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!