[ final post ]

As I mentioned before, David Lynch has invaded my brain in much the same way as robots did before, so I'm going to incorporate him into my final post too. Having seen all the strange/experimental stuff he is always using I've recently been sort of interested in filmmaking. It seems like a good choice for a class.
The supplemental text used for this class would be David Lynch's Catching the Big Fish, which is basically about how he gets all his crazy ideas. He reflects on various experiences he's had making films, his favourite actors and such. The most interesting part is probably his discussion of Transcendental Meditation, which he has practised since the '70s, and from which he apparently gets a good deal of his ideas (another big one would be improvisation). We wouldn't necessarily be learning TM (though David Lynch actually has a "David Lynch Foundation" that provides scholarships for students to learn it so it is a possibility actually) but the book is a good way to learn about the creative process that goes into filmmaking.

The class would be in the form of a blog using a format similar to this one. There would be sporadic assignments (much fewer than the amount for this class, because we would do other work) on the blog such as searching out and posting about a film blog. Every week there would be an assigned feature-length movie, which we would meet to watch (that would be the only time, per week, that we would meet) and sometimes also a short. The short (either amateur or professional) would preferably be on YouTube, for the students to watch on their own time, but if it wasn't available on the internet we would have a second (short) meeting to watch it. The students would discuss immediately after watching the movies, then later reflect about them on their blogs.

At the end of each nine-week period (it would probably be a two-semester class) everyone would make their own short film, preferably about a different thing each time (documentary, faux commercial, animation...). The midterm would probably be a longer and more serious attempt, possibly in groups, and I'm picturing for the final the whole class gets together and makes one huge movie and posts it on YouTube (though all of them would be posted on YouTube I guess).

So anyway, I suppose the students would be evaluated mostly by their reflections on the movies they watch...and of course the shorts that they make. And that's it, really. I think it's a good class idea and even for students with no plans to go into film it could potentially be a good creative experience.