I write a lot about story structure in filmmaking on my blog because that is where my expertise lie. I wanted to get a better understanding of filmmaking and simple techniques for beginner, so I interviewed Brenda Landis who works for the Media Center at Dickinson College. She works everyday with aspiring filmmakers and she was the perfect person to talk to. She was full of insight and tips not just on film techniques but how to approach and think about film projects. The interview went long. It’s about 20 minutes. I decided to just cut out sections of audio that I found the most perceptive so you can get advice without having to listen to the whole 20 minutes. Everything is still in the original order. I also will post the whole interview at the bottom of the post so that if you are interested.
Q: I was wondering if you could just tell us a little bit about yourself sort of what your background and what experience you have with filmmaking?
Q: Do you find certain techniques or certain skills are applicable towards the variety of films that people you often see people make? Do you have a ten commandments for making a film?
Q: You touched upon common mistakes that people made with bad time management and bad audio, are there any other mistakes that you see students making frequently?
Q:When it comes to filmmaking in the more traditional sense, where do you see people making the most mistakes?
Q: Are there any techniques either lighting or camera shots that would be good for new filmmaker to start with to the build a repertoire before they move on to something bigger?
Q: You talked about sound earlier. Are there simple things people can do to improve their sound quality?
Q: How important do you think editing is in the film making process?
Q: You touched on common editing mistakes, but I was wondering if you have any more that you have solutions for?
Q: My blog is about analyzing films to get better at understanding filmmaking. How important do you think that is?
If your interested, here is the full interview. I highly suggest that you check it out.
