This past week in class we had a workshop on how to plan for our film. We learned about different techniques that can easily and cheaply take our movies to the next level, from using a green scream to making a fake courpse, Eric showed it all. He also stressed the importance of planning. Planning out your shots, planning ahead for as many things that could possibly go wrong, getting permission to be filming on the property you are on, and dealing with your crew and actors are all intergral parts of the film making process if you want to do it successfully and legally. After we talked about all of these things and several other topics, we were able to break into our teams to discuss our films.

My team made a lot of ground this week. We were able to talk through all of the storyboards and get on the same page as far as the sequence of events and the shots that we needed to protray our story effectively and creatively. We wrote out our script for the few portions of our film that include speaking parts. We discussed casting for the longest, talking about what we envisioned for our main character. We decided that he needed to be a very steriotypical college student. Who is slighly athletic and quite the slacker. Basically, he needs to be the typical dude. We each scrolled through our phone books and facebooks searching for someone who could not only fit the look, but also be willing to take time out of thier schedule to film, and could have some acting talent. This was a much more daunting task than it seemed. Finally we came up with several options, all of whom will be wonderful action heroes.

We also discussed some of the more experimental shots that we wanted to incorporate into our film.. One shot that we talked about was inspired by the movie we watched last week, Blow Out. At the beginning of our story, the action hero is frantically scrambling around his room getting ready and getting his things together after oversleeping and being late for his class. The shot will scan around the room around and around, showing his hysteria and the wreck his room and life are. I think it will be a very interesting shot to really grab the attention of the audience at the very beginning of our film. There are several other eye-grabbing shots in store for this film. I am looking forward to filming soon and have very high hopes for this movie. We have a lot of very good ideas and are taking care to plan it well, and I am hopeful that it will translate to film the way we hope.

This past week in class we watched the 1981 thriller "Blow Out", starring John Travolta and directed by Brian De Palma. It is about a sound operator who works in Hollywood on low budget horror films who inadvertently witnesses a murder. He investigates the murder and uncovers a conspiracy that goes much deeper than he could have ever imagined. While this movie was full of suspense, action-packed, and had a plethora of innovative camera techniques; it reminded me of why I absolutely hate 80's movies. I abhor 80's movies. I don't know whether it is the horrible jazz saxophone music that seems to be a staple of classic 80's movies, or the predictable, cheesy plots, or the dark, dreary colors in which these movies are set. Whatever it is, it makes for a downright depressing film.

I am much more drawn to the bright colors of Technicolor and upbeat musical numbers of the 1950'a. Even present day films that may be a little bit more serious and a tad dreary are more appealing to me then 80s movies. All of the Batman films are quite dark, both in color and in content, yet I enjoy those movies. Country for Old Men has no music whatsoever, yet I still like that movie as well. It is obviously not simply the dark feeling and horrid music of 80s movies that I dislike. I would say it is the phoniness of them, but early musicals caked on the cheesiness yet I still love them. I felt as though there was no real connection to the characters, no character development. I did not care out the characters, and there was never an reason for me to care about them.

One thing that both bothered and impressed me about Blow Out was the fact that I never forgot that it was indeed a movie. It always felt as though I was watching a movie, and at times it almost seemed as though the actors were aware that they had an audience. All of the showy camera techniques were impressive in themselves, however I feel as though they almost distracted from the story. Maybe, this is simply because I know that I am helping to plan our movie that we will be shooting very soon, that I was more aware of these elements. The cheesy and predictable slow motion running sequence was especially bothersome to me. De Palma has a nack for taking a story, turning it into a film, and the film into art. I can appreicate the art of this film, maybe just not the story.... or the horible saxaphone music.

Film Ideas

In our film class this semester, we have broken up into four teams to create short films. It should prove to be quite an exciting project that I am really looking forward to get the ball rolling on. Each team was assigned a certain genre and several components that must be included in the film. Every movie must include a mime or clown, a guitar, a cheese grater, and a skull. It must also include the lines "Why is this happening to me today of all days?" and "It would be better for us not to talk about that." There are four people to a team, as well as four specific jobs that must be done. There is the director, the camera operator, the editor, and the sound operator. The job in my group that I chose was the sound operator. The genre our group was assigned was action. We were all really excited to get this genre and were all bursting with ideas for elaborate chase scenes and intricate fight sequences.

