Brett Weiner is a senior film student at The University of Tampa. His talent has won him an award for ‘best cinematography’ at the Black Box Film Festival at the end of the Spring 2019 semester. In the following interview, Weiner talks about the film program at UT, the importance of film, and its application across industries.
Q: What do you think the strengths of the film program are?
It’s a very tight-knit group; everyone knows each other and it provides a strong sense of community,. It’s easy to meet other people and get all the help you need on certain projects.
Q: Last semester, In Absentia, a student film you worked on, won a couple awards at the Black Box screening, including your award for cinematography, how does that motivate you for future films?
Black Box is a good way to get your work shown around campus. I wouldn’t use it as a metric for actual success but it’s definitely a good feeling to be recognized for the work that you do. It helped me realize that even though I was the person given the award for cinematography that it’s a collaboration with other people. I didn’t do every single thing as far as the lighting or the cinematography goes. I had help and it’s more a of team assignment than anything else and Black Box is where I learned that a long time ago.
Q: What do you think film and the film industry teaches us?
It’s more of a cultural thing that films teach people. For example, films made in the Soviet Union pre-1991 all have their own set of teachings that some may call propaganda and some may call art. They teach their people what the communist ideology represents and that’s the propaganda part of it; it’s supposed to teach people how the government wants them to think. Even in America there’s no shortage of propaganda because Hollywood teaches people to think what they want them to think. I’ve only really noticed that in smaller scale industries and the independent film industry, that it’s less of a propaganda firm and more of an art firm. Film can teach people a variety of things because each filmmaker is different; they each have their own perspective. I wouldn’t say there’s a singular thing that film could teach people besides technique and the technology of it all. I wouldn’t say there’s a single cultural phenomenon that is attributed to film solely; film is a part of culture I believe.
Q: Were you always a behind the scenes kind of person who likes working in small groups?
I wasn’t always behind the scenes. When I was really young, I was very performative and I would not stop talking. I had to be around people constantly; I was very needy. After I moved to Florida in 2012, it set off a chain reaction which led to a depressive high school chapter of my life and I think that’s changed me for the better. Also, being in a tight-knit group isn’t always good for you, because should you make a mistake word gets around quickly and should you have any falling out with anyone it could look bad for both of you. I’ve seen it happen before which is why tight-knit groups can get claustrophobic. Seeing the same faces every day and hardly seeing anyone new can be maddening.
Q: What do you not like about film or the film industry?
Something that’s just not for me in the film industry is the behind-the-scenes administrative work and producing; I’m not much of a director. I don’t necessarily dislike that part, it just isn’t for me. The thing I actually don’t like about film or the film industry is that it’s extremely corrupt because there’s more people than jobs. It’s competitive and it often forces you or others to throw friends under the bus in favor of a job. It also leads to other unnecessary things such as the sexual harassment scandals that occur and granted, that’s not unique to the film industry, but it’s not something I’m proud to be a part of. I don’t want to have myself connected to those people because it only hurts yourself and it’s not something I enjoy being a part of. For me that’s the trade off, it should never be a trade-off, because ideally the people who are the best at their job are good people but that’s not always the case. You have to work with who you have to work with and that’s how you learn to use people to your advantage to throw people under the bus should they ever deserve it. That’s universal across all industries but it’s in film and I’m not of fan of that.
Interview has been edited for brevity, clarity, and style.
