San Joaquin Delta College Gets Naked

Mike speaking to Will Story’s media students at San Joaquin Delta College. (Photo by Orlando Jose.)

My book Naked Filmmaking is now being used in a way that I never expected — in the classroom. The Radio-Television-Film-Multimedia Department at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, is suggesting it as worth reading to their film students.

Media instructor Will Story with me at the end of the talk with the students. (Hope he was not reconsidering.) (Photo by Orlando Jose.)

Several blog posts back at the beginning of summer, I told about participating at MediaFest 2010 at San Joaquin Delta and participated in a panel discussion on careers in film and television and the future of filmmaking, where I met media instructor Will Story.

Mike Carroll speaking to the media students at San Joaquin Delta College.

Will bought several copies of Naked Filmmaking and asked me to speak to the media students at the beginning of the new fall semester about my filmmaking and career as a TV news cameraman and multimedia reporter.

Telling the audience the biggest reason for making your first no-budget films as a one-man “Naked Filmmaker” — (Photos by Orlando Jose.)

I was scheduled to speak to two of the morning classes that run from 10-11 and 11-12. Classes were open to all of the media students. I always try to run my talks as open discussions where people can put questions to me at any time so that I can make the best of their time by addressing what they want to know. (To paraphrase Professor Kingsfield in The Paper Chase I employ the Socratic method of questions and answers.

Telling the audience the biggest reason for making your first no-budget films as a one-man “Naked Filmmaker” — (Photos by Orlando Jose.)

At noon I wrapped, but at Will Story’s request I stayed on to continue answering any questions the students still had. The question and answers continued on for more than another hour — far past one in the afternoon.

I have to commend the San Joaquin Delta media students. Many of them were there when I got arrived and stayed the whole time. A few already had copies of Naked Filmmaking with postits to pages they wanted to talk about regarding their own film projects, which was highly flattering. Their enthusiasm for film and media are strong and eager to begin getting their visions into the camera.

Shaking hands with one of the students. I look forward to going back later in the school year and seeing some of the films that they make. (Photo by Orlando Jose.)

This was my first opportunity at introducing my method of one-man filmmaking to an academic audience. Bonnie and I now want to explore other schools to spread the word of the values of one-man filmmaking and doing it yourself.

Victor Rhodes has written an interview article on me for the San Joaquin Delta’s student paper The Collegian.

A new experience — book signing. I never once considered having to sign my name in a copy of my book when I was writing it. (Photo by Orlando Jose.)

An extended version of that interview can be read on this site on THE FILMMAKERS tab under the heading FILMMAKER F.A.Q.

Thank you Will Story and the students of the media department at San Joaquin Delta. I hope you’ll invite me back when your filmmaking projects are wrapped up and I can see your work.

Autographed book to the photographer of these photos — Orlando Jose. I hope that doesn’t bring down the value of the book! (Photo by Orlando Jose.)

Describing making a feature-length film as a filmmaker-without-a-crew. That’s Kelly Patton Nixon on the iMac screen after playing a scene from “Nightbeats.” The boom operator is recording my incoherent ramblings for the media department’s website. (Photo by Orlando Jose.)