Final Class Reflection

Holy crap, is it hard to believe that the semester is already over! It's crazy to think about all of the different projects this class has completed over the semester ad how close everyone has gotten with each other as a result. I think the only people I never worked on a project with this class were Stan and Madison, but besides that I've been able to work with everyone at least once. This was such a unique class due to everyone's awesome personalities and the amount of original work we had to complete. Come to think of it, I don't think there are any other 300 level production classes that offer as many learning opportunities or creative projects compared to this class. I could be wrong, but this class serves as a soft spot for me, so I'm biased.

I have learned to truly think outside of the box and not be afraid to create what I think works best. Although working with limits forces you to be creative, it's how you use those limitations to your advantage that make your work stand out from the rest. I've also learned that every person, regardless of how much you might have in common with them, feels differently about film at the core. No single filmmaker will feel the exact same way about a project, a screened piece of work, or about the new biggest blockbuster. Despite these differences, friendships still blossom because people will put their differences and ego aside and just have fun making content.

I have grown as a filmmaker in how I present myself professionally and coming closer to figure out my filmmaking style. As much as I love experimental, I also love narrative. However, I can combine experimental and narrative elements together to make some truly unique and wonderful pieces of content. I have also learned that collaboration is incredibly beneficial if you consistently discuss ideas and work with your crew members. Without communication, everything falls apart.

I plan on taking everything I have learned in this class and applying it to the rest of my career in school and in life. From being professional, original, a good listener, hard working, timely, and efficient, I want to challenge myself to be the best person I can possibly be today, then one up myself tomorrow. This way I can always make sure I am on top of my work and outperforming myself daily. I also want to shoot more using actual film stock. I have a super 8mm camera lying around my apartment, I just need to get some stock to film with. Hopefully with some Christmas can I can afford some stuff.

In closing, this class has been one of the best classes I have taken in my college career. I have learned more about filmmaking, collaboration, creativity, and teamwork here than in any other production class, and I value the friendships I have made in this class greatly. Thank you Shannon for an incredible class, and I can't wait to finish this semester with a bang! See you next semester for Visions round 2!

Post-Cucalorus Reflection Blog

Now that Cucalorus has passed, it has given me plenty of time to reflect upon the event. Overall, I was disappointed with how the event was run this year. There were problems with giving passes to guests, projection issues, cringey opening acts, and some "offensive" performances. Despite these issues, I had an unforgettable experience with the festival this year. As a filmmaker, I learned that being able to listen to other filmmakers is much more valuable and important than trying to promote your own work. I learned so much from other filmmakers, including where they're from, what content they produce, their opinions on the industry, and where they see the industry heading in the future. I also learned that there are a lot of alcoholics in the industry. That isn't very surprising though. My favorite experience throughout the festival was probably attending the 10x10 screening since I got to see my commercial played in front of an audience. It was a great time because I got to see a ton of different commercials from various other people and groups, giving us all the opportunity to speak about our commercials at the end of the screening. I was surprised by the lack of cohesive unity of the event throughout the city. Although the event was lively and filled with color, passion, and films, the rest of the city felt very bland. It felt as if the city did not really care that Cucalorus was a thing, and pushed it off to the side. I wish that next year they would at least try to make a half assed attempt to recognize Cucalorus and what it does for the city. As a filmmaker presenting at the festival, I learned that I need to stop biting my nails in front of a crowd. Besides that, projecting a voice of confidence will allow your audience to know what you are taking about and will respect you more for that. Overall, I had a fun time with Cucalorus, but I did expect more from it. Hopefully the festival will kick some more butt next year!

Presentation Reflection: Maddy and Parker

Parker: Parker had a very unique presentation. His filmmaker has been different compared to all others to date since he works in more mainstream media, such as music videos, yet is able to convey experimental elements throughout his work. Parker formatted his presentation in a visually appealing way where we could watch different clips from the filmmakers work catalog and organized the presentation in a way that was easy on the eyes. He was passionate when talking about his filmmaker and made it clear that he appreciated his work. Overall it was a very well executed presentation.

Maddy: Maddy also had a very unique presentation, but for a few more different reasons. Her filmmaker worked in a unique method where she made all of her work using cutout animation, which allowed her to also have a side career making album artwork. Her presentation was set up with interesting hyperlinks that showed us to her filmmakers different clips, which I thought was a unique job. Maddy did a great job discussing her filmmaker and the work she has accomplished, but it felt a bit slower than other presenters before her. Despite this, she did a great job leading an interesting presentation.

