Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

This is a profile  picture of Toby Wilkins that is currently on display on his IMDb page.

1.) Who is your mentor and where do they work? If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

A: My mentor's name is Toby Wilkins. He is a British film director that has, in the past few years, made his large American debut. Currently, I am unaware of his current standings regarding occupational whereabouts since I have not yet been informed if he has signed on with any particular studios for any specific film projects. However, in the past, he has worked for studios like Sony Pictures, Crackle, and MTV on numerous amounts of “big-name” productions such as Teen Wolf, The Grudge 3, and Chosen. In addition, Mr. Wilkins has participated in a numerous amounts of independent film festivals, such as the Sundance Festival. Toby has also received a plethora of recognition for his outstanding achievements in the world of cinema, being commended with many awards, specifically for his horror films. Splinter, a film released back in 2008, was the horror movie that made a large impact for Mr. Wilkins’ career and helped boost his popularity, helping him land the other large titles I previously mentioned.

To visit his IMDb page, please visit the link below:
Toby Wilkins (IMDb Profile)

This is the film that Mr. Wilkins was highly commended on for his skills in horror filmmaking.

2.) What five questions will you ask them about their background?

A:

• What aspect of being a filmmaker do you enjoy the most when working on a project?

• Did you intentionally chose to follow the filmmaker career path you took, or did you ever want to pursue another field of work?

• How did the success of Splinter help better you as a filmmaker and shape your style and technique that you execute today?

• What genres have you personally worked with over the course of your career? Based on those, which would you say would be the most difficult to convey a specific emotion to your audience? Why?

• Over the course of your career, which film project have you worked on where you felt you learned the most?  What did you take away (learn) from that experience?

Additional Questions:

• Ever since your beginnings of filmmaking, which aspect of film do you feel you’ve improved the most on? (Ex: screenwriting, directing, acting, cinematography, editing, etc.)

• What do you feel is the most important aspect of film when trying to induce emotion into a general audience?

• Being a horror director, what do you feel is the most effective way to build tension?

• To you, what’s more important in a good film: cinematography, story, acting, or editing?

• Having worked in both the realms of mainstream Hollywood and independent film work, what are the differences you’ve noticed the most when creating a cinema piece of the two different styles?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

"Filmmaking is the chance to live many lifetimes." - Robert Altman

1.) What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?

A: Over the past couple of months that I have been working on this senior project, I feel as though it has been going exceptionally well. I’ve been able to conduct very good and meaningful research through the use of my newly found resources that I was able to discover.  In addition, I love my senior topic. I feel as though this love I have really helps my drive to better myself as a filmmaker trying to make an impactful film on audiences. Because of the fact that I am thoroughly interested, I believe that I could take this information past my senior project and apply this into all my personal work and potentially my professional work one day. This project is really helping me invest in my career and I really enjoy that aspect.

2.) What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

A: To be completely honest, I haven’t ran into anything that I could deem as difficult, regarding the senior project. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed my time conducting research and learning about film, because it gives me the excuse to delve deeper into the craft and analyze things about moviemaking that I normally wouldn’t have time to do. However, now that this project takes up a large portion of my working time, I can now make room for it and be assessed on something I love to do. As of right now, I think that the work portion is a good amount to manage. I think if I change my schedule around a little more regarding extra-curricular activities, I could fit more time in for research and project work. I  believe that I am currently doing alright and do not need the assistance of the senior team at the moment. However, if a situation does arise, I will not hesitate to contact and inform the teachers in order to see how I may go about the issue at hand.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

For the audio file for my interview please visit the site below:

Interview #1 (Professor Louis Fossum)

For a transcribed version of this interview please visit the site below:

Transcription of Interview #1

"Filmmaking is always sort of building a mosaic of this arc of what the character is going through." - Matthew Fox

1.) What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

A: I believe the most important thing I’ve learned from my interview is the fact that their is a largely noticeable difference between a “technical” director and “emotional” director. Most directors of today’s modern film era typically only care about the aspect of visuals on screen: the special effects, cinematography, and “cool camera tricks.” These directors were brought up through their skills to be technicians on set: cameramen, editors, cinematographers, etc. However, to fully grasp the concept of being a phenomenal filmmaker, one must make use of what they have in order to pull the characters from the script and from their actors in order to convey the raw emotion that the person on screen is feeling. “Emotional” directors make great usage of all the technicalities in order to convey the way audience should feel in relation to what the characters are going through on screen. Although, explosions and cars may be “cool”, it is up to a true director to give the audience what they long for, a relationship with the character.

