What are you most proud of in your senior presentation and why

I proud that I was able to reach the amount of time that was necessary because I was most worried that I wouldn't make time because I wouldn't have enough content to talk about.

What assessment would you give yourself for your lesson 2 presentation?

 AP+

Explain why you would give yourself this grade.

I believe that I reached time in each part of my presentation but I know I could've done a lot better than I did. I was so worried about the time and not having enough content that I found myself rambling and when I realized that I did have enough content for the time I was very far into the presentation.

What worked for your lesson 2?

I believe that I tried to make my presentation relatable which is difficult to do considering that a lot of people in the class probably haven't made their own independent films. So I tried to use examples they would understand and examples from film that they had seen.

What didn't work?

If I could do the presentation again I would assure myself that I did have enough content to fill time and not to worry or else I would be so nervous that I'd forget some of the points I would want to elaborate on.

What do you think your answer 2 is going to be?

I think that my answer two is going to be how directors must be resourceful and use what is available to them when their original script may have been too ambitious

Blog 12

1. I am doing my mentorship with Mr. Tom Kam, because we often go out to film locations vary for mentorship. We always meet at his house in Fontana before going off to film.

2. My contact is Mr. Tom Kam.

3. I have completed 16 total hours.

4. Most of the hours were collected in a shoot that we did for a Doritos commercial where we went out to the forest and did our take on a martial arts film in 30 seconds. It was a two day shoot and yes it does take that much time to get the perfect shots. I would be classified as the PA (production assistant) on the shoot, which means I would fetch stuff that the director needed, take care of the actors and check for continuity.

Blog 11

1. Over break I was organizing all of the everything that I would need for The Fullerton Festival Documentary I will be filming. This includes a rough script, questions I will ask, who I need to talk to, researching the festival, a rough shooting schedule and figuring a cohesive story to tie the documentary together.

I also started a new script that I'm very excited about and though I'm not entirely sure that I can film it this year, because the film would be heavily reliant on music and music is hard to obtain the rights to and even when you do it's ridiculously expensive. Though the script will be finished this year.

2. The most important thing I learned from working on my project over break is how much work really goes into pre-production, especially for a documentary because a lot of things only happen on camera once.

3. Hypothetically I would really love to Griffin Hammond who did a short documentary about Sriracha. He's not famous and encourages people to ask about his documentary so maybe I can have a phone call with him. I would probably ask him about the proper amount of B-roll, story, interviews and nat sound breaks. If I cant get Mr. Hammond I will ask my mentor if he knows anyone who has worked with documentaries.

Extra Blog December

It's almost New Years and you know what that means! Yup, a blog post! Alright this time I'll being three quick reviews of movies. These post with purely be critique unlike my others which were rather long because of the technical reviews that I did. Hopefully these are more straight to the point and enjoyable.

1) Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dog is one of the most well known Independent Films and critically acclaimed. After re-watching the film over break I thought that i would give a shot at a review. Reservoir Dogs is a movie stands alone and can hold it's own against practically any other crime film. The first thing that pops out about this movie is the style that this film is laid out. The film is not put into chronological order and it strangely adds something to the film for two reasons. The first being it's different. In an industry that can be filled with the same thing over and over this film breaks the mold and offers something entirely new. The second reason the absence of order in time is, it challenges the audience to both be patient and really think about what is going to happen or what has already happen with the information given. The separation of time really does add to the feeling of a crime film and gives you everything you could ask for from the genre. A crime, a team, a run in with the cops, and strong characters. I have to give Tarantino props for his casting because each of the main characters delivers their lines with purpose and energy. There's also this overwhelming likability about the film. At first I couldn't figure out what it was but then I realized what it was. It's the simplicity of the film. The film doesn't try to impress you with Michael Bay like effects, it just tries to tell a story and comes through as movie  set to impress. I give it a 8.5/10

2) Losers Take All

Losers Take All probably isn't a film you've heard off but is worth a watch. The film is about a couple of guys who start a band only to find that they suck, it isn't until they team up with another band that they find that they're not half bad. The film is set in the 1980's punk rock movement and does a very good job of not overdoing the 80's like many films do.As you'd expect from a movie about rockers there's foul language, drugs, some dirty jokes and great music which already has the makings for a great film. The one thing that you don't end up getting is a major change of the protagonist toward the middle or end of the film so when the movie does end you feel like the movie left out something. This film is definitely geared for a young audience despite the time period that it is in for the fact that film is all about how to spend your youth. I was a fan of the fact that this film was ballsy enough to use super 8 film and then convert it to digital to use for transitions in the touring scenes. The film also goes for the punk rock feel so it does it's best to have muted colors and low lighting for most of the film. The characters are all very human and somebody can see themselves in at least one member of the band. The music in the film is probably the biggest thing to marvel at considering that every song that the band played was original. In the movie about rock the music should be and was very impressive. My rating for the film was an 7.2/10 because of the lack of story and expansion in some parts of the movie but it was very well shot, the actors gave great performances and the music was awesome.

