DFTV THE STORY SO FAR!

It's hard to sum up all the stuff thats happened in the last year but i'll try and do the best i can.  

Before i came to the RSAMD i had previous experience in film or any aspect of film.  All i had was my trusty JVC cam corder which i went around playing funny pranks on people and attempting to build a good story from improvisation.  Epic fail by the way!  Now a year into the course i know more than i ever thought possible in one year.  I'm almost surprised that my head doesn't hurt.  But that's the point, it hasn't actually hit me yet how much i have learnt and i don't even think about until I'm asked a question on a certain subject, like, what is a tungston, or what is light measured in.  Degree's Kelvin obviously, (i can bet anyone that i'm wrong with that one).  Not to be cocky but i feel very impressed with the work we've done and why not.  For me what we're doing in the academy is a dream for me, two years ago i would have never dreamed that i'd be able to be part of a production in my life.  

Our classes on Television and Cinema studies, explore the audiences, markets, money matters and of course the history of where is all began.  I've thoroughly enjoyed each class in this section, for we get to explore our own view on any film, and are encouraged to hear our views out with the rest of the class, just to see if anyone objects.  I've learned a great deal about why we make films the way we do today and also I've learned a lot about myself and why i like the films i like, such as why i prefer long drawn out films, more for their escapism factor, same goes for sci-fi's and fantasy adventures.  It's been very fun often in Andy's class with his occasional implication of a big celebrity in each of his stories and wise cracks about everybody's fav films.

We have been learning to write in the best way possible with Richard.  He always digs deep, trying to get the most emotional part of our lives to evoke a good inspiration for writing a good story.  So far, i'm not entirely sure i've gotten there yet but, with his help i'm constantly trying.  It's always intense every time we see Richard, but his methods prove useful time and time again when ever i'm writing.  

Our storylining classes with Kim always prove to be useful, because we are learning how the pro's at corrie do it.  Kim keeps us on our toes with work in our groups to keep up our knowledge with the class whenever she's not around, which proves useful because it does eventually get stuck in your head so as not to forget.  We learn about the ABCD story line idea's and the way they decide which story goes into which category.  Kim always tries to keep a good atmosphere in the class, adding in the occasional fun task to keep our spirits high while doing some good hard work at the same time.  I think we would all agree that our stories for Corrie's future, although absolutely nuts and off the wall, would work!

Abigail is our producer on the course and so far we know almost everything there is to know about producing now, especially the people who produced Little Clown not long ago, as they were given extra classes to put them through their paces.  So far Abigail has time and time again shown us new things that I would never expect to be in the process of a producer.  Such as the idea for a film being produced from a producer then given to a writer to elaborate on.  The classes prove extremely useful as I would never know how to set about getting a production on to its feet from the ground.  Also the info we get is very up to date as Abigail is a producer in working at the moment.  We even saw her latest film, Running in Traffic, and managed to slightly embarrass her at the premier.  Always fun in production.

For our mobile content classes we have the infamous for being busy Adam.  Adam has kept us going by placing us into groups and asking us to come up with a full internet based show from scratch.  So far it's been going really well i would say.  Adam always has an open mind to any idea's that we have, and if the idea is good he is all for it and will back any student, as long as they know what their doing.

Last but never least is the technical fundamentals.  What better way to introduce us to film than to get us familiarized with the equipment.  Ray, Gavin and Simon, always keep us working hard, making sure we do everything correctly, easing us into using the equipment so we are comfortable with absolutely everything before we go out into production.  For camera or lighting, Ray's the guy to see, for editing Gavin's the man and for any queries about sound, it would be Simon.  I think it's safe to say we all know how to use everything to a good standard, which is unbelievable considering having absolutely no training before coming to the RSAMD.  Coming back to the same point, it is a huge amount we have learned in only our first year, and it's easy to see that we are already acting as a production team, as a unit.  

This year has been a fantastic adventure into the world of film, and i couldn't think of a better introduction to the course.  I've experienced an equal value of all sides of film, from rising from the ashes of a script, to the final edit, I now have a very good outlook of how to go about preparing, shooting and editing a film, to the standard that i couldn't have imagined before coming here.  

It's been a hell of a year, and i'm gonna miss it over the summer!