We recently sat down with the HMSS Assistant Instructor, Jalon Blue, to talk about his love for film and photography, his favorite movie, and more:
What do you do when you’re not teaching at HMSS?
When I am not teaching at HMSS, I am at Hiram College. I’m in my third year, majoring in film and photography. In my free time, I am usually practicing my photography skills or hanging out with friends and family.
When did you become interested in photography and film?
I became interested in film during my sophomore year in high school when we had career tech day at Cleveland Heights High School. I saw the film booth and it grabbed my attention, and I have been in love with the art form ever since! I became interested in photography during my sophomore year of college when I took my first photography class and loved it.
What are the three essential characteristics of a successful HMSS filmmaker?
In my view, the three essential characteristics of a successful filmmaker are adaptability, willpower, and creativity. Many unplanned things can happen on set – from unexpected weather to actors being sick – and being adaptable is necessary when this happens. For willpower, it is crucial that you have the drive to motivate yourself through hard tasks like shooting a scene 100 times or editing two shots to sync together perfectly. Finally, creativity is absolutely important in general because it helps you to get your thoughts out in a unique way.
Filmmaking, storytelling, acting: which is the most important for a good film and why?
To me what’s most important in making a good film is storytelling. You can have all the flash effects, CGI, camera angles, and great actors in the world but if there isn’t a good story behind the film, people won’t be interested in it or may even dislike it. Storytelling is really how you captivate an audience: especially during the crucial first 20 minutes of a film where you get your story rolling and people hooked.
What’s your favorite movie and why?
Asking someone who is a filmmaker or loves movies “what’s your favorite movie?” is asking for a very long conversation where the first half is spent trying to figure out what movie is in fact their favorite! It’s a very hard question to answer, but I would have to say my favorite movie is Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee, because it speaks true to the social injustices African Americans are still going through.