Setting The Standard: Reclaiming the Art of Filmmaking

Thu, Oct 30, 2008

What does the future hold for the art of making films? I’ve recently been visually consuming mass amounts of films from the 1950s to 2008 and all I can say is … WOW. It was quite disturbing to see the incredible decline in the quality of films in such a short time period. Equally disturbing are the amount of butchered remakes of past films. If you are going to make a bad movie, it should at least be original. This drastic change in movie quality is directly related to changes in the filmmaking community as well. My own interaction with the current filmmaking community has lead me to some thoughts about issues within the community contributing to the decline of the art. They are as follows:

1. Purposeful Content
The first thing for filmmakers to consider is the purpose of their content. If your content has no social purpose, then why are you making it? Responsible filmmaking is entirely in your hands. Don’t get me wrong, this social purpose can be purely entertainment, have deep meaning, or both. I’m just saying filmmakers need to make sure the films you make are not hurting society, but enhancing, educating, and/or entertaining it.

Examples of responsible filmmaking:
The Color Purple, Nuts, Bin Jip, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Signal, American History X,The Accused

Examples of irresponsible filmmaking:
300, Birth, Training Day, Halloween (2007), Bastard Out of Carolina, The Professional, Tropic Thunder

2. The Money Crisis
This is by far the fall of the art of filmmaking. When filmmaking went from being a grassroots art to big business … I take that back, when filmmaking became about big budgets and box office sales is when we began to see the incredible decline in filmmakers’ abilities to tell good stories on film. It’s funny, when filmmakers first started using more CGI in films, they always claimed it significantly brought down the cost of making films. That wasn’t all it brought down. It brought down the quality as well. Also, while this may have been true initially, why is it the cost of making films have reached such astronomical numbers? Compare the cost of the movie Aliens to any major box office sci-fi movie since 1996 and you will find an astronomical increase in production costs. When we decide to perfect the art of making great films with less money, only then will filmmaking resurface as a true art.

3. Gear Rip Off Madness
Ahhhh the great gear rip-off. This is the insanity where manufacturers and sellers of film gear convince filmmakers that great films can’t be made unless they own the latest and greatest equipment that they make and/or sell. But here is where your critical thinking has to kick in. Were great films being made prior to this new and improved “must-have” gear? And even more importantly, did you enjoy these films made prior to this new and improved gear? Of Course! So it’s important to realize when you are being brainwashed for the sake of profit. Folks can argue you down about gear and format quality but none of that matters if the film itself is of poor quality or exceptional quality. I enjoy movies on film, I enjoy them on VHS, I enjoy them on DVD and I will enjoy them on whatever else they make them on. Likewise, for what they were created with.

4. Reclaiming the filmmaking community
The sooner the filmmaking community gets rid of elitism the better. Film snobs have no place in art. Nothing ruins a film community faster than the seeds of negativity and arrogance. Either you are in it to create something fantastic or you need to walk away. You won’t find a painter needing his ego stroked by his brushes will you? How many film projects have fallen apart because of egos and attitudes? How many have gone to ruin because of directors, cast and crew, who thought they were too good to listen to a good idea or creative criticism? You’ve all seen it, felt it, heard it. Solution: When you find these people, drop them. Let them go create by themselves like the little kid in school who couldn’t get along with others. Cast, crew or talent think they are too good to show up when scheduled or on time? Drop ‘em. What about the contract? Add attendance and attitude clauses. This may sound harsh but we are talking about an art that takes collaboration from entire groups of people. The last thing this art needs are internal knives when there are many external ones every step of the filmmaking process.

This post was written by:

Tressa Sanders - who has written 78 posts on Three West.

Tressa Sanders, founder of Three West Creative Development, Asabi Publishing, and Ijaba Films, provides active learning, workshops for business Image, publishing, creative writing, graphics design, and filmmaking. In addition, she has authored the curriculum for the Big Bad Business Image, Concise Publishing, and Creative Writing workshops as well as several literary titles. Tressa also holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology and authored the introduction for a book titled “A Peek Inside the Goo: Depression & The Borderline Personality”. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Tressa was a well established Information Technology professional working with the largest IT, communication, utilities and financial companies in the country. Some of the companies Tressa has worked for include, the New York Independent System Operator, GE Capital Business Asset Funding, IBM Global Services, AT & T Wireless, Hewlett Packard, MCI/Worldcom, GTE, and Sprint. Her areas of expertise include: Publishing Startup & Planning, Business Image Planning, Creative Writing Development, Effective Graphics Design, Cost Conservative Filmmaking.

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