Jenkins essay on
changing technologies within the film industry and the increased accessibility
of amateur filmmaking was particularly significant to me, as in the past couple
of years I have attempted my own amateur filmmaking. While I may not be “making
a beautiful film with my father’s camcorder,” the increased availability of
lower-cost filmmaking has greatly influenced my ability and desire to make
short films. I loved the quote by Francis Ford Coppola in the beginning of
Jenkins’ essay: “For once the so-called professionalism about movies will be
destroyed and it will really become an art form” (452). This quote particularly
resonates with me because in my process of making my own short films, I have
completely disregarded any sense of movie-making professionalism. I have made
two short films that have appeared in local and regional film festivals, and
both films were made on a combined budget of $15 (to buy the burnable DVDs) and
filmed entirely on an iPhone 5. I had a crew of one, myself, and I had no prior
film experience. While I’m not sure if I would consider my films to be great
forms of art, I believe that similar filmmakers like myself can help destroy
the rigid professionalism of Hollywood, and bring forward the organic, genuine
quality of film. In our discussion of Baudrillard and fiction/reality, we
discussed the sterility of CGI – with the emergence of amateur filmmaking,
there is a potential to distance filmmaking from generic CGI films and
franchise films and push towards much simpler and more narrative cinema. The prospect
of increased amateur filmmaking is also promising as these films can produce
more innovative, imaginative, and diverse filmmaking – particularly more films
from female and racially diverse filmmakers. If you’re interested, I’ll include
a link to one of my short films that I was lucky enough to be selected for the
Florida Film Festival Brouhaha Sidebar 2014.
https://vimeo.com/79007362
McKenzie,
ReplyDeleteI watched you film and it REALLY resonated with me. I think you were able to broach the difficulties we all have with being an individual at one of the most vulnerable times in our maturity and development. I know I for one suffer from The Fear Of Being Interesting on a daily basis. I particularly responded to the imagery and the relevance it played to the word that were being said.
“For once the so-called professionalism about movies will be destroyed and it will really become an art form” (452). This quote also really resonated with me. I always find it interesting to think back on the progression of mainstream cinema and how much more substance films had before filmmakers had easy access to advanced CGI. However, I find it incredibly interesting that with these technological developments, nearly everyone has the ability to make a movie at their fingertips; it not longer needs to be a big production to create a two-minute short film. That ability has fostered an entirely new breed of movie and therefore has cultivated a new generation of expression and art. Although we may not often think of our phones as artistic tools, but think about amazing moments and feelings they enable us to capture and express, and even share with the world.
Some of the mediums to best whiteness this artistic evolution are sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram because they cater to this new breed of movie-maker. Although Instagram is most know for being a picture sharing network, there is also the capability to share video clips. The deliberate lack of professionalism has enables these sites to cultivate an artistic technological revolution. Furthermore, this revolution has fostered a growing independent film community. Without these kinds of mediums, film and movies would still be in the hands of the professional industry.