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Northwest Film Forum: one-stop shop for novice filmmakers

Published 10:16 am Wednesday, June 22, 2016

With its new Film Fundamentals 2 offering, Northwest Film Forum becomes a one-stop shop for the beginning filmmaker.

When Northwest Film Forum started its “Filmmaking Fundamentals” class last year, the 20-year-old Seattle nonprofit was aiming to democratize film in the city.

It had already done a lot to get more Seattleites into filmmaking, offering intimate evening classes taught by a mix of professionals and teachers devoted to the organization’s own particular curriculum (which changes as rapidly as the film industry itself). In these focused classes, most administered at the Film Forum’s Capitol Hill headquarters, students learn everything from screenwriting to lighting to editing. “Fundamentals,” though, took the Forum’s classes one step further by providing to anyone who walked in its doors and paid a modest fee an opportunity to learn all the tools needed to create moving pictures. And we do mean anyone.

“All sorts of people walk into our building,” says Forum education manager Craig Downing. “It could be people who just finished high school, people that are young professionals and just want something to do when they’re done with work, people who are later in their career and have always had a real passion for film and want to get back into it. We cover every decade and every gender.”

If anything, the eight-week class was too successful. Each session would sell out quickly, and eight weeks later push a new class of filmmakers out into the world with new tools, but not necessarily the community to put those tools to use.

“A lot of the students, when they get done with that class, they’d say, ‘Oh, now I know how to make a film; do you know anyone who wants to make a film?’, ” says Downing. “A lot of these people don’t have the luxury of having a house full of friends to make a film with.”

Earlier this year, NWFF introduced yet another class to solve this problem. Now, for just $80, students who have been given the tools to create their own film during the initial “Fundamentals” class (which costs $595) are being grouped together, given a hands-off advisor and discounts on equipment rental, and told to make something happen in six weeks.

The filmmaking teams must secure their own funding and do their own budgeting. Lessons on this, the business side, are offered in the Forum’s classes, but the real-world experience is second to none, says Downing. “Part of making a film is learning how to budget and plan and raise funds,” he says. “So if you are a producer on this group, your job is to figure out which resources you have available or don’t have available to fill the scope of the film you’re making. That funding and getting themselves going is really on the producer, and having them see themselves finding solutions and walking that process of getting the film done.”

And just like that, Northwest Film Forum has become a full-service incubator for Seattle’s burgeoning film scene. The films that result can be submitted to the Forum’s own Local Sightings Film Festival, but even if they don’t make the cut, they will find a place among friends and family and in portfolios.

Getting work for the students isn’t the goal, says Downing, who adds that the Forum believes first and foremost in artistic expression. It does happen, though. Downing points to a couple of students who were recently hired by a production company before even finishing the first “Fundamentals” course.

“We’re really about enabling people to achieve their artistic vision,” he says. “Some students’ goals are getting into film festivals, others are about getting work; but either way it makes us really excited when students are meeting those goals.”

Find Northwest Film Forum classes at connect2classes.com.

Brain Exercise

Stretching your imagination can help you get more out of life. Like your muscles, your brain needs a little workout from time to time. In our daily lives we tend to go with what we know, to count on our past experiences to help us navigate the present. It is said that we use less than 10 percent of our brain—and if that is true, we are really limiting our potential. Expanding what you think is possible can help you become more productive, but, just as important, it can help you find a passion that makes you happy and ultimately makes a difference in your life.

There are lots of ways to get your imagination into gear. Professionals will tell you to do things like change your perspective, find your comfort zone, and experience new things. Personally, I need a catalyst to accomplish those things, and something like travel or changing jobs would help. But if you’re like me and those are not in your near future, an easy way to shake things up is to take a class. How does that work?

Well, if you take a class where there is lots of group participation, those discussions can spark creative thought in everybody. If you take a class where you have to create something in a group, working with a team of complete strangers on a very tight schedule certainly gets the old brain firing. And if you take a class outside of your comfort zone, this completely new experience can spark your imagination and creative juices. You may find something that becomes an enduring and committed passion, or simply just experience something new and move on.

Here are some classes that fill those needs and will have you flexing your brain in no time.

Creative Problem Solving: The ability to solve problems quickly and effectively is a critical interpersonal skill well worth developing.

Beginning Ceramics: It takes creativity to transform a lump of clay into a work of art. You’ll need to flex your creative muscle to make beautiful and useful items.

Visual Design Fundamentals: Use your creativity to come up with a visual design that communicates a specific message to your audience.

Tai Chi for Health and Balance: Tai chi is a health-sustaining exercise and tool for improved awareness.

Seattle is full of talented people who have a true passion for their craft and want to teach others. We should all be taking advantage of that whenever we can.

Dallas Jasper

CEO, Connect2Classes