Goals in Filmmaking

My overall goal in filmmaking is to create something that is both interesting and different on one hand, but also something that will appeal to someone. I guess what I mean by that is that I want to create films that are striking and sometimes even shocking in the way that they portray things, but I want them to be based - if very loosely - on a foundation of knowledge about visual art and what "works." This is something that, I think, is going to require a lot of work.

I've been making movies my whole life - from the time when I first got my hands on a camcorder, which was when I was around 10. Yet, despite all that experience I don't really have a good handle on how to make "effective" images. As I alluded to in my other post, I am able to make visual art (drawings, paintings, etc.), but even with that I have sort of fallen out of practice and it seems I don't have a good "feel" for it anymore. So I guess one of the main things I hope to get out of this class is "practice."

I want to get some momentum going so that when I start a film I don't feel like I'm starting from scratch - so that I'll feel like it's already moving from the beginning. This is the way I feel about music. I create music often enough and am actively engaged in it to the point that when I sit down with a guitar I already have a framework to think in and I already have energy and enthusiasm which merely needs to be directed. This is something that I would like to develop with regards to film. Of course, part of what it takes to achieve that level of proficiency in film is technical proficiency. So I'm hoping that this class will teach me some of the technical details that I am a little unsure of or of which I'm not even aware.

Ultimately, though, practice is the main goal. In my experience, practice is the key to any art. Practice teaches you the limits of the medium you're working in, and it teaches you what you like. It teaches you how what you do affects the result, and through this process you learn what your goals are as an artist and what you want to do that is unique. Of course I've had plenty of practice with film/video already, but most of it was unguided and not really aware of what was already out there. So I need some guidance as well.