James Widdicombe 1 January 2013 Cinema Studies Portfolio (Part Two) In 11 Grade I took a Filmmaking class which focused

on film viewing and analysis. In the course we explored the earliest films ever made, silent films, classic Hollywood films, amateur low-budget films, and a bit of foreign cinema as well. It was in that course when I fell in love with cinema, before taking that course I was making films all the time and had started making them since I was 11 years old. However, before I took that course I did not like exploring films history and different national cinemas. I learned to write about cinema and think about it more critically. I began to understand film aesthetics more while taking the class as I began to watch more films. In the class we also began learning how to write scripts and storyboard which helped me appreciate cinema even more. While I didnt learn too many complex concepts about cinema in the class, it taught me the most important thing. It taught me to love film. In Cinema Studies I look forward to exploring the directors of Asian cinema. Out of all of the national cinemas I want to explore, Japanese cinema is the one I want to study most. Japanese cinema has such a great history with some of the greatest films of all-time. The Postwar period which saw the mature works of masters such as Yasujiro Ozu (my favorite director), Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, and Mikio Naruse is my favorite. I also look forward to exploring the largely neglected silent Japanese cinema and its benshi tradition. Although Japanese cinema interests me most, I am also interested in Hong Kong and Chinas (particularly in the 30s and 40s) cinema. Contemporary developments in Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore have also caught my interest. South Asian countries also have national cinemas that interest me such as India. Ever since I was 11 years old I was making videos which eventually turned into a passion for filmmaking. I have always wanted to become a filmmaker, I slowly learned the craft of editing and cinematography all on my own and look forward to becoming a director/writer/editor. However, after taking my Filmmaking course I realized that cinema needed to be taught in the same way literature and other arts are. Few people can name a director aside from Spielberg and even fewer have seen films made outside of the United States. I began wondering what good it was to make great films if no one was interested in seeing them. This led me to my aspiration of being a film critic/teacher as well as filmmaker.
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