This is the End

We have one more class meeting, our final. Also known as film festival woo!!

Our film is very close to being done, just a little editing and sound and we've got ourselves a top- notch production. All in all I am pretty satisfied with the film making experience. I can't say that it is what I expected. Because honestly, I didn't know what to expect. But now that's it's almost over, I guess it is what I expected.

This is the end, my only friend, the end.

I haven't been involved in the editing process, I'm not sure how the other groups organized themselves but ours pretty much let every person do their own thing as far as their job was concerned. So it will be interesting to see our film when it hits the big screen, to see how someone interpreted the footage and put it together. I'm really not worried about it because I trust my teammates. But I can see how letting someone else take over the process can be a stressful time. It's like handing over your child to let someone else raise, you have so many intentions that you want to make sure are carried out!

Film festival will be my last final, a good one to end the semester on I believe. After that, it is sleepover time in the lobby!

This might possibly be my last post. I guess we will just see how that plays out.

Signing off.

J.

Digitize Me, Cap'n

We did it! We finally got our footage digitized. It was a pretty smooth sailing process thanks to Eric, who pretty much did it for us. Bryan and Jordan can now start to edit our film, this is very exciting!

In other news, things that you shout that start with "s" include: "Shit fire," "Say What!" "Shit" and "Slut!" All of which will earn you a point in the game of scattegories if not used more than once and not used for any of the other 11 categories.

Things were slow moving at the beginning of last class, but thanks to all the games the Forum hosts, we were able to pick up the pace and get out of there a little quicker than what it may have originally seemed.

This next class meeting should be pretty exciting, hopefully there will be some cohesive footage that we can take a look at and oogle over. While I would much rather go into more detail about the riveting Scattegories game me and my classmates played, I really need to write that 15 page research paper that unfortunately will not write itself.

Productivity

Have team meetings been productive? Yes and No.

Yes. Because I think our team feels confident with the work that has been done so far and I don't think we are stressing out too much about what is left to do.

No. Because we haven't done anything since we filmed the first week of April. Why? Because we didn't have the right cords in our camera bag, making it a little difficult (impossible) to digitize our footage. Two weeks ago the cords were plum just not there. Last week, we were unable to digitize because the camera was checked out to another group (during class time?) and therefore we couldn't take the 15 minutes to digitize. This week will hopefully prove a bit more successful.

Am I stressed out about it? Yes and No.

Yes. Because this film is a big part of our grades. And I want our film to be entertaining and well done for others to enjoy at our film festival.

No. Because technically my work for this film is done. That doesn't mean I won't make myself available for ideas or advice about the other steps for our film production. But our footage is captured. Unless we need to get some shots that were missed or didn't come out right, I really don't feel burdened by the completion of our film.

Am I excited? HELL YES!

Adaptation

Last week's blog post got away from me. I will do my best to recount my experience two classes ago.

We watched the movie Adaptation. I was really excited to hear that Meryl Streep played a leading role in the movie, I just love her! Before the movie actually started I was trying to figure out just what is was about Meryl that I liked so much. I was thinking of all the movies I've seen her in, especially Doubt, It's Complicated, and the Devil Wears Prada (ok, so maybe those are the only movies of hers I've seen, but it's enough to justify a liking), and I was trying to pin IT down. After a few more moments of deliberation, I decided that I like Meryl Street because she can play a variety of roles. I LOVED her Jane character in It's Complicated, I told myself, “I wanna be just like her when I grow up (old!).” And then I saw Doubt, and I said “I don't wanna be like her when I grow up...” But I loved Sister Aloysius Beauvier anyway. Meryl Streep is one of those characters that you just want to cheer for in a movie, kind of like Owen Wilson (who doesn't love Owen?). And it's when she plays a character that shouldn't necessarily be cheered for that you are able to take a step back and say, “Wow, Meryl, you've really outdone yourself this time!” Because she is able to successfully make her audience forget all the fun-loving, fantastic roles she played in the past and experience the character for what she is really worth.

