Blog 12 - Holiday Project Update

"There's got to be something you want to tell and that's the engine which spurs all of the work you have to do in order to create the story, but you have to love some sort of nugget of what you're telling to be a filmmaker." - Bradley Cooper

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

A: Over the Holiday Break, I was hard at work with my senior project. I was able to catch-up on past research checks as well as conduct some mentorship hours with my mentor Marc Estrada. We discussed some production concepts and he showed me the beginning stages of the Pre-production process of a film project. He even gave me a task to create a “fake casting call” for one of my old works in order to analyze character parts and actor qualities.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

A: I think the most important thing I learned was the major differences in how you can tell between the look of an amateur filmmaker and a professional was two concepts: proper use of aperture and proper use of spacing. I discovered this in a discussion I had with my mentor. We analyzed a couple of clips from Martin Scorsese's film, Wolf of Wall Street, regarding the subtle uses of lighting techniques and aperture use. We then looked at some grainy test shots usually shot closer to darker circumstances and told me the reason the two shots look so different. When you can effectively use aperture and determine how much light the camera receives through the camera, you can make the shot look in a higher level of aesthetics.

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

A: I plan on talking to an independent film production crew based in the Los Angeles area. I have already sent out some interview requests via email to these groups so hopefully they respond. I do understand that it may be a bit of a stretch but if that falls out, then I can interview one of our close family friends that graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and works for Sony Pictures. I plan on talking to these people if possible because of how their experience in storytelling abilities could potentially provide insight into the effective ways to psychologically communicate through cinema.