Well, I apologize for my delay in writing about what has ensued for the past couple of weeks. Although nothing dramatic or major has happened, it still is a good idea to keep everyone updated as to what is going on with me, my group and our film project. Please do pardon my lateness and my squeezing of two weeks' updates up into a single blog.
So, two weeks has gone by pretty fast, and I can't believe that I am in the process of studying my head off for finals. Although I can't wait to get the semester over with, there's one thing I'd miss; my Honors film class. I already miss our movie nights and all that goes with it. Then as a substitute, we started doing our own movies. Then as quickly as it went, we are done shooting our film. Yaayy..it was a great success and I am really proud to have worked with such intelligent young scholars. Last two weeks was our last week of shooting our film, and the last but one day was really an interesting one. When unsuspecting people walking and driving around campus came to the scene of a young man lying helplessly on the floor, believed to have been knocked down by the blue TOYOTA car,that was parked a few inches away from him, with people gathered around him and some shouting out for help, they began to utter words like "OMG!! What happened??" and "Oh no..call the ambulance!!" The expressions on their faces was enough to convey a sense of sorrow and their willingless to help. Unknown to them, a group of young, intellectual scholars had gathered to do what they've been thought to do for the past couple of months. Haha...We must have been really good actors and actresses to have given that impression to unsuspecting passer-bys.
Then the final day of shooting came. On that bright Sunday evening, we were set to shoot a scene of mostly dialogs between our 2 main characters. Our crew gathered and met at the specified place and we all moved to our location. Then, our director had his script ready, actors were ready for a quick rehearsal to go through the lines, and the bag containing our camera laid on the floor, staring at us "smilingly". Then, it was time to shoot.Camera was brought out, turned on, and actors were ready to go. Director shouted, "Action" and after a few dialogues were exchanged, the next thing everyone heard was "Dang!! we ran out of battery."
"OMG...seriously???" I thought to myself, hoping that it wasn't true. But no, I run out of luck, it definitely was. Both batteries had been used up and had just a few minutes, if not seconds, left on them. Now, we definitely had to get those last scenes shot that evening,so we put ideas together, and definitely got things done. Our actors run through the lines as quickly as they could, and we conserved the battery as much as we could. And JUST when our female character said her last word for the dialog, the screen displayed "BATTERY EMPTY" and went out!! How AMAZING!!!
So we finally got our film shot and done with, as planned. Now the next step was to edit, and make the multi-million dollar award winning short film of the year, ready for the markets.
So last week in class, we all gathered just to see what the fate of our videos were. We then had to get our shots digitized, so we could begin with the editing process. Since a lot of other groups had presented their tapes, they had to get theirs digitized first and due to some circumstances, the process took longer than expected. Unfortunately, our tape was not digitized... :( and we have barely 2 weeks to get everything done and submitted. But, once again, our smart director devised a plan. Clint has been so helpful and hardworking in getting this short film going, and I'm really happy to have such a person on our team. He finally got the tape digitized, and hence ready for editing. I must confess that as I write, I have no idea how far editing has gone, but to the best of my knowledge, our sound director, Jessica, is very much ready to put in some wonderful tunes and get the short film READY!!
I can't wait to see what the final product of our efforts has been, neither can I wait to see what my colleagues in other teams have...May 6th should hurry and get here!!!! Goodluck everyone....
*CUT*
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Team 6 Short film Progress Report....
For the past week, my group members and I have been really co-operative in getting out thoughts and ideas together, with hopes of getting a really good end-product. So far, I have seen talents being unearthened and put to work, a great deal of thought-processing being made, as well as a supportive environment of learning under practical conditions.
So far, my group members have all been dedicated, and shown a lot of positive attitude and support towards our efforts. I can say with much confidence that our short film will be a success.
Of course, just as anything or anyone else, we run into a few minor issues,which we quickly learnt from and moved on. Because trying to explain what these issues were, would lead to the disclosure of the plot of our short film, I'd rather keep it and mention it in my next blog, by which time our movie would have been ready to hit the theatres!! :)
So far, all is well, and we are set to get our final scenes on Thursday before class period, after which we would begin with the editing process. I am particularly grateful to my team members for making this a success. And to someone who spends most of her free time with us, just to see this materialize,I say "Harley, we are most grateful and indebted to you." To everyone on the team,I say "good job, thanks for all the wonderful support, and let's finish it up hard!!!!
So far, my group members have all been dedicated, and shown a lot of positive attitude and support towards our efforts. I can say with much confidence that our short film will be a success.
Of course, just as anything or anyone else, we run into a few minor issues,which we quickly learnt from and moved on. Because trying to explain what these issues were, would lead to the disclosure of the plot of our short film, I'd rather keep it and mention it in my next blog, by which time our movie would have been ready to hit the theatres!! :)
So far, all is well, and we are set to get our final scenes on Thursday before class period, after which we would begin with the editing process. I am particularly grateful to my team members for making this a success. And to someone who spends most of her free time with us, just to see this materialize,I say "Harley, we are most grateful and indebted to you." To everyone on the team,I say "good job, thanks for all the wonderful support, and let's finish it up hard!!!!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Final Scene...Roll Tape.........ACTION!!!!
