Monday, March 23, 2015
Actor Switch
So my actor that I had in mind couldn't do it. I have recently found someone who will! That is it. Im excited!
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Status Update: Script done
My Movie, Absolute...
Over the past few weeks I have attempted to find the cast for my film. I still plan on using my wife, Holly, for the lead role of Emily.
I found a guy that I thought would be a good fit for Adam but so far we are having difficulty communicating. I may need to find someone else that is easier to get in contact with that is more excited about the project. Im still up in the air with this.
I also require a child actress for the role of Brooklyn. I have talked to a good friend of mine and her daughter seems to be pretty excited about doing it. I am still hesitant because I know she is a shy little girl and I worry about it being extremely difficult to get her to loosen up in front of a camera.
I now need to start filming some test shots for things. I want to get my "look" set before filming so I can better understand how to shoot. I want to also test my actors again before scheduling filming.
This has been fun so far but I really feel like I have tried doing too much. I dont mean for this to sound like Im trying to blame others but I have been helping with a few other projects for people and have pushed mine to the side for some time now. I really need to focus now and start the engine and begin what I hope to be my best piece.
As far as the script, I believe we have it pretty close to where I want it. Some small revisions may be made still. Brooklyn may need to change to a young boy depending on actors.
Over the past few weeks I have attempted to find the cast for my film. I still plan on using my wife, Holly, for the lead role of Emily.
I found a guy that I thought would be a good fit for Adam but so far we are having difficulty communicating. I may need to find someone else that is easier to get in contact with that is more excited about the project. Im still up in the air with this.
I also require a child actress for the role of Brooklyn. I have talked to a good friend of mine and her daughter seems to be pretty excited about doing it. I am still hesitant because I know she is a shy little girl and I worry about it being extremely difficult to get her to loosen up in front of a camera.
I now need to start filming some test shots for things. I want to get my "look" set before filming so I can better understand how to shoot. I want to also test my actors again before scheduling filming.
This has been fun so far but I really feel like I have tried doing too much. I dont mean for this to sound like Im trying to blame others but I have been helping with a few other projects for people and have pushed mine to the side for some time now. I really need to focus now and start the engine and begin what I hope to be my best piece.
As far as the script, I believe we have it pretty close to where I want it. Some small revisions may be made still. Brooklyn may need to change to a young boy depending on actors.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Sunday, February 1, 2015
So... We are now almost a month into my final semester here at Dixie State University and I still haven't locked in a decision as to what I am going to do for my senior capstone project. I have been debating a few different things.
Weddings
I do wedding videos as a hobby/part time job but I feel like they are not appreciated in the film program. I can't fault that thinking because they are a different animal than narrative and even documentary film. They take very little pre-production, if any at all. Because of this I have really been feeling like I want to show those around me what I can do.
Documentary
I have been asked to film a small documentary for the wedding showcase I took part in just a week ago. They gave away a free all expense paid wedding and have asked me to follow the journey the bride and groom throughout it. While I know this is going to be very demanding I still don't believe it is something that shows what I have learned.
Absolute
My wife Holly wrote a short story a few semesters back for one of her English classes. I really enjoyed the story she wrote and have been thinking I want to try and make a short based off it. The thing that has really been holding me up on pursuing this is the thought of failing. I don't want to produce a poor film. I want it to be something I am extremely proud of, not something that I make excuses for.
Writing is not a skill I would say I possess.
I began trying to write a treatment of the story last semester that I could use to build a script off of. Well... I got about halfway done with this before my doubts took over and shut me down. I gave up on the idea of doing Absolute. I told myself, "I dont have an actress that can pull this role off. I dont have the ability to find a child that can act. I dont know how to write the script. I dont have the skill to pull this off."
October 2017,The sound of static rings through an otherwise silent house. An old wind up radio sits on a red nightstand with what appears to be a woman completely out of focus in the background. She appears to be gathering things from around the room, but we cannot tell what they are. The static lingers as if it is never going to stop. Then a faint voice begins to come through. Only small bits of words are audible. “We send…regrets that on this…fine countr- has fallen…we still stand togeth….face our destiny. Please…these last hours with your lo...d ones. God help… all.
The mother stops for a moment as if she wanted to turn to the radio and confirm what she had heard. She finishes gathering the unknown objects as a young girl joyfully walks into the room blowing into a recorder. The screen fades to black.
February 2017, Emily, the mother of 5-year-old Brooklyn, and her husband Adam are a happy little family. Adam is clearly the man of the house, taking care of his “girls”. We see the family go through a few small events together and begin seeing the love that Emily has for Adam. She almost appears dependent on him for her happiness. He always seems to be there when she needs him and always helps her to find the happiness she forgets. She sometimes wonders if she married too young and if she was foolish to have a daughter so young. We show a scene where Emily is at home with Brooklyn and she gets overwhelmed with her responsibility of being a mother. She calls Adam at work and needs him to come home to help her.
