Filmmaking at Carleton: A Freshman’s Perspective
Aside from Hacking the Humanities, Lita also takes film classes, and it was not at all what she expected it to be!
Aside from Hacking the Humanities, Lita also takes film classes, and it was not at all what she expected it to be!
How did I start?
For fall term, I took CAMS111 Digital Foundations (also known as Digi-Found) to get familiarized with terminology, techniques, the digital tools, and physical equipment involved with Cinema and Media Studies. I’ve always wanted to become fluent in using the equipment and be involved in the world of film seriously. I don’t want to become a filmmaker but I do strive to understand how media work, and how I can use it to make a world a better place.
What is it like taking film classes at Carleton?
Digi-Found was amazing in terms of getting to know Adobe Premiere, the video editing software, and getting some hands on experience with cameras, light and sound equipment.
A normal class would begin with a short film screening, discussions, and then we would have time to shoot, edit, and work on our film assignments together.
A Sneak Peek into in the Film Industry
One of our assignments was to do a re-make of the Bran and Park script! We went into one of the studio at Weitz together after two weeks of preparation. I was one of the two camera people and there were directors, set designers, the sound team, the lighting team, and more! Then, there’s Carl, perched on top of a ladder inside the studio overseeing the whole thing, with a box of donuts for everyone who wanted one!
It was a great learning experience about what it might be like working in that industry. It helped me understand what kind of a team player I am, and what I can contribute to the cast and crew as well as what I can improve on.
Final Project and Film Recommendations!
For our final project for the class, we got the chance to shoot and edit our own films. Then, it was all screened inside the Weitz Cinema free for all to see!
I decided to work with the idea of stop-motion and somewhere between narrative and experimental film. Feel free to check it out here: it’s called Catching Feelings.
Lita hails all the way from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When not riding horses, petting them, or sketching a picture of them, she blogs her philosophical brain dumps on Medium. Other than that, Lita is passionate about social impact startups and edu-tech. She plans on majoring in Computer Science, but who knows, she could simply switch to Studio Art and spend her days drawing horses. Hey, that’s why we’re at Carleton, am I right? Meet the other bloggers!
