Classes and Such

I realize that I've been making this blog much more of an inward glimpse into my thought process behind my classes and actions, which is fine because I enjoy writing about my feelings more than my observations. However, I don't think I've given you the basic low down of my daily routine, classes, professors, etc. So here goes.

Thus far, every week has gone by a different schedule. For the most part, we have class beginning at 9am until at least noon. We then have a nice little lunch break in which groups of us split off for pizza, chlebicek (open face sandwiches), or some other Czech cuisine in the area. I've recently been enjoying the BMP (Beer Museum Pub) between or after classes for a delicious pivo. It has 30 beers I've never heard of on tap--it's fantastic. We then have a class in the afternoon that lasts until about 4 or so. We take screenwriting and directing, which is usually used for pitching our ideas to professors in front of everyone, though sometimes we really learn about writing for the screen or how to direct on set. I've already learned a great deal about some general dos and don'ts regarding screenwriting, but I haven't begun my own script yet, which I'm sure will be the biggest learning experience. I also have been taking a basic czech course, which has been going fine. We don't really get too much homework, and the only grade I've received was a solid A on a test. Our teacher is very stylish and carries around an adorable prada bag, so we all like her. Every other week we have an editing seminar in which we discuss the affects of editing on a film and how different choices can alter the dramatic presence in a plot. It's interesting how a simple story with no dialogue can be so vividly depicted just through very concise and meticulously planned editing choices. Today we watched 20 minutes of a film with just 3 cuts throughout the whole thing, and while I didn't really understand the characters terribly well, I felt the dramatic power of the story. You feel like you're really with the characters in their struggles, an affect that can be lost with too many quick cuts. We also take a camera technology course with a guy named Michael Gahut who I'm convinced is a mad genius. He's an awful teacher, as over half the time I haven't a clue what he's talking about, and he finishes every sentence with "Do you understand me?" Everyone in the class just nods along; it's not like asking him to repeat his butchered english would really help the situation anyways. He's really cool though and I think I know how to make a correct exposure with a 16mm camera now. Finally, we take a cinematography course in which we discuss the various methods that culminate into portraying your message beautifully on the big screen. AKA we watch a lot of films and then talk about them, like almost every class I take.

My favorite class is certainly my acting course. Our teacher is a czech woman who studied for 20 years in Australia, making her accent a marvelous blend of Czech and Aussie (she also has the best english of all my professors). Today myself and a partner performed improv in front of the class--I was a teenager who wanted to borrow the car from my dad, and all he could say was no. I plan on being the main director of our group during our shooting days, which means I'll be the one talking to our actors, so I'm taking the class seriously. How can I expect to get strangers to portray my characters the way I want if I don't have a clear understanding of their thought process as actors? 

Anyways, its been great so far. Even though I have to wake up super early most of the time, I don't dread a single class. We also barely have homework, though that doesn't really make any of us feel better because 60% of our grade is based off our final film, so there's still a lot of pressure. I have to turn in a script in 3 1/2 weeks too, so crunch time is fast approaching. But I'm not worried, I've been ready since day 1.