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Business of Film - Journal Entry

As I write this I think about the person I was 12 months ago. I think about the things I expected, and the things I didn’t know yet. Sometimes it feels like it’s not real. I question myself: Did I really get my masters? Did I really direct a short film? Maybe as I gain distance away from the program I will come to terms with what really happened here. I do know that before the program I had no direction, and after I know exactly what I want. Before I had no job prospects, now I have skills to offer and companies who want me. I wanted to understand so many things about the filmmaking process and I learned a lot more than I expected. I see now that this industry is built on people who are in it for the long haul. And I want to be one of those people who spend a lifetime building themselves to be better than the rest. I have so much gratitude for what happened here. To be 25 and have a masters degree is something that I can say not many have. It sets me up to have a successful future, and has already given me opportunities that I wouldn’t have had before. The future is bright for me, and I am anxious to direct another film. I want to change the world; I want to make a film that makes people well up with emotion, and I know that the lessons I learned at full sail will support me into the future.  I can honestly say that this is the most life changing experience of my entire life. I see this time as the moment when my professional career started. I met people here that I hope I can work with for the rest of my life.

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Ready to graduate from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry #masters #mfa #filmmfa

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Sound-Post Journal Entry

          I think it was unclear when I made my initial assumptions about this course. I wrote I wanted to understand DVD writing and distribution but I do know now how to generate the materials to create a Digital Cinema Package to put on a DVD. I had wanted to take some Lynda tutorials and gladly Lynda tutorials were apart of the course this month. I am really excited to have a new program introduced to me like Pro Tools I still feel like a novice, but I am have enough understanding to get me started.

           I agree that there should be a lab space that you have assignments or a document bundle that would serve as an assignment or two. Maybe shorten down the Lynda tutorials but give two phases of an assignment that you turn in at the end of the month. That might make the Sound Vision assignment too much editorial, but I’m not the teacher I wouldn’t know about any of these things.  I’m sure there is a curriculum that will have a good balance of hands-on and theory. I thought I got an ample amount of time on the board and a good mix of working as a collaborator, just as we talked about in class it’s difficult to have enough time to have everyone try pressing every button when Mike, Dave, and you are also ensuring that we leave with a stellar film. It really helped having an intern for our project, he fulfilled a vital role that none of us would have been prepared to take on in the short amount of time that he had.

           Perfecting any new tool set comes with practice, a few in class have less some have more, our time here showed us how being dedicated to a craft can pay off. How it’s usually not as glorious as the pictures and it takes a lot of hard work. It was fun hanging out and I hope to have another chance to do so.

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Post Production Journal entry

So this month was all about post-production, including lessons related to a 4K workflow and a lot of best practice tips and procedures. I came into this course with a strong background in post production from my graduate degree, but I still found a lot of the information new and useful. Sometimes I believe we went deep into the theory pool of post production and a few of the technical examples were lost on me; I actually found a lot of the more specific technical jargon really enlightening. I know so much more now about compression and bit rates along with an understanding of what bit depth represents in camera systems and also how to sport the right technical specifications to look for in a camera.

           I definitely had no idea how to do anything in Avid before this class and adding a bare bones understanding of another industry professional editing software is very beneficial to me in these final months of my degree program.

           I noticed that a lot of this information that we learned about workflows had been mentioned throughout the course but I never really received a full grasp on what it represented until this month.  I thought that this class really opened up my eyes to the many varied jobs I could have after my time here. It also has gotten me a little more excited about finding work within the industry.

           I think a big influence I’ve had from this class is an understanding of just how much a difference the post-production process makes in crating a film. I was actually really nervous coming into this course that I had done something wrong during production and we weren’t going to have a good film; now that a lot of the audio elements and editing have been put in place the piece feels so much more like a indie short film than the pile of poop I was think I was taking into this course.  

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Entertainment Law - Blog

Like most classes taken at full sail, you go in with a perception. And usually that perception can be close, but never as specific as the actual experience. As interesting as all of the information was that we learned, it was unfortunate we couldn’t spend a little more time on the topics that we were a bit more interested in. Of course I understand this course is being condensed the same as the past nine months. The curriculum is interesting enough that each class has made me believe I could function professionally in any professors’ position. I think that Michael W. Fairless Esq. would definitely be an awesome lawyer, if only he had another four years of law school!

            I appreciate how the course geared specifically toward the entertainment industry it made the subject matter easier to digest. I really enjoyed reading case documents; it was a lot like deciphering a code, or some kind of word puzzle.

           As a whole, the degree program has been revealing aspects of the industry that always seemed shrouded to me. I wanted to learn trademark and copyright law and I definitely have a firm understanding of that subject matter. One thing that is clear after this course is that lawyers really control the industry, it seems that contracts and agreements are a vital piece of any movement or investment in Hollywood and even on the more independent scale. This class has furthermore enforced my father’s opinion that I should have been a lawyer, based on a lawyer’s utility in every vein of human endeavor I cannot disagree. Regardless, this class has also cleared the shadows around the role of lawyers in my career path. I had an image that lawyers were only out to make money off meetings, but I can see now that they are vital, and should be a positive aspect of any production. It almost seems impossible to me now to attempt any creative endeavor without a lawyer in mind. It’s good that they have you teach this class Davey, you bring a softer edge to the usual image of ‘lawyer’.