All of that being said, I thought Meryl Street played a wonderful liar, but one who was desperately in need of finding a passion (insert her relationship with John Laroche here). But even after she found “it” she still didn't seem truly happy. She was hiding things from her husband, lying at work, probably spending lots of money on plane tickets to Florida, and just all around not being “herself.” Or maybe she needed to do all these things in order to truly find herself, who knows. I need to move on to other things.

Sorry, Charlie, for talking about Susan Orlean first, I just have more to say about Meryl than I do Nicolas....

Charlie seemed to have been in quite a predicament. But I honestly could not relate with him. I don't think I could be patient with him like Donald was. I was frustrated with his frustration because I felt like if I were in his position I could just write the dang screen play, you know? But I guess that's why I'm not a screen writer, I would probably produce crap screen plays. I was think I was a little distracted as well because as soon as John Laroche's character was introduced, all I could think about was how much he reminded me of one of my friends. I was too preoccupied with thoughts of similarities to really care for Charlie's situation. It's just as well, because the movie ended gloriously with sex, nudity, chasing, alligators, death, and all those other things that make movies “great.”

I haven't decided how I feel about the movie yet, I just know I'm going to tell my John Laroche friend to watch it because that will be funny.

Dreams of Spring Break

Last class was a blur. Partly because me trying to remember it now is like trying to remember your 3^rd birthday party, it was a very long time ago and I was too excited about the presents that awaited me to pay attention to anything else. Spring break was whispering “come hither” in my ear and I just couldn't sit still. I guess that is why our class notes are posted for all to see :)

So now that I've reviewed last class' notes, I can briefly discuss my experience that Thursday night, so very long ago...

Cory presented to us his Honors Thesis film that he has been working on for quite some time now. I thought the actual filming of it (the cinematography I guess you would call it) was great. It looked good. There were a few things story-wise that bothered me. The “break-up” scene didn't feel real to me, whereas everything else in the film did. The confusion of that scene followed by what seemed like an abrupt ending just threw me for a loop. I think watching it again might help make some more connections. But overall, knowing what I know now about film-making, I thought it was absolutely incredible! Congratulations Cory for all your hard work!

We watched a few clips that highlighted the significance of editing. You can get the shots for a particular story line but if it isn't editing with that same story line in mind, you could have a whole different film! It's like the man looking at the woman in a bikini smiling, ha.

Well, it's done. Our first round of filming is done. I really can't believe we pulled it off. I mean, I can, because I have a great team who has worked really hard to pull things together, but it was definitely more than a mo hill to climb... This is the part in the project where I can relax for a few weeks, let the other members do their thing, and I can in the bleachers and just watch and perhaps make a few comments :) It feels good.

Tips for other groups:

-Scheduling was biggest problem, try not to depend on more than 2 or 3 main actors, unless the actors are in your group and you know you can rely on them, everybody is super busy with finals and if you think your friend would love to be in a movie, I'm sure they would, but it's a huge time commitment.

-We didn't necessarily need the editor and sound editor while filming. Let them put in their two cents when making script and storyboard and then director and camera-operator can do their job more efficiently.

-It helps to map out shots (take camera to the places you are planning on filming) to make sure it's what you want and everything fits how you imagined it

I think that's all I got.

I hope everyone enjoyed their break, I know I sure did!

Reality Bites

I don't think I like film noir. I don't like it for all the reasons that it exists. Because I like happy endings and feeling good about movies. I like looking up to someone in a film and cheering them on as they fight crime or win the girl/boy. I don't think this means I am any less in tune with my own reality.

I understand that happy endings aren't always the reality, but I think they are a glimmer of hope for those stuck in shit-town. For example, Juno gets bored, has some sexual fun, and winds up pregnant (I'm sure there are thousands of real case scenarios such as this). Juno has a happy ending. Being pregnant almost seems fun because she treats herself to supersuper sized blue slushies and rock'n'roll at that couple who wants her baby's house. While most of us know this is not the reality, the happy ending of the “everything working out” could give hope to the preggo teenager stuck in that kind of a situation. False hope or not, it's hope.

With that said, The Player was quite the film-noir experience. I was definitely uncomfortable the entire time I was watching it. I was squirmish and really couldn't hold my focus on the film. I don't know if that was just my mood Thursday night or if it was the movie itself making me feel that way. Griffin was straight up creepy. What did Bonnie see in him anyway? Ja;lskvn I just get chills thinking about it.

