Our research about the Queen’s Film Production Club helped us answer the question of what benefits the club could offer students. The club itself was founded in response to the lack of production opportunities within the Queen’s film curriculum, so members of this club can benefit from having a space in which they can execute their film ideas. The workshops the club organizes also act as another benefit, as students can develop their skills further. Another benefit mentioned in our research is the opportunity for students to network with alumni and industry professionals, and work with students of different experience levels. Additionally, our research revealed that the club also provides equipment access and rentals to students, which is a significant benefit as film equipment is often quite costly; with this club, students wishing to produce work outside of class have a resource where they can obtain the tools necessary to execute their projects.

 

By obtaining the Queen’s course descriptions for the 2017-18 school year, our research revealed the production opportunities that exist for students in the curriculum itself. There are 8 production courses offered during this year; however, students are only limited to one production course a year. This fact suggests that production is not necessarily the focus of the film curriculum at Queen’s; students must find other avenues to produce work if that is their desire.

 

Having a space outside of class to engage in hands-on filmmaking can have positive effects on student filmmakers, as more practice and experience will develop their abilities. According to filmmaker and writer Robert Hardy, making short films can “help aspiring filmmakers to drastically and quickly improve their skills, while also finding their unique artistic voice and building an audience at the same time.” Practicing “deliberately and consistently” improves one’s filmmaking capabilities (Hardy, 2016). Additionally, filmmaking can be accomplished even with lower resources; in fact, Hardy argues: “if you’re able to channel your restrictions and limitations into creativity, you’re well ahead of everybody complaining they don’t have the right camera or enough money.” This suggests that something like the Queen’s Film Production Club can help filmmakers at Queen’s become better at their craft.  

 

By obtaining photos from the Queen’s Film Production Club itself, our research also included an element of photovoice - “the process by which people can identify, represent and enhance their community through specific photographic technique” (Wang & Burris, 1997). This was effective as it allowed us to “furnish evidence” and provided a “participatory means of sharing expertise and knowledge” (Wang & Burris, 1997). The photos they chose to provide indicate the kind of work they engage in during their workshops; for example, their lighting workshop is reflected in some of the photos. This suggests that a certain degree of experimentation and exploration exists in the club, and since the workshop was led by an alumni, it also indicates the role of guest artists to the club.

 

Our research also indicates that several rituals exist within the Film Production Club; these are prescribed formal behaviors that members of the club regularly engage in. For example, every year the club has a “Pitch Night” in order to determine possible film projects for the school year. That being said, much of the club is not prescribed; workshops every week differ in subject matter and different members might work on different aspects of film production within their projects. This flexibility appears to be beneficial, as it allows students to further develop skills they are most interested in or wish to learn more about, while still getting a general overview of different film production roles.

 

The Film Production Club also offers a benefit to a student filmmaker by creating a space that incorporates individuals with different forms of subjectivity and cultural agency. Our research revealed that the club accepts members from all areas of study at Queen’s, years of study, and regularly includes the participation of exchange students. This demonstrates the diversity within the club in age, experience, cultural background and interests. As an artist, a filmmaker can benefit from being surrounded by people of different backgrounds who possess different perspectives, experiences, feelings and desires - subjectivities. The work produced by teams of people with these differences can potentially be richer and offer more possibilities than a film produced by a lone filmmaker. For instance, a queer student in the club possesses queer subjectivity and could provide this perspective to the writing of a film script in a way that a non-queer student would not be able to. Additionally, the club is made up of students from different cultural backgrounds, and their cultural agency - how they act within the group and construct their identity - will impact the identities represented within the films produced as well. In Queen’s classes, students are often asked to create films on their own; therefore, they lose the opportunity to collaborate with others who have different views and experiences; consequently, their work might not be reflective of other perspectives and therefore may not reach the same level of complexity and depth.