Plans for next semester

This semester has really helped me understand more about the production and artistic value of cinema. Next semester I hope to be able to take the directing and/or producing documentary. My other passion is in anthropology, which I am also majoring in. I have decided to meld my two passions together and pursue my interest for documentary films. I have really enjoyed all the anthropology courses I have previously taken and cannot wait for my Human Origins class. It will discuss the evolutionary steps from ape to man through changes in bones over time. Hopefully I will be able to take at least one film course next semester, but if not, I will try to participate more in film department activities and try to volunteer for local opportunities.

Crew Positions for Wild Card Project

My crew position for the Wild Card Project is to operate lights and to edit the film. In this position, I will try and make the crispest image of the objects on screen and to also create a respectable edit of our project.  I have not worked with lights much and I hope to experiment with what works best on the camera. I hope to be able to test our some gels to add a fun effect to the scene. Also, I have not had too much experience with Final Cut Pro, only working with it for two years in high school. With this project, I will take the extra time to learn the editing system to make our film the best it can possibly be. I will do this by syncing the audio correctly and making sure it is level, make clean cuts, and to have seamless transitions. I am very excited to take a larger part in this project.

3b Editing Experience

My experience while editing project 3b was fantastic. I was not originally excited for the experimental sound project, but I ended up having so much fun with it. Creating a somewhat theme and story from the pre-recorded sounds was very difficult, but I enjoyed pushing my creativity. Our title, ‘He be of size enough’, was very unusual which is why the project was such a challenge. Determining which route we wanted to go for the project was the most time consuming and difficult part. Jason and I ended up thinking of the ‘he’ as a serial killer or vicious man.  The beginning of our piece started with creepy sounds that suggested a man stalking and killing a woman. We then transition to a more peaceful and calming collection of sounds to suggest our character, ‘he’, began to feel the euphoric high of finally satisfying his urge to kill. We then returned to the darker sounds to suggest the man had to satisfy this feeling yet again and that it is some kind of addiction. I really enjoyed the openness of this project.

Experimental Sound Recording Experience

At first I was terrified of this project and had absolutely no idea what sounds to record for it. The res t of my group had no clue either, so we just went outside and walked around to explore interesting sounds. After thinking of the first few, we constantly thought of new and more unique ideas. We went from a backpack zipper to droplets of water trickling into a puddle. The hardest aspect of the project was developing ideas for the vocal audio. We ended up using sounds such as yawning and sighing, but I am sure we could have taken more time to think of better audio choices. This project helped me understand the importance of audio in cinema. Without clear audio, the production value of a film significantly drops. I gained a new found respect for the sound team in film making. They have to pay attention to every small detail making sure there aren’t any interfering noises in the background and even having the recording level correct so it won’t spike. This was something I learned quickly while recording, I had to make sure that any unnecessary sounds, such as traffic and even wind, would not defect the recorded audio.

Master Shot Editing Experience

Not only was filming our Master Shot Sequence fun, but editing it was also great. Our bizarre topic allowed my group to experiment with effects and try to make the project as crazy as possible. We had no limits to where we could take the story, although we did not truly follow the assignment’s meaning… oops. Excited about the project, we came up with some many ideas and forgot to keep true to the Master Shot Sequence. The editing process really allowed us to take the project to a whole new level. For me, editing was quite terrifying because I have never edited audio before. Ryne thankfully helped me understand how to create the best audio for the project. I have to say finding the sound effects was the best part of the process. It added so much to our video and even created a more unusual and comical tone.