The film definitely paints a nasty picture of Hollywood. I'm pretty sure the security guy knew that Griffin killed the writer, but for the sake of keeping the peace, kept his mouth shut and helped Griffin keep things quiet and controlled. I don't even want to know the reality that this film is trying to portray. It's scary.

We've starting filming! (and it's very, very difficult) We've already had to reschedule filming twice for conflicts and miscommunications. It's a very stressful process and it is definitely tearing me out of my comfort zone. However, my teammates and I are working very well together and seem to be on the same page. Our actors are flexible and patient (so far!). While I'm beginning to enjoy the process, I will be glad when it's over.

Nervous, Excited, Nervous

I was nervous at first, but after learning a little more technique and talking with my small group about our small film, I was excited. But now that the deadline is quickly approaching, I'm NERVOUS!

Im in team 2 and our footage is due the Thursday we get back from Spring Break. That doesn't give us but 4 days to film, unless we check the camera out before Spring Break. Our team was planning on trying to do all (or most) of our filming on a Saturday. I'll be gone Friday-Sunday of Spring Break which means, that this Saturday, March 13 might just be our filming day. That gives us, as of today, 4 days to get our actors and location filming permits together. I'm just a little stressed about it...

Despite my nervousness, I am still very eager to film and see what our group is able to produce. Will it be like Blow Out and be exactly what the director had in mind? Will we be able to reproduce the shots we have in our head and in our storyboard? Will our audience be as convinced as we intend them to be? I. CAN'T. WAIT.

I am also very eager to find out how we did on our box o' footage assignments. It will be great to get some feedback on those that we will be able to apply to our short film.

Having a regulations like location agreements and sound copyrights is kind of unnerving. I really don't want to get sued and this is complicated shit. I know we need to cover all the bases and make sure we are legal in the world of filming and rules, but I just hope someone in our group is more confident in this area of our film than I am...

I know this post is kind of whiney, but that is how I feel at this point in the game. Until everything is lined up, I'm going to be nervous and whine. That doesn't mean I won't work to make things happen, I will just stress about it. I hope I'm not the only person in class feeling this way!

I Didn't Hire Her For Her Scream, Jack...

The movie Blow Out was definitely a change of scenery from Sunset Boulevard and Singing in the Rain. It was what some might call, “more exciting.” It had sex, nudity, action, cursing, and all those other intriguing elements that make movies entertaining. While it was of more modern subjects and situations, there were many shout outs to historical film features.

One of the things that struck me the most about the film was the plot. There were many important details and important facts revealed throughout the story that answered questions that arose at the beginning of the film. For example, why was Sally in the car when the tire blew out? Story lines like this that gradually answer questions and reveal a more detailed story are great for pulling audiences in and keeping their attention. The film makers did a good job of this and keeping the story moving so as to not lose the audience. The film was action packed, with suspense and anxiety hanging on every scene. It was nice to see a movie that didn't necessarily have “a happy ending.” Sally escaped death once but didn't quite make it the next time. John Travolta’s character did get what he wanted in the end, “a real scream.”

It was really interesting to watch a scene from Blow Up, and compare the two films. Both of the protagonists in the films started off doing trivial things such as taking pictures in the park or collecting sound clips for a movie. However, in both cases after detailed analysis of the photographs and sound, the protagonists believed they had stumbled upon something fishy. In class discussion we mentioned the fact that the movie Blow Out stole a lot of ideas from other films and directors. There are only so many original ideas, and why reinvent the wheel? If Alfred Hitchcock was able to create a unnerving scene by dollying in and zooming out, why not just mimic it?

Blow Out was a great film to watch as we gear up to make our own short films. It had a lot of really great shots in it like the vertigo effect, 360º rotation, shots from ceiling, chase scene (in the jeep) etc. It will be interesting to see how the small groups are able to incorporate some of these ideas into their own films.

The Planning Begins...

