To me, Film Soc isn’t really a ‘society’ – that word suggests a group of like-minded people. Imagine you go to the cinema: instead of choosing from a selection of screens showing different titles, there’s only one screen, and the audience has to choose between them what to watch. Behind the silence that humility (man’s greatest gift) bestows, that’s what Film Soc is really like. And of course, that’s exactly how it should be.“As someone interested in practical filmmaking, I’d say I do look at films differently, yes,” admits Jamie Nicholas Arden, Press and Publicity Officer for Film Soc and video director/editor at The Yorker, “I also love spotting movie mistakes – not obsessively, but if you catch one it’s usually pretty funny.”Indeed, this seems to be something of a trend right now, as Robert Webb (of Peep Show and the Cushelle adverts fame) recently hosted Great Movie Mistakes and Great Movie Mistakes 2: The Sequel on BBC3. There’s something about stripping big-budget pictures right down to the cracks in their frame that draws in an audience, it would seem. In fact, guerilla filmmaking – which is showcased exquisitely in Sophia Cappola’s Lost in Translation – owes at least some of its success to the fact that people are clearly interested in what makes a film. Film Soc’s current Chair, Ollie Wiggins, has fuelled his own interest with several work experience placements: “I worked on Harry Potter,” he riffs “which was a lot of fun. I got to make tea for Ron Weasley and Cedric Diggory, and chat with the director which was great.” Wiggins has also worked on Emmerdale and is currently making a promotional film for Aviva – “It’s going to be [shown] at one of their conferences in London.” Previous Film Soc veteran Vicky Petela went on to study at The National Film School and has produced two big-budget films in the past two years. She has an IMDB profile and everything. But why should any of this matter to you? Generally, I’d say it’s because if you’re reading this (scratch that: if you’ve gotten this far) then you’re obviously interested in films. Filmmaking is a different avenue, but it’s one worth exploring. What really perturbs me when watching the bonus content on DVDs is the indication from a lot of film crews that they never really watch the product, once it’s been put together. I think that’s a mistake. I watch my stuff all the time, and I’ve made some real shit.To bring it back, when I think of Film Soc, I don’t really think about ‘society’ (the cheese-puff alternative I’d like to use is ‘community’); instead, it’s a place where different ideas can be developed and mutated, sometimes together and sometimes not. Working with cameras but no budget, people but no paychecks, means that your opinion or critique of a concept is the highest currency. “Whether it’s quickly getting a shot from somewhere you probably shouldn’t, or putting a camera tripod on a few chairs to make the shot higher, the result is usually amazing” says Arden. Film Soc’s members have produced two feature films and hundreds of shorts,some of which have been shown at national film festivals. These are the pudding in which hides the proof that filmmaking, arduous and humbling, brings people of vastly different opinions together to make the good stuff. It runs in the vein of student life that our different opinions are championed, diversity applauded etc, but the process of adding to the melting pot in this way is unbelievably edifying. So don’t rule out the idea of filmmaking if you know what makes a good film. Because there’s a group of people who completely disagree, and also want to work with you.
To me, Film Soc isn’t really a ‘society’ – that word suggests a group of like-minded people. Imagine you go to the cinema: instead of choosing from a selection of screens showing different titles, there’s only one screen, and the audience has to choose between them what to watch. Behind the silence that humility (man’s greatest gift) bestows, that’s what Film Soc is really like. And of course, that’s exactly how it should be.“As someone interested in practical filmmaking, I’d say I do look at films differently, yes,” admits Jamie Nicholas Arden, Press and Publicity Officer for Film Soc and video director/editor at The Yorker, “I also love spotting movie mistakes – not obsessively, but if you catch one it’s usually pretty funny.”
Indeed, this seems to be something of a trend right now, as Robert Webb (of Peep Show and the Cushelle adverts fame) recently hosted Great Movie Mistakes and Great Movie Mistakes 2: The Sequel on BBC3. There’s something about stripping big-budget pictures right down to the cracks in their frame that draws in an audience, it would seem. In fact, guerilla filmmaking – which is showcased exquisitely in Sophia Cappola’s Lost in Translation – owes at least some of its success to the fact that people are clearly interested in what makes a film. Film Soc’s current Chair, Ollie Wiggins, has fuelled his own interest with several work experience placements: “I worked on Harry Potter,” he riffs “which was a lot of fun. I got to make tea for Ron Weasley and Cedric Diggory, and chat with the director which was great.” Wiggins has also worked on Emmerdale and is currently making a promotional film for Aviva – “It’s going to be [shown] at one of their conferences in London.” Previous Film Soc veteran Vicky Petela went on to study at The National Film School and has produced two big-budget films in the past two years. She has an IMDB profile and everything.
But why should any of this matter to you? Generally, I’d say it’s because if you’re reading this (scratch that: if you’ve gotten this far) then you’re obviously interested in films. Filmmaking is a different avenue, but it’s one worth exploring. What really perturbs me when watching the bonus content on DVDs is the indication from a lot of film crews that they never really watch the product, once it’s been put together. I think that’s a mistake. I watch my stuff all the time, and I’ve made some real shit.
To bring it back, when I think of Film Soc, I don’t really think about ‘society’ (the cheese-puff alternative I’d like to use is ‘community’); instead, it’s a place where different ideas can be developed and mutated, sometimes together and sometimes not. Working with cameras but no budget, people but no paychecks, means that your opinion or critique of a concept is the highest currency. “Whether it’s quickly getting a shot from somewhere you probably shouldn’t, or putting a camera tripod on a few chairs to make the shot higher, the result is usually amazing” says Arden.
Film Soc’s members have produced two feature films and hundreds of shorts,some of which have been shown at national film festivals. These are the pudding in which hides the proof that filmmaking, arduous and humbling, brings people of vastly different opinions together to make the good stuff. It runs in the vein of student life that our different opinions are championed, diversity applauded etc, but the process of adding to the melting pot in this way is unbelievably edifying. So don’t rule out the idea of filmmaking if you know what makes a good film. Because there’s a group of people who completely disagree, and also want to work with you.