Adventures in Curating: Narrowing the Field

I have come to the point in my semester where it is time to work on my first project for my curating film and video class. That means making my own "festival" using a list of over 200 video links my professor has provided for us. We have to pick at least three videos and the time of the festival cannot run over 45 minutes. 

It is a lot harder than it sounds. First of all, I have to watch all the films which range from the very experimental and abstract to the more narrative based. I actually have enjoyed watching most of them and seeing some familiar names on the list such as Stan Brakhage and Kenneth Anger. I admit, I did not watch them all because there were just too many. I watched a group in order and then skipped around the rest of this list picking the ones that had interesting titles.   

The problem I found was picking a theme to go with the ones I liked. My professor kept stressing that he did not want us to just pick the ones we like because in a real film festival you have to consider the audience and what you want them to experience, whether it is introducing them to a new artist or style but I would have trouble curating a festival with films I did not like myself. I tried to find something that connected them, a thread running through that would make for an interesting title and provide some structure for my film festival. 

The first video that I watched that I knew I had to find a way to include in my fictional film festival was Tad's Nest directed by Petra Freeman. I thought it was beautiful and so different from many of the works I had previously seen with its creative transitions and unique style. Plus it is animated and I rarely find good, or any, animated avant garde/experimental pieces. My first thought was to make a festival around the idea of animation, but I thought that could be too simple and I wanted to use a mix of media. 

After skipping around for a bit the title We Have Decided Not to Die caught my eye. I think this is one of the most beautiful works I have yet to see in one of my classes. The visuals of rising and falling bodies are amazing. They are so simple, but done in such an elegant manner. The idea of the rituals as presented in the video speak to the phases in life and the changing of identity. 

I knew that those two videos would make the foundation for my project. I struggled with finding connections between the two. I wanted to do something about the body as a spectacle before I saw We Have Decided Not to Die, but I ended up scrapping that idea too. 

Finally, I came upon the idea of identity formation and how our identity changes throughout our lives and even daily. It's something I have discussed in many of my English classes and it seemed to fit the films I had been watching. Other films I added to my fake festival were Anger's Mouse Heaven, a film about Mickey Mouse and consumer culture, Willard Maas' Geography of the Body which objectifies bodies both the male and female form in geographic terms, and James Broughton's This Is It which is an innocent and poetic creation myth.
Honestly, I am just excited to be done with my first project. (If you actually care to read what I wrote, it follows after the break and it's mine so don't go getting any ideas about stealing it and such even if it is the highest form of flattery.)

Adventures in Filmmaking: The Start of Something New

To say school has kept me busy is an understatement. My senior year has been crazy as I finish both my English major and cinema minor, continue my job as a resident assistant, lead Habitat for Humanity as the president of the club, write for the school paper occasionally, and also try to have a social life. Plus, it is my last year in college so I am trying to fit everything in that I have ever wanted to do. Which is my way of saying that I am going to try and blog as much as I can this year, but that I am also not making any promises.
This semester I am taking two cinema classes, both of which are different than any of the production classes I have take previously. The first one is my Intro to Sound class, which I decided to take after my summer at CNN. The PA did a lot of sound recording for the show and I realized that I did not really know anything about sound or microphones. Also, I have realized, that in recording my own films I am a person who usually focuses on image more than sound. I am excited because I feel like this class is going to challenge me to think in new ways while I am filming. Already having to analyze a film (Touch the Sound directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer) solely based on sound is different than anything I have done before. It made me realize that while I may pay attention to the soundtrack or score of a film, the sound in general, is not something I usually notice.
Wednesday we got to build our own contact microphones to use on our first project. We had to solder the wires together from the microphone onto the cable that plugs into the recorder. (I wish I could get more technical, but that's about all I got.) It was fun and hands on and the best part is, it actually works. The contact mic picks up vibrations; I can tape the mic onto any object and it will record. I am not sure what our first project entails, but I am excited to play around with it. I hope it rains because I really want to record the sound of the rain on the window.
The second class I am taking is a class called Curating Film and Video where we plan and run our own film festival. I am really excited for this class. We are all assigned different positions, from fundraisers to designers. I am the blogmaster which means I am responsible for promoting the festival online through the multiple channels of social media. It is something that I feel like I am skilled at because unlike most people I understand twitter, I have my own blog, and I know how to get people's attention. I find social media almost a game where you have to use things like hashtags, trending topics, and current trends to win. Plus, I figured it would be a good way to force myself to blog, even if it is not on my own blog.
At first I had really wanted to be the festival curator, the person who watched all the films and decided which ones made it into the show, but I decided to be a team player and take the job of the blogmaster since no one else wanted to do that. Plus, I was not sure if I would have the time to watch all the film submissions that we received. One of the main reasons I wanted to be a curator was because I wanted to introduce the program and the guest filmmakers at the festival because that is one of the curator responsibilities. At first I was really disappointed, but I have gotten over that fact and now I am just excited to be a part of the planning in general.
I think my senior year is going to be a good one. It has to be, it's the only year I have left so I plan on making the most of it and learning all I can while I have the chance.

