The first year Master of Fine Arts students are getting ready to shoot their film one projects, which have been in production or will move into production in the next couple weeks.
“The first year in the MFA program is affectionately called boot camp,” said Natalie Hulla, who is currently working on a film about a dark and emotional re-encounter between a dancer and her attacker. “We’ve been learning every aspect of filmmaking. So that includes screenwriting, storyboarding, casting, prepping the camera and other equipment, lighting and editing on Avid."
Vinay Choudary, a first year MFA student, said he has learned many lessons through the experience including “how important it is to trust your crew, work as a unit and keep an eye out on each other,” as well as appreciating “how quickly the light can change even on an apparently clear day.”
Choudary notes that the film one projects are exclusively shot outdoors. He will begin shooting his film the weekend after next.
“(I) have learned that things can go wrong in a split second so no amount of preparation and attention to detail is ever enough,” Choudary said.
Kyle Kruse, whose film one project, Crazy, centers on a short story about a homeless man with mental illness, has learned about “struggling with his own craziness.” As someone who puts emphasis on preproduction and planning, Kruse has learned a number of key lessons about working within a group.
“Keeping calm and adapting is key as well as not allowing myself to get flustered,” Kruse said. “I start to get off schedule and then I’m just like, ‘Screw it, shoot it from 17 angles so I have something to work with in editing.’ That’s not bad, but it’s not good. I need to be tighter on set.”
Since Kruse and the other students, are shooting their projects on 16mm film, they won’t be able to see what they film until after it is shot, unlike with digital. Kruse believes that the experience of shooting this project will push him to work with film more in the digital world.
“I have a talented crew and a good director of photography, so I’m not that worried,” Kruse said.
Among all else, this boot camp experience will allow the students to learn first hand what filmmaking is all about.
“In this program I’ve learned each filmmaking aspect at a much deeper level,” Hulla said. “It’s a great experience being surrounded with talented and artistic people, too. It really challenges you and you produce better work.”
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