The three most useful techniques I learned in this course are coordinated cutting, eye line matching, and the rule of thirds. Matched cutting creates the possibility of creating films where audiences forget they were watching a film and don't remember it. Eye line matching allows for the ability to transition smoothly between cuts. The rule of thirds creates visually pleasing shots that draw in viewers. These are the three tools that I use the most and that I follow rigorously. The match cut is undoubtedly the most useful and basic filmmaking technique. Correspondence cutting was first introduced to our classroom in An Unseen Enemy by DW Griffith. As one of the older sisters led her younger sister from room to room, the camera cut to while they were still in the same position. Coordinated cutting creates clean cuts between scenes and prevents distracting the audience with discrepancies between each shot. If things changed and characters were “teleported” between shots, the audience would be reminded that what they are watching isn't real. The second most useful technique I learned in this course is eye matching. Eyeline matching was also introduced for the first time in An Unseen Enemy. When the camera switches from a shot of the older sister looking into a corn field to the younger sister and her boyfriend, the younger sister is in the first shot's field of view. Using this technique, a director can tell the audience where a character is looking. If a character was looking in one direction, but what they were looking at was not in their field of vision, the audience would be confused as to what was happening and what they were looking at. The third most useful technique I learned was the rule of thirds. One of the films in which it was used is Lang's M. When Beckert sees the girl in the window, he is framed by knives in the middle of the paper...no thought, but I've followed the basic lessons easier than this. I enjoyed the unexpected challenge and analysis of the film, although the continuity errors in the film drive me crazy now. I also see cinema as something more than just entertainment, it can be a means of escape or a way to remind someone of the reality we want to forget. The one thing I expected from the course but didn't get is a more technical aspect of filmmaking, rather than simply filmmaking as art. I was expecting some of the working mechanisms of cameras or similar things, like in photography lessons. The class explored some technical aspects as I went through the history of cinema, but it helped me see it as more of an art than I previously thought. I would also have liked more on how to construct the shots; adding depth, framing, composition. Overall I enjoyed the lesson and challenge, and hope to learn more in Film 1 next year.