Adventures in Filmmaking: A Little More Personal

For my final film project my professor asked us to create a work that answered the question: what is the truth? Upon seeing this question at the beginning of the semester I actually had a lot of ideas. I was excited. It was so open ended, I could do anything.
As the semester went on I wanted to do something more. I really wanted to push myself to step out of my comfort zone as many others in my class have done this semester. For me, this means making films actually involving people, specifically my friends. The majority of the films I have made over my past few years in cinema have involved shots of nature or sneaky shots of people I have taken on campus while they were not looking (that is really not as weird as it sounds).
For this film, I wanted to do something very personal. I wanted to involve my friends. The thing is, I hate filming people I know. Or people I don't know. Which is weird seeing as I have always imagined myself to be a cross between Ryan Seacrest and Roger Ebert (or at least have a combination of their jobs, Ebert's movie critiquing and Ryan's event going to and general schmoozing abilities). I do not know why, but as soon as get a camera in my hand I get nervous and self conscious. I feel like everyone is looking at me because, let's be real, as soon as a camera comes out people are bound to notice you.
For this project however, I wanted things to be different. A lot of people, myself included, have been worrying about life after college. I wanted my film to reflect the fears that come with graduation, but I also wanted to contrast that with people's dream jobs. My professor wanted us to ask a question to start the film's conversation so the question I asked people was: if you could have any job regardless of how much money you would make from the job what job would you want to have? It is a question my friends and I have talked about  before so I actually knew the answers for some of them.
The video below is the result. The people in the video, for the most part, are my close friends. People I finally put my shyness aside for and let into my world. I like this video because it is so personal both in the actual people in the video and the topic itself. It is not as emotional or sobering as I hoped it would be (or maybe that's me since I spent so much time editing it), but I am proud of how it turned out because I finally stepped out of my comfort zone and made a film starring the people who are most important to me.
My professor said my film only scratched the surface on telling the truth and I agree. If I had more time to really delve into this maybe it woud have come out differently. Nevertheless, I am happy about my accomplishments and the fact that I tried something new.