One idea we had entailed using the huge stair cases in the new College of Business building for a scene in which the "bad guy" is being chased by the protagonist. We envision a wide shot from outside with the two tiny figures racing up either side of the stair case, then a cut to a shot of a fight sequence at the top of the stairs with a lot of quick cuts and fast camera motion. We could play with different interesting angles are on the stairs as well as from the top looking down. I think this could easily serve as the lead up to a very climactic fight scene for the film.

Another idea we bounced around was a chase scene through campus. I think another fight scene around the fountain could be really visually interesting especially with the added effect of the motion of the water and the circular structure of the perimeter of the fountain. One almost humorous idea that someone had was to have a "scooby doo-like" moment and have the antagonist disguised as a construction worker, waiting on the hero to run by then jumping out and chasing him. It could add not only an element of suspense, but also a humorous, light-hearted moment.

We have yet to come up with a definite plot, or even theme really, however we did decide that we thought we wanted a female action hero, maybe an undercover cop or secret agent type character. We thought that a female protagonist would be a refreshing change in a very traditionally male-dominated genre of film. As for the bad guy or many of the other details of the film, we have yet to come to a collective decision, however our team has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for this project, and I know that once we come up with an idea we will run full force with it. I am very excited to be working with my team and know the finished product will turn out well.

Gene Kelly, Please!

Ahhh! I have waited all semester to watch my favorite movie, Singing in the Rain and it was just as glorious as I had remembered! I was so excited to get to share the experience with my friends and fellow classmates and to see them discover and enjoy it as well. The energy and passion that radiates from every second of every scene of this movie is pure exuberance. I have often wondered what it is that sets this film and some of the other old classic movies apart from modern movies. Is it the use of three strip Technicolor? Or the angles at which the shots are filmed? Or the quality or style of acting? Or could it be the way the music and sound are done? Or is it the way the film is edited? What is it that makes these movies masterpieces? I wonder how the audience of today would perceive a film like Singing in the Rain. Musicals today, such as Chicago, have a very different style, not necessarily better or worse, only different.

One of the most visually interesting scenes that we did not have a chance to discuss in class was the musical number Beautiful Girls. The scene is a beautiful dance number full of light, airy choreography and charming lyrics. There is one shot in which the camera shoots straight down on the group of dancers surrounding the man singing. The are all looking up at the camera smiling and singing. This overheard style shot is rarely seen these days. If it is, I feel as though it is only in bar or club scenes or to scan over a traffic jam on a road, etc. This is the only time I have ever seen it used where the subjects in the scene are actually looking up and acknowledging the camera above them and are arranged in such a deliberate fashion.

Another scene in the movie that I have always been partial to, maybe simply because of my ballerina background, is the scene where Gene Kelly sees the elusive lady in green and imagines running up to her and dancing a beautiful pas de deux with her. It is interesting that this is actually a day dream within a dream, as the entire sequence is actually simply Don Lockwood explaining an idea for a number to R.F. It is not only beautifully choreographed (always the first thing to catch my eye) but also has impressive sweeping camera angles that dolly in and out seamlessly with the routine and the music. The use of the wind machine that was probably on a few feet off camera added a lot to the number, and it is interesting to think back to some foreshadowing that occurred earlier with the empty stage scene between Don and Kathy.

This movie is one that I could watch over and over again and never tire of it. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to share the experience with my classmates and hope to not only be able to appreciate it more, but also to be able to use some of what I have observed and learned in the projects later.

Inspirational Techniques

When I start to think ahead to our film project due later on in the semester, I am going to be completely honest, I feel quite overwhelmed. I feel as though my knowledge of the world of film making and my level of creativity are quite inadequate to take on such a project. Even with this short film editing assignment due Thursday, I still am not totally pleased with my finished product (and probably never will be.) I don't know whether I am simply doomed as a film maker or just need to learn more and become more confident and not be so afraid of messing up. Well, whatever the reason, I am still looking forward to working with my team in trying to create an interesting short film using a variety of techniques with inspirations from many places.