Plot Point 1 - Specific When he gets home he has the mail with him and he notices a letter from the United States of America – Military Forces Division, yet he doesn’t say anything to Emily about it. He sets the mail down and holds her tight. She is crying softly but his arms calm her. He begins to tickle her a little, which always makes her forget what she was worried about. He talks to her for a moment and suggests that they put some food storage together. They make three packs full of food, enough to feed each of them for up to three months. They label them, Emily, Brooklyn, and Adam, one for each of them. After they get done with, she walks over and checks the mail. She notices the letter. She makes a small joke about how that conflict in the Korea must be more serious than they thought if they are letting everyone know about it via mail. She hands the letter to Adam and he begins to open it. Fade to black.
April 2017, Emily has been writing letters to Adam pretty much every day. She gets one every day from him as well. Emily sits down with Brooklyn to help her write a letter to Adam. Brooklyn is very excited and even draws a picture. The two of them walk out to the mailbox, Brooklyn carrying the letter in her small hand. Emily sets Brooklyn up in front of the mailbox to place the handwritten letter in. Brooklyn opens the box and notices that there is a letter inside already. She hands the letter to Emily with excitement thinking that it is from her dad and places her letter in the now empty box. Emily reads the front of the letter that was just handed to her; it was the one she had placed in there yesterday. Emily breaks down right there in her mailbox realizing that she would not be hearing from Adam any time soon. Brooklyn walks over and hugs her saying, “It’s ok mommy, I’m sure Daddy’s letter is really happy.” They sit there for a moment as Emily tries to recompose herself, knowing Brooklyn needs her. She finally stands up and they walk inside together, saying nothing. Fade to black.
July 2017, Emily has clearly stopped taking care of herself. She seems to be in a depression without Adam being there for her. She spends full days lying on her bed listening to the news on the radio now because the television has stopped working.
Emily struggles to find motivation but forces herself for the sake of Brooklyn. Brooklyn often wakes up before Emily and on this specific morning she has decided she is going to make breakfast for the both of them. Brooklyn opens the fridge to notice nothing but condiments and random useless foods. She goes in and lies down next to her mother. Emily is awake and suggests that they go to the store and try and buy some food, even though she knows that there is probably no way this will be successful.
The town is breaking down and the economics are starting to fail. Emily is aware of this, yet she is so desperate to get away from her circumstance she is going to risk it. She and Brooklyn walk out to the car sitting in the garage. They sit there as Emily turns the key to reveal the gas light on. Remembering the last time she drove and stopped for gas she realizes she will have no way of putting more gas in it as all the gas stations are shut down. She decides she needs to save the gas even though she wants nothing more than to run away from her current world. She has a little cry as Brooklyn sits in the back seat wondering what is going on. Emily directs Brooklyn to head back into the house and wait for her.
They pull out the food storage and decide to start eating it as a last resort. Despite Adam not being there they do not eat any of his food. This is the last hope Emily has of Adam returning. She still holds onto him and is waiting for him to return her happiness to her. Fade to black.
Plot Point 2 – October 2017, Emily has now fallen deeper into this depression and is now on the verge of losing hope of Adam’s return. She is pulling Brooklyn’s happiness from her. She loses her temper with Brooklyn for the first time simply based on Brooklyn trying to play some music on her recorder.
They now have eaten all of their food. Emily has not eaten for several days because she gave the last bit of her rations to Brooklyn.
Emily walks in on Brooklyn drawing a picture. It is very colorful and has three stick figures. One figure is floating in the top left of the paper surrounded by clouds while the other two are standing next to a house. Brooklyn begins to describe it to Emily. She tells her that the two of them are there on the ground just waiting to join Adam. She says she knows that Adam is in heaven and that someday they will get to see him again. Emily is hit with emotion and the realization that Adam is in fact not coming home to them. She is instantly relieved. All this time she relied on him for her happiness but in this split second she realized that the happiness is not coming from him but rather from her.
End - The Sound of static rings through an otherwise silent house. An old wind up radio sits on a red nightstand in the foreground. Emily is rounding up some of her favorite memories out of drawers and putting them into two backpacks. She grabs Brooklyn’s tattered blue elephant, a children’s book, and a polka dot blanket that she loves to sleep with. While she is packing up her bags Brooklyn enters the room playing that obnoxious recorder. Emily turns to Brooklyn and tells her that they are going for a short drive. The two of them drive to the small park in which they were playing at earlier in the film. They sit side by side on a swing set as Emily tells Brooklyn the story of how she and Adam fell in love. Just moments later her eyes are dawn upward to see a jet dropping a bomb followed by bright flash lighting up the sky in bright pinks and oranges. “It’s actually sort of beautiful,” she thinks to herself. Then looks at Brooklyn who is even more beautiful. “I love you Bug.” Emily squeezes Brooklyn and fade to white.