Our big assignment for this class is to produce a short 2-5 minute film implementing all the skills and techniques presented through other movies and workshops. The whole class has been divided into 6 small groups with 4-5 people. Every group has a different genre of film—drama, action, romance, comedy, horror, and experimental. While the genres are different, every group's film must include a clown/mime, the phrases “Why is this happening to me today of all days?” and "It would be better for us not to talk about that,” and guitar, cheese grater, and skull props.

My group's film genre is action. I am very excited.

As camera operator, I missed out on most of the team discussion from last night's workshop. Camera operators were busy with their test footage assignment while the rest of their team members brainstormed ideas. Imran filled me in: we'll definitely have a chase scene. Action film—chase scene, enough said.

I can see many many things being possible for our short film. I'm glad our team has only four people, I think it will be easy to better incorporate everyone's ideas than if we had even one more person. Everyone has a specific role. Imran=director, Bryan=editor, Jordan=sound operator, myself=camera operator. I think Jordan and Imran are going to tackle most of the script with ideas and suggestions from Bryan and myself. I think this is a very strong team. But I suppose I should wait and see how things actually play out before I go tootin' our horn...

After the workshop last class I am doubly excited as well as nervous about this film assignment. Every class opens so many new doors of opportunity as far as creativity and inspiration are concerned; it's amazing and overwhelming at the same time.

My ambition, I'm not sure? Well, I guess something on par with StarWars or the like. A condensed StarWars might actually be pretty cool.

If you've seen one, you've seen them all

The movie, Singin' in the Rain, was a sensation! It was vibrant, energetic, and all around intriguing. I especially loved the character Cosmo, he was extremely entertaining. His slap-stick routine to "make 'em laugh" was hysterical--it really made the film for me. Something that struck me while watching this film was the difference between Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard) and Don, Lina, Kathy, and Cosmo (Singin' in the Rain) playing to the camera. All of the characters were essentially entertainers, but Norma's self-indulged ignorance looked a lot different than the others. I actually wanted to see more of the latter characters.

I don't think I've mastered the "take notice of cinematographic elements while watching film" art just yet. Or maybe Singin' in the Rain was just too exciting to not be completely enchanted with. I was only able to write one word down on my Notes page and that was "witty." It was the wit and charisma of the characters that I think really drew me in. I guess it could have been the bright colors (technicolor) or the lighting, but I didn't notice those things like I did the wit.

Maybe I am biased towards the film because I feel like we have a personal relationship. My mother used to sing the "Good Mornin'" song to me and my sister when she'd wake us up in the morning. Now that I'm in college, I still sometimes even sing it to myself when I wake up. I never knew where the song came from, and I don't think my mother did either. Hearing Kathy Seldon break into that song rocked my world. I COULD NOT BELIEVE my ears. The feeling I had was probably synonymous with a person who grew up together with this one particular friend and had to move away in the 7th grade to the other side of the country, and then 20 years later running into that friend at the neighborhood market. It was a beautiful reunion and made the film experience that much more enjoyable.

I can't wait to watch more films for two reasons:

-I may rediscover some memory that will add new meaning to my life

-By that time I might be better at analyzing cinematographic elements and can contribute to post-film disccusions

How to make film, film.

Lighting is one of the most important, and lucky for us one of the easiest, aspects of film. After the workshops, we all have a better understanding of key light, back light, and fill light. This will help to recognize different lighting techniques in films we watch from here on out and hopefully fill our heads with ideas to use for our own short films later in the semester.

Along with lighting, photography aspects such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO will help us create a one-of-a-kind film that expresses tones and themes the way we imagine it will. For example, if we wanted to focus on a particular person or object in a scene and blur out everything else, we can change our f-stop from something like f/4 to f/28. What this does is make the hole (aperture) bigger which decreases the depth of field. The smaller the depth of field, the less there is is focus. Using shutter speed and ISO we can affect how much light is let in and how sensitive the camera is to that light, respectively. The techniques become very important when trying to create a mood based on lighting.

