FLASHPOINT ACADEMY STUDENT COMMENTS FROM “THE INTRUDER” SET

STUDENT COMMENTS FROM “THE INTRUDER” SET
PRODUCTION IN ACTION


“It’s one thing to hear about a movie production, but to experience what becomes of each fraction of the film when it becomes one living organism of creative expression, I am motivated. I am motivated to learn everything I can about all of the areas of production, I am motivated to learn with others in their fields as well as teach them as they teach me. I am also inspired and excited to see what becomes of the students and myself after this. It's been half a year so far, and the production in action classes were helpful for learning about how long the pre-production process can be before a film really shoots. Now it's shooting!”

“Day one for me was an absolute blast! This is exactly what I was hoping to experience when I first heard about Flashpoint. I can't wait until I head back to the set to see what progress has been made and what else I can do to help out!”

“Today was a great day to observe. The set was open and close to everybody, making it available to watch by nearly everybody there.”

“Overall, filming went really well and the collaboration in our group benefited the outcome greatly.”

“We got to know each other a little better, even though we have diverse fields of study as well as assigned classrooms.”

“There was another ongoing level of communication that was played down a lot. This was done by the Flashpoint faculty. Paula, John, Peter, Bernie and the rest of the staff where on the ball about making sure that all the students were where they needed to be and taking advantage of every opportunity to learn where one presented itself. All while making sure we got food in us too. Thanks.”

“Overall, it was a great day and I cannot wait to return next week and be on a major set like the intruder and actually getting paid to do something I have dreamed of!”

“When things go good on set, you want to be there because it’s golden, but it’s great to see when things go hay wire because it’s one of those "it happens", moments. I don't think you ever really hear about those.”

“I personally have always been fascinated by movie sets and love to see how things work. To work in an environment that can prepare me like this for the professional work world is an exciting opportunity and I hope that I will eventually get to see as much on an animation "set".”

“Today was awesome. I'm really glad that I had Peter for this day because it was such a great day to teach. He really got in the set and told us what was going on up close as well as answered any questions we had on what we saw. It was a good day. I can't wait for Tuesday when I actually get to shoot a real documentary.”

“I wanted to focus on both aspects of the shoot, both production and student interaction. I paid attention to the other documentary groups filming, not to copy their shots and steal their ideas, but rather to avoid our documentary looking like everyone else's.”

“Lots of collaboration also occurred between the two documentary teams. While our final products will be in direct competition, our teams still helped each other.”

“During my time as a Set PA I was put on lockdown duties. I never realized before how important of a job this is. Without quiet on the set not only does the audio become useless, but it distracts all members of the crew.”

“We have been around Mikael, the director of the film, for the last couple of months and on set I thought he would just kind of know we were there but not worry about us. I was surprised when he came up to a few of us as asked how our day was, and we also had a laugh or two. That was a good feeling to have a relationship with the guy running the show.”

“Watching the Art Production people working together to make sure the set appeared right. I know it's Sarah Schooley's job to keep a visual eye and an audio ear out for continuity but I could see the Production Designer, Set Decorator and Prop person working together to be extra eyes for that task. Setting scenes up to begin with and making sure that the director’s vision was fulfilled. -- Those are jobs I wouldn’t mind having.”

“Collaboration among the students and faculty was essential in order to allow the shoot to progress without disruption. Students were grouped accordingly and the faculty managed the crowd. While we observed and stepped in at times to lend assistance, the crew went to work.”

“Communication and collaboration are all over this production. It wouldn't exist without it. Each professional communicated and worked with the other professionals that didn't work in their field. They all just came together as a team to make the film.”

“Examples of collaboration today occurred in our "Making Of" group where 3 film, 1 special effects, 1 game developer, and an audio student gathered on a direction of a “Making Of” documentary for the film in action “The Intruder”.”

“Looking down from the catwalk at everything that was going on I realized the organized chaos of a set. At any given time there were 3 different crews doing 10 different things, but they all relayed information back and forth at every milestone.”

“I found today that the entire film set works as one big organism. Everything is connected and works upon each other’s actions and communication.”

“As we have been told so many times communication and collaboration are key elements to a well-run shoot and a successful production. I saw this on display a number of times on Wednesday, not only across the entire crew, but within each individual department as well. Of everything taking place on the set, I was most interested in seeing Mikael and Kuba work, so I managed to get myself jobs near the camera for most of the day. Watching the camera department was a great learning experience for me, as I was able to fully grasp the interplay between the various jobs - Kevin maneuvered the dolly, Lisa took care of technical operations (changing memory cards, adjusting settings), Shannon slated each shot and logged all pertinent information for each take, allowing Kuba to focus solely on making the picture look beautiful. Not only does this allow greater output from each individual member since they are so specialized, but it also allows the shoot to move much quicker than if one or two people were trying to do all of these jobs. To be cliché about it, it was a well-oiled machine.”

“Each person has a responsibility to everyone else, and if one person doesn't do their job properly, the overall goal will fail. The amount of trust between the crew members is commendable to say the least, and a necessary part of the process.”

“I really enjoyed watching all the departments work together. I think to make a movie you really need to trust all those departments to make your movie look great. After watching some of the ingested footage, I was floored by how good the movie looked. I began to realize that it took all the people in the room below me to make that happen.”

“It's even more of a web of communication where the communication begins at a point and spreads through the rest of the web, nobody calls it a web, but it works just like one. It's awesome to see because it's very organic. Like a tribe of people.”

“One of the best parts of Production in Action is the access students have to the professionals. At lunch [the DP, Director, and AD] sat for a Q and A where they explained what happened during the morning and how they dealt with the problems that arose.”