I, personally, was very impressed with the movie Sunset Boulevard and the way in which they used lighting to add to the mood and drama of scenes. I feel as though, depending on which genre of film, my group decides to make, lighting will play a large part in the feel of the film and the individual shots and scenes. Also, in watching Citizen Kane, I remember the shots of the person with his face half-lit and half in the shadow, fading into a flashback sequence. I think the use of flashback sequences can be very effective in drawing the viewer in and creating a more complex and interesting storyline. One movie that I think epitomizes the use of flashback sequences to tell a story, is the movie Memento.

ONe thing that I think will pose a challenge to our team, is knowing when it is better to zoom in versus "dolly" in (I realize we will not actually have a dolly, but move in essentially.) When Eric was showing us the documentary on film making, there was one scene that was particularly fascinating. The shot started out on kids playing outside, then it zoomed out until you could see that it was the view from out of the window, then it continued to move out until you could see both the scene outside of the children playing, but also the scene inside of the people in the house. I think that this technique, although it could prove to be quite difficult to master for us amateurs could be quite a dynamic and effective transition if utilized properly.

I am very excited about the team I am to be working with because I believe we all have different strengths and ideas to contribute to the project, and I think we will collaborate well. I know we will be able to learn a lot not only from the workshops and films in class, but also from each other, and I look forward to diving right into this project ahead.

I can remember in the past taking note of certain movies that just seemed to be rather dark to me, not necessarily so much just the content of the film, but rather the setting, lighting, mood etc were all also dark with lots of shadows. I can remember this kind of bothering me. Several mysteries or cop movies come to mind when I think of films that have that element of shadowy, dark lighting throughout them. Now, come to find out, this is film noir. While at first it was the noticeably dim lighting that first struck me about this genre, such as in the movie Sunset Boulevard, after learning more about the genre, this is far from its most interesting characteristic.

Voice over narration, dramatic camera angles, and a focus on flawed characters are also elements that distinguish this genre from other period films. The narration and the dramatic camera angles were the most obvious elements, however the focus on flawed characters was most interesting to me. There were never heroes in these films. While they may have been a character that you could identify with or a main character to follow, there was never a hero. Everyone was flawed. I think this partially has to do with the time in which these films were made and the things that were happening in the world at the time. Most of these films were made during or around WWII, when there was a definite distrust for human nature and society as a whole. Often the world of film imitates, if not exaggerates, what is happening in the real world at the time. The world was a dark place filled with flawed people in need of healing, and that is what is reflected in this genre of film very well. I also think this particular movie probably portrays the attitude of Hollywood at the time well. In the movie it is portrayed as very fickle and fake (not unlike Hollywood today) but as also a drastic contrast from the real world. A forced happiness. An exaggerated joy, that was not very present in the world at this time.

Wow! There is no way I would ever have the patience or creativity to be a director of a movie. This past week in class we discussed all of the people that worked behind the scenes of film. Whether it was in the preproduction planning stage or the post-production stage, hundreds of people are involved in making a motion picture come to life. What impressed me the most about the extensive preproduction process was how much work went into the storyboarding process and the planning of each individual shot. I had no idea how much thought went into all of these scenes before the movie even went into production. The script was turned into storyboards, then to rough animations, then models, then digital animations, and finally into reality on set. I can't image planning that meticulously that far in advance for something I can not even see. I am such a "let's just try it and see how it goes" kind of a planner. I suppose this approach doesn't make me much of a planner does it? I would be so impatience in this situation. I admire the dedication of Peter Jackson to his films very much. The fact that he went to such great lengths to plan for his movies and poured so much time and effort into these projects is evident in the masterpieces of film he created.

I was also fascinated by the post-production stage of sound editing. Sound is one of those things in film that goes unnoticed unless it is done badly. Because it happens so effortlessly in real life it never occurred to me just how much engineering must go into the audio part of movies. It seems like such a fun process with a lot of experimentation and serendipitous discovery (a process that I would very much enjoy.) I am probably more suited for more post-production jobs because I like to take things that are already in existence and work with them to enhance and improve them, such as in sound engineering, editing, etc. One of my favorite things that we touched on briefly in class was how sound engineers used a variety of different recorded sounds overlaying each other to create the desired effect. For example, elephant footsteps in reality are very quiet, however in the movie they wanted a much bigger effect so they took a variety of different recordings such as boulders falling and concrete crashing to make a new sound track for the elephants' footsteps. This last class further opened my eyes and gave me a new appreciation for some of the specific behind the scenes work that goes into the creation a motion picture. I am anxious to see what next class will hold in store.