The Reel Life of Josh

College is a wonderfully exciting time.  You learn a lot in and out of class.  With one semester to go, I figured I’d give a run down of some of the finer points of life that I’ve learned while at Hopkins.  I’ll be sure to update this list at the end of the year, but for now…

Things I’ve learned at Hopkins – Pt. 1:

1. If a professor says attendance is mandatory but doesn’t keep attendance, people will stop showing up after the third week.
2. As a guy, you will unintentionally understand fashion trends.  For example, understanding what jeggings are when brought up in conversation.
3. If your TA isn’t fun, your class will be harder.  Know your TA.  You can really hit or miss with paper titles like my paper on the natural factors contributing to global warming called “Some Like It Hot”.
4. When people say that an event is free, they are really just saying you already paid for it with your tuition.
5. No matter what time you walk past the Freshman Quad, there will always be lights on in the AMRs.
   

   My trusty backpack

6. If there is some bit of news or pop culture (this includes every viral video) that is floating around on the internet, you will know about it within an hour.
7. 9 AM in college time = 5 AM in real time.
8. This is obvious: The M level challenge is harder than the D level challenge.
9. People who were overachievers in high school are still annoying in college.
10. If you are in a relationship, add 3 credit hours to your semester total.  It will give you a more accurate readout of your free time.  Plan accordingly.
11. Free/cheap tshirts are easier to find than Olin Hall.
12. As much as you try to prevent it, you will eat the same things in the dining hall pretty much every day.
13. Marble is slippery when wet.
14. The gym looks nice from the outside.
15. The quality of a class is determined by professor, content, and classmates.  Too bad there is no ratemyclassmates.com.
16. On a related note, there will alway be one person in class who raises their hand in a large lecture.  Many of them tell personal anecdotes before asking awful questions.  Many will do this at the end of class when the professor asks “Are there any questions?”
17. Appointments with professors work much better than going to their office hours.
18. Freshmen think they are the first ones to do anything they do at Hopkins.
19. Seniors think about everything as the last time they will do something at Hopkins.
20. A roommate is your best friend and worst enemy.
    

    Unrelated, but my father trying to get the Yule Log on our TV on Christmas morning.

21. Every college student graduates with a comprehensive knowledge of how to BS.
22. Humanities majors will get thorough instruction on how to be pretentious by learning philosophical ideas, literary and historical references, and figuring out how to relate everything back to Marxist ideas.
23. People will go to anything if you offer them free food.
24. The shortest route between two points does not involve the brick pathways.  If you are in a hurry, don’t follow the red brick road.
25. Hearing someone complain about getting an A- is a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

As with the other lists, any other suggestions from the HI team?  Or any disagreements?

The absurdities of college life are slowly becoming apparent, but it’s worth all the craziness.

I’m sure by now you’re already tired of talking to people about where you’re applying to college.  I remember that feeling.  But good news: it goes away.  Bad news: it comes back if you decide to go to grad school.

It seems like the past 2 weeks, that’s what most people want to talk to me about.  Now, I’m not the best conversationalist, but I feel like I have more to offer than just reciting the same lines about my future.  And since I’ve been through it before, I know it will only get more intense as time goes on.

Inside Prof. Macksey's extensive library.

Last night at a cocktail party for the Film Program, held at the amazing home of Prof. Richard Macksey, several of my professors asked me what my future held post-graduation.  It didn’t stop there, as many of my former friends and classmates who were at the party for Young Alumni Weekend came and managed to slip in conversations about what they are doing now which prompted a reply about my future.

But why grad school for me you may ask (as I did to myself)?  I’ll start by saying I don’t need it.  In the film world, you need talent and a foot in the door – an education is not necessarily in the picture.  And people outside of Hopkins ignorantly continue to tell me that this program that they know nothing about couldn’t possibly prepare me like a bigger film program could so I should obviously go to one of those.

Let me first say this.  The Hopkins film program has prepared me to succeed.  I’ve produced over 25 short films while at Hopkins with 1 ½ semesters still to go.  I have become incredibly close with my professors because of the size of the Film program.  They are able to provide me with guidance whenever I need it and professional connections.  So the people who overlook those aspects of the education I’ve received are out of line in proclaiming the failures of the Film and Media program.

this in no way relates to this post, but i needed another picture

But back to the question at hand.  I want to go to film school to give me time.  Not time to waste or put off life.  It would be time to concentrate on making films without having to worry about the other courses I’m taking.  It would be time to develop my own voice and vision.