Installation Plans & Ideas

So its about that time of the year where we get to produce our very own live art installation. While terrifying to think about, its even more terrifying being the director. However, I am incredibly hyped to be directing this project. Our group has come up with a pretty interesting idea. Our installation will be focusing on the impact of media on the audience on a personal, emotional, and physical level, which will focus on one specific audience member. This person is a pig, being covered in stains, smelling awful, being bloated, and eating a ton of food. We will attempt to show how people respond and react to different material, how they feel about themselves physically, and how they become glued to the idea of overconsumption. At the end, the screen will disappear and a mirror will emerge, making the audience member look at themselves and reflect upon where they are in their life. The installation will serve as a reminder about the dangers of media and how easy it can be for all of us to become lost in the mass media landscape and lose our sense of identity and self worth.

Now we just need to flesh out how we will pull it off. Ben will be constructing a wooden television from a large plank of plywood. There will be a cutout of open space with a blank sheet acting as a projector screen behind the wood. This will be the space where the actors will walk back and forth and acting out different scenes depending on what media we will be playing. I will be editing together a montage of different media and figuring out with the group what we want to act out, which will take a lot of rehearsing.

I am confident that we will kick ass with our installation.

Cucalorus Pre-Event Blog

So Cucalorus is right around the corner... as in, its starting today (technically). I am very excited for this festival since I will be doing the 10 x 10 challenge this year! I will be making a short commercial for a company that will screen at the end of the festival, so that's pretty exciting. Its nerve-wrecking, but it should be a fun time.

Despite the pressure from the 10 x 10 challenge, I have a few goals I want to accomplish. I want to get quite a bit out of this experience, mainly meeting more filmmakers, making more long lasting partnerships and relationships, and finding new ways to collaborate with others. Since I will be promoting myself and Visions at the same time, it will give me the opportunity to promote myself and the festival at the same time.

I want to attend all of the parties, which will give me plenty of opportunities to meet and network with other filmmakers. I plan on seeing a variety of screenings, including Bernard and Huey, The Light of the Moon, and some short film blocks. I don't know if I will have time to attend a lot of panels due to the challenge of the 10 x 10 challenge, but if I have time I would love to go to some of them. My 3 actionable goals are:

• Meet more filmmakers, make longer lasting connections, and get filmmakers interested in my content 
• Learn from other filmmakers about themselves, their goals, desires, and ambitions, and to see what work they have accomplished
• Make an awesome 10 x 10 commercial that will wow the audience at the festival!

I am very excited to get the ball rolling at Cucalorus, and I hope the festival will be just as exciting, if not more exciting, than last year!

Music Video Roles and Ideas

I am super excited for this music video project. Why, you ask? I GET TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND CAM OP! Both of these positions are what I want to do professional (gotta get that ASC certification), mainly because I get final creative say over how the picture looks, how its recorded, and how its frames. Unfortunately, being a DP involves a ton of work:

• I have to make the storyboard
• I have to make the shotlist
• I have to practice with the camera and figure out the best settings to use
• I have to find which lenses work best with which shot
• I have to check out equipment that revolves around the camera department

There are other small things here and there I have to do, but these are my most important roles, besides operating the camera. I love doing all of these things though; being able to visualize somehthing in your head then putting it to paper and organizing the shots is such an awesome feeling. It makes me feel like this idea that has been floating around in my head will finally turn into a reality. 

In terms of ideas, I want to stylize this film so that it has unique shot structures, choreography, movement of actors and objects within the frame, and physical effects. I want to experiment with time lapse and reverse shots as well as utilizing light painting. It will be interesting to see how these different elements can be implemented in our music video. 

I am super excited to get started with filming!

Self Portrait Reflection

Ooooo weeee... What a wonderful film this was to make! Luckily I did not stress out over getting it finished at all... *nervous laughter*

On a serious note, I am very happy with how my self portrait turned out. It was a struggle finding some of the source footage I wanted to use, especially those which were music videos (hooray for copyright laws), but luckily I was able to find a large amount. I also recorded quite a bit of my own original footage, so I was able to create a relatively even balance between source footage and original material, although it was more biased towards source footage. I was asking myself if it would be a smart idea to record my voice over in German since no one (except for German speakers) would be able to understand what I am saying, but I figured it would be more creative and leave my message up to interpretation by the audience. I recorded my voice over on my old mini-cassette recorded and recorded that audio into Audition, which is why the audio sounds a bit distorted. Again, something I figured would be an interesting effect.

HOLY CRAP THAT DATAMOSH THOUGH!! I was super excited to experiment around more with datamoshing, and I am super happy with how it turned out. I limited the amount of datamoshing to only a few transitions so the effect wouldn't be the central focus of the video. Besides, a lot of the shots in the film would not have worked out very well since there either was too much or too little motion within the frame. The transitions that worked best were the ones where a shot had a mix of still and moving elements, along with shots that zoomed in or out.

Overall, this project was a blast to work on. If I had more time I would tweak it just a bit, but I am incredibly happy with how it turned out and I cannot wait for more people to see it!