This just goes to show you that you can never really trust anybody with professionalism. We're students, humans and we love to fool around. Although it is taking time away from filming, you got have some fun then get back to work! Also, as the director, he needs to find a way to bring team over the wall and get back on track.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Distractions and Obstacles in production
There will always be some form of distraction or obstacles in the path to finish the film. Murphy's Law is the film makers best friend and worst enemy. Whatever can happen, will happen. If it can rain, it will rain. If the camera has the ability to not work, it will not work. If your friends are stupid enough to steal your camera, they will do it and film Ranger Nick. Enjoy!
This just goes to show you that you can never really trust anybody with professionalism. We're students, humans and we love to fool around. Although it is taking time away from filming, you got have some fun then get back to work! Also, as the director, he needs to find a way to bring team over the wall and get back on track.
This just goes to show you that you can never really trust anybody with professionalism. We're students, humans and we love to fool around. Although it is taking time away from filming, you got have some fun then get back to work! Also, as the director, he needs to find a way to bring team over the wall and get back on track.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Production!
Welcome to production or how logical thinkers would say, "the second level of hell". Not to discourage the film making process in any way, it is hard work, it is annoying work, as it sure is the best work. During production, you film. This is when the key ingredients in making the entree of a five star restaurant are produced. This is the lumberyard, the farm. You get the point. In my last blog, I was talking about the necessity to ace pre production. Shot lists, storyboards, concept art, and an overall goal were being planted to sprout the pedals of success during filming.
The first scene and first shot(Or the Jonesy) was at Frank's house. This scene is where our troubled, little, and precarious character named Frankie Gibson is waking up to another day full of mindless bullies and ignorant beings. This shot was essentially a simple and quick shot. It turned out that it took us almost 2 hours to fulfill and we needed to be at the library around the same time. The one thing that was tricky was the timing. The phone needed to activate the alarm and the youtube to video had to be in a key part. This flow of movement was a trick at first, but after Danilise and me timed and cued each element.
The second shot and the second scene was at the library. In total it took us over 2 hours to film this mother. Fortunately, I knew all the shots that I wanted. Unfortunately, it was taking to time to realize this into reality Communication was always my problem as a director. Oh I hate when people don't understand my "vision". When being a director, we need always remember you are the parent of everyone. Telling them what to do, making them listen, and taking care of them. They won't realize your vision if you don't realize theirs. They want to have a fun and less complicated time on set. When you try to control more than 30 or even 5, some won't listen to you. Directors need to establish themselves as the Alpha. During this production, I had to do that. My friends tried to play, but we managed.
Oh yeah, one thing for potential directors that are looking to stepping into a boat sailing for maelstrom, bring friends that will keep you on track.
By the time we got to the Martini Shot, we all were very tired. I was hungry for chicken fries, which if you haven't tried them, you should. Some people were uncooperative and others were done. I yelled, "that's a wrap" and we left. Now it was time for editing.
I always try to learn what I can in whichever story I tell. I learned that you have to keep everyone in a short leash, others shorter. Always come prepared with a plan and the best way to communicate your vision with everybody.
hmmmmm... chicken fries.... hmmmmm....
The first scene and first shot(Or the Jonesy) was at Frank's house. This scene is where our troubled, little, and precarious character named Frankie Gibson is waking up to another day full of mindless bullies and ignorant beings. This shot was essentially a simple and quick shot. It turned out that it took us almost 2 hours to fulfill and we needed to be at the library around the same time. The one thing that was tricky was the timing. The phone needed to activate the alarm and the youtube to video had to be in a key part. This flow of movement was a trick at first, but after Danilise and me timed and cued each element.
The second shot and the second scene was at the library. In total it took us over 2 hours to film this mother. Fortunately, I knew all the shots that I wanted. Unfortunately, it was taking to time to realize this into reality Communication was always my problem as a director. Oh I hate when people don't understand my "vision". When being a director, we need always remember you are the parent of everyone. Telling them what to do, making them listen, and taking care of them. They won't realize your vision if you don't realize theirs. They want to have a fun and less complicated time on set. When you try to control more than 30 or even 5, some won't listen to you. Directors need to establish themselves as the Alpha. During this production, I had to do that. My friends tried to play, but we managed.
Oh yeah, one thing for potential directors that are looking to stepping into a boat sailing for maelstrom, bring friends that will keep you on track.
By the time we got to the Martini Shot, we all were very tired. I was hungry for chicken fries, which if you haven't tried them, you should. Some people were uncooperative and others were done. I yelled, "that's a wrap" and we left. Now it was time for editing.
