Our Final Class

Our group still owes at least one more blog, so I better write one before we wrap up this semester. Tonight was our last class, but definitely not the end for our group. We will all be back in the lab next semester (and probably over the break, too) trying to turn an obscene amount of nothing but dialogue and floating heads into something that is intriguing and artistic and pleasing to watch. We all hope that we can do justice to this amazing story that we lucked into. At this point, I think our group agrees that it would feel wrong not to.

Next semester, I hope that I can be a little more fluid with editing and transitions. I pray that I still remember how to use Final Cut Pro when we get back. As for this semester, I didn't think that the hardest part of this whole process would be chopping up the clips, but I can't believe how hard it is to spend hours upon hours capturing things just to turn around and decide that the six hour shoot you just did was barely audible on tape. Admittedly, this whole filmmaking thing can be a little frustrating for someone like me, who had no idea what I was getting myself into. I'm used to doing things very methodically, which isn't really how filmmaking seems to work. There's not one clear answer, or even vision, so everything becomes trial and error. Science isn't really known for being subjective, so it was weird for me to try to create something with the mindset of how it would make people feel, rather than just constructing something that relayed facts and observations. I'm still unsure about how I feel about the manipulation of the audience (though the time in this class has made me realize that there really isn't a way to make something visual without forcing, or at least pressuring, your audience to feel or interpret it in some way). When things like lights or shadows can change the entire way you feel about the person on camera, its hard to know what's real and what you've been fooled into thinking is real.

All in all, this has been a really great experience, so it really wasn't hard to commit to another semester. If anyone has any ideas about interesting shots or visuals for our film, feel free to speak up! I would love suggestions! Hope everybody has a happy holiday, and for those of you not returning next semester, good luck and nice to meet you!

-Em

Editing and Paperwork

The last 3 shoots Joe and I have done were done seperately and had been somewhat short filming times. Joe had filmed Slater tap dancing and B-roll, I followed with shooting for a little less of an hour of photograph B-roll, and finally, Joe filmed Slater walking and also an interview. Currently I am compiling an extensive list of Film Festivals while putting together the forms we will need for releases for Slater, Slater's friend in the black Mercedes and the cemetary we filmed at; while Joe is working on more ellaborate and detailed editing in the lab. All-in-all, it is very time consuming on both sides. We really hope to make this one heck of a film with all the neccessary arrangements for presenting not only in class but in festivals. Wish us luck!
Justina

Fridays Shoot

After running into problems during our last on site shooting at Forest Lawn Cemetery, our latest on site shoot went very well. Papers signed, interviews successfully recorded, and we kept to the exact time limit set, it was a good day.

Slater, myself and Joe scheduled to meet with the owner of Utopia restaurant in Long Beach, Kamran Assadi, at 1:30pm until 4pm. I was on the scene first and started setting up the equipment, then Joe arrived and finally Slater. I hooked up Slater with the Lavaliere mic while Joe started shooting B-role of the outside across the street. Joe further shot Slater entering the restaurant. We set everything up inside and we got down to work.

First we shot a candid conversation between the two close friends, Slater and Kamran, shooting from several angles on the tripod and handheld as well. When the conversation became more of a personal nature and less about the restaurant as an art forum and the works Slater has shown there, we stopped filming and let the two continue. We next shot Kamran without Slater and Joe took the helm of questioning/interview.

After a brief break to get coffee and water, we resumed with Slater's interview. Kamran had offered a cold beer during the break, and can you imagine an anthropologist/archaeologist turning down a cold beer on a hot day? Well I did. For shame. But I digress. I shot the rest of the interview with Slater with my prepared interview questions and we wrapped it up, on time even. Everyone at the restaurant was very helpful and friendly. There were no issues with sound. All of our questions were organized and the shoot was a success. Gosh I hope I get paid for this someday. I think Joe would agree with that.

