To see the short film I completed over the summer, please visit the link below:
Darkness (2015) - An iPoly Doorscene
To view my summer mentorship log, please visit the link below or visit the link provided in the side bar titled " Senior Project Hours" :
Isaiah Kai Maylad's Mentorship Log
1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.
- A: The individual who graciously provided me with the opportunity to undergo the completion of my summer mentorship, is none other than International Polytechnic High School’s own sophomore teacher, Sean Daly.
Sean Daly
(909) 839-2320
International Polytechnic High School
This is the location I was able to complete my summer mentorship with Mr. Daly over the summer as a teacher's assistant during his film creation course.
2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?
- A: Mr. Sean Daly is a highly qualified individual, that served to work in the Film/TV industry for 12 years, being a part of projects such as The Amanda Show, Maximum Overdrive, and America’s Funniest People. After his time working for this industry, Mr. Daly chose to pursue education at the International Polytechnic High School as an educator of film creation for another 14 years. Using his Hollywood acquired techniques, he teaches young students how to use cinematography, editing, and creativity to fashion a movie together. As an educator of cinematic arts, Mr. Daly has also received recognition from the Los Angeles County of Education for his outstanding work in the field of Film/TV education through two Digital Voice Awards. In addition, he has helped pilot the American Film Institute’s (AFI) Screen Education Program that properly instructs students across the country how to create their own films.
3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.
- A: Having been taught on how to piece a movie together, do people realize the essential aspects needed to successfully create an emotionally impacting film?
- What kind of psychological impact can viewing a film have on a focused audience?
- How can an amateur filmmaker maximize the use of their production value, cinematography, and "mise en scene" without having the equipment or budget for a professional project?
4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
- A: I believe the most important thing that I’ve gained from this experience is that adaptation and application of certain techniques and styles through creativity makes a film more memorable. During this time I participated in the final exhibition of the weekly projects, I found that students tended to always find ways to execute their creativity through ideas they’ve seen in past movies, TV shows, or commercials. In addition, the students found these specific projects more memorable throughout the weeks of the course. For example, there were two specific groups that stood out to me that made really good use of horror homages within their door scenes. In one group they paid tribute to The Grudge by using a monster that very similarly resembled it. By doing so, they also set up a very good jump scare and built tension exceptionally well; however, they were unable to follow through with the it since the film did lack a jarring sound effect. In addition, the same group made use of another cinematography homage from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. This group film mostly consisted of a single shot of an actor walking through a hallway of mirrors in a steady shot. This mostly resembled the one iconic shot from the Kubrick film in which little Danny Torrance rides his bike in a single shot through the halls of the empty hotel. The other group made really good use of found footage-style cinematography. They even replicated the iconic shot from The Blair Witch Project in which the subject on screen faces the camera from a lower angle to see the facial reactions of fear. I feel that people tend to cling to what is familiar due to the easier understanding and the respectful awe that drove them to pay homage to these films. To me, by understanding that familiarity is popular gives me more insight on how I can better myself as a filmmaker. I feel like this technique is very much true in Hollywood as well, especially with the most recent influx of books-to-movies. Audiences love to already be acquainted with the story and characters and would love to see something familiar to them on the form of a film. By knowing this technique of what the general audience wants, I can apply this to my own projects to help me create more content that is relatable, understandable, and emotionally compelling.
5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did mentorship help you make your decision? Please explain.
- A: My senior project topic is going to be filmmaking. Film has always been my true passion and my summer mentorship really helped me solidify my choice to study this for the next couple months over the course of this project. Being able to provide more knowledge amongst these beginning filmmakers really opened this calling to try and help others understand the insurmountable work and effort that goes into the process and production of a film. To me this opportunity to undergo mentorship from a professional in the industry is a way for me to really learn and help me better express myself through film. When I was allowed to provide suggestions about techniques of execution on screen, I felt like I could really help better beginning filmmakers as well as self-help on what I could improve through my styles. In addition, I was given the opportunity within my summer mentorship to create my own video and show the way I work as an amateur filmmaker so that I may look back on this at the end of my journey through the senior project to witness my potential growth. I’ve grown to always love film and is something I believe I will never tire of.
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