Operating with the same tools as everyone else means you’ll make the same products.
There’s really no argument against educational diversity – as in, studying latin in addition to Python never made anyone a worse programmer or a poor translator – but with film, as with any art, a wide breadth of experiences directly impacts the creative process.
This goes not just for creating films, but for analyzing and writing about them. Critics require unique reference points through which to contextualize what they’re watching, otherwise you get the same voices telling you the same references to the same movies. And nobody benefits from that.
Andrew Saladino’s video makes these points crystal clear (while also putting forward a bit of the FU sentiment many have towards the stereotypical rigidity of film school) in a rapidfire series of clips of movies, documentaries, and other footage. Finding the balance between hobby and profession is tough when both seem one and the same. But nobody likes the nerd who can only talk in film quotes or breaks out the same directorial comparisons. They’re boring. This video gives good examples as to avoid being part of the problem.
Related Topics: criticism, Filmmaking, Video
