Extra Blog Febuary

This months movie review will be on the film Chef, written and directed by John Favreau. The film is rated R for language but really isn't that bad, the f word was probably used 2 more times than the legal limit of a PG-13 and the film can be conveniently found on Netflix. It's anindie comedy about an acclaimed chef who loses credibility after a food critic gives a crushing review. Chef Carl Casper (played by John Favrea) tries to get back on his feet by starting a food truck and cooking what he loves. The reason I love this film is because it has so much depth. There are so many aspects that are tied together to make this story including family struggles, social media, the human condition and of course food. Favraue does an incredible job in writing the main character to show a personal conflict yet be lovable at the same time. The acting in the film was good but it wasn't great considering the line up that this film had for an independent and I really thing the characters should've been elaborated on during the writing process in order to extract the best performance. The film itself however is well shot an keeps the viewer interested. I would have to say that I would want more of the film even if it was a mouth 10-20 minutes. Just because I believe the road trip section of the film could've been elaborated on and really could've made this film excellent. The writing was good but wasn't great because some parts came off as corny but I suppose that's okay considering the film was intended to be a comedy. I would recommend this film to friends if they had free time but wouldn't highly recommend it. It's a fun watch and for that I give the film a 8.0/10. 

Blog 14

1. How can a director best maximize the potential for a low budget, independent film?

2. Dedicate time to work with your actors especially if they're inexperienced. 

3. Make due withe the resources you have available to you.

4. You may not be able to do everything that you have in your original script so you when you budget comes in you may need to make revisions. 

In low budget films things are constantly going wrong on set so if something breaks or is not there for you when needed be prepared to improvise and have a plan B. 

Production value is improtant to a film so independent film makers are constantly looking for ways to come up with tricks to make they're film look more expensive than it is. 

5. Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez

6. Guerrilla Style by Daniel Loria

7. You man do be able to include everything you originally planned for your film so need to be able to make due with what is possible and still mange to make your film look expensive. 

Independent component 2

For my independent component I will start filming my documentary as of next week all the way through Fullerton Festival. I've set up a shooting schedule for the next month and will both directing and producing my film. I've asked Andrew to help me as both assistant director and cinematographer. 

I've also told Andrew I will helping him in his films in return which of corse are also Independent film. 

I'm confident that those two will make the 30 hours but if I have time I would like to start the soccer film that I wrote a script for before the year ends so I plan to start filming that in April and it should take the full month to film. 

Independent Component

For my independent component I've really been focusing on preproduction. In a lot of articles and books that I've read I was constantly told that preproduction is actually the longest of the three stages of making a film. These include preproduction, production and postproduction. It turns out that my sources were correct. Preproduction is a lot of preparation, creative thinking,  working with your connections and writing. I've been fortunate to have come up with three scripts. The scripts run about 30 pages each meaning that the scripts could run anywhere from 30 minutes to roughly an hour on screen. I was able to break down each script already and made revisions for what I thought was possible and took out what I realized would be completely impossible. The titles of the films I wrote a "With Power: A Soccer Story", "Fullerton Festival Documentary" (this title is subject to change if I fid something along the process of filming that I like) and "Radio Personality.

The first script that I wrote is "With Power" and it is actually loosely based off my experience playing for Southlands soccer this year. It follows three guys who transfer into a private school who is lacking in talent and turn the team around to become truly competitive. The change in leaderships leads to tensions within the team. The team finds a a way to get on the same page and become true contenders for a league championship. I think the special thing about this script is that I wanted to make a clear point that everyone on the team has a story so I added a lot of stories within this large story of the players themselves and what they're facing at school, at home and on the field. I've always wanted to write a sports film so I was really excited when writing the script for this film. I've already begun casting for the film and talking to people at Southlands to see if I can use the students and possibly their facilities. I've gotten some great feedback. A lot of the people that I approached are interested and want to help me with my film. I'll begin shooting in March.

The second script I wrote was "Fullerton Festival Documentary". It's just that. A documentary about the Fullerton Drama Festival that iPoly drama goes to every tear. I loved going to the festival last year so when I decided that I love to do a documentary and was having a hard time deciding what I should do it on, I just thought about things that peaked my interest and could be interesting to others. The main challenge of writing this script was figuring out the angle I would approach this documentary from and I decided it would be the journey of the iPoly students from the preparation all the way through the event. The documentary will also give some insight into the festival itself. I've already prepared all my interview questions and set up my shooting schedule and the entire drama elective has agreed to be a part of my film. I've been working with Fullerton college to see if I can speak to a coordinator of the Fullerton Festival and I may be able to interview a couple before the festival itself which would be great. There's a lot of research that actually went into the preproduction stage including the background of the festival, what each person in the elective would be doing at the festival and where I could and could not film at the college itself. I start filming next week

My last script that I worked on is "Radio Personality". It's basically about a radio personality who was big and popular in the 90's but is kind of washed up and doesn't have the same energy that he used to have on the air. The only reason that the station owner hasn't fired him is because their friends and they started the station together. One night when our radio personality is leaving he's approached by a girl that claims to be his daughter. The radio personality brushes it off  like he's heard it a million times. The girl ends up interning at the station with him and she brings back the life that he used to have in his job. He later finds that she was right and actually was his daughter. I really enjoyed writing this script because it was purely creative. I had nothing to go off of but whatever I imagined. Due to the the resources that I would need in order to make this film including money to buy the rights to songs I realized I wont be able to make this film at my time at iPoly. I hope I can make it a student film during my time in college and perhaps submit it to film festivals because I do feel that the story is very strong.