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[Wendo]

It's true.

I'm one of the hardest working people I know, and am considered the "the backbone of my team" by my boss at work. I've always gotten excellent evaluations in every job I've worked.

But I cannot for the life of me care about school. When you want to be a filmmaker, and you're stuck in a fucking psychology degree doing shitty stats classes, it's just too damn hard to make yourself give a shit. Who the fuck cares about correlation coefficients and sum of squares means and crap? Waste of fucking time, waste of fucking money. I learn so much more from my own studies with my own books.

I also have absolutely no use for my degree once I graduate. No one gives a shit if you have a degree when you're a filmmaker. And if I don't make it as a filmmaker, I'd be perfectly happy working in a grocery store on a limited income and persuing artistic endeavors in my spare time. I also figure that if I get tired of that, then I'll have some actual motivation to get an advanced degree.

What's sad is that I'm only a quarter and a half away from graduating. But I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to last that long. I already look at things that are worth 10% of my grade, and think, "Well, if I don't do it, I can still probably get a B in the class". The fear response is the only motivating factor I have left in my possession, and it's unfortunately becoming less potent as time drags on. I can only get work done if I'm at the point of completely trashing my academic career.

I'm getting worried about not being worried, if that makes any sense. Like, I have a paper due and a test to study for- and the class is only six hours away. I've attempted to do a pre-emptive procrastination attempt by sleeping in until 6pm on Sunday in order to give me plenty of energy to work overnight. However, I'm still like, "Fuck it".

It also doesn't help that I have an uncanny ability to be able to do extremely well in an extremely narrow window of time. Last quarter I wrote (and researched) two 10 page papers and studied for a final in one day/night with no sleep. And I got Bs and As on all of them.

Anyone else like this? I'm not a slacker by any means in "real life". But school just brings out the absolute worst in me every time. I was hoping that being so close to being done forever would help motivate me to the end, but it's wearing extremely thin at this point. I get so incredibly frustrated with just the level of shit you have to put up with. For someone who is in preproduction for a feature film while also working full time, school is the biggest pain in the ass.

 

[Jacobi]

You got a movie uploaded ? To be honest I really like school. But in my country school's mostly only from 7:45 am to 1 am.

 

[Zensetsu]

I was able to just ignore stuff then do it the night before (and still get a good mark) all the way through school to the end of year 12...........Now that i've started University however, the habit has totally fucked me up because i don't really know how to work on things propperly over time etc.

And yeah 50% of what i'm doing is totally useless. I wanted to do journalism so i enrolled in the course "communications: journalism".
But i have to do all this bullshit communication methods theory and sociology stuff as part of it. Its totally unrelated and useless crap - i have a lot of trouble getting motivated for it.

 

[Wendo]

You got a movie uploaded ?

Whhha?

 

[belgurdo]

I was able to just ignore stuff then do it the night before (and still get a good mark) all the way through school to the end of year 12...........Now that i've started University however, the habit has totally fucked me up because i don't really know how to work on things propperly over time etc.

And yeah 50% of what i'm doing is totally useless. I wanted to do journalism so i enrolled in the course "communications: journalism".
But i have to do all this bullshit communication methods theory and sociology stuff as part of it. Its totally unrelated and useless crap - i have a lot of trouble getting motivated for it.

I went to school to study writing and literature so I can possibly work for a magazine and right now I'm learning Spanish and struggling with algebra. wtf

 

[Jacobi]

Whhha?

1. Did you already make a movie
2. If so, can I download it somewhere

 

[ChrisReid]

If you don't like school, don't go. All the calculus and literature and crap I took made me a better person, but if you're not open to it, you're not gonna get everything from it.

If you don't need your degree once you graduate, why are you going? If you don't need one to be a filmmaker and you're fine being a grocery store clerk, then just drop out and save the money now.

I went to school to study writing and literature so I can possibly work for a magazine and right now I'm learning Spanish and struggling with algebra. wtf

Algebra is one of those every-day things we all should use to think through common problems. If you're in college and struggling through it, thank god it's still a requirement in your curriculum. The difference between a university degree and a technical college certificate is the well-rounded general education you get in addition to your major. It'd be horrible if someone had a BA in something, but couldn't do algebra. Having a basic understanding of a foreign language is critical too. You don't learn another language because you're going to a foreign-speaking country (though Spanish is a widely used language), you get it so you have a greater range of knowledge. When you're writing for your magazine, you'll be a better writer having the nuances of more than just English under your belt.

 

[Wendo]

1. Did you already make a movie
2. If so, can I download it somewhere

Oh, ok.

I haven't made anything substantial, this feature is my first major project. I may upload the short film I did last year sometime if people are interested.

 

[pjberri]

Why are you taking Psychology if you want to be a filmmaker?

 

[galeninjapan]

Im also studying Film. Here is my advice.

1. Read Rebel without a crew by Robert Rodreguiz
2. Be sure to make movies all the time and learn from your mistakes.

Allot of my fellow classmates get sucked into studying theory. All of them talk about being a filmmaker but none of them actually make films. I have listened to allot of speakers (recently Linklater) and all of them pretty much say the same thing, writing is important. Always be writing down ideas. Another thing is your film classes may not be as important as you might think. One guest speaker said it perfectly "No one in the industry gives a shit about the theory behind "Battleship Potemkin." Excellent quote in my opinion.

