CAP Hollywood Update

In all honesty, I don't have much of an update. Since Connor's editing at home, I can't really say how the editing's going (though he has shown us periodic rough cuts, and they look BEAUTIFUL). We're finishing up filming today--thank you, Mr. Mayo, for helping me find the equipment and for lending us your own camera (!)--but that should only take half an hour or so. Really, the most pressing problem I have right now in regards to CAP Hollywood is figuring out what to wear, because I have no idea. (Also persuading Olivia and Everleigh to wear ball gowns like they promised). I have full faith in Connor to make our film excellent, and I'm excited to see how it turns out.

CAP Hollywood Update

Well, we're trucking along.

Last Sunday, we came very close to finishing our filming. We finished almost all of the montage, and we finished everything involving the girls. We just have to do the bits with the guy typing, and then we'll be done. We'll probably film that one evening this week, after the AP or after school.

The montage stuff with the girls looks AWESOME, thanks to Connor. It's super artsy and pretty and I am a big fan. Olivia and Everleigh were very good sports as we trekked all over kingdom come, going from Connor's house to the park to along Sligo Creek and back, then to downtown Silver Spring, a couple bus stops, and the train station. (Since the montage is meant to span lots of time, they also had to keep changing their outfits, which they were also nice about. Both of them brought big bags filled with outfits, and just changed every time we changed locations. It was great).

So far, this has been my favorite project that we've done in media. I appreciate the creative free reign we get, and it's so exciting to see my story becoming real. Connor's doing most of the editing, and he's doing a great job. I'm really excited to present the films in--yikes!--17 days. (All of my actors are gonna get super dressed up and come. It'll be awesome).

Unfortunately, I missed two of the three media classes this past week, due to sickness and Change Project stuff, so I haven't got much to report by way of what we've been working on, but I know it'll be great.

CAP Hollywood Update

I am so freaking excited about our movie.

To be honest, I've been excited about it since I wrote my short story. Ever since I started it, I've been able to picture it in my head. When I discussed my story with Ms. Fillman, we talked about how easy it'd be to film, and how good it would look. (We agreed that it would make for great indie, artsy cinematography, which I love). When it was picked to be made into a movie, and our group started discussing filming, it seemed only natural: my story already was a movie, at least inside my head.

Last Saturday, we had our first day of filming. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen: the characters in my head, once only imagined, now real and beautiful and emotional, saying the things I wrote for them. My friend Olivia, who was in my Conservatory at Imagination Stage, plays the main character, and Josh, the father of a friend, plays her scene partner. They are both so talented and professional, and it was amazing to work with them. Going back and watching the footage, I can't imagine the scenes any differently. Olivia in particular is fantastic--at one point in the scene, she was actually crying, and we have one beautiful shot of a tear falling down her face. I fully expect her to be at least nominated for Best Actor.

We also got a lot of filming done on Saturday--namely, all of our dialogue and the majority of our script. Tomorrow, we have our second day of filming, and while that'll be a bit of a pain--it requires us to move around a lot, to a bunch of different locations--I'm excited for it, not in the least because it'll be the most fun part to film. It's going to be a montage of cute scenes between Olivia and Everleigh (another actor), and Connor's filming it in a super artsy indie hipster beautiful way.

I'm a little worried about editing, just because we have SO MUCH footage. Luckily, Connor's offered to edit at home in addition to editing at school, so that we can get everything done in time. (Which we will).

We also have great music--we found some good stuff on Creative Commons, but we also emailed an artist that we like and asked if we can use their music. They said yes, so we'll be using 'Big Jet Plane' by Angus and Julia Stone in our film.

Basically, it's gonna be great.

The British Are Coming

Hey there! This is me and Milena's independent film video. We both filmed, I juggled, she (tried to) juggle, she edited, and I made cupcakes. Also provided props.

Capture the Fall

Two hours on a Sunday morning. Gorgeous day--65 degrees and sunny. Perfect for wandering around my neighborhood and Sligo Creek with a camera in hand. So that's what I did. Used Windows Live Movie Maker and Free Music Archives. Pretty simple. Pretty fun. 

The World, As It Is, A Stage

1. 'Mama Who Bore Me'
2. Soccer player running
3. Fencing with a stick
4. 'It's Raining Men'
4. Flame blown out

My 5x5 is based on the notion of performance. Webster's Dictionary defines performance as 'execution, accomplishment, fulfillment; operation or functioning; something done; deed or feat; a formal exhibition or presentation'. A performance is an action with intention--of entertaining, satisfying, enlightening, or bringing joy. Of the clips presented above, one was staged, one was impromptu, and the three between were reckonings, endeavors--moments, merely, but quests nonetheless. I leave it to you to decide the motive of each, the thoughts in each person's head as they sought--what? Why were they performing? Would it even have been a performance if it wasn't caught on tape? What is performance? I don't know. I just made the video.

All but one of the clips were made with a Sony Handycam. The second clip was made with a Canon Powershot S5IS. I edited my clips in Windows Live Movie Maker. I attempted to use WeVideo, but it was not in the mood to function.

I am not particularly pleased with my 5x5; that is to say, it's okay, and I'm not sure I could've made it better in the time I had, but I don't think it lived up to the possibilities offered by the 5x5 Challenge. 5x5s to me seem a terrific opportunity to let meaning and simplicity to weld together, but welding them is harder than it looks, and I don't think my 5x5 is as interesting as I was hoping, much less meaningful. For our next independent video challenge, I think it would be interesting if everyone picked a word out of a hat and made a 5x5 or short film about it. It could be what that word means to them (for example, what 'beauty' or 'normal' means), a direct demonstration ('dog', 'street'), or an adjective ('scary', 'funny'). Personally, I am very interested in and love filming people, so I'd be interested in learning more about street filming and getting good shots and angles on people and actions.