Does studying film help or hinder?

A system of cells interlinked

02-15-07

Originally Posted by kickinBack

Looking at it from anouther angle, I studied graphic design and now I can't look at a pamphlet, brochure, billboard, magazine without thinking they could have probably used more spacing, different font more color etc....

I don't think this is a bad thing because when you see somthing good you really apprieciate it!

Agreed. I am an Art Director at a printing firm, and I constantly examine printed materials, from menus to trucks with graphics on the side, for wrrors and possible changes I would have made... Just comes with the territory, I guess...

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PrometheusFG

Registered User

02-15-07

Originally Posted by Zeiken

For the movie lover, film studies will always be a valuable thing in that it alows us to articulate exactly why we appreciate certain aspects of film. It is true that these studies tend to bring out the 'brushstrokes' of production, and the entire filmmaking process ceases to be invisible for most movies, but knowledge is rarely a harmful thing. Film studies, for me, has opened up thousands of fantastic movies which i would have never previously have even watched, and matured and evolved my point of view on the movies i already love.

If your only in your first year and you're worried, stop worrying. You havnt even scratched the surface of film yet. (pun strongly intended) Stick with it, and you'll be amazed and what sort of things you'll unlock within your own perceptions.

I couldn't have said it any better... UArts and L.A. Film School did the same for me as Zeiken.

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LongShotXL

Registered User

02-15-07

I am an freshman english major, and I am taking a course in film study. Just a basin intro course, but I see it already. I cant watch a movie w/out thinking about camera or lighting.

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undercoverlover

Hello Salem, my name's Winifred. What's yours

02-15-07

i studied photography at college and i havent done it since june last year but even now when someone shows me a photograph i always know how i would have done, the lighting i would have done or the way i would have edited. I always try and see how theyve done something, why an advert works and stuff. Does kinda bug me but also lets me know i learned something and it was worthwhile

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SamsoniteDelilah

Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing

02-15-07

I think studying any art helps, unless the person is so easily overwhelmed with the work of others that they lose their originality by mere exposure. If that's the case, then they should maybe not be trying to make a career in art anyway, so probably just as well. Studying art gives an artist the tools they need to create their ideas clearly, express their ideas effectively and do so for a long time.

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Pyro Tramp

got mad game, yo

02-16-07

I studied Film at college and am in second year of studying it at Uni and i think someone said earlier it's help you express why you like or don't like films but studying it rarely effects my pleasure of viewing films (i sleep through most the screening we have anyway). If University is your first experience of studying film then you have kinda picked up a new skill and way of seeing something most people purely passively enjoy but after about a week of watching films and finding myself analysising them i learnt to switch that bit of my brain on and off, and the textual analysis you mentioned yourself doing will really seem painfully simple when you get into all the theories.

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Johnners

Registered User

02-16-07

Anyone know what an A-Level Film Studies course is like? I'd hate it if they kept pausing the film every 5 minutes to analyse it.

fionalin7

BANNED

02-16-07

before i studied film school, i really dont know how to appreciate movies. but after knowing the basics of films, i can now give critics on movies. in this, it helps me give idea on what to do and how to improve making good films.

PimpDaShizzle V2.0

BRANDED

02-16-07

Originally Posted by Johnners

Anyone know what an A-Level Film Studies course is like? I'd hate it if they kept pausing the film every 5 minutes to analyse it.

It depends on what you're watching it for. If you're disecting lighting, yeah, it'll be paused to let the the teacher explain how the lights were setup and why it works, or doesn't. If you're going for aesthetics, more than likely, you'll watch the movie the whole way through. You might end up playing one scene over and over again so that you have a chance to pick up on the whole sound design. It depends. One time we had to block a scene from a movie and I chose one from Apocalypse Now and it took me around 1 hour to do it because everytime the actor moved or the camera setup was different I had to write a whole new description for it. It's fun though.

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undercoverlover

Hello Salem, my name's Winifred. What's yours

02-16-07

im in my second term of studying film and for last terms reading film exam it was a ten shot scene analysis. So just like you Pimp, for each shot I had to write down every aspect of that shot: lighting, props, location, sound, camera movement, colour, editing...

We tend to do it like each week or so we'll study a new aspect of film e.g. lighting then we'll be shown clips that will highlight the teachers points. Then that weeks screening will be a film that has great lighting so that we can see in action what we've learnt

PimpDaShizzle V2.0

BRANDED

02-17-07

Originally Posted by undercoverlover

It's some good crap.

Nexus

The Fabulous Sausage Man

02-18-07

Originally Posted by Johnners

Anyone know what an A-Level Film Studies course is like? I'd hate it if they kept pausing the film every 5 minutes to analyse it.

No, we always analysed the films as they were playing.

dojo

Just a girl who loves movies

02-18-07

Something similar happens to me when viewing a site. Since I am a designer I tend to not just enjoy the information, but study other details I never thought about before. Or when listening to radio I just tend to notice some mistakes or problems with the mixing since I am a radio DJ. Overall I think such studies as the ones you mentioned make you more knowledgeable. It kinda forces you to lose that "simple" way of dealing with the movies, but I think it's a very good thing since your experience in the movie watching is enhanced by all this knowledge. A bit tiresome sometimes maybe, but a good thing in the end. My opinion

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Loner

All good people are asleep and dreaming.

02-19-07

First off great topic undercoverlover.

The answer for me is hinder.

I have a friend who was a film student at The University of Washington.

He wants me to come over and watch my Criterion version of Le Samoura�
on his killer home theater system.

He is so caught up in the technical aspects of the film that he misses the plot.

Either I enjoy the finished product or I don't.

I'm not concerned about how it got to that point.

I'm just a blue collar guy who loves movies.

sweetbwaoy

Strive for what you believe in.

02-20-07

It's natural. But as the years go by, you start to internalize that knowledge and it becomes second nature as opposed to something that you have to consciously think about all the time.

fionalin7