Adventures in Filmmaking: I Think I've Gotten the Hang of This

Every time I want to give up on my production class, I manage to surprise myself. After fretting for weeks about what I was going to do with my second film project, I finally came up with an idea. The second project had to be an installation, something that was simple, but involved more than one monitor or screen. My professor stressed simplicity and the importance of the image and sound and how it all looked as one piece.
As always, I over thought it. I really wanted to make a "chose your own adventure" type film with the screens starting off in one place and then ending up in different directions, but I could not figure out how to begin or what I would film. Then I thought of another idea: using the films as two different directions, I could make a film about choices and following different paths. On the weekend I shot footage in my University's Nature Preserve, an area of protected land where students can go to hike, run, or just hang out. I positioned my camera at every trail junction and filmed the world of choice as seen in nature. For the first time, I was shooting with a purpose, not just pointing my camera and hoping for something lucky like last time.
As I was filming the paths in the woods, I kept thinking about the nature of choice itself. It is all around us. Everyday, everything we do comes down to making choices. I wanted to incorporate that into my film as well and being a person so in tune with popular culture I decided to represent choices not only through nature, but through media as well. The more I thought about my project, the more I wanted to add. If I had more time I could have kept going; the more I thought, the more ideas I got.
The installation aspect of the film was something I also had to consider. I had to think about what was occurring on multiple screens and how to make sure the right image appeared on the right screen. It required a lot of close time spent with my friend Final Cut Pro. We've actually been getting along much better lately and developing what I would like to call a working relationship. I hope to one day actually be able to call it a friend.
Also, the actual projection aspect was difficult. I wanted to have three different screens of the same sizes and set them up with one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle. I wanted to force the viewer to turn their head and make a conscious choice over which screen to watch. However, with the equipment that my university's cinema department has this was difficult. I could not find three televisions of the same size so I had to settle for one flat screen and two TVs probably from the 80's with really fuzzy pictures. Then I had to connect them all to power, make sure they all had sound, and connect them each to the correct DVD player all while trying to sort out where everything was and what we actually had in the classroom closet. Needless to say it took me almost 50 minutes to set the instillation up. Then, when I finally went to show it to the class, the sound was very faint.
My professor was complaining that he could not hear it and was so busy worrying about the sound that he did not really get a chance to fully enjoy it so I did not get too much feedback this time. However, the first edit (the one below) got great feedback from the entire class. My teacher really liked the opening, as do I and found the playfulness, even if snobby film guy didn't. They all seemed really impressed and actually got the concept which was nice for once. The only critique they had is to remove the shots of the people in the paths scenes and to make the focus on nature so there is a contrast between my shots and the found footage. I personally liked having the people in the shots, but in my final edit I ended up taking them out because it was the only major criticism I received.
This is one of the first times in a cinema class that I have actually enjoyed myself and felt that my project was one of the better ones. I like being proud of my work and as much as I joke around about it, I really am getting the hang of Final Cut Pro. I feel like I am gaining experience and confidence in myself and my new abilities. It makes me believe that one day, it might be possible for me to get some sort of job in cinema. Maybe. One day.

Adventures in Filmmaking: Something to Show for Myself

After months of complaining about my cinema classes, I finally have something to show for myself. I have to say, I am pretty happy with how this whole thing turned out considering how much I stressed out about it. My professor really liked it and the annoying guy in my class who I've been calling "pretentious film snob guy" on twitter said the sound was really good and that he could "watch the image all day." Which is pretty impressive seeing as he can find something to nitpick about everyone else's films.

The film is called Phantasmagoria and yes I knew what it meant before I used it as my film's title. Watch the film below and then if you really want to know the magic behind my movie, keep reading below. 

Just so you know, everything is purposeful, there are no glitches, so just keep watching.

When I shoot I occasionally have an idea. This was not one of those times. This was one of those times when I got lucky. I happened to be awake at 3 a.m. because I am a night owl when I realized it was snowing. Of course I didn't have a tripod, I was planning on getting one in the morning, but snow waits for no one. I grabbed my camera and headed outside, right to the woods behind the back of my building. The image that eventually became Phantasmagoria was the first thing I shot. I saw the snow falling around the street light and thought the image would look interesting. I shot a lot of other things that night, including a family of deer and snow covered tree branches, but without a tripod and in the dark, nothing really came out too well (good thing I'm not trying to be a surgeon, I have the shakiest hands ever).