I always try to learn what I can in whichever story I tell. I learned that you have to keep everyone in a short leash, others shorter. Always come prepared with a plan and the best way to communicate your vision with everybody.
hmmmmm... chicken fries.... hmmmmm....
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Pre Production
There is a saying. If you nail pre production, production will be a piece of cake. Scheduling, shot list, storyboarding, concept art, and the final script are all part of the pre production process. Here are some of the concept art we have for the film:
I Fight Dragons
Music for a movie is at times tricky. Composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, or Ennio Morricone have to create symphony that will create the character's feelings in an audio way. Filmmakers often use songs to introduce the tone or characters of the movie. The trick is to have a song that is incomplete. Akira Kurosawa coined two terms. The first one is Incomplete Music. This type of music isn't what you hear in the radio or any random time. It isn't indepedent. This type of music is called incomplete since it needs a visual medium to accompany it. This is why film music has that certain type of "playing in the background" type of feel. The second type is counterpoint or contrapuntal music. This music uses a happy song paired with a sad visual. Examples could include Stuck in the Middle of You in Resevoir Dogs. Kurosawa described that if we pair a happy song with a sad visual then the impact will be greater.
Anyways, for our film there will be a song playing the radio as a natural sound. When the drum hits the title sequence will begin. We chose the song Pretend by I Fight Dragons. This song is incomplete as if a visual could drive the impact for the audience. It's style also utlizes the character's details. A techno, video game style song. When the scene moves to one depicting bullying, the song will play in the background, driving the scene to an emotional impact. The only problem is, how we are going to use a song from an actual band.
So you know those times when your friend swears he met or spoke to a famous person. Our Frank Pol did. He emailed the lead singer to I Fight Dragons, asking persmission to use their song. Here is their reply:
This is the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBU41JPXaUI
Anyways, for our film there will be a song playing the radio as a natural sound. When the drum hits the title sequence will begin. We chose the song Pretend by I Fight Dragons. This song is incomplete as if a visual could drive the impact for the audience. It's style also utlizes the character's details. A techno, video game style song. When the scene moves to one depicting bullying, the song will play in the background, driving the scene to an emotional impact. The only problem is, how we are going to use a song from an actual band.
So you know those times when your friend swears he met or spoke to a famous person. Our Frank Pol did. He emailed the lead singer to I Fight Dragons, asking persmission to use their song. Here is their reply:
Thursday, March 12, 2015
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS
Cinematography! Oh I love it! It's what you see and you can be so very creative. Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubeszki, Roger Deakins, Gregg Toland, Conrad Hall, and The Prince of Darkness Gordon Willis to name some of my favorite cinematographers. Overall, this is what you see and it is one of the most important jobs. This will present the story and drive it forward. This is what entertains the audience and makes them satisfied. Everybody has their own styles. Very basic to very complex, but the only unbreakable rule is: ALWAYS SIMPLE AND ALWAYS CLEAR. That goes everything. The director is charge of the WHY for the cinematographer is in charge of the HOW.
With our film, the cinematograpy will be compromised with two long shots that will navigate in the world of our main protogonist. The first one will be a simple push in to a computer. It starts with a Medium Shot of Frankie waking up. He gets in the frame, which uses the visual comedy as advantage. He gets out and the camera pushes in to computer. This simple push in to the computer represents the double life of a high school loser and YouTube celebrity. We then cut into title sequence, showing both lives. This sequence represents the YouTube celebrity ego with YouTube being the template for the sequence. The title of the film is shown in the main video. Suddenly, the camera pulls back and starts a long take showing various people watching the videos that the YouTube celebrity made. It then goes to the bully scene. This in turn will navigate back into the high school loser. This scene is compromised with a high angle showing billitering and a low angle to show intimidation. An over the shoulder shot to show dialogue and close ups to connect with the character.
Here is the shot list:
- Int. Bedroom. Day
- Montage
- School
1A. WS. Out of focused bedroom, FRANKIE getting up from bed, entering the frame. He yawns and then the alarm sounds. This really wakes him up as a song plays making him get up. He exits the frame. Focused. PUSH INTO a computer with YouTube as the website. As we get nearer, the song gets louder. As the beat drops, we cut to the montage.
1B. WS. YouTube Page
2B. CU. Search Bar
3B. MS/BOOM DOWN. Related Videos
4B. MS. YouTube Video with Title. Background out of focused.
1C. CU. YouTube Video. Pull back to reveal video on smartphone and people walking. Follow people to fight.
