Over the Shoulder Shot

Well, I assume it all comes down to this. 2 years and I still procrastinate. 2 years and I still don't feel like I'm as ready as I thought I would. Going through from the beginning, I had high hopes for my films. The Wonderful Accident one was not perfect, but it was probably the least stressful (just least, not saying it wasn't) and most simplistic of my films over two years. At the time, I was convinced that my place was as a cinematographer, but I also had the urge to write. I had a great deal of fun working on that first film, and it is probably my favorite to look back on. The Coalesce film, the one that was based off of art reactions, was more stressful and I felt less proud. I made the excuse in my mind that the writing was bad because we were limited by cheesy pictures, but I have learned over the years that the conditions are never going to be right, one must work with what is presented. Overall, the film wasn't terrible because it had a clear, strong story line and fantastic acting. Editing for this film is hardly remembered and I am almost disappointed editing did not stick as my "thing" for the class, just as so many other students had their "thing." I believe next was the Portal Project. This being the film I am the least proud of. The cinematography was okay and there was no story line, just cool shots. I did enjoy collaborating with #JEWCREW, but that is the extent of this. It did teach me a lot about editing and I am satisfied with that. And then, the final film, Mamihlapinatapai.I sensed problems right off the back when my idea was trashed and the group tried to come up with an idea together. I believe this really watered down the content of our film in the long run. There was too much tension between the main players, but this wasn't a bad thing, because I know working with people you can't get along with is a component of collaborative art some times. I tried really hard with this script, especially with the dialogue, to produce something simple and honest. In the end, watching the film over again, it was exactly that. Not the process, but the end product. This project was just another test in my senior year of my leadership abilities, and in this one, I believe I failed, to some extent. When it comes to art with other people, I find it difficult to share what I produce, for fear of it being "stupid" or "not good enough." Yet, if I have learned one thing from this film class, or my time at Granite as a whole, it is to never, never let fear hold me back again. So with these films completed, along with the thousands of in-depth studies of films throughout the year, plus the multiple documentary scripts and orals, I have a lot to be proud of. Not of my own knowledge, but the mere fact that I was pushed in something, and good came out of it. I hope to produce more films in college and study media. EL FIN. Of course, never forget, "Melting flippin clocks and phallic symbols."

First Short Film - A Wonderful Accident

This film was a collaboration between myself and Kyle McCarthy. We had some high expectations and a lot on our hands since we were the only group with two people. The idea to have a boy loose his hand and replace it with an axe was ambitious, but I believe we pulled it off. I am very proud of how we were able to make a tree look like it was falling on our protagonist's arm. This coming-of-age film is heartwarming and silly; a true reflection of a first film.

Documentary Script- Fellini and Woody Allen

The documentary script final was a great deal of work, but highly interesting. Growing up, I always looked up to Woody Allen and it was so great to learn about the man who influenced him. It is in my paper I look at their relationship and Fellini's affect on Allen. I enjoyed watching their films so closely and learning about film in Italy. This gave a great perspective on directors who also write and act, or base their movies on themselves and their life events. It was really inspirational to learn about.

Storyboard!

This a rough storyboard of my first film, A Wonderful Accident. It is odd to look back and see how helpful storyboards actually are, when they are done correctly. For story boarding, I focused on facial expressions, camera directions and placement, and important notes on mise-en-scene along with props.

IB Film HL Final Film - Mamihlapinatapai

Again, this film was a challenge that I am glad I was able to overcome with people I am close to. I am really proud of my cinematographer, editor, and of course sound guy (......sort of). Directing this film was a challenge because I was struggling to be a leader, to tell people what to do and what I want. Yet in the end, I am proud of what happened. I am proud of my actors and my team for putting up with the whole ordeal, long nights, and numerous sunsets. As a whole, this film could be more developed and perfected in it's story line and line delivery.

Final Film Script- Mamihlapinatapai

This was the script of the final film for IB Film 2014. This project was insanely challenging, but it taught me a lot about myself when working on a project. Focusing on writing, this script is not my favorite, but I enjoy the warmness of it and the innocence in its message of finding beauty in everything and breaking out of isolation. In the end, the film was much different from the script, but with the same concept. My goal with this script was to create dialogue that was meaningful, but still natural and I believe that only worked to some extent. Overall, I am proud of this project and the time that was put into it.

Trailer of Coalsce

This is a trailer for a film that was written and acted out by myself, about a girl who runs away from her alcoholic father and tries to make it on her own, instead of confronting her situation. There is a bit of magic in this one, for the character Casper, an poor aspiring photographer, helps the determined protagonist realize the importance of family and love. This trailer, not being perfect, tries to capture the main message of the film: the connectivity of humans and there ability to aid each other while bettering their own lives.