Colle, Friday Shoot

Alright, so Emily and I ran into some technical issues that made it difficult for us to film this past weekend. There were new neighbors that were in the process of moving in to the apartment right above Colle's. It would of been impossible to interview Kelly and additional footage of Colle without the distraction of loud thunks coming from the ceiling. We were also limited to shoot in Colle's apartment and backyard, seeing as his son had to stay home and finish up his chores and homework. Since it seemed like nothing was going to work we decided to just discuss the new direction of the film with Colle and see if he wanted to talk about anything in specific. He likes that we want to focus the film on how people try to categorize him when in fact he is just an average person. Emily and I also got to discuss with Kelly what we wanted to interview her about. Some questions we plan to ask her for next Saturday was how she feels about having to explain her relationship with Colle extensively on a regular basis and her opinion on social norms about relationships. We have a pretty good amount of questions to ask the both of them the next time we go over and shoot. Emily and I discussed possible B-roll and clarified with Colle how much of his son we can include in the film. 

Overall, we got a lot done and improved our rapport with Colle and his family. Next Saturday will be our final day of shooting before we start editing the film. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot that it is Halloween. 

Happy Holidays guys!

James

Nashville: Part Duex

Sharon's description of our Nashville trip was very detailed and organized (much like Sharon, actually). So, I will give you an alternate perspective, rather than a half-assed repetitious version of her itinerary.

From the moment we got to the airport to the second we landed back in Long Beach, our trip was nothing less than a frenzy. It began with Colle assuring us, as he took his third smoke break, that we had plenty of time to make it through security and onto our flight. As you may have seen in Sharon's post, he was wrong. Sleep deprived and panic stricken, we decided that we should stay with the film equipment (worth more than Sharon and I combined). Fortunately, Colle caught another flight (that somehow managed to break every known time and space barrier), and ended up getting to Nashville about a half hour after we did (which slightly repressed the nagging ulcers that were an inevitability for both Sharon and myself on this trip).

We met up with Brandon, a grad student and LGBT leader on campus, who had asked Colle to come speak at this "Hate Crimes Week" event at Mid-Tennessee State University (MTSU). Brandon was so kind and welcoming, he really epitomized the role of the "Southern Gentlemen". He showed us around Nashville a little, and took us to a really cool cafe where we were shocked at the friendliness and hospitality of everyone around us. Pretty much everyone we met was this way, and everything we ate was double-fried and smothered in cheese, giving the South what I thought of as a kind of grandma-who-always-stuffs-you-full-of-cookies-and-tells-you-you're-special-kind-of-feeling.

Sharon wanted to make an attempt at shooting a little footage from the car, but I don't think we had much success. That said, our crash course in camera work was very beneficial. I think I might challenge James to a tri-pod centering dual, as I can now get that awful bubble dead center in less than ten seconds. Great success! We got some sub-par footage at a mall before Colle's speech that consisted of really great material and really crappy traffic sounds possibly ruining precious emotional moments that could have made for great footage.

Colle's actual speech gave us a pretty great set-up from a film standpoint. The room was quiet and well-lit, and we were able to stay really close to Colle. Sharon was pretty upset about the mic on Colle's shirt being visible, but I think she's not giving herself enough credit. With only two of us to set-up and film, and the very limited amount of time we had to make all of this happen, it is nothing short of a miracle that we got so much done. Sharon's organization and unparalleled mothering skills (which I cannot even begin to praise in terms of getting Colle to walk away from his kitten-friend and actually go where he needed to be to give us usable shots) made everything so much easier. I think we complimented each other really well on this trip. Sharon's scheduling and attention to detail kept us moving in the right direction (and constantly moving, at that), and while she was making everything happen, I (moving at a much slower pace) was able to pull in all the different directions and ideas that she had, and focus them on relating all our footage back to Colle's story and speech. Now, we're just hoping that the end result will be some really great footage! I got to do the camera work and visuals, which I really loved, and Sharon did all of the sound and mic work, which I hope she loved!

