I learned so many technical skills in ecom.I improved my communication drastically.
I learned that collaboration is the most important thing i can use in a creative career.
Leadership has taught me that the best way to convey your idea for a film is to take initiative be assertive towards your idea. I used project management to be efficient in every ecom project in all my four years.My greatest strength in ecom would be my originality, but i struggle with leadership and organization.
I hope to be a commanding writer and director one day and i continue to grow my collaborative, organizational, and creative skills daily.
For projects this year i made a Commercial, PSA, Music Video, Short Film and Documentary. I directed all of my projects. This was the first year where i felt like i let myself trust my crews and do my job, direct. I let sound handle sound, DP take care of the camera and the editors make their edit. Obviously overseeing it all, but in the past i’ve been a controller director stressed from all the pressure. This is why now i am so adamant about collaboration. It is a directors job to create a film their proud of but also to allow crew members to grow and express themselves.
This semester in entertainment, we did three projects. The first was our commercial. I wrote and directed a Reeses Puff's advertisement taking place in the civil war. I took one week of preproduction and one week of production and editing. The shoot took about three hours. The challenge in that project was production value, because it took place in a another period we had to remain consistent. It was the group project of the year, so we were still unsure of what we were going to the film, But in the end all of are respective roles were filled and enjoyed. For townie it was a similar experience, we decided to have a grunge feel and so we had to do a lot of location scouting and costuming and prop work. I learned how to be a more organized leader and how to communicate an idea to other crew members while still allowing them to add their own personal touch to it. Connect was a smooth short film, it was finally a film with dialogue so the set was very fun and interactive.
In class, I used my time to watch video essays from multiple film channels, for example; cinefix, Lessons from the Screenplay, and Karstin Runquist. I learned about screenwriting and story telling in film and it was very helpful to my year in eComm. When working on projects I've worked during lunch and after school to finish editing or writing.
My strengths as an eComm student include Creativity, originality, flexibility, perseverance , and I enjoy doing it. It helps me in my areas of writing and directing. I have some originization that needs improvement but I have seen much growth this year, so I know I can only get better.
Our class had three guest speakers this year. Gordon Lamb, Brandon Priest, and Drew Conners. They had a lot of knowledge to spread and was very fortunate to be in the same room as them . I can apply this knowledge to my work because they has real insider information on the film industry and what in means to be employable .
My role in the upcoming feature film is writer and documentarian. I have a background in editing but even more so, I feel my skills as a writer will be even more valuable. I will have to craft an UNSCRIPTED story so I have to be the one to find it within our numerous miscellaneous clips. I'm very excited.
In summary, This has been so far my most successful year in eComm. I've been proud of every single one of my projects and crews and I can't wait to work on the future film next semester. One thing I would change was maybe pre production, there's always more to do. My goal for next semester is to be more organized and communicate efficiently to other crew members and learn even more about film.
I wrote the short film "Connect" in hopes that it would be produced by the class. In the past, I've written short films from 15 to 17 pages. I liked complicated stories with big characters and meaningful development. I like to have my comedies lengthy to build up familiarity. Those projects were extremely difficult to work. scheduling was the first hardship, not to mention demanding time and skilled acting needed to captivate an audience that time. It was challenging, But made the decision to edit myself. I wrote a simple, yet humorous, short film. It only had two actors and Two locations. It was 5 pages, so that meant five minutes of screen time. Filming time would quadruple.
in past projects, My anxiety would cause me to be a tad of a control freak. I would write, direct because it was my vision. I would film because I wouldn't trust the cinematographer to I would take over the camera, and edit the entire thing in the end. This time, I only wrote and directed. I let Lauryn complete her vision through the camera as DP, and Erin my editor used her skills to fit our ideas, but still managed to make it her own. I'm proud that I put trust in my team members to refine their crafts and still collaborate with the rest of the group.
