Day One: Getting Our Feet Wet

It’s difficult to imagine a world without motion pictures, or better yet a world without a window to other peoples’ lives. From early in my childhood I can remember watching movies with my parents and being absolutely enthralled with excitement—I was so lucky to be able to see things beyond my own backyard for a change. In our first lecture in Donna’s film class we learned about the beginnings of moving pictures and how they challenged the very concept of perception. From magicians using movies to trick their audiences to hum-drum shots of ordinary life, such as train pulling into its station, early film makers opened the eyes of the world to what people can create.

The intricacy of film making and cinematography interests me the most. Everything from camera positions, choreography, special effects, and timing must be carefully planned out in order to be successful. The most difficult part: it must be believable. There are several different kinds of perception film makers can use to portray a story to an audience. Similar to a novel, a director can use either first, second, or third person to tell his story. Third person omniscient was the earliest form, because it was simply an observation of peoples’ lives. The audience simply got a glimpse into a different reality. It wasn’t until directors began challenging themselves with different forms of perception that stories could truly be told. Donna showed us a clip of firemen extinguishing a fire that is one of the earliest examples of mixed perception and cross cutting. The director dared to show his audience not only what was happening with the firefighters, but also what was happening simultaneously with the helpless victim in the burning house.

Donna instructed us later on in the class to get in small groups and film images outside of the classroom. My team and I went to the library and ended up getting about five minutes of awkward film—we knew what would not be interesting to shoot, but I don’t think we were sure about what would be interesting. After several attempts to be funny and entertaining, we just starting going on a tour of the library. Come to find out it was completely empty, which made for an interesting twist to our original intentions, since the library is normally packed with students. I’m very curious to experience what else Donna will teach us about film making and the metaphors behind it.