Final Lesson Reflection

1) Positive Statement - I was ecstatic that my activity worked out so well and my people enjoyed it so much. I was glad that every group was invested in the activity even though the second part of the activity was more difficult, breaking down the script. I was very pleased that I went for 45 minutes on the answer content alone when only 30 minutes was required.

2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?  Pb.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?   P

3) What worked for you in your senior project?
In my senior presentation I though constantly tying in my sources, experiences with mentorship and interviews really helped me expand on my answers and help answer my essential question. What helped in my senior project topic of independent film in general was approaching the topic from different angles. For example I researched what separated indies from studios, how filmmakers can shoot with limited resources and money, making indies look expensive and distribution of independent films. I think approaching my topic from as many angles as possible helped me accumulate quality content.

4) (What didn't work?) If you had a time machine what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
Well, after I use my time machine to become an original member of the AC/DC, tour with them and kill Hitler I would go back to my senior presentation. I would tell myself to rearrange my slides so my activity came before my best answer and remind myself to refer back to my EQ every once in a while incorporate it into my information.

5. How has this senior project been to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.
Are we still using the time machine here? Because I obviously haven't seen my future. However, if I were to make an educated guess about my future the largest impact my senior project would have is the connection building that came along with it. I have made connections with Mr. Kam (my mentor) that may prove to be of use in the future if I need someone to help me with my film or to get it edited professionally. I've also made a connection with Luis Aldana whom I'm going to ask if I can intern with him this summer in his production company. The research involved with senior project I feel has also given me an edge over other filmmakers. I feel like I know more than some independent filmmakers themselves do. The research as given me insight as to how to make a successful film from start to finish and how to find an audience to watch it. I hope to put my knowledge to use in the future not necessary pursuing filmmaking as a full-time career but hopefully in my career in marketing and advertising with film on the side.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal: My mentors name is Tom Kam. He runs a independent Film editing business that he started from home in Fontana called Cinemagix. His cell phone number is (951) 265-2463. His email is tom@cinemagix.com.

Interpretive: The most interesting thing that I've gained from observing Mr. Kam work would be his level of comfort with effects. When we were filming his Doritos commercial Mr. Kam could already visualize what he could do in post-production and editing to get the look and effects that he wanted. I personally like doing as much as I can in front of the camera so seeing him work like that really opened up my eyes to a different style of directing. The experience really helped me understand the capabilities with effects under a low budget and how a director can look forward into a production through post-production.

Applied: Working with Mr. Kam has helped me understand what an independent filmmaker can truly be capable of even with limited resources. Mr. Kam often works on small productions but because of his savvy with a camera and organization in a production he can really make a film look professional under the constraint of almost no budget. He's shown mw just how important it is organize a production in pre-production with a script, a show break down and talking to the crew to keep them on the same page.

Blog 21: Exit Interview

1. My essential question is "How can a director best maximize the potential for a low budget independent film?" My best answer to the EQ is "A director must find a balance between good acting and quality production value."

2. I arrived at this answer after I was watching multiple films on Netflix and watching the films that my mentor was brought to edit. I often found that in the subpar independent films directors would focus more on either working with their actors or creating production value. The indie films that really stood out for the better, however, really found a balance between the two. Through   my research I found that well known directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Gareth Edwards made an emphasis on these points so I realized I was onto something.

3. A problem I found it was difficult to find regular articles that talked about balancing acting and production value. What I did find were multiple interviews with directors who talked about the balance and articles that mentioned separating time to work with actors and creating production value individually.

4. One of the sources that I found helped answer my essential question was an interview with director Gareth Edwards that was done by the BBC after the release of his independent film entitled 'Monsters'. Another source that I felt was really helpful was the book "Rebel Without a Crew" written Robert Rodriguez. The book is a journal of when he was directing his first feature film 'El Mariachi'. The book contains useful advice and tips that he learned from making his film from start to finish.

April Extra Blog

This months movie review will be of In a World written and directed by Lake Bell. The film is rated R for some language and suggestive themes although nothing is really shown. The film is about a female vocal coach (played by Lake Bell) who grows up in the shadow of her father who is a voice-over actor and competes for the biggest role in the voice-over industry The film makes a strong statement that anything men can do women can do just as well which makes this film a very timely piece.Beside the film having a strong underlying message it is also very funny and corky.  The film also has a subplot of a hilariously dysfunctional family and how that plays out in the kids lives even as adults. The acting in the film is good for what it sis and manages to bring on some B/C list actors on which makes the film surprisingly fun. The film is very well shot and pushes to give the feeling of a "normal" Los Angeles lifestyle. The writing for this film is really what makes it. Bell does an excellent job with giving each character their strong moments while still making them funny and likable. I would recommend this film to people who are searching for a good indie that isn't very well know though it wouldn't always be my first choice. I found it very enjoyable to watch and caught myself laughing a couple of time so I give this film a 8.3/10

Independent Component 2

A) I, Jake Reyes, affirm that I have completed my independent component hours which represents 45 hours of work.

