Interview with Samuel Harris
Samuel Harris is very passionate about film and music and eventually wants to make his own films. He is from a small town in Wiltshire and grew up listening to a wide range of music which largely influence his cinematic tastes.
CARMEN: Could you start by telling us your name and what you are studying?
SAMUEL: My name is Samuel Harris and I am studying Film, Television and Digital Productions.
SAMUEL: What is your essay about and what interested you in the topic?
SAMUEL: My essay is about independent film, the relationship between independent cinema and Hollywood, and how ‘My Own Private Idaho’ fits into Shetty B. Ortner’s argument.
CARMEN: How did you go about choosing this question out of the ones that were given to you? What made the question stand out?
SAMUEL: What stood out was the idea of certain filmmakers making films that go against Hollywood rather than just being different Hollywood films. I think that's just an interesting concept. As someone that's interested in filmmaking myself, I think it's quite an interesting debate that's quite big in the film world. Also, I really, really like ‘My Own Private Idaho’. I think it’s a great film.
CARMEN: When it comes to essay writing, a massive part of it is preparing. So how do you personally go about of planning, researching and drafting your writing?
SAMUEL: I try to pick a question that I care about, something that I'm most passionate about, and then from that point on, I'll do whatever reading I can, especially if in this case, it's about a piece of writing. I take that piece of writing, get to grips with what the argument is, and then from there on, I do several readings to try and get as many references as possible, and I screenshot those and put them all into a big document. Then I work out what quotes I want and use those to structure my essay. I really plan my argument and the structure out beforehand. I try and establish the arguments, in this case, establish an independent film, and then from there on try and find arguments for and against and then conclude it.
CARMEN: When you go into doing your research, do you already know ‘this is the argument I want to make, this is exactly what I'm looking for’ or do you feel you go into it a little bit more open minded and base your argument more around the research that you find?
SAMUEL: Well, I definitely will go into it with opinions, but I won't have a fully formed idea unless I do all the reading and that’s what really helped. Sometimes, if I'm not 100% sure, then the facts are there to help me.
CARMEN: With this essay, were there any particular books or articles that you found useful?
SAMUEL: Obviously Ornter’s piece was essential reading, but Jeff King's ‘American Independent Cinema’ also came in very helpful. I think it's mentioned in Ortner’s piece and was a step back from Ortner’s piece. It was establishing the discussion. Yannis Tzioumakis‘American Independent Cinema: An Introduction’ was also useful for getting the counter argument and the flip side of the coin.
CARMEN: As you said before, your essay is based on a statement that is made by Ornter and it's really specifically targeted. What was the process of responding to this kind of question in comparison to writing more open ended essays based more on your opinion rather than having to compare your opinion and your research to a statement that someone else has made?
SAMUEL: I think it just means that you have to put a lot of emphasis both in planning and writing the essay on analyzing the facts. In some ways I find it easier for that reason. However, you have to look at other academics to get a really broad understanding of the subject because it's a literal thing rather than, like you said, an opinionated thing. As I said earlier, you want to try and get different ends of the argument and then also because it's in reference to ‘My Own Private Idaho’ you want to have a very clear look at the film itself and how certain aspects of the film will fit into the argument. In this case, there is a lot.
CARMEN: With this essay question, you were given a specific film to look at: ‘My Own Private Idaho’. How do you tend to go about preparing to write about a very specific film?
SAMUEL: The first thing I do is obviously watch the film at least once to just to have the raw experience of watching the film. I think that's really important but then I think you should watch it again with a new lens given the writing that you've done beforehand and really, really pick out key scenes that support or go against your argument.
CARMEN: I'm going to assume you've written a couple of essays about films by now. Do you tend to prefer to write essays where you're given a specific film to analyze and write about or do you prefer being able to find your own films to analyze and research and form an answer about?
SAMUEL: I think I prefer choosing because I can really make it personal, and make it something I really care about and you don't always get that if it's a film that's chosen for you. But at the same time it does come with challenges because you might really want to use a certain film but it's not quite the film that works in the scenario.
CARMEN: And in this scenario, do you feel like My Own Private Idaho was the best film for this question or do you feel like you would have liked the option to have a look and see if there were any other films that suited the question?
SAMUEL: To be honest, I think it is a very good option. I think it fits the question really well because it's quite a unique film, not just in the film itself, but in its production. It gives you a lot of talking points.
CARMEN: We've spoken quite a bit about your process of writing essays, all the positive side of things but when it comes to writing essays, it's never going to be easy, there are going to be challenges throughout. So what challenges did you face while writing this essay and how did you go about overcoming them?
SAMUEL: I found it quite hard to find a range of arguments because I think amongst a lot of academics in the domain of film are quite anti-Hollywood and there’s a lot of that kind of writing so it was quite hard to find something that went against Orter’s piece. When I did eventually find it in Tzioumakis’ piece it was a relief because I was able to get that other side of the story. Generally, it was just a good piece too.
CARMEN: How did you go about finding that piece? Did you go through Library Search or did you look elsewhere?
SAMUEL: I did it online. I try and find a network of pieces of writing. When something is referenced in a piece of writing, I'll then go and find that piece and then from there on you can kind of find a chain.
CARMEN: When it comes to essay writing I find with each essay you have your challenges like we've discussed, but I feel like you always gain something different from writing each essay, whether it's learning something new or learning a new way of researching for an essay etc. What do you feel you've gained from writing this particular essay?
SAMUEL: I feel like I've gained more confidence in planning and how important that is to my process. Obviously, it's different for everyone, but I tend to be someone that wants to plan a lot beforehand and sometimes with time management that can go not so well if you're rushing planning. This essay really helped me to work out what kind of time I need and let me plan accordingly. Also, the question gave me a lot more appreciation for filmmakers that want to tell the stories that Hollywood won’t give the opportunity to. It [independent cinema] is very unique in comparison to Hollywood. It’s given me a new kind of appreciation for filmmakers outside of that world.
CARMEN: Looking back on your first year, what do you feel would be your key advice or your top tips for students starting out on writing in the media arts department.
SAMUEL: I’d say as someone that before coming to university didn’t do a lot of essay writing of this level, references at first were very daunting. A lot of people think ‘oh no, I have to get my reference in’ but I think people should rely on their references a bit more and let them guide you through your essay. Let them help you rather than set you back and feel like a chore; they can be very useful.