Life has gotten crazy busy recently. We’re in the midst of pre-production for the next movie. I like directing. I really do, but I think there are many occasions that the “directing thing” or at least the perception of it is more impressive than it is truthfully. I don’t know how much people know about making movies and what the real work is for a director, but I can impart a little insight… it’s not really that impressive. Don’t confuse that with easy by any stretch. I might even go so far as to say it can be a glorious pain in the ass. I don’t think many people have an inkling of the work that goes into directing even short film. Don’t feel defensive if that’s you, because I’m in school, graduate school, with a number of people who have no idea either. Sometimes these are people standing next to the food table who want to be called “director”. They see the “man in the chair” and they want to be THE DIRECTOR too. They say smugly “I can do that”. For the most part they only see directing as being the big cheese, the great man at the top, and of course they have no idea the work and responsibility that comes with the title. All that said it’s the job for me. It’s a great lesson I’ve been able to pull away from being film school. I’m still very grateful for the opportunity to make movies and learn more about the process and production.
On paper film school is supposed to be an academic environment that has been set up so that people who have extensive experience to teach students the craft of filmmaking. Hopefully good films. We’re trying to learn how to find the story, the character, the conflict and the rest of the stew that goes toward making a movie with some level of skill and craft. However, I think too often the environment that film schools set up is more geared toward developing film critics rather than film makers. It’s such an easy thing to sit back and watch someone else’s creative effort and dismiss it in a cavalier way. That is film school too.
This weekend two of my movies, Bad Character and Keys to Closure, will be screening at the Mid-Valley Video Festival in Salem, OR. You can find more information at Mvvfest.org . Might have a shot at a trophy of some sort.