In the end, we got to meet and interview some really amazing people who told us about what it was like to be openly gay in the "buckle of the Bible Belt" and what Colle's experience meant to each of them. I wish we had had more time to set up those shots and talk to them, but we didn't start their interviews until about five hours before we were supposed to be back at the airport. And I really don't mean to sound cliche, but their experiences really made me realize how badly these stories need to be told. All of these wonderful, smart, friendly, kids were constantly surrounded by WWJD? billboards and messages of hate and disgust. It was hard to hear, but it made me even more excited about what we're doing and all of the possibilities that we have to say something really special with this film.

Sorry this was so long, it really doesn't even do the trip justice. More to come!

Thanks, Em

Tennessee

This is my story of what happened on our trip to TN - good, bad, indifferent.

When I first pitched the idea of this film to Colle at our union meeting last month, I had no idea what I was signing myself (and my team) up for. Colle mentioned in passing that he was going to TN in October. I said, "Oh, maybe I can go with you." I didn't actually think it would happen.

Fast forward four weeks:

10.13.10 4am. My alarm goes off.
I have spent all week either lying on the couch with a fever or buzzing around preparing for this trip. I hop in the shower, try to feel OK, and get on the road to pick up Colle @ 5am.

5am Colle's house.
Colle is not ready to go. He is still packing, ect. until 5:30. We finally get outside and he wants to smoke. I usually don't let people smoke in my car, but we are LATE, so I let him smoke in my car as we speed to the airport arrive @ 5:45, at the ticket counter by 6am.

6:15am
After another mandatory smoke break...we are not getting into the security line. Colle says that he is going to get a wheelchair escort to the front of the line. This does not happen. The plane is now boarding. We should be getting on right now, but we stay with him. Emily and I get through security but because Colle requires special procedure to get through security because of his disability, he does not. As they are closing the door on the plane, a flight attendant announces from the front that Colle will not be boarding and asks us if we want to get off the plane. Our hearts pounding, we choose to stay on with the equipment. The 2 hours of sleep I was hoping to get were hijacked by fear, anger, and heavy prayer.

layover in Denver
Got a text from Colle. He is going to take a direct flight from LAX and land almost the same time we do. I can comfortably sleep the next 1.25 hours until we get to Nashville.

Nashville 2pm
Get out luggage (hallelujah, it's here, not broken)
Get the rental car (an upgrade to a big 'ol impala....nice!)
Get Brandon (our contact/guide in TN)
Get Colle

3:30pm
In a torrential downpour, we follow Brandon to a cafe so we can eat and Colle can email some work that is due.

4:30 Emily & I head to our hotel to check in while Colle attends a closed meeting.

8:30pm
We arrive to meet Colle & Brandon at Colle's hotel to go to a function at the school. We get there and wait for Brandon to arrive back from wal-mart with kitten supplies. Colle found a kitten in the bushes outside the hotel and has taken it to his room.

9:30pm
We arrive at MTSU (Mid Tennesee State Uni) and set up quickly in the hallway outside the room where the event is being held.
After the film (Boys don't cry) ends, we enter quickly and shoot from the back of the room. Brandon introduces Colle and Colle says a few words about his upcoming talk. We continue filming as Colle has conversations with several students.

10pm
Pack up, Get white castle, take Colle back to his hotel.

11pm
arrive at hotel, bring eqipt. to room, sleep.

9am
Overslept an hour, running late.
Grab coffee/food, get to Colle's hotel.
Film Colle with kitten which he has already grown very attached.

10am
off to MTSU w. Brandon & Colle for a balloon release.
Film the balloon release, and get some interviews from students
interview the Dean of Diversity

12pm-2pm
Drive in circles going to 4 or 5 credit unions trying to find an ATM which will deposit Colle's check.

2-4pm
quickly eat something
Film interviews with Colle & Brandon @ Munfreesboro mall.

5-6:15pm
Bring Colle back to his hotel so he can spend time with the kitten.

