Blog 4: Film manipulation: A Refection and How It is Relevant to Me as a Filmmaker

Working with film and being able to directly manipulate it was a really fun and exciting experience.  It was the first time I had the ability to do something like that, and I really enjoyed being able to hold the film in my hands.  It was a unique experience, as I have spent my time working with digital video when making and editing films.  It was a different, and enlightening, experience to work with the film stock.  I could scribble on the film and not wait for it to render, and it was satisfying to be able to see my changes appearing in real time.  There was also the knowledge that any change I made was permanent, and I could not simply hit a couple of keys or click a button and undo my changes.  It was a bit daunting and lead to some moments of pause to consider whether I should paint this or scratch that.  In the end, I realized that I should not worry too much about what I was doing and just let my creativity flow so long as it doesn’t destroy the film.

I think the handling of film and doing direct manipulation has given me a new perspective on filmmaking.  It has shown me that I don’t always need a camera to make something worth watching.  I can go and draw, paint, or scratch something on film and use it to help tell a story or make people feel something.  I feel it has also given me a glimpse into the history of film that is important.  There were ways to make movies before digital video, but it was much more thoughtful as people had to think about the cost of film.  Now, we can go out and shoot as much as we can fit on a memory card.  To be able to hold film and realize how whatever I do is permanent has made me sit down and re-evaluate my attitude towards filming.  Sometimes, I will not be so worried about the details of some shots that are the “quick and easy” ones.  Now, I think I will take more time to make sure they are good.  There is no waste of time when it comes to making sure a shot looks good and doesn’t have flaws.  It is what filmmakers had to do not too long ago, and it is something that can help me make better films from now on.