Ideas:
Show her trying to get out and find the youth she lost.
Applying makeup in front of the mirror, she pauses realizing she has nobody to impress anymore.
Radio Message
We send OUR regrets that on this DAY OUR fine countrY has fallen. we still stand together AS WE face our destiny. Please SPEND these last hours with THE ONES you loVE. God BLESS AMERICA AND GOD help US all.
Necessity has forced me to scramble.
Weddings
I do wedding videos as a hobby/part time job but I feel like they are not appreciated in the film program. I can't fault that thinking because they are a different animal than narrative and even documentary film. They take very little pre-production, if any at all. Because of this I have really been feeling like I want to show those around me what I can do.
Documentary
I have been asked to film a small documentary for the wedding showcase I took part in just a week ago. They gave away a free all expense paid wedding and have asked me to follow the journey the bride and groom throughout it. While I know this is going to be very demanding I still don't believe it is something that shows what I have learned.
Absolute
My wife Holly wrote a short story a few semesters back for one of her English classes. I really enjoyed the story she wrote and have been thinking I want to try and make a short based off it. The thing that has really been holding me up on pursuing this is the thought of failing. I don't want to produce a poor film. I want it to be something I am extremely proud of, not something that I make excuses for.
Writing is not a skill I would say I possess.
I began trying to write a treatment of the story last semester that I could use to build a script off of. Well... I got about halfway done with this before my doubts took over and shut me down. I gave up on the idea of doing Absolute. I told myself, "I dont have an actress that can pull this role off. I dont have the ability to find a child that can act. I dont know how to write the script. I dont have the skill to pull this off."
October 2017,The sound of static rings through an otherwise silent house. An old wind up radio sits on a red nightstand with what appears to be a woman completely out of focus in the background. She appears to be gathering things from around the room, but we cannot tell what they are. The static lingers as if it is never going to stop. Then a faint voice begins to come through. Only small bits of words are audible. “We send…regrets that on this…fine countr- has fallen…we still stand togeth….face our destiny. Please…these last hours with your lo...d ones. God help… all.
The mother stops for a moment as if she wanted to turn to the radio and confirm what she had heard. She finishes gathering the unknown objects as a young girl joyfully walks into the room blowing into a recorder. The screen fades to black.
February 2017, Emily, the mother of 5-year-old Brooklyn, and her husband Adam are a happy little family. Adam is clearly the man of the house, taking care of his “girls”. We see the family go through a few small events together and begin seeing the love that Emily has for Adam. She almost appears dependent on him for her happiness. He always seems to be there when she needs him and always helps her to find the happiness she forgets. She sometimes wonders if she married too young and if she was foolish to have a daughter so young. We show a scene where Emily is at home with Brooklyn and she gets overwhelmed with her responsibility of being a mother. She calls Adam at work and needs him to come home to help her.
Plot Point 1 - Specific When he gets home he has the mail with him and he notices a letter from the United States of America – Military Forces Division, yet he doesn’t say anything to Emily about it. He sets the mail down and holds her tight. She is crying softly but his arms calm her. He begins to tickle her a little, which always makes her forget what she was worried about. He talks to her for a moment and suggests that they put some food storage together. They make three packs full of food, enough to feed each of them for up to three months. They label them, Emily, Brooklyn, and Adam, one for each of them. After they get done with, she walks over and checks the mail. She notices the letter. She makes a small joke about how that conflict in the Korea must be more serious than they thought if they are letting everyone know about it via mail. She hands the letter to Adam and he begins to open it. Fade to black.
April 2017, Emily has been writing letters to Adam pretty much every day. She gets one every day from him as well. Emily sits down with Brooklyn to help her write a letter to Adam. Brooklyn is very excited and even draws a picture. The two of them walk out to the mailbox, Brooklyn carrying the letter in her small hand. Emily sets Brooklyn up in front of the mailbox to place the handwritten letter in. Brooklyn opens the box and notices that there is a letter inside already. She hands the letter to Emily with excitement thinking that it is from her dad and places her letter in the now empty box. Emily reads the front of the letter that was just handed to her; it was the one she had placed in there yesterday. Emily breaks down right there in her mailbox realizing that she would not be hearing from Adam any time soon. Brooklyn walks over and hugs her saying, “It’s ok mommy, I’m sure Daddy’s letter is really happy.” They sit there for a moment as Emily tries to recompose herself, knowing Brooklyn needs her. She finally stands up and they walk inside together, saying nothing. Fade to black.
