the term: an interview show. Essentially we were doing a copy version of "The Charlie Rose Show." It looks very simple, but I think by the second run-through many members of the class realized we weren't quite hitting it. The simplicity is deceiving, and pulling this off requires focus on every detail from the director and every member of the crew. As Director Ferrand says in Day for Night:

What is a film director? A man who's asked questions about everything. Sometimes he knows the answer.

Ah well: a very good learning experience for everyone. Above: an iPhone snap of today's Television Studio class.

What's My Line Again?

I was hoping to get one short documentary out into the world each month during 2010. Ambitious, I know... but I did get To Get to the Other Side out the door in January and screened, and now it has been submitted to a few other festivals.

We're at the end of February, however, and I'm officially behind on that schedule. Also, I'm not going to be participating in this year's International Documentary Challenge -- so can I get anywhere near that goal?

We'll see. Some projects are in fact moving forward, so maybe there won't be 12 new films this year, but ... well, just check back soon.

Photo Class Postponed to Feb 25th

My Seriously Fun Photography class has had its start day postponed one week. That means you can still enroll if you like. (More details soon, or you can look at previous posts on this blog.)

Above: an iPhone snapshot from today at Bronx Community College.

In NYC? Take my Photo Course at Hunter CE

Photography sure can be fun. If only there were some sort of class about that, taught locally starting next Thursday.

SERIOUSLY FUN PHOTOGRAPHY / SERFUN
Build on the basics and master the skills and ideas advanced photographers use in a fun, low-pressure class. Open to anyone able to shoot a photo and import it into a computer (and welcoming advanced students as well), in this class we'll use the digital camera as a fast way to learn the essentials of photography. We'll learn-by-doing, exploring professional techniques while creating a portfolio project (on any topic of your choice) to show your advanced skills. If you've always been interested in photography, but have put off becoming great at it, this is your chance.

Course/Section: SERFUN/1 6 Session(s) 12 Hour(s) Tuition: $250.00
Day(s) Meet: Thursday Date: 02/18/10-03/25/10 Time: 06:00PM-08:00PM
Location: CS, 71 E 94 ST./
Instructor(s): FISHER, TED

You can register online at Continuing Education at Hunter College

Above: an iPhone snapshot taken today.

Helpful New York Tip #7

"So, when do you want to put the wreath up? "

"I dunno. When do you want to put the wreath up?"

"Well, why don't we do it when there's a long line of people trying get onto campus?"

"You read my mind."

In Ten... Nine...

Another image from our studio prep.

TV Party

Tuesday was another day of television studio runthroughs. On Thursday, we tape our second class project.

It's Okay, We're from Television

This term I've been teaching a television production class. For our first 5-minute piece we've been working on a three-camera interview-style show.

So we have three people running cameras, one on lights, a sound mixer, a technical director (running the switcher), and a director. You know the routine: "Ready camera 1 ... take camera one. Ready camera 3...."

It's interesting, to me anyway, how the process is a sort of improvisational editing. When we cut something in post, we work to find the right moment to cut -- so that the conversation makes sense. Live, however, it's always a bit of a best guess....

It's great fun to watch. We did four run-throughs on Tuesday, getting better each time. Then finally recorded to tape -- and had a few errors. In Thursday's class we're doing another run-through or two -- then going to tape for the final version.