The actors Dom and Mario, I was skeptical of atfirst. I'm friends with both of them, but I had never seen them act before, so I was taking a gamble. Filming can be lengthy and tiresome, but with Lauryn on camera, I was able to focus almost entirely on getting the performance out of them that I wanted. as we set up the lights and sound equipment, they practiced lines. we kept a fun shooting environment so nothing got too stressful. We kept things light and positive even though the shoot went longer than expected. I'm very thankful they were able to take notes and criticism, both were compliant when I asked them to do a take a different way or the exact same way for the MILLIONTH time. as a comedy filmmaker, is one of my top priorities and they left me very satisfied.
As a writer, my creative process is normally stressful, frustrating, and almost exhausting enough to resort to becoming a boom mic operator. In other words, we need all the help we can get. On websites like "No Film School" between articles for editors and cinematographers, there's the occasional screenwriter's perspective and guidance. Their advice never disappoints. My chosen article "'Most Likely to Murder' Creators on Why a Vomit Draft is Essential for Starting a Screenplay" follows the hardships of what is the rigorous first draft and how to conquer it. The writers of the comedy feature describe the "vomit draft" of screenplay, getting every idea out of your system and on to paper in one sitting, even if it's garbage. This way it reveals the obvious plot holes and problems with in a script before the writer has sacrificed their precious time and energy into a certain idea. They mark the importance of finding resolutions for all their characters and the struggle of balancing comedy and horror. They take film inspiration form AlfredHitchcock and woody Allen, combining those forces seems to be a fine accompaniment for the two collaborating writers. Without setting the foundation of the vomit draft, there never would have been so much flexibility for collaboration. "most likely to murder" eventually a polished feature length thriller-comedy, and accomplished both of the Writers' visions. After reading this article, I have a lot to say against personal procrastination as a screenwriter. The most important thing about writing is actually accomplishing the task of writing. A first draft is never perfect, and getting the idea out of your mind before it becomes bored of it is extremely important and the necessarydiscipline for training your mind as a screenwriter. As a takeaway, i hope after reading this article I become more confident and efficient as a writer. Being able to see your work is the first step to seeing the mistakes of your work, and thus fixing them. Check out www.nofilmschool.com for more amazing articles on screenwriting. https://nofilmschool.com/2018/04/dan-gregor-doug-mand-most-likely-to-murder
This semester I was apart of two different video projects.
PSA
The psa I was apart of was made to combat online predators and spread awareness on being safe online. I was the writer, casting director, and one of the editors. The project took a little over two weeks for shooting and editing, but all shooting was completed in one day. Some of the challenges we faced were the ISO and aperture on the camera, it was a really sunny day, and condensing a story into the length of a psa and really being selective of what shots to use to tell the story effectively. The feedback we were given was that it was a good message, a dual message almost. One being online safety, the second with our male protagonist, that it can happen to anybody. I liked this PSA . I think it looks beautiful, but also has a powerful purpose.
Short Film
I've talked about in previous blog posts on the rocky start to this short film. For a brief recap: we set our expectations too high with a crew that was not willing to take on such an ambitious film. we scrambled together a last minute idea, and it turned out okay. The film we ended up shooting looked beautiful. The Audio was rocky, the script was a little on the nose with dialogue, but with the two days we had to plan and shoot, I'd say it was good for what we had.
As a video production student, I have gained many skills when it comes to project management, communicating ideas, and the ability to complete planned tasks creatively. I can maximize my strengths by trying to be original and take risks, it could also mean working with new and different people for each new project. I need to improve in areas of origination and collaboration. It's one thing to work with someone who's different than you, but it's another to create with them.
I learned a lot from the guest speakers we've had in our classroom. Mostly that it is a possibility to use the skills I've learned in school and translate it to a job that I could support myself with, but also still be creative.
The field trip showed me that technology is always expanding and the future filmmakers , maybe even students in thus class, could be the ones responsible for changing the movie going experience.
