Filmmaking Class Started At YU

If you look closely these days, you'll see people shooting films on campus. No, the major studios have not deemed the Heights as prime real estate. These directors are of the "young and budding" type, sporting heavy equipment consisting of 16mm film cameras, tripods and battery belts. These students are the guinea pigs of the newly established Filmmaking Techniques course under the Speech and Drama department. Dean Jesionowski, one of the leading forces behind the course's establishment, mentioned, "There is no doubt about the fact that student enthusiasm and interest was instrumental in our decision to offer the course. On another note, the notion of Jewish art is very close to Dean Adler's heart, and this, for him, was a way to foster that".

Students will be taught how to direct, edit, shoot, as well as learn the uses of sound, music and lighting. "It's an amazing opportunity finally afforded to us by the deans, who deserve all the thanks, to let students finally be able to add to their theoretical knowledge of film with real world experience", said Yair Oppenheim, a member of the class. Taught by two teachers, Melissa Hacker and Rick McKinney of NYU, the already overtallied class of twelve will be separated into crews of four where each person will have the opportunity to work on nine films, as director, cinematographer, and production manager three times for each respective job. The films to be shot will reflect on the material being learned in the class, with films such as continuity, chase, documentary, parallel action, and sound effects as part of the syllabus.

When asked about his impression of the class and its goals, McKinney said, "The Filmmaking Techniques class is a wonderful opportunity for me. Since the class has evolved from the desire of the students to learn about film, there is a tangible and passionate excitement that is generated in class that is quite infectious. Given the technical intricacies of running a film production class, it is no small feat to start up a class like this from the ground up. But, thanks to Dean Jesionowski's care and hard work, everything is going quite smoothly. We will soon be seeing the results of our efforts, and I am looking forward to some exciting and unique filmmaking". How good will these films be? Everyone is entitled to find out, as there will be a mini-festival at the end of the semester where students will be able to showcase their films in front of the class and friends.