B) My mentor Tom Kam helped me a lot with this project with advice and lending me his cameras. He has also helped me get this project almost finished in volunteering to finish the color correcting which I am very thankful to him for. I also am thankful to iPoly drama for letting me interview them and Fullerton College for letting me film parts of the festival. The book Rebel Without a Crew written by Robert Rodriguez helped me learn how to shoot a film largely on your own. I also found the article Your B-Roll is Your A-Roll from the filmmaker sight masteringfilm.com very helpful. Lastly How to Guide Your Documentary Interviewee by Todd Grossman helped me extract the answers that I was going for out of my interviewees.

C) Did it.

D) I have fully filmed documentary on a high school drama experience at a theater competition. I didn't realize how strenuous the editing process really was until I started this project. I had edited projects before, but usually they were 2-8 minutes with 2-10 minutes of film and weren't nearly as complex. This film has multiple layers and literally has hours of footage to sort through and then be condensed into a roughly half hour film. Once again I am thankful that I have a mentor who is an editing aficionado to help and guide me. The film Should be done within a couple of weeks and hopefully before the end of May. I have a new script entitled Two For the Road in the works that I feel confident I can film parts of this summer.

In my last Independent Component I focused strictly on the stage of pre-production. This time around I was able to work with Pre-Production and Post-Production. In a documentary you must have 3 key things in order to be interesting and evoke a story and those are interviews, B-Roll and on screen action.

The interviews take up roughly 2/5 of the film and during the interviews I encouraged the interviewees to be themselves to get conferrable and Brooke really did. My questions mainly had to do with the festival itself and the experience of being a high school drama student.

 The second component of making a documentary is the B-Roll which is basically visually relieve form just looking at an interviewee's face through out the entire film. B-Roll took up about 2/5 of the film. So I had to scope out different locations through out the Fullerton College campus that were visually appealing. You need a lot of variation in the B-Roll and it needs to make sense to what the interviewee is saying and I think I did a decent job of that in my film.

 The third piece needed in a documentary is on screen action. This things that happen on camera that are related to the story and push the documentary forward. The first scene here shows the improv team warming up for their scene and the second scene shows Suessical performing their musical at Fullerton. Technically I wasn't supposed to film the actors performing during the musical but I felt it was needed for the film so I did a bit of guerrilla style shooting.

Applied
This component really helped me with my second answer, for my essential question "How can a director best maximize the potential for a low budget independent film?",which focuses on working with actors and production value. Because the acting was more interviews I had to figure out how to speak to the actors and direct them so they didn't feel like I was pushing them but I still got the answers I wanted. The idea of B-Roll also really did help me with the idea of production value and making a film aesthetically pleasing. The experience also did help with my third answer which is make due with the resources you have available. When filming a documentary a lot of things are unscripted and you need to go with the flow in a way and be ready for anything that can be useful in your film. This is mainly where on screen action comes into play.

March Extra Blog

This month I've been working on a new script that I'm really excited about. It's a working title but it's different than any other script that I've done because I usually do something light or comedic but this script is more dark and dramatic and it's an attempt to get out of my comfort zone. The script is about two brothers that have been orphaned and the oldest brother will soon age out of the boys home that they are in. In an attempt to protect his younger brother Daniel, Brook takes his brother and runs away in order to keep what little family he has left alive. I'm going to have my mentor look at the script and see f he likes it and make a couple revisions. We will then try to storyboard and hopefully I can start casting soon.

Blog 18

1. How can you make the audience feel invested and sympathies with your character?
2. How can you make a low budget film look expensive?
3. Do you have any tips for shooting guerrilla style for some scenes?
4. How do you select your crew?
5. How can a young filmmaker become aquatinted with film equipment? (best camera to use, recording equipment, lighting etc.)
6. Why do you think independent films were so successful this last year with titles like Whiplash, Birdman and Boyhood all being contenders for best picture?
7. What is the best way to schedule a shoot?
8. How can you build a following for your film?
9. What is it like collaborate with writing or shooting?
10. What is the purpose of an AD?
11. What are the advantages of going to film school over just going straight into experience.
12. What are some of the tricks to pacing different types of scenes?
13. How can you light a moving actor?
14. What effects are best to do in front of the camera and which are better to do in post?
15. Is kickstarter a viable option or should it be stood away from? Why?
16. When should you have your music in mind for a film?
17. How can best adapt a story or book that is already out there?
18. Is starting a project more difficult or keeping the project going to the next step? Why?
19. How hard set should you be on your script before you change it based on the situation?
20. How do you keep actors that aren’t getting paid motivated?