This semester I enjoyed finally being in a class dedicated solely to entertainment and filmmaking. I hope to do more projects next semester and make personal short films. I want to learn more about camera work and audio, as well as refine my skills in color correction and color grading. I'm going to continue to write, and work on writing things to be more practical and producible, while still remaining true to myself.
Selective theaters around America are advancing movie-going technology by broadening the experience through senses other then just auditory or visual. Special seats in these theaters make the film more interactive. These seats have the ability to create motion, a holes that spurts water and air, a rumbler, seat popper, back poker, leg tickler,neck tickler, theaters are installed with fans to mimick wind, and have features to make strobe lights and fog effects.
The film I saw with these features was JUSTICE LEAGUE , DC's latest action blockbuster. With every fight scene, I was tossed and turned as the hero took the punch. When the newly introduced Aqua-man shot himself from the icey waters, I was misted with the same wetness. As superman flew, the same wind whipped in my face. These features entirely engulf you into the movie. Here's my opinion: I don't don't go to the movies to be in the movies. Don't get me wrong, the right film can take you away from reality in the best possible way, But with justice league, I know I'm not Wonderwoman, and I have no desire to punch and fight bad guys. To feel apart of this adrenaline is cool, but not why I watch movies. Especially, with figures such as iconic superheros, my initial reaction is to idolize rather than empathize.
The experience was cool, would I go to MX4D regularly? no. But I do think a large population of movie goer would love this experience for movies like Justice League. It did enhance the movie. It did make the movie more memorable. I don't think MX4D is necessary to all films, but a small number of unique screens in each theatre would be a great option for the who have interest in the experience.
Changes to make to MX4D may be to make it interactive, but not annoying. I've seen MX4D in other theaters, and the back-popper and neck ticklers were uncomfortable if not painful. B&B theaters were comfortable, thankfully, but that water sprayer sure was a pest. Maybe add more options for the personal movie goer to experience, some may love the water sprayer.
For me, I enjoy the traditional way of going to the theater and relaxing. MX4D isn't what I would call relaxing, but if its what the ticket buyer prefers, I have no problem with it and hope this interactive technology only improves.
Our preproduction was minimal. group member's willingness varied. Many days were spent not collaborating, as I was assured everyone had their portion completed; they did not. I collaborated with one group member because I was very eager to make a film that was a comedy, and I knew It would be hard to win the class over. I started to brainstorm a script that the other person would be willing to produce. The script I wrote of that was acceptable enough. I wouldn't have written something like that if it hadn't been for the aspect of collaboration. when it was finally time to make a group, the members were not enthusiastic as I had bended my film to be for them. My role as director, the production schedule, and locations were all decided when I was not present, and was never discussed again. I casted, continued to refine my script, and above all; worried.
Production
Half of the production team never showed up for the planned film day. one as late. one changed plans at the last minute. I tired to communicate and work with the actors. when trying to the direct, the cinematographer questioned my decisions yet never gave any ideas of their own. I was not confident in the progress being made and the footage that had been shot. We had meant to film a huge party scene that night, it was canceled. I didn't think it was possible for this film to be produced the way I had invisioned it. I thought it was the best thing to terminate production.
Post- Termination
One of our group members was very mad about our plans to stop production of this film. Many of the conflict had resulted from their tensions before. Others were equally stressed, but understood our urgency to make a decision . We decided to produce a script of another group member's that had been passed over due to its simplicity. I quickly re-wrote the dialogue to flow better, casted, and was ready to film the next day.
Production
We sped through production. JCCC, our location, looked beautiful on film. we had one camera operator/ director, an iPhone recording sound, and me and another actor. it took one day and one night shoot. We faced no major obstacles except for prioritizing. When it was time to start editing, we had all the footage we needed.
Post- Production
We had few days to edit and very bad audio. I was not an editor, I prepared to color grade. the editor stressed, the rest of the group did nothing. I color graded, and then I edited my my own reel. There was little communication during the editing process.
