Final: It's Kind of A Funny Story

For the final I wanted to do something simple so I could focus on the storytelling. I wanted to have it feel authentic and work more with the actors then I normally do while also giving me a good exercise in editing. The flat space and dual colors I think helped emphasize the cold feel of the hospital. I tried to use camera and editing to help it feel rhythmic but I don’t know if it really worked. I wish that you could have seen the eyelash when she makes the wish. If I did it again I would try and find a different way to film that part.
I was proud of how I worked with the actors. I think this was the most director like I had been on a set. I had never directed these particular actors but had worked with them before which helped me feel comfortable giving them direction. I know they had worked together well but found out on set that they are dating which helped. I tried to take more time with them and work out ideas together.
I wanted to try shooting in 4k because I have never edited 4k. I wanted to see how the workflow was and I liked the idea of being able to have an image that is to big so that I could reframe the shot if I wanted. This gave me so many options for how to edit which made it hard in the amount of time I had… also rendering was hard on my old computer. Anna and I shot both of ours on Wednesday which I thought would give me a good amount of time for post but I wish I would have had more time to edit. I was taking inspiration from the first date scene in Whiplash and how it was edited but I think it didn’t work super well. To me this is the rough cut and I want to go back and make a fine cut.

Week 14 Photos: Alone Time

I look so melancholy! I don't take selfies often but I liked how the light was coming in my window so I decided to try. I wanted to do a more uncomfortable/unusual framing to mirror how I was feeling. 

I feel like I have taken more baths this semester then I have my entire adult life. I need time to relax and be alone and the bathtub is a great place to do that. I like how close the camera is to the top of the water but I don't like the colors and slightly canted angle.

One day a month, this is my saturday. I go to South Jordan to get hooked to this for a few hours. Not only does this trip make it possible for me to live a normal life but also gives me time to reflect and get away.

This isn't only what I see everyday but you guys too! What is it about straight on empty hallways that is so creepy and intriguing?

When I look under my bed, this is what I see and it makes me happy. I put my sully stuffed animal under my bed a few months ago because I didn't have room for it but I didn't realise how punny it was (as in monsters live under our beds stigma) until this week.

Master And Coverage: High Fidelity

I enjoyed doing this project and working with James. I am so happy we finally did a project again we can edit! We have all had arguments and relationships/friendships end so I wanted to show that. Since it wasn’t a happy scene I wanted to use color and lighting to reflect that which I think worked well. I also wanted to show the characters separation and not really communicating by having single shots and move into two shots when they are more open and honest but because of takes not working out that didn’t always work in editing. I tried to have it really planned out and to be really detail oriented with things like eye lights and flagging things off that were distracting and I think it helped.

There are quite a few things that didn’t work out the best and I would do differently. We bounced the car during takes to make it seem like it was moving but it caused a knocking sound in the audio. Color in shots where very different so I had to work a lot trying to get them to look cohesive. Lastly, I wish I had a script supervisor and had done more takes because continuity with lines and performances made editing hard.

Week 13 Photos: Guitar

As a filmmaker I think we are constantly trying to find different angles to capture things so this week I wanted to see how creative I could get with one item sitting in the same place. I love to play guitar but I don’t do it enough. I was in my room and noticing how beautiful it was and all the different lines and shapes it has. 

I decided to just focus on one fret and the lines that were created. I wish I wasn’t cutting off the top line and the whole image is a little to blue for me.

I wanted to do one picture straight on the sound hole. I like the shapes/lines and rhythm created. I wish I was just a little higher though.

I liked the seemingly random colors at the bottom of the strings and the lines created from this view.

This is the weakest in my opinion. I have always wanted to try taking a picture with a stocking over it (ala Atonement) so this week I finally did! It added a cool vintage/almost heavenly effect.

This was again done with the stocking. I wanted to get the whole guitar and liked it going diagonally over horizontally.

Week 12 Photos: Macro Shots

I got lens extension tubes recently and decide to play around with them this week...

Being a vegetarian and animal lover, I don't like to kill bugs so I found this guy on my window sill it made me a bit sad but like a car crash, it can be hard to look away. Because I don't have the opportunity to get close to many animals in photography I wanted to take this opportunity to. RIP little guy.

I brought these back from my sister's wedding in Alaska a couple years ago. The pinecone is the size of my finger tip. I loved how close I was able to get the them so you can actually see the tiny sea shell.

Puzzles can be pretty fun. I do them a lot with my dad. With extension tubes there is less focal length that really shows here. I am not sure how I feel about it being so shallow but it adds a kind of cool mystery to it.

Reflection and light are so cool! I can never tell how they will look on camera until I try. When I got up close to my bathroom light I loved all the detail you can see but it also made me want to clean it really bad.

On the right is a ring I got from my parents on my 18th birthday. On the left if a ring my mom got from her parents when she turned 8 and my mom gave me recently. Even though I never wear them together I wanted to take a picture of them together to show how different they are with the colors and design and how that represent my mom and I.

Scripted One Take: Garden State

This was a really interesting project to do. It was hard for me to find a scene that I thought would work in a one take but was really happy with the one I chose. It was great to work with people who actually do sound and cinematography and to have extra help for the first time.

I was reminded that no matter how much planning you do things won’t go how you plan so you have to go with the flow. Also I need to remember that everyone has their own unique style and they won’t and shouldn’t do it always how I imagined. I spent a while finding a good location. I wish we could have seen the cemetery more but the cemetery didn’t look as cool as I hoped anyway. Watching it there are a few camera possessions I would have changed like focusing on Sam when she starts to cry. 

My biggest regret was not know what exactly I wanted. It’s hard because I don’t like directing and I don’t want to do it so it’s hard for me to direct the actors because I don’t feel I know what I am doing. I started to plan what I wanted the shots to look like and what I wanted the characters to feel but didn’t take as much time as I should and didn’t get my intent paper back to get feedback.

Week 11 Photos: Circles

I liked the colors and texture on this salt and pepper shaker. I decided to take the picture from the top to make everything circular and uniform. I wish I would have have the same distance from the top and the bottom of the frame. 

It's finally time to take winter decorations down. This snowman always makes me so happy! Until next year buddy.

I love glass. It is my favorite medium (if you don't count film). I have collected a lot of it over the years. I was looking through my beads and thought it looked interesting.

My film reels are some of my favorite things I own. I like muted colors and shapes created by the reels and floor/wall.

I noticed some water spots on my mirror and wanted to try and capture it. I put my lense right against the mirror. It's interesting how you can see the outline of the lens.