Movie Frenzy

This week was finals week and also a hectic week in the movie world. Our movie is due to be watched tonight but is apperantly unfinished. I edited the movie last week and thought we were finished. We did not have all the clips but I thought it was too late to start over and we should go with the hours of work I did editing it. However, no one in else the group agreed. They decided that the clips should be integrated in. We recieved the needed clips Wednesday, too late for me to do anything with them. Jordan made a valiant late night effort to put our movie together but decided to start over instead of integrate the new with the old. They decided to change from using windows media player to using AVS which is much more difficult. I wish I could have helped more at then end, but my advice went unheard. I had two finals today and was not available as I had to mentor as well. I hope that the film goes over well but we have done all we could do with the time we have been given and our technology woes.

one more week

This week technical difficulties kept me from being able to edit our film. I am getting nervous about finishing it (with any quality that is) by next Thursday. Tonight we should get our technical difficulties fixed and try and get to work. Hopefully, tomorrow I can get the movie edited and get it to Jordan so she can finish up as well.

Last Week and This Week In ONE!

Last week was completely uneventful and no work on the film was done so I won't waste your eyes. This week was a little more exciting as we got our film digitized. It took for ever and poor Eric had to put up with everyones impatience. Eric got it done for us and now I can get to work on editing. I am excited about the editing process. I am excited to work on the film and see how I can put it all together. I really want to use effects to inhance what we already have. I like our film and I only want to inhance it. I think the move and lighting is overall pretty good and just want to make a few things sharper and cut things fast to make it more actiony.

Last Week

Last week in class we attempted to digitize our film. It was not possible with the technology available. We left shortly after. All that is left, which is mostly my job, is to edit and add sound. We may have 1 or 2 pick up shots if we have time.

More like Kevin James

This weeks movie was another awful movie. What I mean by that is by no means would I ever enjoy any of the last few movies we have watched. Singing in the Rain is the last movie I enjoyed. However, with that all said, it is and has been very interesting to watch these movies about movies. It was funny how when suggested by the movie specialist that Charlie make it have an epic film with sex, drugs, and conspiracy. When he did just that, it was hilarious. But at the same time the movie was not exactly enjoyable. I am just what the movie producers and writers think I am. I am a person who loves cliche endings. I am very dissapointed when things turn out unhappy at the end. Now I do enjoy movies that are epic like Shattered with Pierce Brosnan. That movie was totally unpredictable and the ending wasn't exactly cliche but it was not way out there either. Unfortunately, I guess I will never come to enjoy movies that try and represent things how they are. I want to see epic things and plot twists and really for the most part don't care if its historically accurate or not. Jo Beth recently shared the fact that Marcus Auerilis (probably spelt that wrong too) is mispelled on the sword in Gladiator and that things weren't completely histroically accurate. I think I would rather just not know as it is my favorite movie. I am currently watching Meet the Parents with Ben Stiller and although totally predictable, is great.

Next week I hope to start editing our movie. We filmed the week before spring break. I hope that I can put things together in a way that will represent what Imran and Jenny were planning. I was in a minor role in the movie and I found I am not much of an actor. But maybe like other editors I can help myself out and make myself look like, well not Tom Cruise....maybe Kevin James. I like that guy.

I find it interesting that the director had the flowers growing over a number of days at the end of the movie. I am not altogther sure what he was going for, but with the movie being about flowers I guess it made sense. I think the best part of the movie was that part. I love Planet Earth and Life (shows about nature) and that gave the last thirty seconds a comfortable nature film.

Pretty Bad Movie

Filming has been quite the process. The movie making process so far has been good. That of course is easy for me to say because I am the editor and have not been very involved in the filming. It looks as if everything is going well. The movie wrapped up today with a scene in which I was an actor. I felt as if I was a pretty bad actor. My southern draw, if you can even call it that, sounds pretty uneducated and thick on the big screen. (well little bitty screen) But oh well, the shooting is over except for some probable pickup shots. I think our movie is going to turn out really well. THere are a few shots that will take some good editing but for the most part jenny and imran and our actor justin have made the job easy for me.

This week in class we watched a senior students film that he made. I was not very impressed with it. It was definitely more polished than ours will be. However, he spent tons of time on it, like a year, and it still was boring. The sound was poor at times and the acting wasn't so great. However, everything he did was for free and it isn't like he had Tom Cruise lined up for the roles so I guess it was alright. I just altogether did not like his movie. The plot was really boring and the ending was abrupt and left me without any type of closure. The lighting was also pretty poorly done. Who am I to critique him, well I guess I am as good of critic as any. I have watched tons of movies. I hope that our movie ends with closure and can leave our audience with a sense of what is going on unlike his. I can tell he worked hard and I congratulate him on achieving what he desired with his film. But it just didn't flip my switch.

