Storytelling: A Film Analysis

Storytelling is more important to me than anything else, and I believe film is one of the most rewarding and honest forms of storytelling. Ever since I was a little kid I have been in love with movies. When I was nine I got a camcorder for Christmas, and I would make my friends help me remake scenes from my favorite movies, and when they said the lines wrong I would yell at them and make them do it over and over until they got it right or got so annoyed with me that they went home.
As I got older more and more I started to become obsessed with telling stories about real people, and stories that answered a difficult question. What I am looking to accomplish as a filmmaker is that with every piece of work I produce, I answer a question about
right and wrong.
I have realized through out not only filmmaking, but all of my creative work, what inspires me most are question of morality applied to real life situations. It is interesting to me to examine when people are put in incredibly difficult situations and have to make a choice based on right or wrong. Also when people are put in a position in which some way they are given permission to ignore societally enforced ideas of morality and decide for themselves what is right or wrong.
Through filmmaking I also hope to gain a better understanding of people in general.
Every time I walk the street and see so many people I think about how every one of them has a story and how interesting their lives must be, and how I wish I could have a chance to tell even a small part of their stories. Visual expression is also a huge part of how I tell people’s stories. I really like movies that focus on the detail in the frame and are careful in the way they edit them together. I wouldn’t say I have developed my own style yet, but I try to always take great care in the way I edit a scene together in terms of what angles to use, and whether a close up or long shot is warranted. I also care a great deal about how I shoot a scene and try to explore a lot with how camera position and movement affects the viewer’s perception and
emotions.
My overall goal in filmmaking is to be able to tell a story that answers a difficult question effectively using both writing and visual techniques.
This is the main reason I would like to attend Cal Arts. I know that I need to be at a school that respects the artist as an individual, and makes sure they are well versed in the field. The fact that the first year at Cal Arts is based in fundamental and technical training is one of the main reasons I want to attend this school. So many film schools it seems spend very little time actually learning the craft and much of it simply looking at theory. I want to be at a school that sets me up to be a part of this industry for a long time, and one that will help me understand how to tell the stories I want to tell, and how to actually make my ideas turn into fully realized works of
art.