Previous Image « » Next Image Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge

Sofa Film Schools

A great way to improve your skills as a filmmaker is to watch the best filmmakers do what they do best-make films.

Making films is an art form that takes a great deal of time to master. Unlike many art forms, it's fairly easy to experience the best masterpieces. You won't need to travel to the Smithsonian or Modern Museum of Art. You won't need a tour guide. And, best of all, you can experience everything from the comfort of your sofa. While the best movie going experience is usually in a theater (at least when you get a good seat and don't have to deal with obnoxious people nearby,) it doesn't take much equipment to have a great viewing experience at home. Real film schools are expensive-this film school will only cost the price of a few rentals at your friendly neighborhood video store, or asking a friend with a well-stocked DVD library to borrow a few movies. And over the course of your studies, you'll amass film tips like crazy.

Where to Watch

If you are truly critical of the films you watch, you'll get the most of them in an environment with the proper lighting and audio qualities. The light levels in the room should be optimal so that the contrast ratio of the display screen represents the images properly. A dark room is best, but not completely absent of light. Consider the audio properties of a room, carefully. If the film has surround sound encoding, it's ideal to watch the film on a 5.1 channel speaker system. A quiet room that has been properly set up with the speakers will give you the best experience. Finally, if a film is offered in widescreen format, don't watch it in standard 4:3. You may lose important information along the edges of the screen and it's important to see the movie exactly as the director envisioned it.

Keep an Eye AND an Ear Out

Simply watching a film is not good enough if you aspire to be a great filmmaker. It's difficult to recommend ditching the popcorn, but you should do so in all seriousness. If you want to learn something, you'll at least need to turn on your critical thinking skills. As you watch a film, continuously ask yourself why the filmmaker has made the decisions that have lead to these following changes:

• Camera angle
• Shot type (e.g., close-up, wide angle, extreme long shot, etc.)
• Depth of field
• Playback speed (e.g., slow motion, time lapse)
• Pacing (i.e, the time between shots)
• Music

Look at these changes in the film and think about whether or not you can explain why the filmmaker has edited the film in this way. Consider other observations, too. What are the actors doing and how does that have an effect on the story? Make note of how you feel during the film as a viewer. This is the best way to gauge the filmmaker's intentions. For example, if you are feeling anxious and frightened you can expect a certain set of editing decisions to take place. In this scenario, one would expect to find a chilling set of sound effects and maybe some unusual camera angles. Make note of all these things and the pieces of the puzzle start to come together.