Marlene Nishime
03 Feb. 2011
FD1
My sophomore year of college had just concluded when I found myself back home in the silent suburbs of Cerritos. I had made a goal for myself to explore my area in an attempt to learn more about it. Though Cerritos was old news for me, I felt as though I was old enough to explore a much more mysterious and foreign land-- Los Angeles. Having my driver's license for a few years now, and a newborn confidence to venture on my own, I decided to get together with a few of my old high school friends and take a few trips out to the area, the city of entertainment as they called it. My most memorable experience was visiting the Los Angeles Film School for a prospective student campus tour. [THESIS] It was here where I discovered that even though I was Los Angeles County born and raised, it was Honolulu that best suited my life, and that it was where I humbly belonged. [THESIS]
I embarked on my journey with my good friends, who supported me by sitting in the back of my blue Kia Rio and listening to some soft rock while egging me on to drive a little faster. The sun's light grazed my car's hood, reflecting off the delicate clouds that lightly decorated the sky. KTLA news predicted 80 degree weather and a small breeze-- a perfect day to drive into L.A. I had always dreaded taking my fragile and beat-up car into that place, where traffic seemed to make us all mindless ants trapped in a never-ending line, and danger could come from any of the thousands of people sharing such a tight space on the road. With music occupying our ears and the air conditioning blowing past our smiles, we excitedly drove through the freeways with ease.
An hour put me onto the Santa Monica freeway, where the layer of smog revealed the tall, blue buildings welcoming us to the heart of L.A. Coming off the freeway, I had my friend Drew navigate me through the small, dilapidated roads until we found ourselves in the midst of Sunset Boulevard, the street where Hollywood happens. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes pushed traffic into an aggressive, but slow race to the end of the street. Parallel-parked cars covered the curb where pedestrians crossed from every direction. People crowded themselves around street performers of various talents, juggling basketballs and taking pictures in character costumes. Old building signs were pasted everywhere-- wax museums, album stores, old theaters, tattoo parlors. Colossal advertisements were stamped across sky-high buildings, each selling something different from the other. Movie posters multiplied on walls like rashes on skin. The music in my car became overpowered by the honking of car horns and the shouting of people outside our windows. Finally, after lingering in traffic for 20 minutes, Drew nudged my shoulder and signaled me to look to my right. I leaned forward and looked up to smile at our destination-- the Los Angeles Film School.
Stepping out of the car for the first time since leaving Cerritos gave me a sense of accomplishment. The fresh feeling of finally arriving for my campus tour, and 15 minutes early too, subsided after I took my first breath in to smell L.A. smog. I had forgotten about that.
Tall glass lined the walls to the building, where only a handle differentiated the door to the rest of the first floor's exterior. Walking in, we were greeted by faculty and staff. The receptionist gladly took my name. Immediately after receiving my name tag, the people in black "Los Angeles Film School" shirts proceeded to ask me countless questions about my life-- where I was from, what school I went to, what I was studying, everything. I am from Cerritos, I go to the University of Hawaii, and yes, the one in Oahu. I am a double major in the art and film program, and no, we don't use actual film. After some small talk with them, it was time to begin our tours. We visited various rooms with specific purposes. The sound editing room was filled with sound boards said to be worth thousands. Giant plasma screens were mounted in the front of the room, suggesting that the teacher used it for lectures instead of white boards and projector screens. The ceiling was tall and constructed in a way to produce the "standard sound quality for professional ears". It was the first room yet I was already in awe.
Moving through the hallway, the tour guide rounded us in a circle and answered any questions we had. Soon after, a tall, stout white man interrupted us and introduced himself as the Vice President of the school. He then gave a long, drawn-out speech about film and how we will only succeed in it if we allow it to consume our lives, and how attending this school is the best option for becoming a successful filmmaker. He boasted about the state-of-the-art technology used in his building, and how only the prestige are given the privilege to use it-- prestige meaning the students who can pay the money of course. 47 thousand dollars a year is what it would take to be a part of this large family. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to afford it, but it was still a good option to have in case I felt that the film school at UH wasn't enough for me. After he left, we proceeded deeper into the school, where the outside light had dimmed down and only soft yellow lights guided us through the rest of the building. Eventually, we came to a heavy set of double doors, which when opened, revealed a state of the art sound stage.
The tour guide pleasantly helped us through the dimly lit space, where we found ourselves in the middle of a small home, artificially made for the purpose of filming a house scene. We were free to explore the set. Looking up were lights set perfectly in position, metal bars crisscrossing each other to help stabilize the heavy-duty equipment. Outside the fake windows were fake posters of a landscape simulating an outside world. Pastel-colored tablecloth matched the wallpaper, which complimented the white paint lining the edges of the kitchen and living room. The set was decorated by the inch, with painted stairs disguised as wood, and even a fake cat sleeping on a small cushion.