6:30pm
Back to MTSU
Set up in the room

7-9pm
Colle's Talk

9-11:30p
interviews with students in lecture hall and then in library.
Colle & Brandon left to go to dinner.

12-1am
We went to "Breakfast" @ waffel house w. students

3am
check out of hotel, go to airport

5:45am
fly home

The Good:
1) footage. We got about 5 hours of good footage. (I hope)
2) crash course on how to use EVERYTHING.
3) experiencing TN. I want to go back.
4) New friends. MT Lambda is great.
5) I prayed. Alot.
6) Organization payed off in many ways. We (Emily and I) were booked, on time, on schedule, and on cue for everything with all the correct equipment. All of the equipment made it to and from TN in perfect shape, with the exception of one of the tripod zipper pulls that was cut by the bastard TSA idiots when they cut the lock off.
7) Thank you to my Android phone which kept us in perfect google directions everywhere we went.

The Bad:
1) I had bronchitis.
2) being sick, going on hardly any sleep, stress, being inundated with constant plumes of cigarette smoke, and having a panic-attack like reaction from my steroid inhaler did not make me a pleasant person to be around at times. By thursday afternoon, I was a fucking bitch.
3) No matter how highly organized I become, other people are not going to run on my schedule.
4) This was expensive. Very expensive.
5) I was afraid that we were not going to get enough footage.
6) It was a logistical nightmare.
7) There was only 2 of us to do a 10-person job.
8) at this point, I don't know what we got. could be great, could all be shit. who knows.

What I would have done different:
1) more people. I understand now why production crews have 483 people standing around.
2) more time. I would have gotten in a day early, checked out the sites and planned better so that so much time was not wasted.
3) One HUGE mistake I made - I put Colle's mic on the wrong side of his shirt collar, and you can see it through the first half of his talk.
4) The sound from the mall interviews is going to be horrible. I did not want to shoot in a mall parking lot, and would not do it again.
5) we have no B footage of MTSU
6) If I wasn't sick, I'm sure I would have been easier to work with.

Overall, I think we did a pretty damn good job considering how insane this whole thing was...but only the tapes will tell.

Shoot 1 Colle @ his apt. 10.9.10

I would like to begin by saying that I feel very lucky that we have found a subject, Colle, who is so honest, forthcoming, and willing to work with us. We couldn't have asked for a better person to work with.

Our first shoot was a huge learning experience. The sound was good, the aesthetics were, well, not as good as the sound. Fortunately, Colle is willing to do the shoot all over again. Overall, the shoot went - ok. There was some good stuff there.

We got to Colle's house and checked out the house. The apartment is rather small and dark, so we chose the livingroom because it seemed to have the best lighting. We brought in some additional lighting via a lamp that was attached to a table, and put an undershirt over it for a filter.

The interview went long, but well. Colle is a great speaker, and says profound things all the time. That's just kinda how he talks. That is a definite blessing for us. There were a couple of serious oversights on our part that were glaring when we watched the tape.

1) Colle was slumped down in the couch. This made him look all squished down. Not good on film at all. He looked a bit like a turtle.

2) His shirt matched the couch. When we were there, everything seemed fine. When we looked at the footage, however, Colle looked like a squishy talking head in a sea of browns. No good.

The sound was very good. The apt is on a quiet col-de-sac and, once the door was closed, it was very, very quiet - seemingly silent. Emily did most of the boom work, while I asked questions. Towards the end of the interview, we switched places.

James did all of the camera work.

What we could have been better was:
1) location. The cramped apartment left us little room to move around, and the lighting was difficult.
2) Aesthetics. Hopefully, we will never make that mistake again.
3) taking turns doing different things. The cramped space made it difficult to move around, let alone switch places. I think that Emily and I should have taken the opportunity to do some camera work so that we would have had more practice before TN.

