Reflections over Digital Video Course

When I first chose this course I didn’t know quite what to expect to learn. I’ve always been interested in movies and have become more interested in evaluating them by looking at the quality of different aspects and think of what makes me like a movie and what makes me dislike a movie. I also have a friend who’s been studying media and communication and from the things she could tell me about the different tricks and techniques film-makers do to make the movie more interesting also made me think of doing a closer study of movies myself.
My expectations to this course was to learn more about how movies are made and whether or not there are certain recipes for how to create a good movie, and what kind of tools and techniques directors do to set the audience in the right mood. In the course description it also said that that we would learn more about the process of making a movie like costs and use of time

I find movies interesting because they are such a great way of learning people about different aspects of life, society and history, especially since more and more people has become less interested in reading literature on these topics, so movies are a great alternative to get some of the same knowledge we get through books. I know so many people who never read books or newspapers or watch news and quality current news programs on TV, but often discuss or learn about important matters as mentioned by watching movies, so I think movies are an important resource in educating people outside of school and learning them about right or wrong or at least makes them reflect more over things that happen in society and why they happen.

Another reason why I find movies interesting compared to books, is that I've learned so much from being sceptical and negative to movies where I can't see there is a very interesting plot in from reading the cover of it. I used to be very sceptical of dramas, superhero-movies, foreign movies and also to low-budget movies and thought they must be really boring. But there are so many times I've been negative to watch a movie, especially if someone else have picked it, just to find out it was really great! That is also a difference from books and movies, because you need to devote a lot more time and concentration when you read a book that if it doesn't get you straight away, you just put it away and find something else. With movies they are so short that you get time to get into the story faster, even though it is a bit boring or confusing.

During the course I’ve learned a lot of what I was hoping to learn more about, what I’ve found particularly interesting was when we learned about scriptwriting and the script-formula, and the basic rule to make a movie successful. This also included the five essential elements for a good movie, which has in particular had an influence for how I look at a movie now and think of how the movie fulfilled these elements.
We have also learned a lot of useful things about the technical aspects of creating a movie and why it is important to have good lighting, soundtrack, clipping and framing techniques and what kind of function they have in a movie.
The course has definitely changed the way I look at movies. I’ve probably become more cynical of how I evaluate a movie, especially if it is a poorer one. I think of where the filmmakers have found the inspiration for a movie, how they’ve conceptualised it and why a movie of that topic would be interesting. I focus more on how good the technical aspects of it are, and sometimes think of how they could have been improved.