2C. MS. FRANKIE entering frame. EDDIE punches him to the ground
3C. MS/Low Angle. EDDIE and EMMA
4C. MS/High Angle. FRANKIE
5C. OS. EMMA
6C. OS. EDDIE
7C. CU. EMMA walking away
8C. MS. FRANKIE getting up
9C. CU. Mask is falling down
10C. WS. FRANKIE walking away
11C. CU. Mask on ground, but two feet mysteriously enter the frame
Script
Finally! A story that we can film. The trick is not reveal too much, but the right amount for the audience to want to find out more. See, it's not about what you show, it's what you leave in the audience's imagination. For example, Gravity. Two Astronuts lost in space. The whole time you are trying to get to a conclusion. How is this going to end? Are they gonna die? How the hell are they going to get from space to the earth? Although not very acccurate, the story found a way and the end the fantastical feats that the characteres go through overshadow the realistic point of view. Movies are just that. They are fictional and leave why am I watching this? So what are you going to do? The main thing is to introduce the character and sympathize with him. In turn, the audience will relate to him thus making the audience sympathetic, not relatable. This will leave the audience wanting him to suceed. This will activate the imagination throughout the whole piece. Movies are just that. They are fictional and leave the imagination of the audience wanting more. In this film opening, we have introduce the main players, the setting, and the conflict. Frankie, a normal, shy high school boy is bullied occasionally and not well recieved at his school. Behind closed curtains and the endless stage of the internet, he becomes his alter ego. A mysterious entity with a mask, popularizing himself around the school. Eddie, the school's bully disrespects him and occasionally beats him. Emma, his girlfriend and Frankie's love interest has a humanistic side and sympathizes with Frankie. This is when the audience will connect with Frankie. At the end of the film opening, we decided to go with a cliffhanger. The mask is in Frankie's backpack. It falls out and is lost. Suddenly, two feet approach it and a hand reaches to pick it up. Who might it be? Well, you gotta see the film to find out.
Here is the script:
Here is the script:
Setting: Room in the morning :)
Black video
Titles appear
Int. Room. Morning (:
A bedroom is shown. FRANKIE GIBSON wakes up and gets up into the frame. The alarm starts playing and really wakes him up. He then walks out of the bed. A computer is shown from afar and the camera pushes forward when he exits the frame.
Music starts playing as radio quality. When drum hits… A website appears on the screen. It’s YouTube
On the Youtube search bar, the actor’s name is typed. The mouse moves on related videos and shows the other actor’s names as it moves down. The shot cuts to the whole video and shows the title of the movie. Montages of the different videos is shown with the titles of the crew. It ends with an establishing shot of a school with DIRECTED BY. The shot is out of focused on a group of kids talking about the YouTuber and then FRANKIE passes by them, coming into frame and the camera follows him
He gets to a hallway/walkway, someone trips h
FRANKIE
Hey listen, I need to get to class. You need to get back to (some insult to their intelligence)
*FRANKIE is pushed to the ground. A high angle shot of FRANKIE on the ground looking up. Then a low angle of the bully*
Eddie’s friends are seeing a YouTube video.
EDDIE’S FRIENDS
Eddie man, PolThoughts uploaded a new video!
EDDIE
I’ll be right over! Let me finish..
The bell rings. EMMA stops EDDIE.
EMMA
Hey! Not the way to keep me!
EDDIE
You’re lucky Gibson…
*FRANKIE gets up. The mask falls off as waves of people crowd the _______. Nobody pays attention to the mask. Suddenly two feet stop. A guy picks it up. AXEL SMITH, a very popular student from a high class family. He will be the one that changes the story. He smirks and hides the mask.
INT. HALLWAY. DAY
FRANKIE tries to show the mask to a girl to get her attention.
Sharkisha
You know, ummm what’s your name? Whatever, if you’re not real, then I’m walking away
FRANKIE looks into his backpack and finds nothing but his folders. The girl walks away as FRANKIE looks up
FRANKIE
Damn it
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The Fourth Wall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KFVLWX7eEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tX40xe2cnw
There are many techniques to open a film. The classic title cards started everything off. An interesting action sequence where you become engaged to the scene or a pivotal event that gears things in motion. Some intros start off by introducing the main players or a whole monologue to develop the atmosphere we just stepped into. One technique is also the use of narration. Perhaps a Terence Malick style philosophical approach or a classy yet smooth talk can work. There is one technique that engages the audience directly and that is breaking the fourth wall.
Breaking the fourth wall is when the characters become self aware that they are in this platform, perhaps a movie, comic book, or video game. This allows them to become visual and more interactive with the viewer. This can relate to the viewer in many ways and often sympathize with the character since he is your self proclaimed tour guide.
Ferris Bueller, Jordan Belfort, Frank Underwood are some of the characters that have the best breaks. They speak directly to the audience, trying to teach them, and inevitably make them understand the world, the decisions, and the characters they have to deal with. Also, it's just so damn cool. That's another thing too, this emits their coolness with the screen. By making something seem normal and cool, this raises the human interaction for curiosity and sympathetic emotions.
