LCFA Green Screens - From the students' perspective!
Written by Josefina Llanos López
Ah, Vancouver, the city where movies are made.
The Langara College Film Arts program offered us a great opportunity: to make films. From the very first idea to the end credits. The experience has been so rich that it feels like more time has passed, but it was only 4 months ago that we got here, many of us knowing little about this process and what it involves.
Let me walk you through our amazing experience.
12 actors, 11 directors, and 10 writers met on January 6th with NO idea that we would be spending almost every waking minute of the next 3 months together.
11 scripts were written.
Wow, a very short sentence to express a very difficult task. For many of us writers, it was the first time seeing our stories come to life! We got to be there each step of the way: the casting, shooting, editing, and everything in between. There were moments when we were so immersed in the production that we forgot that these were the ideas born from our imaginations only weeks ago.
Directors were selected for each project. And all of a sudden all 33 of us, actors, writers, and directors, became the producers of a short film! No big deal, just groups of three students with the nerve-racking responsibility of producing 11 films and bringing them to life! NO-BIG-DEAL.
Every aspect of producing these films became a huge challenge. The smallest things became epic campaigns: a whiskey glass, lottery tickets, a desk lamp! Oh my, was the cafeteria always this noisy! How are we going to get good sound here? WHERE IS THE NEAREST WASHROOM?
We learned that, during the frantic and exciting shooting hours, it’s not only about the actors, directors, and writers. The sound, camera, grips and lighting teams, along with many others, work together to make movie magic. Each of them is essential and yet many are easily overlooked: props, set decoration, even catering; a vital part of the production.
Our shooting schedule was over 3 weeks long, with each shooting weekend being 2 days long and 12 hour shoots each day! Add those up and you get...33 VERY exhausted film students! BUT we shot 11 films over the course of 3 weekends! YAY!
We got the chance to learn the art of filmmaking through practice; we experimented and made mistakes. Every error was a lesson to be learned. The things we were the most scared to try became the most exciting, and the most rewarding.
By the last shooting weekend, we had all experienced every aspect and role on set, from in front of the camera to behind the scenes. But it was far from over! Assistant editors synced the audio and visuals, then the editors cut, polished, and polished some more. Finally, the films were ready for sound design, colour, and visual effects.
None of this would have been possible without our instructors of both the regular courses and of the many workshops we got to attend. They taught us the skills of our craft, but also took the time to share with us the amazing experiences they’ve had in this industry. They knew very well that the biggest lessons we would get from this program would have nothing to do with the technicalities of cinema, but with teamwork. Making a movie is a team effort, I can not stress this enough! Nothing makes you grow more than the feedback and help that your teammates give you. Thankfully, this program is full of people who behave like true professionals, enjoy collaborating, and love what they do; there’s nothing more inspiring than seeing the passion in the eyes of your peers.
Through our blood, sweat, and tears (some fake, some not so much), we gave birth to eleven short films.
So, please, enjoy our little babies.