#50 Filmmaking Manifesto #5

Video StudentGuy

I've come to the end of the series of podcasts about the Digital Manifesto that Mike Jones posted on his blog, Digital Basin. That was earlier this summer and I try my best to explain why it's taken me long to post 5 podcasts. Throughout the series I've been using his ideas in the Manifesto as a guage to determine how current the curriculum at my school, the CDIA is. It did very well - 9 out of 13. Here are the issues, numbered according to the Manifesto followed by the episode they were reviewed in. Passed

• 03 Compositing #35
• 04 Distribution w/o hierarchy #37
• 05 Owning the entire filmmaking process #37
• 06 Software agnosticisim #37
• 08 Screen Studies integrated into Production #39
• 09 Succeeding despite obstacles #39
• 10 Promoting the story ahead of production values #39
• 12 Collaborative Learning #44
13 Teacher as Facilitator #44

Not Passed

• 01 Composing Space #35
• 02 Virtual Camera #35
• 07 Immersive Sound #39
• 11 Personal Stories #44

These episodes were different from what I usually post, they involved big ideas and how they fit into the world of filmmaking. Keeping the idea threads connected from one episode to another, particularly when a lot of time passed between was difficult. Time to think and understand seems to be a constant problem for me. For all the effort, I enjoyed exploring ideas and that took me to unfamiliar territory Bear in mind, these aren't my ideas, I'm just having fun poking at them. I thought of a couple of things to add to the manifesto:

1. Get Teachers and students to better interact between related/linked fields, such as audio, 3D and fx, even web design. I don't think the fringes of our filmmaking experience should be familiar territory.
2. Get more exposure to the supportive technology used for digital distribution.

Collaborative learning tools, such as blogs and wikis have a lot of potential that I hope to explore for sharing ideas and information and for promoting my work. Towards the end of the episode I talk a little about how all this technology is pushing against the boundaries of a stifling culture of intellectual protectionism. If I sound a little harsh, it's only because I've only recently come to recognize how limiting it is to withhold access to resources that, if they were more available, would result in a great deal more creativity to the benefit of everyone. I'm sure once I get used to it I'll return to lamblike complacency.