I guess editing will start soon following spring break. I hope that I can do a good job and take the great clips we will have and turn them into a cohesive movie. It seems as if the editing process will be tough but I enjoy challenges. I will definitely enjoy making this move my own.

Creepy oh so Creepy

After watching "The Player", I can definitely agree with Donna that nostalgia for 70's and 80's movies has not yet developed. I again did not enjoy the movie we watched. I can't quite pinpoint why I don't like the film. It was very dark. I think I might not like it when justice is not served. Mill gets away with murder and it seems as if all the other side plots in the movie just constantly keep me uncomfortable. For the second week in a row the director has made me feel a certain way about things and I don't like it. I am not sure if I just dislike being led to feelings by a director or if I just want to be led to better happier feelings. The movie was so creepy it was just difficult not to feel creeped out. I went to red box to pick out a movie after last nights class and had real trouble. The movie put me in a weird mood in which I didn't want a suspense, action, or thriller of any kind. Those are usually the only movies I watch. So I picked out "Where the Wild Things Are". It was interesting and innocent enough to allow me to relax. The ending was okay but not quite what I was expecting. Although it may be neat to finish a movie with a writers finish, I can appreciate cliche endings just as much, if not more.

With our film, I hope that our ending and movie doesn't make people uncomfortable. I do not think it will because it is not what we are going for. We are hoping that we can keep the viewer on the edge of their seats throughout our action film. But there shouldn't be any weird plot twists that end in our main character murdering someone and sleeping with his girlfriend before enjoying a mud bath. One thing I thought was interesting about the movie we watched that might be useful in our film creating is the use of clothing to represent mood as the film progresses. Tim Robbins seems to wear darker and darker clothes the more evil he gets. I think we could possibly do this with some of our supporting characters. It is hard to describe it any more fully without giving away to much. So guess what, I won't.

We are shooting this Saturday so that everyone can go away for spring break. Well everyone was going away anyway. I hope it goes well. I hope that we can make a movie that is enjoyable. I think that it will be. I hope we can do as well as some of the directors we have seen thus far in portraying our vision or thoughts about things to the audience. Either way the process will for sure be fun.

Ham Sandwich Mr. Stallone?

So far in our movie projects things are going well. In class last week we were able to get into our groups and dig deeper into what we were planning on doing. As I currently sit here, in the middle of some no fun wiley physics problems, I am excited about our movie production. Granted physics is that boring, it has been a good experience so far to work with Jenny, Imran, and Jordan. It seems as if everyone in our group is on the same page and hopes to produce together a good film. Casting the parts for our movie I believe will be the most difficult part. Everyone in our group is easy going so I doubt if there will be any fights or anything of that sort. It looks like our action film is set to be a thriller. I think Jenny has already been thinking about some of the shots she would like to get and has an idea of how the movie should look in her mind. That is exciting. My job is editing. I am not the least bit worried about my job because I know the filming process will make it easy. I am looking forward to editing and putting in sound. The neatest part of the film process is sound recording. Lucky you Jordan.

In class we watched some neat clips about making movies on a low budget. It seems as if the limits of this film will be more our minds than our pocketbooks. (although I don't think we can get Sylvester Stallone for a ham sandwich and a ding dong) A difficult part so far in our planning has been trying to maintain continuity throughout our movie. Since we are cutting so much and will be shooting multiple angles, we have to spend a lot of time considering how we can keep everything the same. It wouldn't make sense for our star to one second be running on the sidewalk next to a building and the next be running through the parking lot with three people walking beside him. This along with casting seem to be the most difficult part of movie making. We really don't want to have anyone in our group in the film, I don't think. So it is difficult to find people to work for free who we think would do a good job. (there are always people who want attention and would love to be in a movie) Hopefully we will be able to find some natural born actors and keep continuity.

Tiger by the Tail

Brian De Palma's, "Blowout", was quite a thriller. I had no idea what was going on for the whole movie. His puppet master status was definitely confirmed as I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time. However, I had such of a little idea of what was coming next it was somewhat annoying. I grew tired of the strings with which De Palma was moving me.