I honestly don't know where the idea came from for this project. I think the first thing was since it was shot at night, I wanted to create this sort of dreamscape. The more I learned about final cut pro the more fun I had manipulating the image and sound. I slowed down the image of the snow falling by 80% and distorted the colors by adding filters. I rotated some of the images so that in some scenes the snow appears to be moving upside down. The sound is of boots walking on the snow and the song "Howl" by Florence + the Machine both drastically slowed down and layered on top of each other. I also added an echo to give it a strange quality so that you can't quite decipher what the sound is even though it sounds familiar. 

The end of the film I wanted to be like waking from a dream. I wanted to show what ordinary images made up the extraordinary phantasms. 

I guess since I've looked at these images so many times during editing they do not seem remarkable to me, but everyone in my class really seemed to like them. I do have to say there is something nice in the image. Almost soothing. I honestly do like how it came out which is rare because I am usually very critical of everything I do. I think I like this film so much because it is a product of many hours spent in the cinema lab freezing as I waited for my film to render on the world's slowest mac. But I think it all paid off. 

I would love feedback or questions. Anything really. I am putting myself out there. My first film is up for all the world to see. I want to improve, I want to know what people think. This is the first film I've been able to show and it's a big deal to me so I would appreciate greatly some opinions.

Adventures in Filmmaking: A Complaint (Or 2...or 3)

Smile. You're on candid camera.

I like being a cinema minor. Really, I do. But what I like even more is complaining. At my university, complaining comes with the territory. If you follow me on twitter or read my blog at all you will know that I've taken some pretty interesting cinema classes (we call my avant garde film class the cinema department's version of hazing), but it helps me make friends because we all commiserate together.
The main problem I have with my video production class this semester is a number of things. For one, I'm not crazy about the professor. As much as I complained about my professor from last semester, he was nice and helpful and explained the projects very well. I always knew what he was looking for. This new professor, not so much. We have completely different tastes and so far; in watching other student's videos, he seems to like all the ones I hate. When doing my project it is slightly frustrating because instead of thinking of my own vision, I'm thinking of what he will like and what will get a better grade which I don't like to do, but is unavoidable.
The other thing is, it is hard to make a creative project when the area you are restricted to is a campus and the surrounding area which is not very large or beautiful. I know that this is where the creativity part of the class should come in, but the entire class ends up having similar projects. It is a challenge not only to film something in general, but to film something different and make your project stand out from the rest. It is something I constantly struggle with, along with coming up with ideas in general.
Another complaint I have with my class is the strict deadlines. Before one project is even complete, we are already talking about the next one. It allows a little time for the creative process to take place and I constantly feel rushed. I wish I had time to really think and plan what I wanted to shoot rather than just pointing my camera and abjectly shooting because I want to get my project done on time.
However, on a positive note, so far I have been learning final cut pro much better. I have been taking my time to play around and really see how everything works which has been a good learning experience. Also, since I am making videos that are made to play with quick time, I will eventually be able upload my videos to the blog and share them with my faithful readers. I think it will be interesting to see what other people think of my early filmmaking efforts outside of the people in my class. And while my first project is not the best thing I've ever done, I don't hate it, which is a good sign so far.
 Overall, the class is not terrible, just frustrating and time consuming. This year has been extremely hectic for me, but I am trying to enjoy what I feel may be my last production class here at Binghamton University.

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.

Adventures in Filmmaking: Final Thoughts

My Intro to Film & Video Production class is officially over and I have mixed feelings about the entire experience. I really liked taking the class, but the actuality of it was problematic at times. Yes, I learned things; before this class I didn't even know what a super 8 camera looked like or how to turn on a mac, but I learned.

I really liked the hands on aspect of the class, the ability to hold the cameras in my hand and find my own vision. Finding my voice through the medium of film is a way I have never thought of expressing myself before. I liked the opportunity to take a break from classes that involved reading and studying and to be able to just "do." I also really enjoyed the editing process, especially the old fashioned cut and paste kind. 

 I just wish my professor taught me more. The class was a lot of "here's a camera, make a movie" type learning which is good for the creative process, but I still feel like I have so many questions especially when it comes to Final Cut Pro and using the mini DV camcorder. There are so many functions I still don't know how to use when it comes to Final Cut, I'm thinking of getting a book and reading up over break so I can learn some more because I still really would like to learn and get better.

