Film Professors Kent Hayward, David Waldman, and Andrew Pearson Lead Students in a Collaborative Film Shoot Exercise on Campus After Over a Year of Online Instruction
After over a year of virtual instruction, film students returned back to campus on a hybrid basis for the fall 2021 semester. While following Covid-19 safety protocols and safety procedures put forth by the Film & Electronic Arts Department and the College of the Arts and approved by the City of Long Beach, film students joined together for a collaborative shoot on campus. Kent Hayward, Associate Professor of Narrative Production, shared his thoughts behind the organizing of the shoot involving multiple production classes: “The idea was that our film students at the senior level have done lots of solo projects, and are very creative and clever, but at this stage in their careers they haven't had much experience in larger collaborative groups - especially during COVID. So, we wanted to create an experience similar to what we are about to send them off to film themselves: lots of equipment, creative work to be done, people with different jobs, a bit of chaos, and a time constraint.”
The shoot consisted of students from two classes: FEA 341: Advanced Cinematography, and FEA340: Advanced Film Production (Directors and Producers) to film a simple scene between two people at an outdoor coffee shop. Roughly forty students gathered between the FA-2 and FA-3 buildings to film the scene they had broken-down, planned, rehearsed, and permitted.
“We wanted to emphasize learning about the process of working together over the creative product on this activity. Like all our collaborative exercises in FEA we knew that there was a potential for big achievements, failure, unexpected problems, and learning. We were successful on all fronts. “
-Kent Hayward, Associate Professor of Narrative Production
Film students working toward their Covid Compliance Officer certification also joined the shoot to receive hands on training and the opportunity to exercise their newly learned skillset while ensuring the safety of everyone on set. Throughout the shoot, David Waldman, Professor of Cinematography, Andrew Pearson, Lecturer in film production, and Kent Hayward worked together to teach film students the importance of communication in a larger group, how to evaluate issues on set and come up with practical solutions, and the overall importance of working together to achieve a common goal. The experience resulted in an enriching experience for all involved, full of learning by students and instructors.
View photos from the collaborative film shoot exercise, taken by film student, Sam Bitnes.
Banner photo by Sam Bitnes