Extra Blog November

For this months extra blog I will be writing a review for the independent film, "Ping Pong Playa". The film isn't well known and I've been trying to find indie films that people often haven't heard of.  Ping Pong Playa is directed by Jessica Yu and co-written by Jimmy Tsai (the main character) and Jessica Yu. The film is a comedy about sports, specifically, you guessed it, ping pong. Ping pong Playa like most films is geared toward a specific audience mainly consisting of Chinese, people who play ping pong and people who don't think ping pong is a sport. Ping Pong Playa can be found on Netflix for easy access.

Read until the end for my rating of the film.

Plot: The film follows Christopher "C Dub" Wang a slacker, in his early twenties, who has an unrealistic dream of playing pro basketball. When his mother and brother get into a car accident passing on the family tradition teaching ping pong and playing in the ping pong championship he has to fight for his family name and come to a reality of what is important.

Setting: The film takes place in what seems to be a predominately asian community at various locations   including the community center, the Wang household, the Wang family business and the basketball court.

Technical Aspects

Camera Work: The film has two different styles within the movie. The camera style tries to match the personality of the main character. When "C-Dub" is balling up at the basketball court the camera shots are from a low angle to make him look heroic and athletic. When C-Dub is being lazy at home the shots have little to no movement and the shots are long and smooth the mimic the lazy effect. When Christopher steps up and gains responsibily the camera mainly keeps at eye level. The other style of the film is an interview style, although it's used less. Within the movie there are short clips of a reporter interviewing Christopher. So the camera is set in a specific angle of the faces and characters are aware that the cameras are there.

Lighting: The film was surprisingly well light in each location that it was shot. The lighting really did depend on when C-Dub was. In the family ping pong shop, the business was purposely lit a little dim to show that it was a small business that wasn't exactly rich. In the community center it was brighter to show that it was well maintained. In C-Dub's room it's lit dimly to show how cluttered and unkept it is.

Sound: The sound was nothing spectacular but it did work. Something I found interesting was that instead of making this film PG-13 or even a possible R they kept it PG by censoring the curse words with the sound of basketball. That made the film a little more cartoonish or childish. The music really did add to the character because of his personality (it was basically rap or hype music), but I think it failed to add to the build up of the characters heroism. It was pretty much the same throughout. The folly was actually pretty good. The crew did a great job with getting the sound for each ball hitting the table, the floor or the paddle.

Critiques: The film is a bit contradicting in my view. I find it odd that it tries to balance childish and serious at the same time. It just makes for a film that doesn't flow. Also the clips of Christopher being interviewed were very unnecessary and didn't add much to the film. C-Dub's character was fun and relatable but I don't think that there were any characters that helped support him and carry the character along. It was more the event that took place that helped him change. I do thing that film did a great job to gearing toward a specific audience and that there are defiantly people who can relate to the character or the family or even the situation that the character is in. That's pretty much the only praise I have for the film. It was funny but it was mainly bland. If I were to recommend this film to someone it would just be for kicks and for the laughs that the film has to offer. Not really a strong recommendation.

My rating for the film 6/10

Blog 10

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. Examples B&D meet the three criteria. A isn't acceptable because it isn't specific enough and could be interpreted in to many different ways. C  would be too hard to argue one way or the other.

3. How can one best maximize the potential for a low budget, independent film, during production?

Blog 9 Lesson 1 Reflection

Positive Statement

I like how I did the intro suction and I think I gave a good background on Indie film and how it differs from studio film. I also liked how I engaged the class toward the end, because it made me feel more cofertable presenting.

Questions to Consider

a. What assesment would you give yourself on your lesson 1 presentation.

I would give myself a P-.

b. Explain why you deserve this grade using evidence from the lesson 1 componant contract.

 Though the presentation wasn't as strong as I wish it would've been I did touch on the all the 5 points that I originally set out tell. I also made roughly 9 minutes, had a strong into and memorable conclusion.

What Worked For You For Lesson 1?

I personally though using examples of how my points could be used in  real filmmaking helped and the fact that toward the end I explained what the ultimate goal of an indie filmmaker is.

What didn't work, if you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your lesson 1?

I would have told myself don't worry about time, you have enough content. I think I was just so worried about reaching 8 minutes that I got nervous and started rambling. I then would've brought my mentorship and the experience I had last week and what I learned from it.