Film Making- Cinema

Film making is an art, a skill, a business and a passion. I’ll address these points in order for you to get a clear view of how PASA approaches the Cinema-Film Making classes.

An Art—Think of an artist trying to translate his vision for a painting onto canvas and you have the starting point for the PASA film making classes. A film maker conceives an idea and then must figure out how to translate that intellectual concept onto either film or tape. He must capture the emotion and form of the concept before he can begin to give it life in the medium chosen for the project. Giving birth to the concept is creating the script. The script is comprised of character, action, time, place and language and these elements are covered in the classes. In the industry the phrase is “It all starts on the page”. That is where PASA students begin their journey into a deeper understanding of the process of creating a film.

A Skill–There are required formats that the script must adhere to and production schedules are a necessity in order for the project to be produced effectively and efficiently. Lighting, mood, camera angles and technique, scene coverage, directing actors and editing are all skills necessary to create and deliver a completed film. As the students begin to develop their projects all these elements are covered as they directly relate to each individual film.

A Business—The film has been shot, now what? Every completed film has requirements that are mandatory before that film can be distributed. These are called “Delivery Elements” and they encompass both intellectual and physical items that must be delivered to a distributor prior to the project being released to the general public. An understanding of these requirements is covered in the classes so that students learn at a young age to approach film with a broader perspective than just “aiming the camera”. Contracts, licenses, agreements, deal memos and releases, that’s why they call it “Show Business”, are all covered.

A Passion—Every creative person has one thing in common regardless of their medium of interest, passion for the project. It is what drives us all to put in the extra mile because we find ourselves fulfilled as a person and artist. A “Film Maker” must carry not only the passion and vision for the project, but must manage the resource and talent of all those working on the film. In a fun, exciting and challenging atmosphere we will work with the students to transform their visions into realities, and begin to realize the potential in their dreams.     –Paul Tinder,  2009