Adventures in Filmmaking: The Saga Continues

So a new semester begins and I am now enrolled in Video Production. Say goodbye to my beloved film, it is all digital, all the time from here on out. I am slightly saddened by that fact, but happy at the same time because at least I get to used a DVD this time rather than those horrid tapes which caused the biggest headache known to mankind called time code breaks. (If you don't know what those are you cannot possibly understand, just know that they are the bane of a filmmaker's existence.)
I am a bit scared for this semester because everyone in my class seems really intense so far. As I move up in the hierarchy of film classes we weed out the people only taking the classes for an "ascetics" credit. I am now in the upper 300 level for classes which means if you are taking it, you are a cinema major or minor (I'm a minor). The way the people were talking the first day made me worried that everyone thinks the are God's gift to filmmaking. Already I had to sit through a lecture where people talked about their directorial aspirations. Some people after class were talking about how much they hated the new The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I'm all for debating films, it's what I live for, but at the same time it was the pretentious way they were going about it. The way they dripped film snobbery. And I consider myself kind-of-a-movie-snob (see what I did there?), but at the same time, I'm not that bad. "Shot for shot it's the same as the Swedish one" and "Rooney Mara does not deserve the Oscar" are only some of the things I heard. It was all I could do to stop myself from jumping into the conversation (they were walking away from me anyway). I personally loved both the American and Swedish version and though Rooney Mara was well deserving of the Oscar, but that's besides the point. I am easily intimidated by real film snob types so I think this class will be good to solidify my opinions and hopefully give voice to them.
In terms of actual learning, I believe I will become more proficient in Final Cut Pro. My professor actually speaks English and talked about teaching us how to use it through a series of workshops. I also think that in general he will be more concerned with the technique. At least I hope so. I have a creative block when it comes to filming, but I believe it comes from my lack of confidence in my own skills. I think when I know more, I will be able to experiment and find my cinematic voice.
So my goals for this semester?
1.Learn (and develop skills in) FCP.
2. Defend movies I like and not be intimidated by the wannabe directors/film snobs.  
3. Try and push myself to really think outside of the box and be creative.
4. And most importantly, have fun with my projects.
Let the games begin.