It was amazing how he used multiple aspects of film to keep us guessing and make us uncomfortable. His 360 degree shots, when Travolta was looking for his film after it had been erased, added to the sense of urgency. Since the movie was about a sound technician, De Palma used sound on sound. Some times the sound was overwhelming. At the beginning of the film, I remember one segment where it seemed as if 5 or 6 sounds were playing at once. I thought it was a bit much but it may have added to the theme of sound.

It seems like every movie after 1960 has a theme about the corruption of the United States government. Avatar, Edge of Darkness,(two new movies I have recently seen)and Blowout all have themes that point to the negative side of the United States leaders. I am pretty tired of it. It may not be a fair response to De Palma's movie, especially in my circumstances, but I just would like to watch one movie that had something good to say about the good ole U.S. of A. De Palma depicted our American leaders as liars, cheaters, and womanizers. However, I found it quite interesting that McRyan's lady friend situation was a set up. He was set up for failure. It is amazing how much we expect out of our leaders while we put them on huge pedestals. I don't completely understand why we are shocked when they fall off. Tiger Woods is a great example of such a thing. Tiger Woods is a regular guy just like every other man in America. He is just a regular guy with millions of dollars and little quality time with his wife. He made a mistake. He made multiple mistakes. But we put him up on a unrealistic pedestal like our government leaders and he fell off. Sometimes I feel as if we need to wake up and realize that all our super human leaders aren't so superhuman. If we didn't worship them, maybe these world leaders wouldn't feel like they have such a license to do as they please.

Wow, that was a crazy tangent. But anyway, DePalma's movie was little like the movies we have seen thus far. It was filled with pointless nudity, foul language, and some weak acting (main female actress). Instead of pure entertainment like Singin in the Rain, DePalma's film was less about entertainment and more about real life. Movies from the 50's to 80's seem to have changed from escaping from the days worries to more deeply examining them. Movies have gone from technicolor happiness to multi million dollar disappointments. I enjoy a good thriller. But I don't mind not hearing the F word repetitively and people being fully clothed.

Now that you've examined cinematography, editing, and screenwriting; have begun to look at film with an eye to its structure and elements; and have done an initial division of labor with your teammates -- where do you think your short film project is headed? First, explain the short film project for readers not familiar with our syllabus. Then talk about what ideas or directions, whether nascent or more fully development, have emerged from your group discussions so far. Finally, give us your own personal vision for what might be possible in your short film, with the personnel and resources in your group. What's your ambition, and what would it take to realize it?

In our once a week film class we have a film assignment of creating a short film. Our class has been cut up into groups of four or five and assigned different film genres. Our group is a group of four and we have been assigned an action film. Our films have to include a clown/mime, a skull, a guitar, and the line "Why is this happening to me on today of all days". We will be renting time slots to use one of two class cameras and editing our movie in the ethnography room offered by our class.

I think our short film is headed in the right direction. After all the workshops we have attended, I believe that we will be able to put together a quality short film. It would be very difficult to put together a film as good as spider but it is not a stretch, based on our training, for us to get close to it. In our action film, we have decided very few things so far but one thing is for sure we are having a chase scene. We spent a majority of class time brainstorming plots. We have several directions we are thinking about going. We definitely want to include some plot twists and have some epic music. I believe (and we have learned) that music can make or break the movie. I hope we can do well with applying music to our action film.

My vision for our short film is one of a somewhat stereotypical action star. Many groups will go for things outside of the box. That is going to be neat but I would like to do something that people can recognize. I would like to have a good strong action figure. However, I do not want it to be like Rambo. I would it like to be more in the same area of the transporter. Imran (our director) had a few ideas that fell along that line and I really took to them. I think that it would be interesting to make a film along those lines. In our chase scene, I would like to see some overhead (aerial) shots. I know that will be up to our cameraman (as I am editor) but I would like to see that in our film. I do not really see a love story side to our film. I think it would only distract because of the film duration. Possibilities are endless for us. We will only be limited by our technology. I hope that we can find some extra actors. It would be difficult to make a movie only using the people in our group. My ambition is to make an action film that will keep people on the edge of their seats and comes to an end with the good defeating evil. Although it may be all to common, there is a reason most movies end with the good guy winning. I like that.

The one thing that it will take for us to achieve our goals is time. One word, simple, it is time.