And now it’s time to apply.  I’ll keep my head up and look toward the future as I’m sure you will out there looking at college.  Wherever we end up, we’ll know we tried our best and that makes it the place we’re supposed to be.

(For those of you keeping tabs on me, here’s the latest film project of mine – done for Dance for the Camera)

Loss of Clarity from Joshua Gleason on Vimeo.

Classes are back in session, and it’s weird to be a senior.  But somebody’s gotta do it, right?  So I’m sure you’re wondering what classes I’m taking this semester.  Well, here they are.

Dance for the Camera:  Blending dance and filmmaking, this course teaches how to create Dance for the Camera films, an emerging genre.  We watch different types of dance films from Fred Astaire to modern dance to movement on camera and look at the relationship between filmmaker and choreographer.  From this we create several different projects throughout the semester.

The Actor in Hollywood:  What is a star?  How does a star develop?  (Sounds like an astronomy class, doesn’t it?)  This class is built around studying Hollywood stars – specifically John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, and Jack Nicholson.  By reading many of their films and developing our own research based on one of the four, we learn about many aspects of what makes a star a star and what details of performance contribute to this idea.

Anthropology of Media:  We live in a mediated society.  We all have cell phones, iPods, listen to the radio, go to the movies, watch TV, use the internet.  This course is designed to discuss how these things work in our daily lives.  Part history, part current events, part future speculation, we debate our mediated lives.  In the end, we complete an ethnography based on some media topic of our choosing.  One of the coolest parts is that our research projects are published on the class website which is publicly searchable.  Last time the class was taught, many of the projects came up in the top 5 of Google searches when someone typed in “Anthropology” + [topic keywords].

Brain Myths – Folk Psychology:  Folk psychology is a field of study based on the mental processes of common sense.  Here we discuss both scientific and popular notions behind common sense and why we believe certain myths (specifically about the brain).  Our first class consisted of a discussion on the myth that we only use 10% of our brains.

Lost and Found Film:  Delving into another emerging genre, orphan films, we explore old footage and create new films from those.  Every week a project is due.  By using archival footage and music/sfx, we can turn something nobody sees anymore (like many educational films such as “How to brush your teeth” from the 50s) into something different.  A lot of class time is devoted to ruminating on ideas of is meaning discovered or created.

So far, so okay with these classes.  But time to get down to work.  Until we meet again.

Filmmakers of the world unite!

Talking about movies is all I seem to do these days.  I’ve had to talk about it in class, write a paper on it, discuss it at job interviews for the summer, and, well, that’s all my friends and I do.  But recently there has been a lot of activity surrounding the Baltimore and Hopkins film community.

The Q&A at MFF

Maryland Film Fest was just a short 2 weeks ago.  This means the Station North area was packed with filmmakers from across the world, putting on a great display of films, workshops, and discussions.  It also meant time for the Putty Hill Maryland premiere.  For those who don’t know, I got the opportunity to work as a crew member on the feature film one of my professors, Matt Porterfield, shot last summer.  Well, at the premiere me and the friends that worked on set with me got the VIP treatment.  For a sold out screening, we got free tickets and moved up to the front of the line.  We were also invited up to the front with the rest of the cast and crew for the Q&A afterwards.

Last week, the Film Program threw a going away party for the seniors like they do every year.  Since the program is so small, they really go all out for these things.  There was incredible food courtesy of

Carlos after a good meal

Cafe Azafran (located in the Space Telescope building adjacent to campus).

I also spent lots and lots (and lots) of time at the DMC working on my short film.  Doing an independent study allowed me complete creative control to create a short film this semester under the guidance of one of my professors.

Each semester, the Film and Media Studies Program hosts a student showcase where work done in that semester’s film classes is screened for an audience of peers, family, friends, and faculty.  It gives students of every level an outlet to show their work.  Everything from Intro to Film Production’s 16mm 2 min. silent B&W shorts to more involved Senior Projects are shown.  I got to show my short second to last in the night followed by my good friend (and cinematographer) Carlos, who just finished up his senior project.  It was nice to have all my friends, professors, and much of the cast and crew there to check out something many of them had not seen anything from before.  (And it was also nice to get encouraging responses from them)

Professor + Karaoke = night well spent

After the screening, the night got pretty interesting.  2 of our professors invited a group of us out to dinner.  We went to The Dizz, a really great restaurant/bar a few blocks from campus.  After a fun dinner, we were actually invited with Matt to a party over at his friends’ house in Waverly.  (The concept seems weird when you initially picture a professor, but a lot of my professors are actually younger and I would consider some of them more like friends.)  One of his friends who hosted, Ben, is one of the Charm City Cakes guys (of Ace of Cakes fame)  so there were a few of the people from over there at the party.  It was incredibly fun and we even got to see Matt perform karaoke (singing Ginuwine’s “In Those Jeans”).