 

[ChrisReid]

Why not? A few months of studying mental disorders, researching famous psychological experiments and getting to know how the brain works will do wonders for expanding characters and engaging audiences when you're a professional filmmaker. The mentality of "I'm not a psych/math/economics/etc major, so why would I ever need psych/math/economics/etc classes?" is flawed. The further intensive knowledge and immersion you gain from the experience helps in millions of indirect ways later on in life.

 

[galeninjapan]

Yes you do should take outside classes. Have you seen the movie Primer? The guys who made it were not Film students. They were engineers, but they used their knowledge of physics to write an awesome movie that won sundance.


What school do you go to?

 

[Zensetsu]

If you don't like school, don't go. All the calculus and literature and crap I took made me a better person, but if you're not open to it, you're not gonna get everything from it.

If you don't need your degree once you graduate, why are you going? If you don't need one to be a filmmaker and you're fine being a grocery store clerk, then just drop out and save the money now.



Algebra is one of those every-day things we all should use to think through common problems. If you're in college and struggling through it, thank god it's still a requirement in your curriculum. The difference between a university degree and a technical college certificate is the well-rounded general education you get in addition to your major. It'd be horrible if someone had a BA in something, but couldn't do algebra. Having a basic understanding of a foreign language is critical too. You don't learn another language because you're going to a foreign-speaking country (though Spanish is a widely used language), you get it so you have a greater range of knowledge. When you're writing for your magazine, you'll be a better writer having the nuances of more than just English under your belt.

Yes but the point i believe we were trying to make is that the time we are devoting to these lesser subjects could be spent far more productivley studying a unit of our choice rather than being held back by university course restrictions.

I know in my case the knowledge is fairly useless, anyone doing creative writing or journalism has to also do communication foundations: for some people this might be useful but they are a minority and it seems as if the instutution has mereley used the class as a stop gap measure to fill a hole in the cirriculum. My time would be far better spent in a media or literature course but i am prevented from doing either because of the course contraints.

 

[pjberri]

But if you don't like it it's not really going to stick, especially if you're not using it after you graduate. At the moment I'm taking some papers that don't count towards my degree purely out of interest, so I do agree with you in that sense.

EDIT: Forgot my point. :lol Second semester last year I took a paper I REALLY didn't like, and a result of that I fucked around and didn't do half the work I was supposed to. Now I really like my classes and I want to go and do the work, so my point is that you might as well take classes you like, you'll get lot more out of it and will probably enjoy better grades, too.

 

[Wendo]

Im also studying Film. Here is my advice.

1. Read Rebel without a crew by Robert Rodreguiz
2. Be sure to make movies all the time and learn from your mistakes.

Allot of my fellow classmates get sucked into studying theory. All of them talk about being a filmmaker but none of them actually make films. I have listened to allot of speakers (recently Linklater) and all of them pretty much say the same thing, writing is important. Always be writing down ideas. Another thing is your film classes may not be as important as you might think. One guest speaker said it perfectly "No one in the industry gives a shit about the theory behind "Battleship Potemkin." Excellent quote in my opinion.

Sorry, I should have been more clear.

I'm not studying film, as it's not offered in any "big" college in Washington. I've also read Rebel Without a Crew and think it's a good book. My short film did rather well at the last film festival, and my producer and I were encouraged to start a feature. So I'm stuck doing stats and shit while trying to simultaneously do this film, all while still working to pay for rent and food.

The reason I'm a psych major was that it was the quickest route to graduation. I had a lot of credits, and also figured that it would help me bring a fresh approach to filmmaking. While some of it has been helpful in terms of cinema, I'm rather past that point now. Right now it's pure stats shit that I have absolutely no use for that is incredibly psychology-specific. Futhermore, I've learned much more in reading my own psychology books and studies in terms of things that would help with a film. I can't really choose my classes, as I have to take these to graduate.

The reason I'm still in school is that I'm so fucking close to graduation. It'd be horrible to drop out now.

 

[galeninjapan]

How much money do you have for your feature?

 

[Wendo]

How much money do you have for your feature?

20k. We're shooting with the new 24p HD JVC camera (our executive producer is letting us borrow his for free). Shooting on HD (with a borrowed camera) makes a world of difference in terms of financing. No film stock or blow ups or anything.

 

[galeninjapan]

Dont use HD (especially the JVC HD) its not really HD because its compressed for a Mini-DV tape. You're better off shooting on the Panasonic PD150. I have talked to many filmmakers who shot their feature on it. Its very nice and almost gets the "film-feel"

Keep me informed with how your shoot goes. I would love to see your movie when its done.

 

[Wendo]

Dont use HD (especially the JVC HD) its not really HD because its compressed for a Mini-DV tape. You're better off shooting on the Panasonic PD150. I have talked to many filmmakers who shot their feature on it. Its very nice and almost gets the "film-feel"

Keep me informed with how your shoot goes. I would love to see your movie when its done.

The PD150 is a Sony cam.

We were originally going to shoot with the DVX100A, which I think was what you meant. The new JVC cam is essentially their HD version of that camera with a similar feature set. I'd go with Panasonic's new HD version of the DVX100A, but it records to "p2 cards" which cost an insane amount of money.

I'll totally keep you updated.

 

[galeninjapan]

Ok, I see what you are saying. Dont forget that HD video takes insane about of Hard drive space. Be sure to get tons of it for a feature! Good luck man. Be prepared to have the life sucked out of you during yuor shoot.