I feel that for future interviews I would change a couple of questions in relative to who I interview next in order to fit their position of expertise in the industry. I felt that I was prepared for this interview, and rather enjoyed discussing something I am so passionate about so that I may better myself.

This is a picture of Louis Fossum, Professor of Cinematic Arts at Cal Poly Pomona, from his IMDb page.

2.) Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

A: I was able to get a resource for further exploration for my craft of filmmaking. The book is called “The Total Filmmaker” by Jerry Lewis and was published in 1971. He also gave me two contacts for people within the industry: Nate Thomas and Linda Basesti. Nate Thomas is an old friend of Professor Fossum that is currently the head of the Film/TV department at Cal State Northridge. In the past, Professor Fossum sent some of his students that wanted to study filmmaking to Nate, in order to receive the proper training to become phenomenal storytellers through film. Linda Basesti is the director of the actors and actresses in the drama department at Cal Poly Pomona. She, as of today, still receives job offers to act on professional Film/TV sets. Fossum said that she’d be a good asset since she can attest what it feels like to be on the actresses’ side of the camera.

I believe that the most useful resource that was given to me was the book by Jerry Lewis. Prof. Fossum explained in the interview how this book really focuses on the art of directing and how to pull a performance from the actor in an efficient and meaningful way. He even stated that some of the highly acclaimed directors, such as Steven Spielberg, consider this to be the “filmmakers’ bible”. I feel that with this book, I could learn a lot on how to self-improve as a upcoming novice movie maker that could one day professionally carry out the task of turning fiction into reality on a silver screen.

This is the book that Professor Fossum recommended I read.

3.) What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?

A: Professor Fossum has had a long lived film/TV career as an actor in the industry. He hung up his “tap shoes” as a performer and retired into the field of academia where he currently teaches cinematic arts courses at Cal Poly Pomona. In addition, he had priorly provided me with understanding knowledge of techniques used in classic films during two of courses I was able to participate in as a student for two different quarters.

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

"If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on." - Alfred Hitchcock

1.) Write a short explanation of what you are hoping to accomplish through your senior project topic. 

• A: Over the course of the senior project, I hope to grow as an upcoming filmmaker. Having the opportunity to explore the film industry before being completely engrossed into the field of work is a really good way for me to understand how the job works. In addition, I feel that by being introduced to the art at an earlier age I can help familiarize myself with more difficult techniques and styles. Currently, my focus of my senior project is on the combination of cinematic arts and psychology, also known as psychocinematics. For me personally being an amateur filmmaker, I always wondered how I could properly set up my short films in a way where the audience reacts the way they do when they watch a good Hollywood film. I started to ask myself questions like: “How could I set up a scene where my audience would actually be scared?”, “Why do people cry when watching certain films?”, and “What defines a sad or funny movie?”. I realized that if I wanted to become a successful filmmaker, I would need to learn the art of exploiting certain techniques through editing, cinematography, and screenwriting in order to influence viewers into feeling specific emotions. I felt that by studying this aspect of filmmaking would positively affect the way I execute my films on screen and carefully choose the right and wrong things to do in order to achieve the correct emotion I want.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

"I wanted to do another movie that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world. I wanted to do something else that could make us smile. This is a time when we need to smile more and Hollywood movies are supposed to do that for people in difficult times." - Steven Spielberg

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

• A: The person I plan on talking to for my first interview is Louis Fossum. Also known as Jason Kincaid, Mr. Fossum was an actor on the set of many movies and TV shows such as All my Children and My Brother’s Keeper. After retiring from his work in Hollywood, Mr. Fossum resorted to teaching a film class at Cal Poly Pomona. Last year, I had the privilege of talking two of his film classes in which I was able to learn so much about the craft of filmmaking. Taking his classes really changed my perspective on how I watch and create movies. In addition, his class structure and lessons are what helped me decide what I want to do for my potential essential question and is the reason he is the viable person to interview.

2.  Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.

• A: Being on set, what do you feel is the most important value to have to be a thorough filmmaker?

• What do you feel would be the most noticeable mistake when watching a film? Why? (Cinematography, story, acting, music, editing, etc.)

• In order to successfully engage an audience, what do you believe is the most important aspect in a film? Why? (Cinematography, story, acting, music, editing, etc.)

• Having studied movies very closely over the many years you’ve been involved in film, which do you believe are the most effective genres when engaging and involving the audience?

• Does the general ambience of a theater affect the viewership experience when watching a movie? (Opposed to watching it at home on a TV, computer, or any other device?)