CAP Hollywood Reflection #3

This is the last stretch in the CAP Hollywood film project, and the question of whether we're going to finish in time is kicking in. 

During this last week, we need to do a number of things. We need to import new footage Juliette filmed over the weekend and edit it. We also need to try to fix the audio, or else we won't be able to show our film at CAP Hollywood. We can try to make the whole film voice overs and add an effect to make it sound more natural, but I would rather not do this because it's pretty obvious when an audio clip is a voice over, and it sounds pretty unprofessional. 

The second option is to make our whole film a narration. This would be a tangible idea, but that would mean we would need to change a number of things to our film, and I don't think we have the time for that. 

Another thing we need to do by the end of this week is to import voice overs and try to fix any static shots. We need to make our film fast paced and suspenseful since it's a kind of dystopian film, and so far we haven't really captured that in Act Two and Act Three. 

In order to accomplish all of this, we're going to need to put in a lot of extra time outside of class. This week is HSA week, so that means we have the mornings off if we don't have an HSA. This might mean we have to sacrifice a few hours of sleeping in to come into school on time and edit. We may also have to come after school and during lunch in order to make this work out. 

Wish us luck :) 

CAP Hollywood Reflection #2

Last week, I wasn't exactly the most enthusiastic toward seeing all the footage we got during the week. Because we were rushed, the filming process was a bit sloppy. I was a bit nervous about how our movie was going to turn out. Now, although my concerns are still there, they aren't as great.

When Vu and I started laying down our clips and such for the rough cut, we were amazed by some really good shots and disappointed by a few shots.

Another concern I have is about our audio. In the scenes in the TV Studio, the fan is in the background and it's extremely loud. Vu and I tried to fix it with Audacity, but often the sound would come out mechanical and unnatural. Also, in the outside scenes, there's wind so it's also hard to hear the actors.

Also, we have a lot of boring, static shots. Unfortunately, we don't have a variety of shots to choose from to replace some of the boring shots.

On the bright side, our intro came out really nice, and it proved to me that we may still have a slight chance of making a quality movie despite our current issues. We just need to work on each section individually and carefully.

We need to capture all of our voice overs, finish filming some last minute shots, and try to fix the audio. These are the most major problems with our movie that need to be solved PRONTO.

CAP Hollywood Reflection #1

At the beginning of the project, I had a clear vision of what I wanted some of the scenes in the film to look like. However, when we were filming, it was a huge challenge to film accurate to my vision. This was because of time constraints and the ambitious ideas I had. 

Another challenge was improvising and changing some scenes due to the time constraint and the need to film all of the movie at school. We had to change the setting and lines of a variety of scenes to make it fit with what we were filming. 

Surprisingly, though, we were able to finish most of the filming in the span of two classes. It was cutting it close, and it was quite hectic, but it happened. 

One of the concerns I have is about audio. Some of the scenes we filmed had a lot of background noise and sometimes the actors would talk a little to quietly, so I hope the audio was still caught on the camera. Another concern I have is that the plot may not be completely clear to the audience. The story was complex in the first place, so we made sure to script and storyboard it very clearly and carefully. However, in the chaos, some of the scenes were omitted, and I hope after creating a rough cut, the plot will be clear.

I have the role of the director in this production, so I have found costumes, and put in my two cents about possible shots and lighting. I've also approved ideas for improvisations. 

This week, we really need to crack down and build our rough cut so that we can spend ample time editing the nitty-gritty details, as those take the most time. We also need to film two short scenes to complete the filming process.  

Weather

Okay, what is going on with the weather?

Starting Saturday, and stretching out along this week, we are being hit by cold weather, with lows somewhere in the 30's.

I just want to know what's causing this, and why its happening. Are we paying for those warm 80 degree weather days in January and February? Or is the whole weather system just  screwed up?

Scratch that. I really don't care what the reason is. Whatever the reason, I'm not happy with this at all. I was so happy to leave winter behind, but now this. As I wrote on my blog a while ago, cold, winter weather puts me in a worse mood than sunny, springtime mornings.

First it seemed like we were skipping right over spring and into summer, going from 30 degree weather to 80 degree weather.Now, it seems like we skipped over summer and went right back to fall. This is unacceptable.

And of all days, the first day of the cold front hit on the day of a track meet. It was beautiful running weather in the 70's just a couple days before, but BAM, on the day of the meet, its 50 degrees. Thanks. I appreciate it.

This cold front better fly by fast and never come back until next winter. Hopefully.

Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake's newest album was released, and I was extremely excited since he is my love. His single Suit & Tie was definitely one of my top 10 favorite songs for the past month or so, and I was so excited to see what other songs were on the album. 

After Suit & Tie came out, people were telling me that Justin Timberlake should not come back in the music industry. I thought differently. I believe that he has always been a musician, but decided to pursue acting and other things instead. I thought, if anyone, Ne-Yo deserved the criticism Timberlake was getting. Ne-Yo's old songs were all amazing, but his new songs are too pop-like. 

Back to the main point, Justin Timberlake's new album had come out. 

I listened to the entire album. I was so disappointed. 

I love the jazzy feel he is giving his music, but I couldn't finish most of the songs. Most of them are well over 6 or 7 minutes. 

Also, most of the songs featured on the album did not seem polished. I was expecting a tremendous album after all this time he spent not writing music. Luckily, he has another album coming out later this year which will hopefully be more polished. 

SPRING!

Spring is finally on its way! You have no idea how much I dread cold weather, and I don't think I'm alone.

There was an article in Silver Chips, the school newspaper, about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. Now, I wouldn't say that winter depresses me, but I do find myself a lot more tired and unenthusiastic in the winter.

In springtime, however, I'm the exact opposite. The sunshine and the beautiful weather puts me in an amazing mood immediately, no matter how horrible my day was. Not only is the weather amazing, but the days are longer, leaving more time to go outside.

Spring motivates me to go places, while in the winter time, I don't want to do anything besides go from school to home and vice versa. I do admit, though, that if I were to stay in either cold or hot weather for the rest of my life, I would definitely choose cold weather, only because there's an escape. When it's cold, you can bundle up with as much clothes and blankets and eventually get warm. In the heat, however, stripping down to your shortest shorts will not help you be any cooler.

Award Shows

I'm watching the Oscar's right now, and I can't help but wonder how many award shows there are in America. It's a bit ridiculous. Just last week we had the Grammy's, and soon (maybe not? I really don't keep up with award shows. I just watch them when they come on) we have the Tony's. I can understand the Grammy's for music, the Tony's for Broadway, and the Oscar's for film, but think of the amount of award shows there are for music alone. There's one for country music, there are the MTV awards, and countless others.

How are the nominee's and people who win picked? Do people vote? Because I've never heard of anyone voting for these award shows. Are there professional critics? I just don't know.

Wow, a nine year old was nominated for best actress. I guess anything can happen. Don't give up on your dreams!