Maybe you too can come to Hopkins and witness such a feat!  

I think finding the right college is like finding a partner.  Think about it.  What qualities are you looking for?  They are pretty close.  Let me show you.

1.  Attractiveness. You have to be physically attracted to the look of the school – the school colors, the architecture and landscaping of the campus, the aesthetics of the logo.  It’s something that draws you in and gives a school that initial appeal, but it’s not enough to warrant a long term relationship.

The allure of hte Blue Jay logo

2.  Intellectuality. You want a school that has an appealing level of intellectual ability.  Whether that is the same, higher, or lower depends on the person.

3.  Location. Sometimes, as much as you want it to work, the long distance thing is tough.  Location is definitely a factor that should be considered.

4.  Friends. Are the people around the school people that I would feel comfortable with?  Are they people that have similar interests?

5.  Money. Now as sad as it is, I learned in a social psychology class that money is a huge factor in relationships.  People tend to marry within the same socio-economic bracket.  Besides that sad fact, money is definitely a factor in considering schools unfortunately.

6.  Future. For some reason, inevitably, all relationships seem to focus on the future.  What will your future relations with school be like?  Is is a place you could be happy with as an alum?  How will going to this school play a role in what happens in the future?

Kissing the War Goodbye

7.   Love vs. Lust factor. Many people lust over certain schools.  Certain places just have that appeal.  That quick fix of what you need.  Sometimes its a ranking number.  Sometimes its the fact that you’ve pined for going to this school for years and years.  Just make sure that the school is right for you.  Make sure you can have a real relationship with it.

8.  Overall Compatibility. There is no eHarmony for college selection.  You have to make sure that a school has the right FIT for you.  That is the most important word anyone can use when talking about colleges.  Even though I go to Hopkins and my job is to show you how wonderful it is, I’m also saying that because it is the right fit for me.  But it might not be for you.  Hopkins is not a big school.  It is not a place full of modern architechture.  It is in a city.  It’s a private institution.  It’s on the East Coast.  All of these things matter.  You cannot and should not apply to and enroll in schools if they don’t fit right.  It’s the Cinderella effect.  The more you try to make yourself fit into the school by cutting off your toes or your heels, the dumber you end up looking and the worse off you are in the long run.  Ok.  So I mixed the metaphor a little there.  But the idea is the same.

Find that glass slipper school and you won’t regret it.

(As for the title, I’m off to a new challenge.  Instead of song titles I’m working in quotes from AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes from now on)

Some of you may be looking forward to the days of large lecture classes where you can just relax in a sea of 200+ eyes and sigh a great breath of relief because you know you won’t get called on by the professor.  Classes at Hopkins are much different than you might expect.

Only a small portion of classes.  5% of classes at Hopkins are over 100 students while 65% of classes are under 20 students – much more similar to high school classes.  On top of this, the larger lectures typically break down into small sections headed by a TA.  And that 5% consists mostly of lower-level introductory classes that many students at Hopkins elect to take.  Upper-level classes are usually capped at very small numbers of students.  For Humanities classes, this is especially true.  Many of the 100- and 200-level classes are even capped at 25 students or fewer.  And I’ve been a part of a class with only one other person in it.  I don’t say these things to make you think Hopkins is like high school or that you will be in these tiny classes, but I do say it to make you think about the type of education you will experience.  In many of the fields, you’ll get hands-on experience.  For this, personal attention and facility time are key factors to making the most of your experience.

But I’m not even writing to talk about that.  Here’s what I’m getting at:  Johns Hopkins University was founded according to the German university model which stresses seminar style classes over purely lectures.  In fact, it was the first university in the U.S. to use this method of small classes emphasizing discussion and discovery over lectures.

