Professor Alex Rockwell
IndieWire published an article on "one of America's most prestigious film schools: NYU." The article showcases Professor Alex Rockwell's pilot celluloid film class for Grad Film in partnership with Kodak and Film Factory - a Paris-based post-production lab.
This pilot program has had one succesful run so far, offering six students in Rockwell's class 10,000 feet of 35mm film each courtesy of Kodak, along with a grant for each student to process and convert their film footage, courtesy of Film Factory. This program will continue next year.
In the article, Professor Rockwell states, “The reason why it’s important to learn to shoot on film is clearly the camera and the mechanics of how light affects the surface of the film itself, but beyond that the aesthetic is the basis for everything... There is an economy that is required when shooting in film that forces the student to make a choice. The more I am involved with teaching the more I understand that limiting choices is the best way for your individual voice to come out. All the handheld jerky camera and multiple takes have not made film better. Sometimes putting something on sticks [a tripod] and choosing an angle as an essential point of view is the most powerful tool we have at our disposal in motion picture storytelling.”
Read the full article at IndieWire.