The characters have to have certain abilities to even want to break the fourth wall. They have to be men of power, courageous, and ruthless. A bit narcissistic, but their ego is so big that it can't even fit in the screen. They have to tell everybody what's on their mind, even you.
This technique has helped us with discover what we want to do with our film. Perhaps this can work or maybe it won't. So to wrap things up in this blog post, next time you see a character speaking directly to you, remember back to what you are reading right now. Listen to the character, he probably is the only figure that can help carry you into this world. Now, how am I going to end this blog post?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tX40xe2cnw
There are many techniques to open a film. The classic title cards started everything off. An interesting action sequence where you become engaged to the scene or a pivotal event that gears things in motion. Some intros start off by introducing the main players or a whole monologue to develop the atmosphere we just stepped into. One technique is also the use of narration. Perhaps a Terence Malick style philosophical approach or a classy yet smooth talk can work. There is one technique that engages the audience directly and that is breaking the fourth wall.
Breaking the fourth wall is when the characters become self aware that they are in this platform, perhaps a movie, comic book, or video game. This allows them to become visual and more interactive with the viewer. This can relate to the viewer in many ways and often sympathize with the character since he is your self proclaimed tour guide.
Ferris Bueller, Jordan Belfort, Frank Underwood are some of the characters that have the best breaks. They speak directly to the audience, trying to teach them, and inevitably make them understand the world, the decisions, and the characters they have to deal with. Also, it's just so damn cool. That's another thing too, this emits their coolness with the screen. By making something seem normal and cool, this raises the human interaction for curiosity and sympathetic emotions.
The characters have to have certain abilities to even want to break the fourth wall. They have to be men of power, courageous, and ruthless. A bit narcissistic, but their ego is so big that it can't even fit in the screen. They have to tell everybody what's on their mind, even you.
This technique has helped us with discover what we want to do with our film. Perhaps this can work or maybe it won't. So to wrap things up in this blog post, next time you see a character speaking directly to you, remember back to what you are reading right now. Listen to the character, he probably is the only figure that can help carry you into this world. Now, how am I going to end this blog post?
Intro to Intro
An Intro to an Intro
Film opening. 2 minutes. About 5 weeks or so. What could go wrong?
As we quickly got into our groups for the film opening, we discovered that everybody had delightful ideas. A film opening is an introduction to a whole film. It's used to hook the audience and bring them in the world the characters dwell. This way, the audience can learn more about the characters, but enough that will make them want to find out more. If you can hook the audience in the first minute, then you have a solid movie.
For this project, the goals that I have in my group is to tell a story in the first 2 minutes that would impact the audience to learn more. The lingering curiosity that the viewer might have may result in a well made intro to intro. I hope to learn how to get the audience into the story in the first minute and keep them until the very last. With that spark of life that the first frame emits, the scene should have an establishing tone where we find out where and why are we here. What's the point of this and why am I wasting 2 minutes of my precious time to see this. If you catch them there, then the audience will want to learn more and maybe even stay for 5 minutes, 10 minutes. 30 minutes. 60 minutes, or hopefully 90 minutes.
This film opening is a good introduction on how to value the time you are given with and how to entertain the audience in a short amount of time. I hope to realize which techniques work and which ones don't. Overall, I hope to learn how to make a good beginning so I can make a good middle and a good ending.
Film opening. 2 minutes. About 5 weeks or so. What could go wrong?
As we quickly got into our groups for the film opening, we discovered that everybody had delightful ideas. A film opening is an introduction to a whole film. It's used to hook the audience and bring them in the world the characters dwell. This way, the audience can learn more about the characters, but enough that will make them want to find out more. If you can hook the audience in the first minute, then you have a solid movie.
For this project, the goals that I have in my group is to tell a story in the first 2 minutes that would impact the audience to learn more. The lingering curiosity that the viewer might have may result in a well made intro to intro. I hope to learn how to get the audience into the story in the first minute and keep them until the very last. With that spark of life that the first frame emits, the scene should have an establishing tone where we find out where and why are we here. What's the point of this and why am I wasting 2 minutes of my precious time to see this. If you catch them there, then the audience will want to learn more and maybe even stay for 5 minutes, 10 minutes. 30 minutes. 60 minutes, or hopefully 90 minutes.
This film opening is a good introduction on how to value the time you are given with and how to entertain the audience in a short amount of time. I hope to realize which techniques work and which ones don't. Overall, I hope to learn how to make a good beginning so I can make a good middle and a good ending.
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