PSA: Teen Smoking
Here's the first project I did this semester, and the first of the year. Basically, I worked with others to create a humorous PSA about teen smoking. It took only a few days to film, and a few to edit. The main challenge was that we couldn't get good enough shots, until someone pulled out their iPhone and we filmed with that. Another challenge was how windy it was that day. We tried to film when the wind had toned down for a few seconds, and then edit out all the rest. Yet, it was a little hard to hear. There wasn't much we could do to change it after that feedback, but tried to make it slightly better. However, on my part, I really like the color correcting I did for my edit, though it does seem a little inconsistent for some of the shots. Overall though, it was a great start to the year.
Short Film: Sentio
On the flip side, the short film I worked on was dramatic. My friend Brett had a really cool idea for a type of surreal psychological thriller. We went more into planning with this one. I took on the role of art director and location scout, and was in charge of the set, props and consistency of them. The actors were a little hard to find, as only one person showed up to the audition. Yet, Brett has friends who can act. We used the weekend to get the shots of the restaurant, and after school at Brett's house. Production went quickly, but post-production took quite a long time. Plus, Brett is a really self-sufficient and advanced editor, and he insisted that he could do it by himself. Props to him, it looks great. The only issue we had was that our audio was way to quiet for a few shots, but we were able to rerecord that. The class said it was great, although the plot was a little confusing the first watch. It was one of those films where you have to really think while watching it, and I love that.
And now for a little sneak peak of something we're working on right now:
Feature Film: The Hidden
So every year the class works together to create a movie-length feature film. The plot of ours was originally conceived by Brady Stanfield, but expanded by the whole class. As of writing this, we have most of our actors casted and pre-production almost done. Without going into too much detail: it's about a girl who finds the cure to cancer in a world where the government forbids it. No spoilers for you. I took on the roles as one of the script writers. The original script Brady wrote was like 12 pages, but the final is 88 pages. I can't make too many exclamations, but... dang! This is going to be huge. We also applied to production roles, and I am pleased to tell you that I will be the art director again. Today, I just finished the prop list, and I'll send it out to the crew and try to start collecting the props we need.
Productivity
A lot of the time, I feel like I have nothing to do in class. Whether it's because we finished a project early, or because I've done all of my work on the project, I have some free time in this class. But, to stay productive, I've taken to working on my skills. Script writing and pre-production has always been my forte in filmmaking, so I like to work on independent projects. I have a few scripts and treatments I write to keep myself occupied. Also, I told you about this in a separate blog post. If I have writers block and no creative juices, I try to hone the technical side of filmmaking by analyzing short films.
My Strengths
Like I said earlier, pre-production is my forte. I'm a creative person who has almost too many ideas for short films and feature films. I really like focusing on story and character arcs. As an avid writer in general, I enjoy treatment and script writing. Also, being an art director has taught me to be visual.
Areas of Improvement
Well, like an average human, I won't be good at everything. While my editing has improved from freshman and sophomore years (cringes), I'm still not a very cinematic editor. I haven't been able to figure out that "look" that a lot of great movies have in Premier Pro. What I can do now is watch a lot of movies and try to imitate the lighting and colors in my own shots.
Guest Speakers
This year, we had some guest speakers come in and talk to our class. It was really cool to listen to local industry professionals talk about filmmaking. Both of them work in advertising, and one is Mrs. Smith's son. We got to view their work, and they told us what they did to improve their skills until they were hired. We learned that pre-production is the most important part, because if you don't really create something good at that time, then production and post-production are bound to fail. One of the speakers also looked at the script for The Hidden, and gave us feedback to work on the dialogue. We did.
MX4D
We also went on a field trip to a local theater to watch an MX4D movie, brand new theater technology. The seats move around, a breeze and mist are blown at you, and the smell of grass is used. We discussed making moving and sensory movies, since this is the future of theaters.
Summary
Well, it's been a great semester. I really felt like I grew a lot as a student filmmaker. Even with some mistakes, I wouldn't change anything, because the mistakes have helped me grow. I'm really exciting to work independently this break, and see what I can do for The Hidden. Until then, Happy Holidays everyone! Speak to you next year!