As a whole I think the class should have been focused a bit more on the technical aspects of cinema. My professor really wanted us to admire the art of experimental filmmaking, which was nice, but at times I wanted to know more of how rather than the why. 

One thing I did enjoy about the class was watching the work of the other students in my class and giving each other feedback. I liked hearing what others had to say about my films and seeing what they came up with. Everyone had such unique visions and styles, even this early in our development, and it was interesting to see how it changed from project to project. 

Next semester my adventures in filmmaking will continue with Video Making II. I'm slightly sad that this class will be entirely digital considering how much I enjoyed using a super 8 camera, but it is more practical. I hope that I will get to use Final Cut Pro more extensively and comfortably. I am also going to have a new professor so it will be interesting to see how that affects my learning experience once again. I am still going to try and take Filmmaking II somewhere down the line so I can learn how to shoot 16 mm film. 

I am still learning and finding myself and my place in cinema throughout this process so for now my journey is:

Adventures in Filmmaking: Final Project

This week I have spent a lot of time in the basement of my University's lecture hall in the mac lab editing my final cinema project. The only problem? There are 10 computers and 20 students in my class. There is also more than one cinema class and I'm pretty sure a photo class that uses the lab which means that at any given time there can be up to four people potentially using the computer where I save my footage. Several times I went down to the lab to find someone else using my computer. It was a frustrating experience.
Editing my film in general was a frustrating experience. I wasn't crazy about the footage I shot; I rushed while filming and my composition was all off. I ended up cutting out a lot of what I shot. I think the thing was, I didn't have enough fun with this project. I wanted to make a documentary-esq film about the floods that devestated the area, but I think I took it a little too seriously.
I ended up taking images of running water at different speeds and then adding sound over it of newscasts, weather reports, and people talking about how the flood effected them. I also relied a lot on what was being said over a black screen which my class responded to during our work in progress meetings.
The process of actually using final cut pro was a process. There are so many buttons, functions, and features that it was overwhelming knowing what I actually wanted my film to look like and then how to make it happen. It was also slightly confusing in the beginning since as always it was a trial by fire type situation rather than my professor teaching us exactly what to do.

Final Cut Pro-In case you've never seen it. I hadn't until a week ago.

Also not being proficient in using a mac, it took me awhile to figure out that the command key comes in handy for pretty much everything and the control key is actually used to copy and paste. Finding the zoom out key also saved my life because trying to cut small scenes was impossible when the editing timeline was very small. (The timeline is the thing on the bottom of the image above where the smaller images are shown.)
The part I had the most fun with was playing with the sound; this film I used a lot more audio than visual and I really tried to play around, slowing it down and speeding it up to match the images.
I'm going to try and figure out how I can somehow save my film and potentially upload it on youtube because I would love to get some opinions on it. I am extremely over critical of my own work and as of right  now, having looked at the footage so much during editing I really cannot say that I like what I have done. I'm also putting a lot of pressure on myself because I've gotten such good feedback from my professor so far that I really wanted my last project to show my growth. I'm just hoping he likes it and that I am just being too harsh on myself as always.