These photography techniques along with lighting will definitely be in our reach when our small groups get to work on our short films. The photography techniques are easily controlled with the equipment we will be using and lighting is not hard to get. It will be really important that the camera person know how the different aspects of photography fit together so that the effects are filmed with the footage and the editor doesn't have to work extra hard to get the footage to say something that wasn't actually filmed. For example, it wouldn't be very fun for the editor to try and make a few minutes of footage look darker and gloomier than it currently is just because the camera person didn't know how to to it while filming. It will definitely be a lesson in team work and efficiency!

It will be fun to try and imitate some of the dramatic film noir effects that were used in Sunset Boulevard. The stark contrast of black and white with deep shadows and creative lighting really made Sunset Boulevard the uneasy yet melodramatic film that it was.

I can't wait to watch more films and get more ideas about how to make it say what you want it to say!

That's the trouble with you readers, you know all the plots!

I enjoyed watching Sunset Boulevard very much. I kept forgetting to take notes about all the cinematography and such, the discussion at the end of class made the movie 1000x more interesting (not that it wasn't before the discussion).

After class I was thinking about a lot of the things that everyone said and it occurred to me that we could have talked for hours about themes, cinematography, sound and all those other aspects of the film. Once one thing was said, five other people would realize or remember something else in the movie that meant or expressed the same idea. For example, Camille realized that when Betty and Joe were discussing one of Joe's pieces, Betty told Joe she liked the part about the teacher because it was real and heartfelt. She added on to take out the part about the psycho. The comment ended there but I kept thinking about that scene: After Betty tells Joe to take out that part about the psycho, he claims that everybody loves a psycho! Well, everybody loves Norma Desmond. At least to the point of humoring her insanity. So I just have to ask, is everything that we pointed out, whether out loud or just personally, intentional?

It will take lots and lots of practice for me to be able to watch a film and take notice of things like lighting without prompting. That's ok, I don't mind watching lots and lots of movies if it means a more comprehensive film experience.

I guess it's time now to venture on to a short film of my own. I can't promise that every little cohesive detail will be intentional, but I can promise that it will be at least 2 minutes long.

WOW.

Let me just say, a lot of shit goes into making a film, a LOT.

Art for me is personal and intimate. It is hard to fathom a work of art such as film to be created by so many different artists (script writer, director, editor, sound editor and more). If I were a scriptwriter, I'm not sure how well I would take a director "making it his own." What if my vision was lost? What if it doesn't convey the story I intended it to?

Maybe I just don't play well with others. When I have something specific in mind, I find it hard to accept others' suggestions or changes. Making a short film in class will definitely be a challenge for me, and the people who have to work with me... I apologize in advance. I will try and keep an open mind :)

I'm glad this first film assignment is individual work. I hope it will get me comfortable enough with the editing programs and concepts to be able to contribute something productive to our group film. I really am excited about the project, don't let my hesitation fool you.

So, last class was pretty long. I open this paragraph with that statement because it is the first thing that I remembered about class. It felt chaotic and the terms/concepts were definitely overwhelming. I repeat, a lot of shit goes into making a film. It's disenchanting but incredible at the same time. This box o' footage is either going to be a piece of cake or living hell, I hope the former... The StarWars and LotR clips seemed very helpful.

I look forward to our next class.

First Impressions

My first thought about a "film class" is the pronunciation of the word "film" with two syllables, "fil-lum," spoken in a high class English accent (how my mother sometimes says it). It makes me feel very defensive in the sense that I want to shout, "Just because I don't know the director of a movie doesn't mean I can't enjoy it!"

Camille, I was laughing to myself when we were talking about this class because you said something about how you like film because it's not elite at all, anybody can enjoy it or be good at it. I don't know anything about film. So when people talk about it, whether it's actors, directors, philosophies behind it, or history of, I feel excluded, inferior, not elite; therefore making film and anyone who enjoys film to a greater extent than me, elite.

These thoughts are film are just first impressions of the world itself. I know that just because people like a subject a whole lot and love to talk about it with their friends doesn't make them elitist pricks. I suppose I just have somewhat of a "men are inherently evil.." opinion about it.

That aside, I really enjoyed my first day of film class. Syllabi are always fun to go over and the bathroom break was welcomed enthusiastically. But really, I am very excited about the weeks to come. This class will bring me out of my element, something I have been expecting to happen eventually in the Honors College.

Bring on the fil-lum.