Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

"My three P's: passion, patience, perseverance. You have to do this if you've got to be a filmmaker." - Robert Wise

To hear my Interview #2, please visit the link below:
Interview #2 Recording

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

A: As of last week, I changed mentorships due to a conflict of schedules. My old mentor was becoming really busy with his Hollywood projects and wasn’t going to be able to find a way to mentor me in the meantime. I was very happy enough to find a new mentor, but have not started my hours with him yet. The only issue is that he lives in the Bay Area, however he travels down to southern California when he has film shoots in LA. We discussed what we could do for my hours and came up with a couple of ideas. He told me that I could shadow with him on a couple of sets when he comes down in order to view the way a professional set works. In addition, we talked about a project we could potentially do together so he could help give hands-on feedback through the entire filmmaking process like directing, editing, screenwriting, etc.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

A: I actually found my mentor through a mutual friend, Brianne Estrada. Her brother, Marc, is a recent UC Berkeley graduate that studied filmmaking as well as poly-psych (a combination of neurology and psychology). With his arsenal of knowledge, I found him to be the most perfect mentor I could have especially with my focus on filmmaking being the cognitive side of it. I asked Brianne if her brother would be willing to mentor me with the extent of this project. In addition, I emailed him a proposal email for the idea of mentoring me, complete with an explanation of the overall project and some of my past works. He gladly accepted the position.

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person.

A: As of right now, I’ve only met Marc once, and that was for my interview. This is due to the recent change of mentors. However, during the interview, I really feel like we hit it off. He gave off a very calming vibe, which made me comfortable through the interview. I feel like this is a sign of his evolved communication skills, being a filmmaking director, and that he’s going to be able to give a plethora of knowledgeable information.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

A: I feel that this interview went really well. I believe this because of his initial friendly tone and his vast knowledge of the industry. He seems like a very interesting person to be able to get to know and learn from. I feel like I still need to improve on my follow-up questions. I do like asking follow-up questions, but I feel I need to be able to learn how to make deeper, more wholesome inquiries regarding a topic in order to receive the most insight I can get from a professional. However, I do feel that I improved this skill greatly from my first interview.

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it." - Alfred Hitchcock

1.) State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

A: Currently, I have changed my mentor. As of right now, Toby Wilkins is busy working on a professional project in Hollywood and is having trouble scheduling me in, so I found it better to switch mentors to get the best out of my senior project experience. My new mentor is Marc Estrada, a UC Berkeley film graduate who has worked on a numerous amount of Hollywood sets as well as his own independent projects. As for the status of my mentorship interview, I completed it on October 21st, 2015 over a recorded Skype call, because of the fact that Mr. Estrada is currently located in the Bay Area and could not make it down for a face-to-face interview.

2.) At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.

A: At this point in my research, I am still very much interested in the idea of psychocinematics (the psychological aspect of filmmaking techniques to convey emotion to audiences). I feel that my interest in this field of study could potentially help better myself as a upcoming filmmaker. By understanding and knowing what goes into a very emotionally moving film, I could create a style and replicate those techniques to create the content that could elicit the feelings I would like.

3.) What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

A: Currently, I have a list of resources for filmmaking books regarding psychocinematics that could potentially aid in my research. However, I feel that in order to get the best information, I will need to interview direct sources and people who have actually had experience on set. In addition, I found a numerous amounts of film school tutorial videos that deal with all aspects of film production from screenwriting, to lighting techniques; the whole nine yards.

4.) Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

A: What can a filmmaker do in order maximize the affective domain of the audiences’ viewership experience?

Blog 8 - Independent Component 1 Proposal

Brian Puspos creates content much like the type we want to make. He creates short films and tells stories through the art of cinematography and dance.

1.)  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

A: For my independent component #1, I plan on teaming up with Yuji Karuhaka and creating a musical-style short film. I would manage all the production aspect of the project (cinematography, editing, and directing) while Yuji would manage the choreography of the numbers as well as play the lead role. The two of us, as of right now, would like to keep the video in the range of 5-10 minutes and contain 3 dance numbers. Both Yuji and I would team up to formulate the screenplay and execute the project on set. While Yuji would be spending his 30 hours choreographing, mapping routines, and practicing in the studio, my 30 hours would be spent screenwriting, directing, filming, and then finally the task of editing. I feel cinematography  would be a real challenge that I could learn from, since I myself would have to choreograph camera movements in order to capture the best possible angle for the talent in frame.

As for story, me and Yuji have drafted a general concept idea that we would just need to formulate into a full-blown script once approved by the senior team.

(Note: Not to be confused with a dance-concept video, this short film will be complete with a plot and story, rather than just a video that just shows dance numbers in a fixed, static position on a tripod.)

2.)  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

A: To meet the 30 hours of evidence, I plan to update my progress through my senior project hour log that is located on my blog. In addition, since the process of filmmaking is very extensive, I can update the senior team with working scripts, location scouting reports, footage dallies, and rough cuts if necessary. I plan on meeting the expectation of 30 hours with ease, knowing that in the past, my average project work time is about 45+ hours.

3.)  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

A: By creating this short film, I believe it could help me explore the shooting styles and genres of both musicals and silent. In today’s modern film era, musicals are looked at as a way for an actor to show off the talents they don’t really obtain when it comes to performing on stage, hence the quick cuts. What I want to do is put a modern twist on a classic-style musical that could carry a strong narrative and portray the true talent that is on screen, rather than just constant cuts to fabricate the reality that someone can dance. I want to show the raw talent that comes from creating and performing a dance routine. By doing so, I’ll be able to analyze and apply what makes a classic musical so much better than a modern musical. (i.e Singin’ in the Rain Vs. Step-Up 3D)

For the silent genre aspect, I plan to tell this story with little-to-no dialogue. I want to learn to successfully communicate to an audience without the use of spoken words. I want the narrative to be carried out through actions and emotion.  In addition to not including dialogue,I believe this could help me explore the world of directing actors to portray the correct and convincing actions that could sell audiences on what is occurring on-screen. (It’s easy to relay a specific way to say something, but it’s very different to relay a certain way an actor/actress should move and react on set.)

Also, I’d be able to fully explore the category of post-production music and sound design a bit deeper since I would have to be able to mix the music during post-production that the dancers would be using.

4.)  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

A: As for my senior project hours log, I have already designated a section for the independent component hours to be recorded on.