Adventures in Filmmaking: Final Cut & Feedback

As the semester has progressed, my adventures in filmmaking have continued. I have left super 8 behind and ventured into the modern era of filming learning how to use a mini DV camcorder and da da da dah...FINAL CUT PRO 7 (go figure, it's the version my University uses).
Using a mini DV camcorder is a bit more difficult than I expected, I think I actually prefer super 8 cameras, just in terms of style. I love the feeling that comes from black and white films and the silence that accomplices them. Having to think about sound and color composition is a much different experience. It has really made me aware of the sounds that occur around me and how they can be used to tell a story.
Also, learning Final Cut Pro has been interesting. My professor tries to cram so much into a given class period that sometimes we are left without enough time to go really in depth in how to use all the functions of the program. I consider myself a slightly computer savy person, but there are so many functions that I have to learn (not to mention just learning how to turn on a mac). However, I am a person who learns by doing; the best way for me to learn Final Cut is to just play around with it once I am done shooting my final project which is the biggest and most challenging of the semester.
We've already done our first project using in camera editing. The project was to test our use of the camera while focusing on sound and image combined. If my film had a title it would have been "Chasing Cars" (I name most of the things I do, whether it be poems or films after song titles) because I recorded the sound from cars on a street while not actually filming any cars themselves. I captured images of streetlights and neon signs and traffic lights all the while with the sound of cars and trucks driving. I thought it came out really cool and I got some great feedback from my class. Once I get it back I will try to figure out a way to post it on YouTube or something because I am really getting into the sharing part of cinema. I have become more willing to let people see my work and to receive feedback.  I think it's also really great that I have awesome friends who actually want to see what I am working on.
Just getting feedback has been really great for me in gaining confidence as a filmmaker. In his grade report for my last project (the super 8 one that I did all the editing for) my professor said that I "have a good eye for framing" and that my "comparison...between a train and a boat, slow and fast motions, nature and man-made machines, and organic and geometric shapes is amazing." (He gave me an A- on the assignment if anyone was wondering.) It is just another one of those affirmations that tells me I am moving in the right direction. I am having such a great time in this class, I really feel like I am actually learning new and important skills. I have already signed up for Video Production II for next semester so I can continue my adventures in filmmaking. Who knows where this will all take me...

Adventures in Filmmaking: Editing & Final Product

So my adventures in filmmaking abound. This weekend was actually one of my favorites of the semester so far in terms of filmmaking. For my project I had to shoot two rolls of film and then edit them into one cohesive 2-3 minute film to create visual rhythm. I was actually really excited to shoot because I went home for the weekend and shot around the Hudson River and train station. I had sort of an idea of what I wanted to do and how I wanted my film to come out.

Thursday my film came back and it was time to put it together. I have to say I was really happy with the shots I got; the exposure came out really well and the scenes themselves were really beautiful. I decided I wanted to edit my film to create a kind of rising momentum that began slow, crescendo-ed, and then slowed down again which left me with a lot of editing. 

Super 8 film. It looks larger than it really is. 

The one thing I can say about editing is that it is tedious, detailed oriented work. You have to be meticulous, good at remembering things, and have A LOT of patience. Firstly editing super 8 film means literally cutting and taping together the scenes you want to use. And super 8 film is tiny.  Using a light bulb I had to go through each inch of my film looking to see where each scene ended and began, then cut that scene, and literally splice it together using the world's smallest piece of tape to the next scene where I wanted it to go. I also had to make sure that the film was all going the same way, meaning that all the sides with the emulsions were tapped together. If not, then some scenes would appear upside down and backwards, which happened to several of my scenes that I had to go back and fix. 

I had film hanging everywhere. The editing room has racks to hang the film on, but mine was so long that it hung on the floor and around the table. At some points I had film wrapped around me as well. I really wish I had brought my camera with me. My poor film went through hell because I kept stepping on it and scratching it all over the place trying to get the film to stick and holding/burning it on the light bulb, which lead to it having a cool (unintentional) effect later on. 

Film reel & project scraps.

I went into the editing room around 11 Friday morning and did not emerge until 5 in the afternoon. Somehow the time flew by. I really enjoyed the process of editing; I found it creative and amusing. It was something completely different from anything I have ever done before. It was the first time I though "I can actual do this, I can edit film." It was such a hands-on process. I kept wishing I had more time to really think about what I wanted to film. So many times while editing I got ideas for scenes I wish I had shot. 