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Production - Master Journal

A lot of things in life you can’t be taught. Someone can tell you how to do something, but that learning doesn’t take place until much later. Being put in the director’s position was another exercise on the learning I’ve had since high school. Communication, decision-making, creative solutions, delegating, leadership all tools you are taught, but only really ‘learn’ in practical situations.  Like the issue with our permits, we had this obstacle, and then we had to find a solution. It sounds as simple as just cut down the crew, but the day before a shoot and you have to cut your crew you worry it won’t get made. But, in the end, it only helped us streamline the process. No longer did we have anyone on set that wasn’t serving a purpose, now we had only a crew of excited skilled people. I know that doesn’t jive with the whole ‘learn from your peers’ motto of full sail but I can guarantee that the quality of the learning outpaces the quantity, and that was a big hidden goal for me to keep the set an educational experience not just for me, but for the whole crew.

  I really learned from having Paul on my side. I cannot express how much help having the both of you there was to making the decisions that I might not have had the confidence to make. It feels excellent when something I am thinking is the exact suggestion I get from a highly experienced peer. It just shows me I need to tune into my gut a little more. On the other hand being the director makes you a huge filter. You need to be able to take open suggestions from all over the place; I have my DP whispering in my ear, my instructor telling me one thing, my gaffer saying another, a PA putting their two-cents in. I can see now that not having that structure of positions on set would lead to nothing ever getting done. You need the director there to be the final say, someone that has absolute authority to move the process along. I think I excelled at that, I was able to listen to everyone, possibly more people than I should have, but in a learning environment it was comforting that people were interested enough to have an opinion. And quite a few times I liked what someone else was saying over what I had originally thought and changed the shot right there.

 Now I’m sure I did some things wrong. I missed measuring the doors properly and cost us a shot. Looking back I think that shot probably would have eaten up a lot of time, and it was something we needed to have flushed out in pre-pro, which falls completely on my shoulders. I think we might still try to add it in but I believe we will be fine without it as well. Working with the actors is another place I think I need to get better at, just knowing the right actions to give them instead of feeding them emotions. I know I had a few good examples, but I am sure there were points when I just flat out told them what the character was feeling, and I need to be better than that.

 I strived to stay humble and practice humility; I think that keeps the set light. No exclusivity where it’s not needed, no gossip on set, just keeping things focused and leaving egos at the door is what I tried to pull out on our set. It worked.

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Pre Production Journal Entry

  Coming into this class I was uncertain if all of the elements of our film would be completed. Honestly, it gave me a lot of anxiety obsessing over every detail of the script. Now that we are coming to the end of our class I am overjoyed and confident in my team. Being able to discuss the project and have parts delegated amongst the team really allowed me take on the role of director. It’s been so positive having highly motivated people working in unison on the project.

  Before this class I wasn’t really sure the steps needed to get a film made, but definitely I would say that after this class it is clear what three categories to separate your project into so that it gets made. I have a much more clear picture of each specific role people play within the production of a movie. I had some unclear goals about this class when I was in mastery and set goals for this course. I thought I would have much more free time to participate in other plans but looking back on this month I barely had time to slow down.  Getting everything in place is such a rewarding feeling. All the pieces are coming together and I am confident in my team to get this film made. We have the resources and the talent. Our crew is on point and our cast is magnificent.

  After completing this class I feel as if I could start up my own small independent projects. I now have the knowledge on what team members to assemble and what work needs to be done in order to get everything in its place. I only home that I can work on another project that has this same level of dedication as my crew has on this project. 

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Visual Storytelling Techniques & Technologies Post

I think that I didn’t learn enough. I was chomping at the bit to experience it all but I think the biggest thing to realize is that it takes years. That is what excites me about cinematography is that we get to work with all that exciting equipment every day and learn something new along with it. I’m really thankful for the time we got to spend on the soundstage but, as I’m sure everyone else in class already mentioned, it never felt like it was enough. I understand that thesis is filming and that the Bachelor’s location fell through, it almost feels like now that the classes are getting bigger the Masters program needs it’s own soundstage. (If I can suggest building one that surrounds a house, I think that would be choice!) Obviously budget constrictions and time constrictions don’t help this month feel like a full course. It just sucks because these past 2 months were the classes I was most excited about coming into the program. I see myself starting out in the professional world doing the kinds of work we were doing for class and I just want as much hands on experience as I can get. I can confidently say that I know spades more than I did before this class about the proper procedure and proper lighting techniques as well as become more familiar with all of the equipment available to us in the soundstage. I know a lot of people griped about the challenges in the class and those who are grade-centric might even resent this course but I really enjoyed the challenge, I crave criticism; there is nothing I can’t stand more than that passive positive feedback. “Oh, I like it.” “Oh, that’s cool.” I would prefer “That’s crap.” “That doesn’t look right”; and I know your criticisms weren’t half as offensive, but they were criticisms and I really dig it when a professor can give it to you straight. It pushes you to try harder, and for people who are constantly striving to reach a higher level in their craft criticism is our life-blood. 

