All language subtitles for MasterClass - James Cameron Teaches Filmmaking 01. Meet Your Instructor James Cameron Eng

[FOOTSTEPS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[CHEERING]

[SCRAPING]

[DIGITAL BEEPING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

JAMES CAMERON: There's a
moment when you're just a fan.

And there's a moment
when you're a filmmaker.

And the one moment can follow
the other by about 1 minute.

Because all you have to
do is pick up a camera

and start shooting something
with the intention of making

a film, and you're a filmmaker.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[GLASS SHATTERS]

[SCREECHING]

JAMES CAMERON: There's a
moment where there's no idea.

And then there's the moment
where there's the idea.

And I think of it almost the
way we assemble images and bits

of narrative in our dreams.

Maybe it's in another time.

Maybe it's in another place.

Maybe it's an entirely
different world.

It's up to the filmmaker
to create that little bit

of an alternate reality.

And then we get to
feel kind of alive

through a completely
different set of eyes.

That's an amazing thing.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

I'm James Cameron.

And this is my MasterClass.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

NARRATOR: Whatever you have
imagined in your wildest dreams

now becomes a visual reality.

JAMES CAMERON: I
had loved films.

I always loved films.

Like, I remember particularly
when I was in the third grade,

I saw "Mysterious Island,"
a Ray Harryhausen film.

And it had lots of wonderful
sort of little boy fantasy

adventure stuff in it.

I came back, and I started
drawing comics, comics

about "Mysterious Island."

But it wasn't the same story.

I made up my own creatures.

And I made up my own scenarios.

And I started to
think in a frame.

And I started to think--
well, I didn't realize it--

but I was doing wide shots.

And I was doing close-ups. And
I was doing reverse angles.

And I was doing all the
things that a filmmaker does.

So I was doing all those
things, graphically, on paper.

But it didn't translate
to I want to make movies.

So cut to years later, I'm very
excited to see this new film

that's just come out--
this is in 1968--

called "2001-- a Space Odyssey."

Because I love space.

I love science fiction.

I'm an avid reader
of science fiction.

And it looked from the
images like it was really

a quantum leap in terms of
the type of space imagery

that I was going to experience.

So I went and saw that film.

And it had such a visceral
impact on me that by the end,

I was probably almost
alone in the movie

theater for some reason.

It was a matinee during the day.

I stumbled out of the theater,
I sat down on the curb,

and I threw up.

Not because I didn't
like the film,

but because when the
stargate sequence began,

I felt like I was falling down
an infinite corridor of light.

And I got airsick.

I was so subjectively
present for that film.

And when I see
the film now, it's

a very hard film to be
subjectively present for.

It's a very cold and
intellectual film.

But I loved it visually.

And it was the first
time I really--

at the age of 14--

made the connection that a
movie can be a piece of art

and can be an experience.

And it was the first time
I noticed film music.

Because obviously,
images and music

went hand in glove in
that film in a really kind

of almost unprecedented way.

So I started getting really
enthusiastic about how

did they do that.

And it just so
happened that that

was one of the first films
that had a book, a companion

book, that was published
and widely available,

"The Making of 2001."

And I remember it was written
by a guy named Jerome Agel.

And I got the book.

And I read it cover to cover.

And I understood
about a quarter of it.

So I read it again.

And I started making notes.

And I started thinking about,
well, how could I do that.

So I got my dad's
Super 8 camera.

And I'd take a sheet of glass,
and I mount a model on it.

I'd buy a kit model of one of
the spacecraft from the film.

And I put it together.

And I'd glue it onto the glass.

And I'd put a piece of
black velvet behind it.

And I'd put a light on it.

And it looked terrible,
because the model

reflected in the glass.

Then I thought, well,
what if I take the model

and put it behind the glass
and glue it on from this side

and then put, like, one
little tiny piece of detail

over where that glue spot
is, and then light it.

And I won't see the reflection.

Now, all of a sudden, I'm
with my Super 8 camera,

I'm making a spaceship
fly through space.

Well, I don't think I ever
looked back from that point.

I always think of it
as the door is going

to open for a split second.

Whether you choose to
jump through it or not,

it's not going to be
there for very long.

Another door will come
along sooner or later,

if you stay at it.

When you jump through that
door, and you say, I'm here.

I'm ready to do this.

You have to have prepared for
that moment for literally years

by being a sponge,
by being curious,

by absorbing everything that
you can to prepare yourself

for that moment.

I think every filmmaker
stands essentially

on the shoulders of the
filmmakers that went before.

We see what they've done.

We react to it.

It's like, that was interesting.

And then we start to
create our own aesthetic.

And every individual
will take what's

been done by other
filmmakers and filter it

through their own lens, their
own subjective experience,

their own opinions
about the world.

And it'll come back
in a different form.

And so it's endlessly renewing
and endlessly invigorating.

And I think it's the
duty of filmmakers

that have been
down the road ways

to turn around and
say, all right, there's

a landmine over here.

There's a landmine over here.

Don't step on it.

You know, if I can't do that
after 40 years in the business,

then I'm not giving back enough.

So why not share that?

So in this class, I'm going to
talk about what I've learned.

And one of the
things I've learned

is that you never
learn everything.

And it's a constant
process of learning.

So you're constantly
humble before the craft.

And you're constantly learning
from other filmmakers.

If I had known when I started
out what I know now, of course,

I would have done a lot
of things differently.

But I think my films
would have been slightly

different, but not that much.

What I would have
done differently

is I would have respected all
the crafts people around me

more.

I would have learned the
leadership lessons earlier.

And I think that that's
something hopefully

that I can impart
in this class--

the importance of the
role of leader of a group.

It's not dictator.

And it's a very
collaborative medium.

And your film will benefit
from that collaboration.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

I think the important
thing to remember

is you can make a great
film without a huge budget.

[LASERS BLASTING]

I've done low-budget films.

[EXPLOSIONS]

I've also done very
high-budget films.

[ROBOTIC MOVEMENT]

I've been lucky enough
to be able to do that.

[WINGS FLUTTERING]

But you can definitely
optimize your budget.

And there are ways to do that.

And I'll share with you
what I know about some

of the tricks of the trade.

And I wanted to share
what's been learned.

Because we had to
learn it the hard way.

And there's no
reason why I can't

share what's been learned in
a way that can benefit you,

as an up and coming filmmaker.

And hopefully then you'll go
ahead, and you'll innovate,

and you'll do things.

And I'll follow your work,
see what you've done,

and maybe learn from you.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]