By Minul Asgar
On January 23rd, I got to meet with Mark Plaza, founder of the Film Club at MCSM. The Film Club is relatively new and is eager to introduce anyone to the club. The film club, supervised by Ms.Quinde, meets on Thursdays after school at the college office (or sometimes you might catch them in the auditorium). A film project is currently in the making and is exclusive to club members. Come join to find out what is going to be produced!
Below are a series of questions I got to ask Mark about the film club and about film in general:
Mark Plaza : “As long as it’s legal you can put it in film”
RamPage: What do you do in film club?
Film Club: “Well, what we do is meet up weekly and talk about virtually everything about film. We view films and discuss making short films. We go into the entire process of making a film and what makes a film “great” in general.”
RamPage: What is the process of making a film?
Film Club: “The process of filmmaking is a very complex thing. First off you need to have a script, and then you need people to agree on making this film. Then you need the tech, cameras, lights, and software. When that’s happening you need to figure out ‘how do you film this?’ ‘Do I have permission to do this or that?’ And later on, once you have everything set up for filming, you initially film the actors. When that is done it goes into editing, where you put in music, fix the audio, and fix the picture. That takes around a couple of days sometimes, depending on how long the film is.
“Then you got to process the film either digitally or, in some cases, you might actually use the film reels and what not. Later on, we distribute it at a special event or in social media maybe like YouTube ,Dailymotion, or something like that. ”
RamPage: Would you say YouTube videos are similar to filmmaking?
Film Club: “YouTube videos are very similar to filmmaking; it’s just on a much smaller scale. ”
RamPage: What type of equipment do you need?
Film Club: “There is a lot of equipment. In some films, it can be made with just a cell phone camera. We have kids who can do lights. An HD camera is perfect for film making. We also have employees of the school who are offering cameras that they had, and actual mics”
RamPage: Are you planning on making a movie?
Film Club: “Yeah, we have the idea but not the actual script yet. The film would be about 10-20 minutes.”
RamPage: Are there certain requirements to join the club or rules about who can join?
Film Club: “There are no requirements and anyone can join as long as they have a really big enthusiasm for film and really want to actually make this club better. You don’t even need to talk as long as you somehow help out in the club.”
RamPage: How come you created the film club in the first place?
Film Club: “I remember talking to my friend, Adriana, who has wanted to do this for awhile. I told her about the old ‘Animation Nation of MCSM’ club and she kind of morphed that into the idea of using it for film instead of cartoons. After talking it over with me, she basically went forward with the idea along with Ms.Quinde who agreed to be the chaperone for us. Then we got it approved by the school.”
RamPage: Which days of the week do you meet?
Film Club: “We meet up every Thursday in the college office and we either stay here or sometimes we might go to the auditorium for a little bit once in awhile.”
RamPage: What would you like to say to the students of MCSM about the film club?
Film Club: “All I can say is this: if you are creative to the point where you want to express your ideas, this is the club for you. We are open to writers and to people who know what they’re doing when it comes to technology. Some people even with zero talent can help out as long as they can give ideas. It is a good way to get into the art of film and inspire more people to make more movies.”