I got your post right here...

Today was my first class back at SCC in what looks to be my final semester at the school. Unless they suddenly restate the school’s requirements making everything I’ve done up to this point void, I will have associates degrees in both production and (more importantly) screenwriting once this semester is complete. It’s a good time to be in my world…I’m about to sweep the board.
The first class I attended is entitled “Advanced Motion Picture Production”. What is Advanced Production? It is a 16-week class devoted to the mechanics of narrative filmmaking. It’s bent towards teaching students to work in teams and complete short screenplay ideas with the aim of learning more about film production as a whole. So, it really incorporates elements of every element of production (although, in my opinion, its screenwriting discussion has always been the bastard child of the actual screenwriting program).
Before I go any further, let’s add a little history to this semester’s staging of Advanced Production: About a year ago, the teacher who normally taught Advanced Production dropped out. Citing a number of reasons (mainly workload), she left the class to be picked up by any instructor who took a keen interest in it. Following her exit another instructor both took it up and dropped it, in short making the class the official bear of the program. There are several classes in the programs that have stories and myths surrounding them, but Advanced Production is (aside from Boot Camp and Screenwriting 4) the most notorious.
So there was a void. Attempting to fill in the void, the school picked up a new instructor for the school, someone who could take the reins of Advanced Production. What was the reaction? A lot of students (myself included) were pleased. We saw this as a new beginning for the class. We hoped that the new instructor would jettison the easy-going approaches of the previous two instructors and develop an actual curriculum for the class.

Tonight I learned the meaning of the phrase, “be careful what you wish for”.

Not only did this instructor develop an actual curriculum for the class…he revolutionized the way the class was meant to function. He completely threw away everything it was before this point and in the process ruined the plans of a lot of students. Over the weekend I will assess if that includes my plans.
Beforehand, the idea behind the class was that everyone had the chance to come in with an idea and produce it in that class. If it was 5 minutes or 40 minutes, no big deal…just make sure you have the resources and the manpower to get it made. With that in mind, the instructor would basically green light any request that came his/her way, wither that be for equipment, insurance, the studio or any extra perk the school could extend to ensure your production went a little bit smoother.
Tonight, the law of the land was this: there will only be 5 shorts made this semester. They must be under 5 minutes in length, you may not bring in any outside help to make the short happen and films will not go into production until after a 7-week period. This class is Hollywood, and the instructor is the studio…and just like in Hollywood, there are only so many productions that can be made. If your project does not conform to the standards, you’re out of luck.

Period.
If you can imagine the malaise that followed this announcement, then I certainly hope you feel better. In short, this class was going to be offering a comprehensive education like the students wished, but it would no longer be the playground it once was. And I kid you not…the reaction by the students…and the following counter-action by the teacher (who also happens to teach Sheriff Joe’s posse on the side) was the most painful in-class experience I have ever been through. Harrowing. When kids began complaining, it came down to this: “If you want to stay and get your degree, you play by these rules. If not, there’s the door.”
It was uncomfortable.

So now the question is:

Can I use the school’s resources to make White Bread, Filmic and complete Wildlifeless? I believe so, but I need to find out what my boundaries are.

Perhaps more importantly:

Is this guy going to work my butt off, making any side project I might attempt like Filmic out of the question? Let’s face it: if I’m suddenly a part of the “team”, how much time should I expect to devote to the team? Can I just hock some script out and let them all go and film it? That’s terribly rude and anti-social, but it’s how I feel. I don’t want to make another 5 minute short. I want to make MY shorts. I get it…if I can’t tell a story in 5 minutes, then I suck. Most of the kids in that class have made lots of shorts. I’ve participated in over 20. I don’t want to take 5 steps back and make another Outside In.

So basically, I gotta find out if I can still use the school’s resources…and now I need to come up with a new 5 minute idea that I will pitch to the class next week (along with the 20 other students). Oh, and here’s another little twist: it may be my idea, but that doesn’t mean I get to direct it. I wrote it, sure. But I must apply for the director’s position. So I’m sure as heck not throwing one of my golden eggs out to the class and then letting some guy who waltzed in with a Rockstar in his hand and a Fight Club t-shirt on his chest direct it.

The class itself was all terribly amusing. He basically started out by explaining the narrative film to us. And I swear to you…SWEAR…some of it was the Filmic screenplay verbatim. At one point he was even explaining the meaning of Filmic to the class, which was disinterested just like the class in the script. I was vindicated. I questioned if I was on the right pulse with Filmic…if I was even tapping in to the student experience. The second the instructor mentioned the word “filmic”, I KNEW that I got it all right. Hell, I should have just taken a camera with me and filmed the entire first half of my screenplay.

Following that we were taught about pitching and the art of the pitch…a technique he attempted to demystify by explaining that anyone could do it and that you didn’t have to be a screenwriter to tell a story or give a pitch. Ideas come to everyone. No, you don’t get bonus points for having a screenwriting education.
And then we were all given ideas to pitch and I discovered that, SURPRISE SURPRISE, you do get bonus points for knowing how to write and pitch. He will tell you that anyone can do it. But in that class, if you go in with a prior knowledge of screenwriting, you are the king of that smelly little room. Tonight, two students were from the screenwriting program…a friend from a previous class, and myself. And you had better believe that we cleaned their clocks. Here’s how it went: we were divvied up into teams of 5 and expected to give our pitch in front of the class. My team had to sell a screenplay about Hurricane Katrina, starring Harry Conick Jr. No one wanted to pitch in the group. We all hated our idea. I rolled my eyes and said “fine”, went up there and got the green light from the “studio”. Same thing with my friend (only, they had a spectacular idea). My team was pleased. This leads me to realize two extra things:

1. If I come up with a decent enough idea between now and next week, I will be one of those 5 films that gets made. No question. But do I want to? If I mop the floor, what added responsibility am I taking on for myself?
2. These kids are already talking about the chance of not making 5 films, but rather one. If that’s the case (and the instructor has indicated that if we want it to be, it will be) then the class will need a 20-minute idea. They will need someone to pitch it to them. And the entire class will pitch in money to get the idea made. After tonight’s filmic discussion, I believe that I can be the 20-minute film if things get pushed that way. The gamble? In doing so, do I give up my directorial position on the film and do I alienate Matter of Chance from it? If so, then there’s no way I’m bringing Filmic or White Bread anywhere near that class. I direct. Josh shoots. Gabe is IGNACIO. No exceptions.

So all in all, I’m a little worried. If I can’t use the school’s resources to make Filmic and White Bread, then this stinks royally. If I can use them…then great!

What really worries me: dare I let my competitive spirit go in there and sell the heck out of an idea I can’t commit to? I don’t want to bite off more then I can chew. I will participate in the class, but I want to make my shorts.