French Foriegn Relations

"Singin' in the Rain" is one of my all time favorite musicals. Probably because it is one of the few I have ever watched. I grew up on sports and action films. Nothing was better than watching Jean Claude Van Damm beat the tar out of people in "Blood Sport" or Stallone beating up Drago in "Rocky IV". But out of all those nights of action films with my father and brothers, I never quite enjoyed a movie night as much as when I watched "Singing in the Rain" with my mom. Granted I do love Rocky and Bloodsport more, as they appeal more to my nature, there is something special about the light hearted humor of moviesfrom this era. The way in which the actors play to us like we are in the audience really changes the vibe the viewers recieve. Instead of feeling like you're watching everything go down from a distance. Movies like "Singin' in the Rain" make you feel like you are sitting at a first row table.

Getting home from a tough day at work, nothing puts a person in a better mood than just being entertained. "Singin' in the Rain" does just that. It is pure entertainment. From tap dancing to singing, the movie is mello and full of neat things to watch. It is such a foriegn thing from film today. It is so refreshing to not have to be on the edge of my seat, or making sure I catch every word. It is a comfort to not have to put up with gross sex scenes and lots of obscenities. Those things are of course part of our lives as american's. People have sex and people cuss. But it is nice to take a break from all that and venture off to a place that is not like the reality of the world we live in. One of the major themes in the film is that movies are better than real life. The acting by Gene Kelly is a little over the top. However, this is what makes the film what it is. "Singin' in the Rain" is an escape from the day to day. The movies are better than real life theme runs through the whole movie based on costumes and the actors. Technicolor also adds to this theme by giving it a "Alice in Wonderland" look. The movie is not realistic. That is what is so special about it.

The great thing about movies from the fifties time period is that they seem to be light hearted. They are definitly not the film noir scary type. The change from "Sunset Boulevard" to "Singin' in the Rain" is a drastic one. I bet the French were happy to see a few movies that weren't in black and white. Foriegn relations with them must have improved.

Spooning and Will Ferrel

Thinking about the techniques presented in the two workshops so far, as well as those observed in Sunset Boulevard, describe any structures, effects, or methods you believe you might be able to pull off in your short film project later this semester. Why do you think the techniques you mention are within your reach? For what purpose would you utilize them? Can you link to any other examples of these techniques that inspire you?

One technique I think we can use for our short films is talking transitions. We watched, as the couple talked in Citizen Kane, the elaborate use of this technique. Even though time was passing as consecutive shots changed, the conversation continuing into transition maintained continuity. Instead of getting lost and confused, the viewer knows exactly what is going on because of the voice transitions. I hope we can use these to maintain continuity throughout our film if it spans any amount of time.

Another technique I think we can use is lighting effects. Although I am unsure of our genre, I think we can definitely use lighting to our advantage. Using different colors of light, such a red or blue or a yellow light (like we saw in Godfather), can totally change the mood of a scene or even a whole film. These light features along with back lighting and shadows can help us draw attention to certain people or certain objects. I hope we can use this in our film to portray emotion and also highlight areas of the cameras view to enhance our viewers experience. I don't really have a link to this example but the scene in "Step Brothers" where the father is lecturing and sees Will Ferrel's mother there is a great use of lighting to make the mother stand out.

Using different camera angles can affect the comfort of the viewers. In conversational scenes the 180 and 30 degree rules are used. Disobedience can cause unrest and discomfort for the viewers. This is very effective for times in movies where things are going bad or intense conversation is coming from a villain. When an intense scene happens in our movie, I hope that we can break a few rules and cause some discomfort for our viewers. After all, just causing an audience to have a feeling I want them to have is awesome.

The last technique I would like to see used in our short film is the use of sound effects. I loved the film about sound technicians. They have the coolest job and I hope I get to do the same in our film. They do such awesome things with everyday objects. I look forward to the possibility of using a frying pan to make the sound of an explosion or a couple spoons to make wind chimes. Of course, a great example of sound effects is found in the Lord of the Rings movie as we watched.

Lights, Camera, Creepy

As we watched Sunset Boulevard I stayed confused about what genre of movie I was watching. My brain kept sending me into horror movie mode. The lighting, camera angles, and the flawless performance of Norma were all perfectly molded together into quite the creepy film. The dark shadowy mansion along with the intriguing role of the servant Max gave the film a very dark and mysterious tone. I was shocked when Max revealed himself as Norma's first husband. (even though I knew he was interested in her) Sunset Boulevard is one dark creepy movie.

Like many other students, I was puzzled at first by Joe's motives at the end of the film. Why did he basically tell Schaffer to get lost? Why did he swear loyalty to Norma? Why did he make himself out to be, well, the coward that he was? As all of these things processed in my brain, I came to the opinion that Joe was doing it for the good of everyone. He needed to get out of the house and be his own man. He had to let Schaffer go because of his loyalty to Artie and because of her innocence. He had to tell Norma that her life is a total lie and that the movie was never going to happen. Although it drove her to murder and insanity, the deed had been done.