Free Yoga in Long Beach

Hello Visual Anthropology Class! Here's a little update on our progress so far. For the past year or so, Stacie, Julia, and I (Lauren) have been casually attending the Free Yoga classes offered at Bluff Park in Long Beach, at the corner of Ocean and Junipero. We initially heard about this program through Cassandra, a fellow graduate student, as it is her thesis research site. We began our film-related research in earnest in September, communicating with Cassandra as our "gatekeeper" to the community, and quickly making contact with other key community figures. So far, we have conducted one (long and informative) interview with Cassandra and have a few more scheduled for these coming weeks. In particular, we are looking forward to our interview with Dharma, the creator of free yoga, which is scheduled for this coming Saturday the 16th.

Today, I am working on editing our hour-long interview with Cassandra, and some footage of a Free Yoga class session. In addition to this, I'm working on our shot list of shots we'll need for cut-aways to use in conjunction with Cassandra's interview audio. She was a great interviewee--as a participant-observer herself, she was keen to describe the community in a way that was both objective and self-reflective. By re-examining her interview, it will help us with our interview questions for Dharma on Saturday and future interviewees.

We plan to complete most of our shooting in the coming weeks, while the weather is still nice and pleasant. Having experienced shooting outdoors through the fall, the weather can turn quickly and it is important to be ahead of the game. We are hoping that this semester we will also have the opportunity to complete a few indoor interview shoots with informants, in order to practice lighting techniques we learned this semester in our session with Tin.

We are looking forward to a semester of opportunities to explore the key questions of: What is Free Yoga? Who is Free Yoga? And, what effect has Free Yoga had on the community since its inception three years ago?

Slater day 3

I called Slater on Friday to tell here what I wanted to film. I told her I wanted her to continue with her day as if I wasn't going to be there. She said she would be taking a nap. We laughed.

When I arrived she looked tired and said that she had had a long day. I got the camera out and told her that we would skip using the lav mic today. It usually is an ordeal to get it on her where it will be out of sight, then if it moves out of position we have to stop and readjust it. I didn't want to exhaust Slater.

There were painters painting the outside of her house which I thought was great. I even asked them if they wouldn't mind if I accidentally got them on camera and they said they wouldn't. Inside Slater moved into the living room and then said "well wait, do you want to go to the studio because the painters are making too much noise?" I told her that I didn't.

This was very telling. The idea of this shoot was that I film Slater doing what she would normally be doing. Since that was taking a nap, we had a problem. She was making stuff up for me. She took 2 things from the her do list and placed them in that time slot, 3-5, the time that I would be there. She does like to work with me, whether she likes my company or she likes being filmed or both I'm not sure. I don't mind reordering the schedule of her to do list. But I definitely didn't want her to go somewhere were she normally wouldn't work because she was worried about the sound I would be picking up. That would make us twice removed from what she would naturally be doing, on a day that I wanted to get observational footage!

We continued shooting her at an desk in her living room. Everything went well and after she got to folding roses out of pages she had taken from the bible it was obvious she was doing what she wanted to be doing in that moment. She was lost in her art. From there, she went out to the studio, I followed her and had taken off my shoes so my feet would have a lesser chance of being picked up by the mic. ( I hope that shot works out.)

In her studio I asked her a few questions and once I even asked her to repeat what she had just said because the mic was not aimed in her direction. I also had her stand in place for a minute while I got a different angle. I had wanted to stay in observational mode but had no problem jumping out of that in order to tell the story.

We finished at 4:20 and I think it was an efficient and productive day.

First Day of Filming

The first day of filming between myself (Justina) and Joe on Thursday, October 7, 2010 went pretty smoothly considering a few small things. Joe had begun filming the last week of September and I followed up by watching parts of that interview. I realized how incredible Slater is; I couldn't wait for the first day of filming.