Overall, I think my project came out really well. If I can figure out how to convert it, I may put it up on youtube. I think my favorite part of the project (besides actually doing it) was showing it to other people. One of my friends convinced me to let him see it and I was really glad I did because he liked it a lot. It was just cool to see people respond so well to something I created. It also made me less nervous to show my class when I was picked to go first. My professor really liked it; he said it spoke a lot about inhabited space vs. natural space which I thought was a really good way to put it. Also all the positive feedback from my class was a definite ego boost. 

I think this project and this class in general is really good for me. I am learning so much about myself and my creativity and about film in general. I have always said that I liked editing, but this is the first time that I can really say I like editing because I've actually done it. I'm actually sad that we are moving onto digital film because I want more time to explore and play around with super 8. 

Oh well, onto the next adventure... 

A Day of Revelations

So today was eye opening for a number of reasons. First off, I went to the Career Development Center (CDC) at my university which is always a fun experience. Just picture a giant white room with chairs and small tables and lots of stressed out kids sitting around with their resumes and you get the idea. This is a room I need to spend more time in. It is finally starting to hit me that my college career is more than half way over and it is time to start making life decisions. How to go about that I have no idea.

My new best friend: this book. Courtesy of the CDC.

Here are the things I do know:
1. I love am passionate about movies.
2. I want a career in the film industry. But...
3. I don't want to direct. I want to be involved in pre/post production. I want to cast films. I want to approve scripts. I want to scout locations. Hell, I want to fetch coffee.
To do all these things and more I need to start taking steps towards my dreams. My time at the CDC was interesting because it forced me for the first time to think about how I was really going to achieve my goal. I kind of have this idealistic vision that I will apply and get into all the internship programs that I want. It is going to be a lot harder than that; there are students in universities across the nation, better universities, who are more qualified/passionate/involved/just plain better than I am. Its a fact.
The question is: what can I do about it? My video and film production class is a good step. Which is also good seeing as today was the day of reckoning, the day I finally got to watch the footage I shot a few weeks ago. Surprisingly the film was not a blank role that I assumed it would be, but a role full of well shot, well focused, high contrast images. I'm not sure why I doubted myself so much, but seeing those images in black and white made me gain more confidence in my abilities to actually film things. Which is good because this is what I want to do. I want to be creative and film things and make movies, but that is going to be hard if I'm afraid to even pick up a camera. I'm actually really excited to shoot my next film this weekend. We have to focus on the motion of the film rather than the narrative, but I think I have a few ideas.
But this class and my new found confidence are only the beginning. I have some goals:
1. Update my resume & learn how to write a cover letter
2. Get involved with something film related on campus (whether it be a club or an on-campus internship)
3. Apply to as many internships as humanly possible
4. Read up more about the entertainment industry
5. Learn HTML 
6. Get an awesome internship
7. Be happy (most important)
 I just have a lot to think about. It is time to stop wasting time, to take charge of my future. That's a scary thought. And exciting all at the same time. To all those reading, you are watching my life take shape before your eyes. This is real and this is me and this is growing up and all that it entails. Stay tuned. No matter what happens, I can tell you this is going to be interesting. Nothing's ever dull in my life.

Adventures in Filmmaking: Direct Films & Projecting

Like this.

 I have always known that I want to have a library when I have a house of my own. I can picture it in my mind with from its worn leather chairs, to the wide windows showing a picturesque view of the garden outside, to the roaring fireplace. Today however, was the first day I imagined that library having a wide, blank white wall where I could project old movies on a projector.
We learned how to use a projector in my film class today and even though it was only for a few minutes I was hooked. That whirring sound, watching the film spin through the machine and onto the reel, the flickering of the image as it sputtered onto the screen all left their marks on me. For once, something about cinema that I can understand and do; there are steps, I follow them, and bam! my movie shows up on the screen. Pretty cool.
Another thing we did in class was make direct films. A direct film is when you do something directing to the film stock rather than recording anything on it. We each received a piece of clear and a piece of black film. On the clear film we had to draw images, pretty much anything we wanted. I drew lots of random lines and then attempted a sequence of pac-man eating some dots and then being killed by a ghost. For the black films we had to scratch the surface of the emulsion with a razor blade and then wet the film to change its color ala Stan Brakhage's Black Ice. We haven't gotten  a chance to watch our creations, but I am interested to see how they will come out.
I am just enjoying these small workshop type activities that bring me closer to feeling that I am actually learning something about cinema. Still waiting on my film, it comes back Monday. I'm more than slightly nervous.