Finally, we reached the school theater, where the tour guide screened some of the students best films made at this school. I suppose my expectations were a bit high, because after seeing two of their "best films", I found myself surprisingly disappointed. Even though the production value was substantial, I was surprised to hear that a story so weak in meaning and the acting so faulty (in my opinion) budgeted at around 60 thousand dollars and made it into the Los Angeles Film Festival. I mean, really? For the resources given and the prestigious staff members, I was almost confused as to why a film with little or no point to it was praised by these filmmakers. To me, there was nothing cinematic about it besides the slightly professional look of it. I walked out of the theater in disbelief. I had to ask myself, was this what I really wanted?
Before leaving, I met with my designated counselor to talk about my prospects in joining the school. Tall and spunky, my counselor's diva look and attitude gave an enthusiastic punch to my stay. She went over funds, how I would be given absolutely everything I needed to become a filmmaker, and soon after graduation they would guarantee me a job 90% of the time. She assured me that every student is taken step by step through the process of becoming a successful artist, and that the school would support them all the way. Though this seemed like a good thing, I couldn't help but wonder, how are students learning about the real world if they are constantly being babied into the industry? How are they learning to work for their crew if they are already given everything they need from the get-go? Why are their films still no better than my school's films, when they are paying more than twice the amount we are paying for school?
It was then I knew in myself that I didn't want to be here. The resources, the professors, the state of the art technology, all things that were equally enticing, just didn't match the expectations I had to becoming the filmmaker I wanted to be. It was here I learned that no matter how much money I invested in schools to make my career, it was never going to happen, at least not like that. I had spent my whole year at UH convinced by my peers that our film program was too under-budgeted to make us good filmmakers, so poor that we didn't have a studio of any kind. I was told that our school is a joke, and we only pretend to be the filmmakers that we'll never be-- all this because we didn't have enough equipment, enough staff, or enough students to build a solid crew. And this, I was told, was the reason why our films would never be good enough to screen outside of Hawaii's islands. Yet here I was, sitting in one of the most prestigious film institutions in the country, and the films they vouch for are no better than ours besides their high-budget look. This city, so busy trying to move up in their lives, so tangled in the thought that money creates success, suddenly disgusted me. The majestically tall buildings, the lively streets, the luxurious architecture of the school, it was just a commercial pulling me into thinking I could be a part of it all.
Though I went to the campus tour in search for self-confirmation that I could “do better”, I left with a sense of content for my home institution. Instead of turning in an application for the film school, I thought back at my experiences in Hawaii and realized that I was happier knowing that I worked creatively with what I had. I wanted to feel like I made a name for myself by the films I created, not through the reputation of the film school I attended. Even though I was in the heart of filmmaking, it didn't mean that I couldn't make comparable films back in Honolulu. In fact, I almost wanted to make a film in Hawaii just to show myself that Hollywood wasn't a filmmaker's only option. Besides, I think I will be much happier and humble working my way into the industry and building my own success in this little corner of the world that I now call home.
Log of Completed Activities
__x_ Jan. 10- First Day of Instruction. Log in to our class blog, our Laulima discussion forum, and your hawaii.edu mailbox. Become familiar with these instructional media. Carefully review the information in our class blog, especially the syllabus (click on the tab at the top of the page) and schedule.
__x_ Jan. 11- Intro to Paper #1. Read the “Guidelines for Paper #1″ by midnight.
__x_ Jan. 11- Laulima Discussion: Who Am I? Post your response by midnight.
__x_ Jan. 12- Begin setting up your personal blog for all class papers. Click here for instructions. Alternately, see the “Blogger” links in the right sidebar in our class blog. To begin, complete the initial setup. You’ll be able to add finishing touches as the RD1 due date approaches. If you need help, post a request in the “Q&A About My Blog” forum in Laulima.
__x_ Jan. 18- Complete readings for Paper #1
__x_ Jan. 21- Laulima Discussion: Discuss essays by Ehrlich and Legler.
__x_ Jan. 26- Laulima Discussion: Discuss essays by Gilb and Whitehead.
__x_ Jan. 28- Review Draft #1 (RD1) due. [50 pts] Read the guidelines.
__x_ Jan. 31- Submit three RD1 evaluations. [50 pts] Read the guidelines.
__x_ Feb. 3- Final Draft #1 (FD1) due [100 pts] Read the guidelines.