Certainly, there will be several opposing views to mine about Joe's motives and about his success in accomplishing his goals in that whole sequence. The great thing about movies (especially this one) is that two different people can gather two totally different things from the same sequence of events. One of the things that make great movies great is their ability to be interpreted by the viewer. One example I can think of is the movie Deja Vu with Denzel Washington. The ending of Deja Vu is very interesting. It ends in somewhat of the same way. Does Denzel Washington remember saving the girls life? Does he remember the time travel and what happened in his parallel life? There are little clues at the very end of the movie. But they are definitely up to viewer interpretation.

Surgical Sound Technicians

Did you hear that sound? Well, I did. The sound of a really cheesy opening line to a blog about sound effects. So, I am sitting here in my room watching King of the Hill (as my I.Q. of course increases) and I can't help but notice that, guess what, King of the Hill has sound. I hear Dale lighting up his cigarette and Hank meticulously mowing his front yard, as every good citizen should. Behind the scenes creative minds must have worked hard together to figure out the sound of bobby's lawnmower wreck or Josephs touchdown run. All this to say... wow, the coolest job ever, with the exception of maybe being a big cat veterinarian in Africa, must be working in sound effects on a movie or t.v. show. Watching the special on The Lord of the Rings and their production of sound proved that last sentence most definitely true. Smashing glass and dropping tons of rock over microphones with (who would have guessed a guy would remember this part) condoms as protectors sounds really cool. Not to mention working with Peter.

But the most incredible part of the film making process isn't so fun. It is called planning. Who likes planning? Not me. Planning out time for homework or planning a vacation just drives me nuts. I hate planning. Even writing essays, I usually do not have a planning stage. I call it a first draft. It costs me tons of time and frustrates me some but anything to get out of planning. In the movie making process 9/10's of the whole thing seems to be planning. From story boards to computer generated versions of the movie some movies take a year or more to plan before the first actor walks in the studio. Planning this big only happens at thanksgiving at my house. But that's beside the point.

Overall, my impression so far of the movie process is that with all the fun and laughter comes tons and tons of work. For every million dollars made comes a million hours of work. I think I will go to medical school and save myself all the movie making work. Maybe that's not such a good trade but hey I can still make sound effects as a doctor but I can't operate on someone as a sound technician.

Inside the Huddle

Last weeks lecture and class was very much factual. I have little experience with film or anything like it. Therefore, I really enjoyed learning mroe about how things ahve evolved over the course of time. It was amazing to me how "The Horse in Motion" revealed to people for the first time that during a gallop all four feet of the horse come off the ground. It is weird to think that htere was actually a time in which people had never seen movies or were unable to plug up the boob tube and check the local weather. Even though cell phones were invented and made popular over the last 20 or 30 years, it is difficult to think about life without them. I personally think that the evolution of the eye of the camera is impressive. Over a short period of time, it went from just a theatrical view to the camera like we have today where shots are not limited by the capabilities of the human observer. In "Footlight Parade" the camera was even underwater. Who knew that technology like that was even available back then? The way in which the camera angles and viewpoints evolved so rapidly is amazing.

Something that struck me was the intensity and complexity of the film making process. There are so many things that directors, writers, producers, and actors, have to consider. When we watched the awards show with Neil Patrick Harris, it really hit me how much goes into a production. Hours and hours of work, thought, mistakes, and fixes had to be done to fit things into the specific time slot and to sync the production. As a viewer, rarely do I think about what goes into the production of movies or even sports. I never appreciate how things had to be planned to fit just right, I just expect them to be so. Today I was watching the San Diego Chargers play the new York Jets and they have a camera that flies around the field and takes shots that would never be possible by an observer. The camera can go into the huddle, check and see if recievers caught the ball or where a tackle was made. it is amazing how entertainment has evolved.

Although there wasn't any time for discussion in class, during class we took random bits of footage with an iPhone. Afterwards, the questions we were presented really struck me. I had considered, along with my group, very little about camera angles or what way in which the audience would see or think about things. Our pursuit of random humor was all that was considered. Although I believe had we been able to show our footage our end goal may have been achieved, we never considered anything but just being silly and playing around. If people laughed it would not have been because of our film making techniques or consideration of the viewer/ camera angles, but instead because of the youtube generation of college students that giggle at silly things. It astounds me how much goes into the film making process. It is no wonder movie directors and actors make so much. What about the camera men though? What are they making?