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Another #LOST #6secondaudition for BBC News (World), BBC Radio 1 #stcomedy #STCxmas

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Morgantown, WV by @kpatrickwv

@kpatrickwv Copr. 2014. All Rights Reserved.

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Experimental Film Blog Post

So we are headed into the end of our fifth month and it feels like this class went by too fast. Experimental film is one of my favorite subjects; I enjoy the freedom avant-guard film makers have.  I am glad the information we talked about in class happened to be things I had read about during undergrad. It really stirred up a lot of old information I had forgotten about and brought it to the front of my mind. I really enjoyed the time on the soundstage. As much experience I’ve had running and gunning on sites it was really nice to be able to play around with all the tools available in the soundstage. It makes me optimistic about the future; I have much more confidence working with the lights and all the electrical equipment now that I have had an opportunity to spend some real hours on the soundstage.  I really wish I could have given this class my full focus but I do understand the coming thesis projects. It’s just a little hectic when we want to put an effort into this class project and also be making decisions about something two months into the future. And I don’t see a better way to handle the timing of the program either. Now that we are so close to the second half I want there to be an extra month to get all the info I missed because I was focusing on the future task.  I would say the one thing I wanted more of out of this class was time. I wanted more time to really explore all of the different concepts of Paul and mine’s experimental film. It’s also this situation where the month is cut off by a holiday break, so it’s not like I’m outraged I didn’t get the time I wanted because I am sure that I will have my fill over the next couple of months. 

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A personal reflection on the script writing class in my program. 

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The Covert Origins of ISIS

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Perfection has its drawbacks

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Perfect Meal - reflection

           For my film I wanted a theme of perfection and artfulness, my character, without speaking a word, conveys this idea. I knew that the only way to get this point across would be to use precise compositions. I would have to stage things within the frame that relate to ideas of perfection and order. So I use a lot of lines in my composition and most of my prop elements are composed to reflect order.  Using linear elements cinematically I am expressing order, perfection, obsession all of which are elements of my character.  Similarly I use repetition of props to express this idea of sameness, the character has all the same shirt, he has a few similar types of pants all laid out in a line, his toiletries are all black and white with a hint of red, (The colors of order), the way he lays out his vegetables before he cuts them, every action and object is precise.  I want the music to reflect this reality as well, using older melancholy classical music as non-diegetic sound allows that viewer to feel that this character is a perfectionist his craft, cooking, is his art form and he is very serious about all the elements of a meal. Another element I use is character POV, in my film the character witnesses something that isn’t in his realm of perfection, as he bends to pick up a fallen cracker we switch to his vision to see the many cockroaches attacking the cracker at once, the cockroaches enter from right to left (historically antagonistic) and the we quickly fall back to a shot of his reaction from a low angle.  Up until the moment of the cracker landing the sounds have been a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound, at the point where he bends down to pick up the cracker we go to only diegetic sound, we hear him exhale, the sound of the cockroaches scurrying towards the cracker, the thud of his skull. All of these sounds pull the viewer out of that world of perfection, and into the reality of the characters death. I wanted the shots to be flurried at times but illustrative at others, I use quick cuts of parts of his day to illustrate his perfection and overlaid shots to illustrate a passage of time, specifically the scenes of him cutting up veggies and setting the table, I wanted these overlaid on top of each other to give a sense of flurried action, as if the chef can be in multiple places at one time. The mis-en-scene is meant to convey more ideals of order and perfection, all of his knives are spaced evenly, his dry goods are all in similar jars, there are many references to squares and linear lines. Only after the cockroaches scene are these elements partially abandoned, the framing is odd and the cuts are partially confusing to emphasize the unrealistic nature of his death. The reason the girl just sits there after he is dead is a practical one, death is final and death shouldn’t weigh down the living. If I had ended it where she is upset and crying it would have taken away from the dehumanizing scenes prior to his death. So by having her sit emotionless eating I am deemphasizing life and emphasizing the main characters craft, which is a metaphor for what we leave behind in this world.

            There were a few practical challenges I faced while making this film, I wanted dolly shots, and so I made a DIY dolly. I wanted to have really intimate stable shots, so I built a stabilizer out of PVC pipe. I wanted to film in a large kitchen so I paid an owner $100 to rent the space for a day. This however led to other challenges, the owner was unsure of my credibility and I can understand where that comes form. I knew she didn’t want her place of business in a mess so I cut out the fake blood I was going to use and left her kitchen spotless. 

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Robin - Efrat Ben zur Check out this sweet stop-motion video.