UFVA Conference

I just returned from the University Film and Video Association Conference in Orange, CA (hosted at the brand new film studio facilities at Chapman University). Though the conference is not the big sort of conference reported on by the press, there were a lot of interesting events during the 5-day event.



Wednesday morning there was a keynote panel featuring Carl Franklin, Penelope Spheeris, Donald Petrie, David Ward, and Jonathon King. They discussed the state of the industry and film education. They had some pretty interesting things to say--here are a couple of quotes:

"It's like trying to get on a sinking ship" --Penelope Spheeris on film students trying to get into the industry.

Similarly, David Ward stated, "There barely is an industry."

There really was a feeling that the industry as we know it, even among insiders, was falling apart, which strengthens my belief that new visual content providers will find themselves working on their own in a variety of media and on a variety of different types of projects.

The panel also noted the need for a broader education saying among other things that students don't come into the industry or film school with enough life experience, that a narrow focus breeds technicians rather than creators, and that history and an appreciation of the past is valuable.

That evening the American Society of Cinematographers sponsored a panel including Laszlo Kovacs, Daryn Okada, Donald M. Morgan, and Stephen Lighthill.

I attended a number of panels and workshops, and found myself drawn to cinematography oriented workshops, despite not being a cinematographer myself. Stephen Burum presented a lighting workshop and discussed some challenges in film education. As expected he defended the use of film and expects it to be around for a while. I also attended a demonstration of Kodak's Look Management system, which is a great visualization tool for shooters of film.

I presented on scene structure in one panel, discussed Filmmaking MFAs on another, and screened my short film along with my friend, colleague, and DP on the film, Mike Gunter.

On a last personal note, Mike and I went to the Getty Center while we were there. It's an amazing museum and I recommend that anyone planning on going to the L.A. area check it out.