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.

Week 10 Photos: People

Taking pictures of pictures can seem kinda weird but I decided to do it this week. The original picture sits on my desk and was taken on the day I went through the temple so it is really important to me.

It's interesting how family not only looks alike but often acts alike. I liked how there body and face were kind of similar here. It's fun to look at them and see what

I love seeing younger siblings copy their older ones. It always happens without fail, I have photos of myself doing it to my sisters.

This is my cousin and she always looks so sad but she is so cute! I liked the framing here but not the legs on the right side.

I am not used to seeing kids with earings and make-up so this girl what really interesting to me especially because the woman holding her doesn't seem to have any make-up or jewelry herself.

Shot For Shot: Mr. Robot

I was really excited to try this project. I really love this show and how they chose to shoot it. I wanted to do my best at recreating the scene. I was a lot less stressed on set this time and enjoyed myself more and hopefully everyone else did too. Even though it didn’t turn out very well I learned a lot.

I tried really hard to have it planned out and organized before I got there which help with making sure we finished on time, I got everything I needed and for things run efficiently. On the other hand, this also made it hard for the actors and to have their performances flow physically and emotionally. All the actors were wonderful to work with but I don’t feel like I was the best director for them. I struggled with finding a balance between being the director and all the other roles I had to be. I kept wanting to micromanage but I tried my best to let Brett DP. I would have rather been the DP on this instead of the director (which is true for any project) because I was already focusing more on the technical and how shots looked then the actors performances which is not the job as the director. 

Sound wasn’t very good but the soundtrack worked well at covering it up. If I did it again I would want to have someone there to do sound. I also wish I would have used the tripod for some shots instead of the shoulder rig the whole time.

Week 9 Photos: Rhythm

This is a pretty lame picture but it's what I see everyday. I tried to match the lines of the shades with the lines of the cars and building but it doesn't work with the building.

When walking up the stairs in the HFAC I saw this and liked the lines and tonal contrast. There is something a little eerie about it.

I spent a lot of time at the cemetery the past few weeks. One of the times I saw this tombstone and liked the weathering on it. I wanted to line it up perfectly in the frame. I really liked how it turned out but I think it's a bit overexposed.

I don't know what I would do without medication and I don't know how I would remember to take it without my pill box. I liked the lines and colors of the box and pills.

The temple is so beautiful and has so much detail. I wanted to show the symmetry and detail. I am not happy with the framing. I wish I would have gone up and to the right a little.

Week 8 Photos: Movement

It is so nice to see grass again! I originally tried to just set it up but it looked unnatural so I took it. I liked the lines and how the colors work together. 

Water can have some really interesting movement. It's such a normal thing I liked the round lines and cold colors. 

I always got in trouble for playing with fire and wax when I was little. Now that I'm an adult with my own candles I don't play but instead take pictures of them! I liked the reflection of the farthest flame but don't really like the framing.

This family was getting there picture taken by someone else and the dad was pointing to try to get the baby to look. Family is so important and I think you can see how much they love each other. I thought they had some really cool colors and and I was happy with the framing.

I liked the line created by the wall and ceiling and how it goes right through her eyes. I also the amount of headroom but the lighting is really dark and a little to warm to me.

One Shot Doc: Jenga Boom!

This project was a lot of fun. I wanted to show people interacting and having a good time but also the tension that comes along with the game. I tried to do this by the activity I chose, never having shots of only one character and by being close in the action once it started (almost like we were playing too).

The activity worked great and the dynamic between people (two separate groups of my friends that hadn’t met) worked nice. I think I did okay at communicating what I wanted but if I did it again, I would have done a lot differently. First even though the picture was what was important, the sound wasn’t good and it can distract. I also went handheld so I could control focus better but it made it very shaky. I also didn’t do a custom white balance and the preset I chose felt warm. Sometimes after the round they would start talking to me so I had to cut. I would have liked to do it more times too but people had to leave. Mostly, I wish I would have moved a bit more instead of staying between two of them the whole time but I think I got to nervous.

Week 7 Photos: Color

This is an edge of a bamboo plate. I liked the shapes it made and the pop of blue against very blurred background. I with the white triangle at the bottom wasn't there though.

This is the view of my star lamp from below which is what I see every night. I think light looks really cool out of focus so I wanted to play with that here. I liked the purple colors it gives off.

This is something I see every day but looked at it differently with a camera in my hand. I liked the lines and white breaking up the muted tones here. Blue and yellow are one of my favorite color combinations.

The subjects of this photo isn't fancy but it means a lot to me. This vase is the biggest glass piece I have ever blown and even though it didn't turn out how I imagined I am proud of it. 

Being single, I didn't expect to get flowers on Valentine's so when I found a bouquet on my doorstep from my old FHE brothers it meant the world to me.

Week 6 Photos: Tone

I went to the Salt Lake Cemetery this week and saw no other humans but was surprised at all the deer. This was the closest I could get without scaring them away. I wish I could have gotten a different angle of them and they are the same tone as the grass so you don't see them super well.

This was taken looking out my peep hole. I liked the shapes it made and how you can’t really tell what it is. I don’t know if I like the framing though.

While walking to the basement, I noticed the contrast between the dark upstairs and bright downstairs. I stood there a while trying to get the framing right and still don't like it. Also it's not as in focus and exposure doesn't look great.

I love building scapes against sun sets. The clouds looked so pretty and I liked the different shapes of the buildings. The more I look at it though the more I want to see more tonal difference in the buildings so you can make out a little more.

I liked the symmetry and affinity between the two windows but how the curtains, stuff in the room and trees outside added contrast. Also the small pops of blue and red are fun but may draw your eye when they shouldn't be the focus.

Chase Scene: Unseen

With this film I wanted to explore how every point of view is different and that everything is not what it seems. Stand-alone it doesn’t do this but hopefully with Sariah’s it does. I wanted to do this by focusing (physically and metaphorically) on the guy and what his experience was.

Once again, I was disappointed in the outcome of the project. I think the main reason for this is I didn’t have a very clear vision of what I wanted. I also had never been to the location, neither of us had ever used the gear before, and the weather made it uncomfortable and stressful. I wanted to use movement and space to tell the story but I don’t feel like I did a very good job.

The film doesn’t have much substance to it so it is a bit short. I considered adding more in to make it long enough but I like the flow and pacing and adding more detracted from that to me. I think I did okay at helping the audience stay oriented and understand what was going on. If I did it again I would like to be more prepared before going in, to not rush the process as much, get better sound, get more shots of the man's face and find a way to add more substance to the story.