This may freak out a lot of people who hate to speak up in class (and I’m no chatty Cathy in school so I feel ya) but it is actually so helpful.  Open discussions let you learn not only from the professors, but also from those around you.  It encourages new ideas and debate, the latter making you think about your own ideas and finding reasons why you actually believe them.  You also get to know your professors much better this way.  Seminar classes are much less stressful because they are typically more like informal forums where everyone shares thoughts on different topics.  It doesn’t prepare you for life to just sit back and listen to facts so you can recall them later.  You can easily look up facts out in the great beyond of adulthood.  Really learning something means being able to defend yourself in a debate about it and having supporting evidence as to why something is true.  This style teaches you how to listen to others and open yourself up to new ideas that may support or contradict your own ones.

You have all been warned.  If you take the great leap and find yourself at Hopkins, speak up!  Your ideas are meant to be heard.

Now for a song trapped in my head:

Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders “Excuses” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

The semester is coming to a close (too quickly in the grand scheme of things, but too slowly according to my finals schedule).  But to get through, I’ve come up with some calming messages for you.  So get in a zen mode and read some (bad) finals haikus.

It is 4 AM
What am I still doing up?
Oh yeah, that paper

Paper due today
Too windy and cold to walk
Will just e-mail it

The clock says it’s noon
I am comfortable in bed
Sleep for one more hour

Exam this Friday
Out of black ink for printer
Wish for snow to fall

Semester ending
Graduation three away
Now home for the holidays

And best of luck to those of you waiting for ED decisions!  I’ll be back after finals for some more informational reading.

Also, here are some winter movies to see.

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you’d know that as a Film and Media Studies major, I love the program.  It’s afforded me so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten, even at some of the bigger programs.  So here are some of my reasons why you should be a Film Major here at Hopkins:

1) A good basic knowledge in both theory and practice.  With tons of production classes and theory, you learn so much about film history, theory, and filmmaking.

2) The professors.  They are very approachable and can answer any question you could have.  Production professors have professional experience – narrative shorts/feature filmmaking, experimental films, documentaries, and even TV movies.  Theory professors are writing and researching while teaching.  But don’t think that with all this other work they are unavailable.  If you ever want to talk to them, you can make an appointment.  Some will even give out their phone numbers so you can call if there is a pressing issue.

3) Hands-on experience early. By the end of your freshman year, you could have made a short film.  By the time you graduate, you will have a substantial portfolio of work.  With such a small program, there is plenty of equipment to go around, too.

4) Internship opportunities. The program encourages getting real world experience.  You are even required to do some sort of internship or independent study to graduate.  Any sort of opportunities the department hears about are always sent out via email to film students.  I’ve worked at an entertainment company in NYC and worked with a professor who was shooting a feature film.  Some of my friends have done things like write script coverage, working on commercials, or working at the Maryland Film Festival.  Baltimore also has a thriving arts community so there are always opportunities to get involved.

5) The Johns Hopkins Film Festival. A film festival for independent filmmakers is held every year on campus.  There is a student showcase every year which means you basically have a free pass into a film festival if you produce something of good quality.

6) Pre-registration for film classes. For film majors, you can pre-register for your film classes.  Mainly, this is because the classes are so small, in order to guarantee you get the classes you want, you register about a week in advance.

7) Learn on film and digital. Film production courses teach on 16mm film.  You learn how to use the medium of actual film.  It teaches you how to work with the film as a tangible object and get the most from it.  Some classes delve into digital production where you will use resources at the Digital Media Center.

8) Personal attention/small classes. With classes usually under 15 students, you get the personal attention you need.

9) Exciting experiences. There are many opportunities to see guest speakers and films. Recently, David Fincher (director of Fight Club, Benjamin Button, etc.) used Hopkins as a double for Harvard in his current project about the founding of Facebook.  Originally a few students were selected to work on the film for the 3 days they would be at Hopkins, but because of insurance issues, that didn’t pan out.  But, the Film and Media Studies Program did invite him to speak to Film and Theater students.  He came along with his cinematographer (Jeff Cronenweth) and actors Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, Zombieland) and Andrew Garfield (Boy A, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus).

Last weekend, the F&MS program was given free tickets for student to go to a Maryland Film Festival event.  The event, hosted at MICA, featured David Simon (The Wire), Barry Levinson (Liberty Heights, Diner), and John Waters (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos)  who spoke on filmmaking in Baltimore, their careers, and  each others’ work.  It was so great to be in a room with the three of them and hear them speak about filmmaking.  It was also great because the event would have been $125 to attend if not fo r the free tickets.

These are just some of the reasons to think about studying film at Hopkins.  My biggest reason for doing it though is because I love it.  And that’s my advice to everyone out there.  Study something that you love.  You’ll be doing it for the next 4 years so really think about what you want to sit around thinking about.