Blog 19: Class Reflection - What did you discover about yourself as an artist and filmmaker this semester?

I learned a lot.

It hasn’t sunk in yet that this class is over. We made six films in twenty (class)days! That’s insane. I figured out that if your motivation during the making of a film is to shoot something that’s not terribly embarrassing or something will look “right” to an audience, you’re going to make a shitty film. Instead, try to have fun and let your imagination run wild – you might make something you’re proud of. I had fun with all of these projects and I really only “phoned-in” one of them. (It was the sound project, obviously. I wish had listened to some of the other projects before I exported, because I would have known I needed to step my game up. Plus I was worried about being late for my stupid job, so there’s that excuse.)

I’m getting better as a director, I think. My plan originally was to find something to do other than directing (I guess because it’s cliché? Or I didn’t want to compete for the role?) and try different things until I really felt comfortable, but I now I think I’m set (haha pun Ihateymself) on directing. Sure, I’m not awesome at it yet, and I faced some of the same problems on film 6 that I did in FST 201 (losing focus, letting things go instead of being assertive about what the project needs, not being knowledgeable enough about lenses and lighting to fix problems quickly) but I’m gaining in confidence the more I do it. I still want to direct someone else’s script because, while the screenplay for Bropacalypse was the best material a director could ask for, I really want to interpret another student’s work. I kind of did that in 201 but first of all, we had to build the short around two pages of dialogue that none of us liked, and second of all, I didn’t “direct” that project so much as I ate pizza and said “action” “cut” and “that was great, but let’s do one more.”

The next challenge for me, I think, is to direct something with a cast and crew that doesn’t have their shit together. So far, I’ve only worked with awesome people who make me look good.

I loved this class. I wish I had gone more in depth with my blogs because I actually love writing, but I suppose most of the time I was still reeling and trying to recuperate on blog day, so I didn’t have as much to say. Summer semester is crazy. Making movies never feels like work. Hope I get to work with some of these guys again soon. Bye for now.

Blog 18: Microcinema Plan

I’m writing most of these final blogs after the fact, so it’s hard for me to remember how the planning went with these projects, and my memory of the microcinema is especially blurry. I remember meeting up with Cori to coordinate the different departments, gather loglines and footage, make creative decisions, etc. It was kind of a mess. Cori is always on her game and in control, which means that sometimes people – myself included – lean on her too much. There were a couple problems that I or someone else could have fixed that ended up in her lap. So, naturally, she was stressed and I was stressed. I guess I didn't understand my role and I don't think I did enough to help. I wish I had communicated with the departments better rather than assuming they were talking to Cori. I wish that everyone had submitted their footage on time. I wish I wasn’t such a wack MC. I wish we'd had cheese.

But, anyway, this was the first time any of us had ever tried putting on a film festival. And considering the time-frame, we did pretty well. I doubt the editing class noticed most of the hiccups. So not everything was on-schedule. So we didn’t have programs. So I got devoured by mosquitos. I still had fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Blog 16: Reflection - How did the idea/plan work out?!

It could not have gone better. Rehearsal was slow and I was tired and anxious to start shooting, but in the end we accomplished everything we were supposed to. The shoot itself was a breeze. Cori was our savior – she kept everyone on track and saved my butt on several occasions. James was an awesome dp and did great work with Natalie on the soundscape and editing. Kyndall got us some sweet wristbands and helped Natalie capture sound. Natalie was a good problem-solver and made sure our sound and lighting was right. Paul and Viet gave hilarious deadpan performances and were fun to have on set. These guys made my job easy and I would definitely work with them again.

This project in a gif:

Blog 15: What is your team's Blocking Challenge Idea & Plan

Our plan was to write some bromantic dialogue, shoot our scene in a locker room, and create an apocalyptic soundscape.

Blog 14: What did you discover today?

Working on the filmbeatz project, I discovered dappled lighting is really nice and shooting outdoors in the shade is infinitely preferable to shooting indoors under crappy fluorescent lights. Also: Knox is totally willing to make a fool of himself on camera.

Blog 13: Reflection on Rhythmic edit examples from class - What did you discover today?

Making rhythmic edits is another way of making short films that doesn't require a lot of resources. So that's nice. I think at this point no one in class has an excuse for not making films, since for this one all you need is a few clips and a way to edit them. I mainly see potential for comedy in these kinds of videos (it's all about... timing), so that's the direction I decided to take for my rhythmic edit. Although, I can see how you can make some kind of weird, poignant statement or completely change the context of the footage you're using (like in Alone, Life Wastes Andy Hardy). You could also make something much more sophisticated, like this King of the Hill edit: THAT'S MY PURSE I DON'T KNOW U! I'm also less interested in making an honest portrait of someone - I'd rather make something goofy.

Oh, and here's a cool supercut: Hell's Club.

Blog 12: Your Animation Progress

We finished the animation part of the project today. I was mostly right about the animating going faster for the rest of the way. I also got to work with sand, so that was fun. When I was animating, I made the butterfly’s path cut a skull into the sand, which I thought looked neat. We also cut up some magazines, which I didn't like as much, but I thought it looked unique. I discovered that I like working with sand the best. All we have left to do from here is put together the soundscape and put all the frames together in premiere.