Filming in Prague

Studying abroad in Prague was a fantastic experience. Prague is a beautiful city that is surprisingly easy to feel comfortable in despite the fact that it seems somewhat unreal. Although many of my peers found time to travel, I stayed in Prague on most weekends and there was always so much to do. The city is constantly having incredible events and festivals.

The best part of the CET film production program at FAMU was gaining hands-on experience. I learned so much in the final weeks of the program while working on creating my own film and assisting on my friends' film sets. Learning film production requires practical experience on set. I wish it was possible to spend more time actually working with a camera throughout the semester, but the little time I had was so valuable. Taking the information I learned out of the classroom and applying it to an actual film was an important process.

It is definitely up to the students to make the most of their semester. I wanted more experience on set, so it was up to me to find groups who needed production assistants and volunteer to help. During the lighting seminar, I had to volunteer if I wanted to have an active role. Similarly, I found that my classes were only as challenging as I wanted to make them. For example, the cinematography class was a lecture style course with one final test. The students were at all different levels of experience, so it was difficult for the professor to gauge with information was new to which students and how much time to spend on each topic. Many students didn't find the course especially challenging because they were already familiar with the information. It was essential to ask questions in order to get the most out of this course. When a student would ask a question, even it was about their specific film, I found that I learned the most.

While my group was editing our film, we reached out to our editing professor and asked to meet and get her advice on our progress. She was incredibly helpful and provided us with a constructive critique. It was important to me to have professors who were eager to meet and help us throughout the process of creating a film because I felt like I had support. This support was essential because it motivated my group to commit to our mission and take artistic risks.

Outside of my production classes, I took two elective courses. Although the classes weren't especially well organized, I highly enjoyed them because they introduced me to a lot of films I was unfamiliar with and gave me new ways to analyze film. I especially enjoyed the Film Style & Form course because it was the first class I have taken that was specifically focused on sound in film.