Joe and I set up inside due to the sun and airplanes shortly after I arrived. We thought Slater, our interviewee, would be comfortable and in good light sitting on her couch and we continued setting up the equipment. However, the back light was a bit too bright, we needed more light on her face. Our tripod was one to be desired as well due to its lack of certain abilities: 1. does not lock at lower levels/no lower level settings, 2. the legs are loose and do not stay put, and 3. the grips or feet do not work/they slide. We need to get "sand bags" the ones with handles to place at the base of each leg when in use at lower levels. There also seemed to be some issues with the Lavalier Microphone but a little adjustment and it seemed to be fine. However, I would like to get a different material then we used to wrap around the base of the microphone.

These were all easily remedied things. Joe found a wonderful box top that happened to be silver on one side and white on the other; it was perfect. While the sun was at its brightest we used the white side as the silver was blinding for Slater. As the sun dimmed the silver side made it seem brighter. It was a good thing. As for the legs, well I have hands. We finished with the tripod, Joe operating the camera and me with headphones on my ears, holding on to the legs. It must have looked like an interesting operation.

Eventually Joe went hand held and I sat, headphones on, with Slater's gaze directed towards my position. Both Joe and I asked questions that led the interview into different moments in Slater’s life; I used Joe's direction here as he knows more about her history than I do. We wrapped the filming after two and half hours, and made plans to contact one another about the best time to film during the day.

Joe filmed today, Friday, October 8, 2010. Unfortunately I could not attend, but will be filming the next time around whenever all of our schedules meet up, most likely this coming Tuesday morning. I am expecting lighting and Lavalier issues which we will address prior to filming.

Final Paper - Cinematography Styles

My final paper will have to be on my favorite part of film making - Cinematography. I have loved movies from the time I was a child and it wasn't really ever about the story or music. It was always how the movie was framed, pieced together, the lighting, the angles, etc. I was enthralled in the art of movie making. Tonight as I was looking for information regarding the different styles of cinematography, I discovered a documentary called, "Cinematoghrapers Style." It seems very compelling and I plan to watch it for fun and to help with my paper. The clip that I watched already talked about lighting and how it is the artists brushstrokes in the film. That light can create movement appear different, depth and also emotion or mood. All of those are creations caused by light... one of the scenes in the movie was a man holding a light bulb in his hand in complete darkness (except for the light emitted by the light bulb) and he was talking about this light and how important and wonderful it is for movies. It is something I cannot put into words but it really made me appreciate and want to master the beast of lighting. It seems as though lighting can be your friend if you learn how to tame it and manipulate it, or it can be your enemy if you ignore its abilities or function in telling the story. In just one scene I grew to understand the purpose of light at a personal, internal level.

Overall, I am excited to write this paper and to see what I learn in the process of writing it.

Ciao! Raini

Not sure.....But here it goes.....

Not sure if im doing this right, not too tech savy.
I guess this is my first entry on this site, but i've already got two on my own, i guess. Anywho, Today Sarah started separating the footage that we have done so far. She started to piece together a shot of her pitching, so far looks likes its gonna be a good shot. I also gave her all of the pictures that i shot when we were at her games. She has some other pictures that she showed to me and told me some of her ideas for film that would include the still shots, so far I think this project is going to produce a really good film. That's my piece, see all you kiddies next time in the next episode of AS THE WORLD TURNS,er....... never mind, hahahaha, Later.

Filming in Modesto... dun dun dunnnn

When I woke in Modesto, Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving I looked outside and saw all the lovely fall colors I had missed due to arriving in town late Tuesday night. I was very eager and ready to film. The colors and scenery and lighting was beautiful. I scouted around for some areas to do the interview and was thoroughly disappointed, due to the sound. The sound outside was really terrible and we did not have access to any indoor areas that would be conducive to a good interview on film. When I put on the headphones I realized what a noisy neighborhood Dave's family lives in.

All together I spent about 3 days trying to get something good outside but because of cars and wind, rain on one day and Dave, the interviewee leaving to Boston the next day, I couldn't get anything. It was extremely frustrating to say the least.

There was about a 3 hour block of time on Wednesday though when I shot some cutaway scenes. To my dismay, I ended up with about 1 1/2 minutes of film. My in-laws were shocked that I practically ended up with nothing by the time I stopped.