July 2017, Emily has clearly stopped taking care of herself. She seems to be in a depression without Adam being there for her. She spends full days lying on her bed listening to the news on the radio now because the television has stopped working.
Emily struggles to find motivation but forces herself for the sake of Brooklyn. Brooklyn often wakes up before Emily and on this specific morning she has decided she is going to make breakfast for the both of them. Brooklyn opens the fridge to notice nothing but condiments and random useless foods. She goes in and lies down next to her mother. Emily is awake and suggests that they go to the store and try and buy some food, even though she knows that there is probably no way this will be successful.
The town is breaking down and the economics are starting to fail. Emily is aware of this, yet she is so desperate to get away from her circumstance she is going to risk it. She and Brooklyn walk out to the car sitting in the garage. They sit there as Emily turns the key to reveal the gas light on. Remembering the last time she drove and stopped for gas she realizes she will have no way of putting more gas in it as all the gas stations are shut down. She decides she needs to save the gas even though she wants nothing more than to run away from her current world. She has a little cry as Brooklyn sits in the back seat wondering what is going on. Emily directs Brooklyn to head back into the house and wait for her.
They pull out the food storage and decide to start eating it as a last resort. Despite Adam not being there they do not eat any of his food. This is the last hope Emily has of Adam returning. She still holds onto him and is waiting for him to return her happiness to her. Fade to black.
Plot Point 2 – October 2017, Emily has now fallen deeper into this depression and is now on the verge of losing hope of Adam’s return. She is pulling Brooklyn’s happiness from her. She loses her temper with Brooklyn for the first time simply based on Brooklyn trying to play some music on her recorder.
They now have eaten all of their food. Emily has not eaten for several days because she gave the last bit of her rations to Brooklyn.
Emily walks in on Brooklyn drawing a picture. It is very colorful and has three stick figures. One figure is floating in the top left of the paper surrounded by clouds while the other two are standing next to a house. Brooklyn begins to describe it to Emily. She tells her that the two of them are there on the ground just waiting to join Adam. She says she knows that Adam is in heaven and that someday they will get to see him again. Emily is hit with emotion and the realization that Adam is in fact not coming home to them. She is instantly relieved. All this time she relied on him for her happiness but in this split second she realized that the happiness is not coming from him but rather from her.
End - The Sound of static rings through an otherwise silent house. An old wind up radio sits on a red nightstand in the foreground. Emily is rounding up some of her favorite memories out of drawers and putting them into two backpacks. She grabs Brooklyn’s tattered blue elephant, a children’s book, and a polka dot blanket that she loves to sleep with. While she is packing up her bags Brooklyn enters the room playing that obnoxious recorder. Emily turns to Brooklyn and tells her that they are going for a short drive. The two of them drive to the small park in which they were playing at earlier in the film. They sit side by side on a swing set as Emily tells Brooklyn the story of how she and Adam fell in love. Just moments later her eyes are dawn upward to see a jet dropping a bomb followed by bright flash lighting up the sky in bright pinks and oranges. “It’s actually sort of beautiful,” she thinks to herself. Then looks at Brooklyn who is even more beautiful. “I love you Bug.” Emily squeezes Brooklyn and fade to white.
Ideas:
Show her trying to get out and find the youth she lost.
Applying makeup in front of the mirror, she pauses realizing she has nobody to impress anymore.
Radio Message
We send OUR regrets that on this DAY OUR fine countrY has fallen. we still stand together AS WE face our destiny. Please SPEND these last hours with THE ONES you loVE. God BLESS AMERICA AND GOD help US all.
Necessity has forced me to scramble.
The time has come for me to pick my project and commit to it. As stated
above, I am already almost a month into the semester. After discussing
it with Holly, we decided to sit down this weekend and film a couple
test shots for Absolute. We wanted to see if she could possibly pull off
the acting. To see if I could quickly pull together some vision of this story.
After filming this I got a little excited. I feel hope. I feel like this has potential. I feel like I may have found the female actress even though I have had very big doubts about having Holly try it. She did great. She brings the mood I want without being over the top.
At this point I need to get some feedback to see if others agree. I need to find out if I am bias because she is my wife. I need to see if the story builds interest. I need to know if I can get the help to execute this. I need to fully commit to this if I decide it is right!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
My Raw Take
My good friend and fellow student, Tommy Ashby, has put in countless hours working on this project for the Dixie State Sports programs. He is putting together a promotional video for them which will highlight the different sports that are played here at Dixie. This video will be used in recruiting and promotional work.
One of his biggest projects for this video involves student athletes standing in front of a flaming D-state. Tommy came up with this concept and has spent the last few months putting it all together. From finding funding for the metal used, to cutting and welding the entire thing, Tommy has had his hands quite full with this one. It was really fun seeing his vision come to life tonight as he finally turned the flames on and rolled the cameras.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
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