As the old saying goes, "all is well, that ends well."
"Adaptation" was definitely a great way to end our fun-filled movie nights. I am absolutely going to miss our "mini-theater" where we watch our movies, discuss/decipher them and come out, always refreshed and equipped with new ideas and useful information. What more could wisdom-seekers ask for? Thanks to the AWESOME woman behind the trick-- Her Excellency, Professor Donna Bowman!!!
[Donna , I hope you are ready for a close-up, because our cameras are..:-)]
Well....last week in class, we watched "Adaptation," a movie made in 2002 by Spike Jonze, where a screenwriter (played by Charles Kaufman) is faced with a daunting task of writing a script based on the novel, "The orchid thief," written by Susan Orlean (who also played a "physical" role in the movie.)
As easy as the task before Charles seems, it turns out to be the theme of the movie...The movie brings Charles' thoughts, experiences, decisions and frustrations to the viewer. This makes the viewer understand and appreciate to a greater extent, what it takes to write a script foor a movie. Despite all the previous successes chalked by Charles in writing excellent screenplays, this script presents him with the opportunity to think outside the box. He therefore decides to meet with the author of the book, so as to get first-hand information as to what the book was all about. In the process, Kaufman begins to fantasize about the author, but is too shy to make her aware of his intentions. He therefore makes his twin brother play his role,(although it would have made no difference since his brother was actually,just one of his multiple personalities). Once this was started, the realities of life, violence, sex and drug trafficking set in.
The movie does a really great job in getting the viewer to think about the things that go on in everyday lives of screenwriters, as well as the elements of good screenwriting. Although the last quarter of the movie seemed a little bit more abstract, I believe that this was done on purporse, in order for the viewer to once again appreciate the value of critical thinking and its significance in movie making.
Just as all the previous movies we've watched in class, this movie gives us more insights into movies and the movie industry at large. It helps us to think out loud, and how to understand what goes on in the industry. No matter how small these ideas are, I am convinced that most of us use them as we plan our short film projects.
For my group, it is our turn to shoot our short film, and I am more than excited to see what we can get on these rolls of tape (not literally..haha) I can't wait to see what my other colleagues have too on finals day. It's definitely going to be lots of fun....;)
But until then, "Stay strong, do no wrong, live long, where you belong!"
*CUT*
"Adaptation" was definitely a great way to end our fun-filled movie nights. I am absolutely going to miss our "mini-theater" where we watch our movies, discuss/decipher them and come out, always refreshed and equipped with new ideas and useful information. What more could wisdom-seekers ask for? Thanks to the AWESOME woman behind the trick-- Her Excellency, Professor Donna Bowman!!!
[Donna , I hope you are ready for a close-up, because our cameras are..:-)]
Well....last week in class, we watched "Adaptation," a movie made in 2002 by Spike Jonze, where a screenwriter (played by Charles Kaufman) is faced with a daunting task of writing a script based on the novel, "The orchid thief," written by Susan Orlean (who also played a "physical" role in the movie.)
As easy as the task before Charles seems, it turns out to be the theme of the movie...The movie brings Charles' thoughts, experiences, decisions and frustrations to the viewer. This makes the viewer understand and appreciate to a greater extent, what it takes to write a script foor a movie. Despite all the previous successes chalked by Charles in writing excellent screenplays, this script presents him with the opportunity to think outside the box. He therefore decides to meet with the author of the book, so as to get first-hand information as to what the book was all about. In the process, Kaufman begins to fantasize about the author, but is too shy to make her aware of his intentions. He therefore makes his twin brother play his role,(although it would have made no difference since his brother was actually,just one of his multiple personalities). Once this was started, the realities of life, violence, sex and drug trafficking set in.
The movie does a really great job in getting the viewer to think about the things that go on in everyday lives of screenwriters, as well as the elements of good screenwriting. Although the last quarter of the movie seemed a little bit more abstract, I believe that this was done on purporse, in order for the viewer to once again appreciate the value of critical thinking and its significance in movie making.
Just as all the previous movies we've watched in class, this movie gives us more insights into movies and the movie industry at large. It helps us to think out loud, and how to understand what goes on in the industry. No matter how small these ideas are, I am convinced that most of us use them as we plan our short film projects.
For my group, it is our turn to shoot our short film, and I am more than excited to see what we can get on these rolls of tape (not literally..haha) I can't wait to see what my other colleagues have too on finals day. It's definitely going to be lots of fun....;)
But until then, "Stay strong, do no wrong, live long, where you belong!"
*CUT*
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