By: Jeremiah Birnbaum, President – San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking
This is the first in a series of filmmaking tips blogs exploring the practical theories of filmmaking through the lens of philosophical thought. I am a filmmaker and this exploration will be rooted in the practical aspects of making movies in today’s re-evolving digital world. If you’re interested in reading about semiotics in post-revolutionary Russian cinema – look somewhere else.
Storytelling is an essential part of our DNA. Human beings’ innate, primal search for meaning is the birth of narrative. We impart meaning to the events we experience. Our personal identity is created through the story of our lives. It is this innate gift for narrative that as filmmakers we must recognize and source for our work. Filmmakers are storytellers, working in the medium that has the most impact and relevance for today.
I myself am a filmmaker and an educator. I meet a lot of people who want to be filmmakers, people who want to take that journey, but they don’t know how to begin. The craft of filmmaking has much to blame for this. Except for the occasional post-modern or experimental work, we filmmakers do everything we can to hide the filmmaking process. Lights, cameras, crew are never shown. We want the audience to get lost in the movie, to experience the story unaware of the arduous tasks necessary to create that cinematic dream. Because of this slight of hand, non-filmmakers tend to come to two conclusions about filmmaking: either it’s EASY (films are so much fun to watch, how hard could it be to make one) or is it’s IMPOSSIBLE (I could never do that, I’m not a creative person).
Filmmaking is neither easy nor impossible. It is an art form rooted in craft. It is both highly technical and mysterious. The craft is something you can learn. How to tell a story within the context of a dramatic structure. How to use the latest camera. What lighting instruments are needed to create a desired look. How to create an actors performance in the editing room. This craft of filmmaking relays upon specific tools, often highly technical, but is not dependent on them. A great cinematographer can shoot beautiful footage with an old VHS camera. A talented editor may use a particular piece of software – but his skill is not tied to it. The tools of filmmaking are constantly changing, but the fundamental language of cinema has remained relatively constant. This is not say that film language is static. Like any living language it is evolving and developing with filmmakers ever punching holes in walls of narrative. Transmedia is all the rage. Movies made today look nothing like movies made 30 years ago, yet all films are bound together by essential elements of visual storytelling. One of my old film teachers said “movies come from movies,” and I agree.
Along with it’s technical demands, filmmaking is also an art-form and here is where “the mystery” plays its part. Where do story ideas come from? How do you make a truly great film? Why do talented filmmakers sometimes make awful movies? Personally I love the mysterious aspect of filmmaking. Having to embrace the uncertainty of the creative process is challenging and exciting. The not knowing forces me to dig deep and be fully present in every part of making a film. Some filmmakers describe this mystery as connecting with the subconscious, others talk about tapping into the “cosmic slipstream”. For me, embracing the mystery means creating a powerful and consistent dialog between my head and my heart. Between the intellectual concepts I’m exploring in the film and the emotional connections I’m feeling. A conversation encompassing what I think is right and what I feel is working. A strong head-heart connection is essential to making good cinema. Cultivating this connection is a talent that can be learned and developed, which brings us back to craft.
At the San Francisco film school I helped found in 2005, we have a core principal of teaching – “the only way to learn filmmaking is to make films.” All our project-based curriculum is rooted in this philosophy.
The barriers to making movies have collapsed. Professional quality digital cameras are cheap, cloud-based editing software can be yours for $30 a month, crews can be organized with a few clicks of the mouse. For those of you yearning to dig deep and make films – concentrate on developing your craft, embrace the mystery, and remember that storytelling is in your DNA.