Merry Christmas!

New Blog

Since the dreaded 290 class has passed, this blog now has a new purpose: documenting my travels/experiences in England.

On January 7th, 2009, I will leave to study abroad at University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. No, I am not studying in London. Brighton is directly south of London on the southern coast, and University of Sussex is about four miles outside of the city. For my semester away from USC, I didn't want another school in the middle of a city. I wanted green space, quiet, but close enough to the city that I can head in if need be. Oh, and they have film classes, so that helps.

But yeah. So now you can bid goodbye to seeing more films on here and instead I'll have pictures and text devoted to England. At least, that's the plan. Chelsea's blog was weeks-sometimes-months behind, so I shall endeavor for that not to happen. :)

Side note: Happy Holidays to all! In case I don't talk to you on the actual days, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

Vagabond Project

OK, so this is the final final project you will get from me. A little background...

We were assigned a group project to be finished entirely in class. The class was split into 3 groups, with 6 people in each group. Each person was assigned a job: director, producer/assistant director, director of photography, camera operator, boom operator (the big mic above the actors), and editor. We were all given the same scene for Waiting for Godot (worst scene ever). An acting instructor brought in a bunch of actors and we had a casting session, then picked the actors we wanted.

We had to create meaning to the "open" scene, imbue the scene with meaning and a scenario that is not specifically there. Very difficult, but whatever.

One class period was devoted to filming the scene. Then two class periods were devoted to editing the project. Each group had teams of 2 that edited their own cuts, so each group had 3 cuts of the same material. It was kind of interesting to see how everyone edited it together differently. 

Anyway, without further ado, my (and another guy's) edit of the scene. Enjoy.

Ugh. There are issues with this video. Unfortunately. Must have changed settings when I was exporting it. Crap. Sorry. The sound is not supposed to be that jarring in the beginning.

It's been great talking about all my production stuff this semester. Next semester look forward to blogging about my study abroad in the UK!

Film 5: Black Friday

LAST FILM LAST FILM!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!

I am officially all done with 290!! No more production classes for meeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Haha. But yeah. My last film was a documentary of Black Friday. I combined news reports from YouTube with my own interviews on Black Friday. Again, special thanks to Sydney for waking up incredibly early and interviewing everyone, and to Cecil for lending me her camera (major flashback to high school). 

And, without further ado, my last film.

One more film will be posted here. We did a group project in class, and I'll upload my version of the film and explain what the project was. But it won't be for another few days.

Anyway, I hope you have all enjoyed living through 290 with me. I hope you've enjoyed watched all of my student films and learning about filmmaking from my perspective. Stay tuned to this blog for further postings about my exploits in and frolicking about England next semester!!

Film 5: Production

Filming on Black Friday went of with relatively no hitches. Sydney acted as interviewer and my cousin Jordan tagged along while my wonderful brother waited by himself in the cold in line at Circuit City to hold a place for us for shopping later.

The 2 interviews we did at Circuit City were decent but, unfortunately, I forgot to turn on the microphone. Therefore no sound. Egad. But then we went to the mall and got 3 good interviews and then went to Best Buy and got a great interview from these two women who are Black Friday aficionados. So now I've uploaded all the footage and need to edit it because the film is due Tuesday. Gag.

But Cecil so wonderfully lent me her camera and Firewire cord and made filming this weekend possible, so hats off to her! Thanks to those who helped out and made my life easier and a little bit more fun.

Expect a final Film 5 post Tuesday night or Wednesday!

Film 5: Pre-Production

LAST FILM!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!!!

So, this is actually the only update you'll be getting for awhile. Because I'm postponing production on Film 5 until the very very last minute. Why, do you ask? Because of my subject matter.

Film 5 will be...*drum roll*...a documentary on Black Friday!!

So I'll film on Black Friday, edit all weekend and on the plane back to LA, and screen the film in class the following Tuesday. Fast fast turnaround, but I think I can do it. Plus, I'm too exhausted to do an actual film with casting and a story line etc. And the teachers want you to experiment with different genres. So it's good that I did an animation, and now I'll be doing a doc. And I've done a drama, a bittersweet dramady and a comedy-ish film, so I think I'm showing variety. I hope.

But yeah, the doc will feature interviews with people standing in line outside of stores, news reports on Black Friday and how the economy is affecting peoples' shopping habits (e.g. are they now shopping more on Black Friday for the deals, or are they not shopping as much?). 

Any ideas you, dear readers, want to add, please feel free. 

Oh, and Sydney is going to be my 1st AD (assistant director) for the shoot. Give it up for Sydney who will be up at 3 a.m. helping me! And for Andrew who will be up at the same time to save us spots in line. :)

If you'd like to help out, let me know! I'd love all the help I can get. If you need an incentive, I'll treat you to breakfast after. Now you have to come!

Film 4: The Blank Page

Film 4 is officially done! I screened it today in class! 

This will be a semi-massive post because you didn't get the benefits of separate pre-production, production, and post-production posts.

So quick synopsis: A guy has writers block while trying to write a screenplay but can only think of famous movie quotes. He then goes out to try to find inspiration from everyday life.

I wrote the script after developing an idea of someone presented with all this inspiration from everyday life but not being able to be inspired by it. And, of course, being a movie geek...have to put movie quotes in it!

This is my first film where I tried casting. I didn't hold auditions, but I did post on LA Casting and get actors who showed interest in the parts, then contacted them. Slightly stressful, but I think it worked out OK.

Filming was done haphazardly in the park across from USC because I didn't get a permit and thus wasn't actually allowed to film there. Oh well, it all worked out.

I really loved the performance from Lala, the main girl. I literally filmed her for about 12 minutes because she was just so entertaining with her antics. I actually think she stole the film (it might be because I put her in more because of her great performance), but shh, don't tell the male lead.

Because I was sick the weekend I was supposed to be filming, this past weekend when I did film was supposed to be my editing weekend. AKA I had to cram 2 weeks worth of work into 1. Meaning the past 2 nights I've been at the editing lab until it closed. Which is only until midnight because they close ridiculously early, but still.

People in class had problems with the ending and clarity in general, but I'm officially done with the project and am thus moving on. I can live with a little ambiguity. And since I'm the filmmaker, what I say goes.

Now I only have one more film left...