The Student 7

I think that this guide gives great advice for surviving a media production education. I agree that it is really important to get out of your comfort zone and explore new concepts and ideas. I love the phrase “create dangerously” because I think that it applies perfectly when you’re creating anything. Art isn’t a “safe” field to go into and you have to take risks if you want to do anything remarkable. It’s important to create things that are fresh and stray away from the stereotype. One thing I need to work on is definitely watching more movies outside of what I know and outside of America in general. 

Maya Deren

This is an article that I definitely wish I would have read in high school. My school didn’t provide me with any opportunities or resources, they were more concerned with funding the football team that never won. This held me back in many ways when I never should have let it. I love her quote, “Cameras do not make films; film-makers make films.” I think that that is a really important thing for us students to understand because chances are, we’re not walking out of college with a couple million bucks to go make a blockbuster movie. Amazing art can be created out of literally ANYTHING, and we should use that to its full advantage.

Fred Camper

Before reading this article, I was not aware of the debate over the name. It’s pretty amusing that students really thought that they were going to see some science experiments in an experimental movie, though it is easy to see how they would think that. I think that the fact that it is so hard to put a name on this genre is what’s so amazing about it. The genre provides such a variety of content that we barely know what to call it, we just know that it’s awesome. Camper’s criteria for the avant-garde/experimental film is on point, but I think the most interesting one is that it calls attention to the medium. I find it amazing how people have found so many different ways to mess around with actual film to make some unique and beautiful art.