Adventures in Filmmaking: Using the Camera

Why yes, that is my Fight Club poster to my right

 So this weekend my adventures in filmmaking continued with my first official cinema project and use of a super 8 camera. I have to say, it was much more difficult than it appears in the film. I think I always took for granted using a camera. I never really thought about all the work that goes into getting the perfect shot. Already taking this class is giving me a new found appreciation for cinema. I always loved cinema and respect it as an art form, but partaking firsthand makes me realize just how hard it really is. I just never really thought of all the little things it takes to make a movie. It makes me like my favorite films that much more.
Making a film is hard. And mine didn't even have a plot. The assignment was to shoot scenes in a certain order and with specific requirements. I am being grading for my understanding and execution of  exposure, composition, and focus. I honestly hope I understand all those things. I admit I struggled with the assignment because I haven't really learned how to do any of those things yet.
Another part of the assignment I struggled with was the creative process. With no need to create a narrative or any cohesive imagery I found myself pointing my camera abjectly at things. I feel like I could have at least tried to make it a little interesting. I feel like I lack vision. And I know this is only my first time using a camera, but I just don't have any ideas. Even in taking pictures I am not the best photographer; I point the camera and shoot. I have never been creative in a hands on sense. Give me a piece of paper and I'll write a story. Give me a glue gun and some paper and I'm helplessly lost. Some people are creative like that. I'm not one of them.
It is also difficult to create the image that you want while living on a college campus. I knew what I wanted to shoot, but for the most part actually making that happen was rather difficult. I got many strange looks as I was shoot people leaving class this morning. It made me wonder if the greats like Spielberg began this way, practically hiding out in the bushes hoping to get a good shot.
Another problem I think I have in all of this is that I worry about what other people think of me. I worry that people will think I am strange walking around campus with a camera. I am afraid that my project with be the worst. I am trying very hard to change all this, to develop some confidence in myself and my new abilities. Who cares if people think I'm weird carrying around a camera, I don't actually know any of them. My final result may not be the best, but I'm doing my best and that is all I can ask for. And who knows, maybe I'm not as bad as I think I am.
So now my film gets sent off to New York City for processing and I get it back in a week. As Alexandre Dumas says in The Count of Monte Cristo, "all human wisdom is summed up in two words: wait and hope." So now I wait and hope that my film came out and that I don't get back an entire roll of under or over exposed film. That would be the worst.

Adventures in Filmmaking

I'm taking a bite out of filmmaking.

This semester I am taking my first video and film production class, which I am both terrified for and excited about. Just by walking into the class I could tell that it was going to be a different experience than what I am used to experiencing. Most people at my University take cinema classes as a way to get an easy "A" to fill their art requirement. With video and film production you have to take two prerequisites so you know that the people in this class are serious about cinema. Which is nice, but at the same time really intimidating.
I have hardly ever used a video camera except to film my sister's plays at school. Many other students in my film class play Super 8 like it's already their job. They all imagine themselves to be the next Spielberg or Tarantino or Goddard. I have no such ambitions. I do not want to be a director; I want to work on a film set or at a production studio. Honestly, my real dream job would be having a job like Ebert and Roper, hosting a t.v. show and writing about films.
However, I am ready for the challenge of this class and to see what it takes to make a film. Already reading my textbook (seen in the picture above) has taught me so many new things and that was just reading the first chapter on the parts of the camera (who knew the ordeal that went into just loading and unloading film into a camera?) But, I love learning new things so it will be fun.
And who knows, maybe I will love it and decide by the time the semester is over that I want to be the next Kathryn Bigelow...