I screened my dailies for my production class today, and it was a wonderful experience. Watching my footage again, I was really proud of what I shot; I think it’s the highest-quality cinematography and framing I’ve yet done, and that shows I’m growing. My classmates and instructors gave hard-hitting, no-punches-pulled critiques, very friendly but also straight to the point; every second I was listening to them, I felt like I was getting smarter. It just goes to show that there is a huge payoff for learning to listen to feedback, it makes you stronger as a person. I think there are a few people in my class who have not yet perfected this art, they bite back at almost everything you say to them. I hope they learn not to do this, it’s a waste of one of the most valuable resources USC can give you.
In general, group criticism may be one of the greatest inventions in mankind’s history. I remember my 12th grade english teacher had us read the entire class our college applications, and then we would go around in a circle and offer advice. To this day, no single exercise has ever made a bigger impact on my writing. Stuff like this just forces you to stand up and expose yourself, instead of hiding your work away in a corner and lying to yourself about how great it is. When you’re an artist, you need constant reality checks, you need the fresh air of new opinions, and you need to listen to your audience. If you’re an amateur writer/director/whatever, and you do it for your own pleasure, then shielding yourself from honest appraisals in no big deal, but I’m trying to make this thing a living, so I need to get my teeth knocked in every time I shoot something.
Again, though, it takes nothing away from the pride I have in my work. I think I did some really solid stuff here. In particular, I was very impressed with myself when one of my professors pointed out a shot he thought was composed with a “lack of effort,” and I politely returned fire. I had listened attentively to many things, but as soon as it was suggested that I didn’t care enough, I knew that couldn’t possibly be true. I waited my turn, then calmly indicated why I thought the shot was composed with great care. He nodded and replied, “That answers my question.” Fair play to him, honestly. He’s trying to teach us to compose our shots, to think out every little detail, so many times he accuses our choices of “laziness” with great accuracy. This was not one of those times.
Moving right along.
I steal many things from my parents. One of the things I stole from them was the complete “Sherlock Holmes,” which I have only now begun reading, and so far I’m a huge fan. It’s weird how everyone knows who Sherlock is, but no one in our generation’s ever actually read any of it, and as soon as I noticed this, I took great interest in uncovering its secrets. I’m only on the first novel, but the writing is light and wonderful, full of an over-accentuated British wit that gives the reading a slight, syrupy pleasure. Holmes himself is a far more colorful character than his stereotype: he is arrogant, flamboyant, and very sensitive to criticism or praise. It really beats the hell out of those standard “CSI” characters, who are basically supermodels with lab coats on. Plus, a lack of new-age technology forces the mysteries to rely on intuition for their unraveling. Marvelous stuff, I highly recommend it.
I scooped up “Halo Wars” from Best Buy today, finally extinguishing the last of my Christmas gift cards. I never thought about a mouse and keyboard even once while I was playing, never needed something the control sticks couldn’t give me. Pretty impressive work, Ensemble Studios. The opening cinematic is not especially well-directed, and I don’t think I would have noticed that before the good ol’ School of Cinematic Arts. It has lots of Ridley Scott dramatic flares, but the key moments feel very “first draft,” and I think they display a lack of deep, critical thinking about what’s on screen. This kind of thing would never fly in the actual game, where the kind of tyrannical control necessary for artistic greatness is always on display, but I guess movies are still not exactly their field.