The next go around will hopefully involve either the wind cover for the shotgun mic or the soundproof room that Chase might be able to get for our second interview with Dave. We will also hopefully do the interview with Kyle, Dave's brother on December 12th when he comes down to visit us.

End of Season

Last weekend was the end of the season for Bandits baseball…We will begin our next season in February. This will give us plenty of time to get all of the interviews taken care of and piece together the remaining parts. Due to the rain and muddy fields in San Diego over the thanksgiving holiday I was unable to get as much filming done as I would have liked however I started to draw up story boards and got an idea how I want to include certain parts. (pictures, interviews, etc.) In addition, the girl from the local high school team agreed to participate in the film and has tryouts coming up next weekend for the boys varsity team which I am still waiting to hear whether or not I will be allowed to film at..hopefully it works out!

The first filming day of the women's baseball team was an education to me of how much of a novice I am in the world of film. I arrived at the field where Sarah was playing. She had brought the equipment for me behind the duggout when I arrived. I began setting up immediately but didn't know where the headphones were so I couldn't hear the sound. I asked Sarah when her team was up to bat where the best place to set up the tripod was. She told me for safety reasons I should stay behind the fence next to the duggout. The problem with this was that the fence was quite high and in order to avoid having a thick yellow bar at the bottom of the screen, I had to set the tripod up high and basically stand on my tip-toes the entire time.

Anything for the sake of the film!

Well, it worked okay, but when trying pan the camera to follow someone running from home to first I lost my balance the first time and totally screwed up the shot. This was the first of many not so stellar attempts to catch the action.

J.C. arrived about an hour after I did so he let me take a break and took over filming. By then, Sarah had her dad run out to the car to get the headphones and things were working a little better for us. We knew we should get different angles, but were a little weary of moving the camera to potentially dangerous areas so most of the filming (with the exception of the staged shots Sarah took before the game) was taken from the same position. We experimented with zooming and panning and as close-up as we could get but there wasn't much we could do from one spot. It was also really difficult because it was impossible to tell when something exciting was going to happen so we never really knew what exactly we should be filming.

At one point, the pitcher came back to where we were, frustrated with the way the game was going. He was shooting off all kinds of F bombs and curses. I had just put the camera aside for awhile because it was running out of film and I was kicking myself that the camera wasn't set up and ready to go. He said something about how he knew they were girls but they're "hardcore" and that they pee on the sidelines without using toilet paper. I asked him if I could film him saying all that stuff again and he said maybe after the next inning. It never happened, though.

We wrapped when the game ended and decided that Sarah would write a list of all the things she wanted to have filmed the following week.

Interview

Interview

Despite all the challenges of the interview assignment, I had a lot of fun with it. Since Sarah lives on campus, it was really easy for us to find a first year student that we didn't know just by Sarah putting the word out through people she did know.

That was the end of the easy.

Finding a location on campus to film was somewhat difficult. We wanted it to look pleasing but also be relatively quiet. Once we agreed on a location, we had to figure out which angle was the best to provide depth in the background as well as the best quality of light on our subject. It was tricky to find the right place where she wouldn't be blinded by the sunlight and squinty and didn't have a bunch of tree branch shadows all over her face. When we found this angle, setting up the camera and the shot was a lot of fun. I recall saying, "wow, this is really a lot of fun!"

Our interviewee was positioned in as perfect of light as we were going to get, the shot was set up, the sound was ready to go, we were ready to start filming and--THESE DANG PLANES KEPT FLYING OVER US CONSTANTLY!!! seriously, every time one would pass, we'd hear another one in the distance approaching. During the quietest moments of that, someone would walk by on a bunch of leaves or a car would drive by or a group of people would stop and linger on in conversation. We finally began our first take and about halfway through, this group of people off in the distance began laughing super hard to the point where it caused our interviewee to start laughing so we had to do the take all over again. Again, we had to wait a long time before we found a quiet enough moment. (I believe this was where I recall saying, "okay, this isn't fun anymore!"

