My first week out of school for the holidays has finally begun! And with a blast, indeed! Last Friday, my big sister came back from Montreal where she studies and we (with my mom) went to the movies for James Cameron’s Avatar. This was my first 3D experience and I was absolutely blown away! My mother, panicking beside us, had been worried that she’d get sick but she was so into it. Just the entire film in 3D was like… wow!! My sister and I both reached out towards the screen several times, trying to catch these little creatures floating in the sky. We brushed passed trees and the subtitles seem to hover off the screen. But I didn’t forget to pay attention to the movie, too! Haha. It was very Pocahontas and Titanic mixed together. A good combination. The director knew that people will bash his new film, so I appreciated that he was cautious and stayed in the range of his comfort zone, while keeping the rest of things original and beautiful. Forget what the critics say. Critics are dumb, anyway. Liking a movie is an opinion, not a fucking profession.
Saturday, my big sister had two of her university friends, both attending Concordia in the Art Education program (like her), come over. They were awesome! We got along super well. We went to the museum of civilization, where they displayed beautiful artifacts, costumes, and artwork by the first nations people of canada back in the colonial era. Apparently the display had been there forever, but I never got to see it, no matter how many times I went. I learned quite a lot, since my sister and her friends are art students and they had a unit on first nations art.
Before we left, we went to see an IMAX there on Ibn Battuta, “a young scholar who left Tangier in 1325 to embark on a long, perilous journey that would take him from Morocco to Mecca nearly 5,000 km to the east.” The scenery was, as usual, completely gorgeous, and I learned a lot on the Muslim culture. I came to the conclusion that Christians were lazy and tried too hard. No offense. o-o
We came home to find my little sister had been doing drugs and acting like a dumbshit again. I will not go into details about this because it is really getting on my nerves and I hope that her encounter with the police opened her eyes. I just want my little sister back =/. Nough said.
Sunday, one of my big sister’s friend Ida accompanied us to Kingston, a two hour drive from my house. It’s a historical city, and we wanted to go see some historical houses, the Fort Henry, the Steam and Marine museums, as well. Unfortunately, when we got there, everything was closed for the winter. So we decided to have tea and I drank a huge cup of Irish Cream tea. It was delicious! I took some videos from the camera my teacher lent me for my short film necessary for my university application. I needed to practice with it, so we had fun there anyway! We made Inukshuks at the beach and walked around on the main streets.
This weekend, I also sent my application to Concordia University! Its film program is renown across the world, and the creative focus is something that I have been longing for months. The process took me two hours, and now I need to get started on the transcripts and portfolio to send it before March. I looked through the available classes and I pretty much drooled. I applied for a Major in Film Production and a Minor in Film Studies! Here’s some examples of my future classes. That is, if they like my portfolio. (and they should, according to my big sister and her Concordia friends (: )
Film Studies:
FMST 212* Film Aesthetics (6 credits)
A study of the aesthetics of film. Topics include film criticism, theories about the fundamental elements of film, and comparisons between films which do not depend on their date of production. Problems of film description, interpretation, and evaluation are discussed. Weekly screenings.
FMST 217 First Nations and Film (3 credits)
A survey of representation by and of aboriginal peoples in film and video. The emphasis is on the Americas, but important works from other continents are included. Films and videotapes, both mainstream and experimental, are discussed in the context of contemporary aesthetic issues, socio-cultural history, and post-colonial theory. Weekly screenings.
FMST 323 History of Animated Film (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Enrolment in the Major in Film Animation or the Minor in Film Animation, or second-year standing*. A survey of animated film from the first decade of the twentieth century to the present. Styles of animation ranging from abstract experimental film of the 1920s, to the Disney Studio, to computer animation are viewed and discussed. The contribution of the National Film Board of Canada and particularly that of Norman McLaren is considered. Weekly screenings.
FMST 391 Sexual Representation in Cinema (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Second-year standing* or six credits in the Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality. An investigation of cinematic sexual imagery as art, communication and socio-cultural phenomenon. Weekly screenings of films and videos, representing fiction, experimental and documentary genres, as well as different historical and cultural contexts, are related to theoretical readings, both classical and contemporary, by authors from Freud and the Surrealists to Foucault and recent feminist and queer theorists. Contemporary issues such as pornography, autobiography, and the HIV epidemic are confronted. Learning is interdisciplinary, interactive and group-oriented.
*66 or fewer credits remaining in degree program.
and there’s about 50 more, including internship on a real set!!
Film Production:
FMPR 336 Introduction to Film Producing (3 credits)
Prerequisite: FMPR 231 or written permission of the School of Cinema. A comprehensive course introducing students to the art of production methods. This implies exposure to the creative and technical aspects of the total production experience, and includes both independent and industry strategies and methods for fundraising, preparation of the project, production budgeting and scheduling techniques, legal and monetary involvement, and post-production, distribution, and exhibition strategies.
FMPR 343 Production Design (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Enrolment in the Major in Film Production, FMPR 231, FMST 211 and 212; or written permission of the School of Cinema. A practical examination of the visual aspects of film production. Topics in production design considered may include texture and visual styles, the collaborative process, project management, and the nature of constraints which apply to student and independent productions.
FMPR 350 Ways of Seeing in Film Production (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Enrolment in a Film Production program; FMPR 231; FMST 211, 212. A forum of ideas intended to increase the student’s awareness of cinema as a visual medium. Aspects of our visual culture are presented and discussed: work by painters, photographers, sculptors, architects, and artists working with digital media. A relationship is made between the work of such artists and the work of the filmmaker. Students work on individual visual projects.
FMPR 341 Writing for Film I (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Enrolment in the Major in Film Production; FMPR 231; FMST 211, 212. An introduction to writing for film, with special emphasis on the relation of the script to filmmaking. Students are expected to submit work of their own for discussion, analysis, and possible production in film-making courses. Students will also use special computer software to write scripts.
I mean, wow! And there’s classes on women & cinema, irish cinema, israeli cinema, gay cinema…. the only sad part is that I’m going to have to make choices! I want them all !! ; _ ;
Filed under: Uncategorized, 3D, art education, avatar, concordia, film production, film studies, Ibn Battuta, imax, james cameron, kingston, Mecca, Morocco, Tangier, titanic, university
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