We finally, got through the interview as a plane was beginning to fly over again. We considered that as much of a success as we were probably going to get short of leaving town and shut the production down. I feel like our subject was an all right choice but I felt a little lacking in the depth of the interview. We didn't ask her any really profound questions or anything but I kept wishing that she would be more detailed in her responses. I found myself trying to get more out of her but she just wouldn't give it to me. Next time, I think I will tell my interviewee to please be as detailed as possible on all questions before we start rolling the camera, though it may be more of an age issue. I also didn't like my voice being in the shot. If I could avoid that in some way, I would prefer it.

First Bit of Filming/ New Developments

This past weekend both Stacey and J.C came down to San Diego and we made our first attempt at gathering some film. With both of them there to man the camera, I was able to focus primarily on the game. After the game was over we decided to try out some of the staged shots I had in mind. Although I felt the footage looked good, I realized after the fact that there is a significant amount of background noise from the stands which could be a problem. In addition, although we felt that we had gather a significant amount of footage during the game, after I reviewed the tape, I came to the conclusion that all of the shots will have to be staged because everything is to far away to really get the detail and convey the emotion that I was hoping for.

As far as progression in other aspects of the film, I handed out my preliminary questionnaires/ interview topics to the players/coaches I intend to interview and I was also able to lock in all the other interviews I was hoping to get. In addition, I took some photos that I plan to use in the introduction of the film and was able to gather a significant number of pictures of other women from around the world. As a positive side note, I found out via facebook about a woman who is a seasoned veteran of baseball and was given the opportunity to try out for the Detroit Tigers minor league team. I contacted her, informed her about my film, and asked if she would like to contribute in some way. She said yes!! I think this will be an exciting new addition to the film!!

Next film session

For the moment, Chase and I have decided to just focus on the topic of my film... since Chase needs a baby to be born to make his film. So, our next film session is going to be shooting some of the cut-away shots. One of the shots will be based on the family tree. To reflect this, I plan to start from the base or trunk of the tree and pan up from a low angle off the ground. This shot will show the tree from it's roots or the beginning of a family tree, to the leafs or the offspring of the parents. I would also like to implement wind and how that scatters leafs... just as Dave and Kyle were scattered away from each other by their father.

The shot I am most eager to do because it may be a challenge is filming all of Dave and Kyle's pictures falling to the ground. This will be the scene leading up to the title of my film; I still haven't discovered what the title will be. The pictures I will use are of Dave and Kyle throughout the years. I plan to tape pennies to the back four corners of the pictures and just drop them... we'll see if this will work. I am hoping so.

I am eager to do our next film session. I just hope the pictures in my mind translate well on film.

first shot

First attempt at gathering some footage..not sure how well it turned out. Due to scheduling conflicts, my other film crew members were unable to join me this weekend. I have a friend down in San Diego who is a film student who had volunteered to help me out this weekend but he got called into work so I had to have my little brother/dad holding the camera for me since I was playing in the game. Honestly I haven't even had the chance to go over what footage they took so it could be amazing but most likely we will aim for getting some better footage next weekend.

First Shoot

Raini and I shot her first section of interview with Dave on Sunday. All and all it seemed to go pretty smoothly. There were some sound issues with C-17 flyovers, motorcycles, and a short stint of vacuming but otherwise I think it went well. Raini was creative with the lighting and I can't wait to see some of the video up on the monitor. We got a whopping 55 minutes or so of interview, although there are segments of just waiting for outside noise to pass by.
I have managed to get a recording room set aside for us on our next shoot so that we won't have to deal with sound problems. The issue will then be finding a nice background because the room is set up for good acoustics, not good looks. I guess we'll just have to be creative.
I am contemplating dropping my project to go full force on Raini's so that we can have a finished project if this class gets cancelled, and am anxiously awaiting the decision by the school.