Installation

Our idea is to really play around with people’s fears and anxieties. We have a lot of ideas but not a concrete plan yet. We want to have an enclosed space where only a few people can fit into it and have anxiety inducing sounds playing. We’re playing around with the idea of blindfolding the audience and have them touch and eat something that looks and feels gross, but is completely edible. We want to possibly project found footage of things that give people anxiety onto three scary looking girls in a white gown, and possibly have them move around and perform something. Overall, we want people to leave completely freaked out!

Self portrait Revised

Originally, I had two separate ideas that I didn’t think I could put together, but after thinking about it they can go perfectly together. Now, my idea is to start with the feeling of anxiety and claustrophobia. I want this section to be in black and white and I’m going to film myself in small spaces reacting to the lack of air. I want the soundscape to be heavy breathing and sound bites from a monologue layered on top of each other. I have other shots planned out but I am mostly excited for a specific shot where I am going to be “drowning” in the bathtub, and then I’m going to come up for air and “break free.”  I want to do a match on action where I come up from the bathtub and then I end up at the beach coming up from the ocean. The video will then turn from black and white to color, and I’ll begin to focus on what makes me the happiest, my boyfriend and my dog. I want the first shot of this half of the film to be a POV looking at my boyfriend and dog out of focus, and then I want it to come into focus.  I want to use some candid footage I have of them as well as other planned out shots. I’m not 100% sure about the sound but I think I want this section to be completely quiet to show that the chaos stops when I’m with them.

OK Go - Trevor and Will

I think it’s pretty awesome that in this major, we get to learn about people like Ok Go. It was really awesome to see the progression of their talent. It’s insane that they went from dancing in someone’s back yard to creating elaborate videos with Rube Goldberg Machines. This presentation brought back memories that I forgot I had, like the treadmill video. What was really insane about this presentation was that the next day my boyfriend was playing music, and he started playing Get Over It by Ok Go and I was like “??????”

Self-Portrait

I have been struggling between two very, VERY different ideas for my self-portrait. My first idea is to capture my love for my little family (my boyfriend and my dog). I would use really fluid camera movements and a peaceful soundscape. I would include things that mean a lot between us, like my promise ring, the ridiculously large anniversary cards, and of course my dog. The beach will be a reoccurring setting, because that's mainly where we spend our time.

My other idea is the complete opposite emotion and feeling. I am very claustrophobic and I think it would be interesting to explore how to make the viewer also feel claustrophobic. I would also include a theme of drowning because I feel like my claustrophobia has more to do with my anxiety, and always feeling like I am drowning. I would use rapid editing and a lot of close-ups. I'd convey tight spaces with tight framing. At the end, I want to break free from something. Not sure what, but something.

Cucalorus Reflection

This was my first ever film festival and large crowds intimidate me, so unfortunately, I let my anxiety take control of me. I was so close to talking to the people that I wanted to talk to, but for some reason I just couldn't. I was also alone for all the events and I didn't recognize anyone at the screenings I went to, so that was also a bummer. Another disappointment was arriving to Jengo's Playhouse to watch our films, because that's what Facebook said to do, and finding out that they were, in fact, not playing at Jengo's Playhouse. This was the first thing I did, so it was a rough start to the weekend. I wasn't expecting the crowd to be so...old and I wasn't expecting to smell booze throughout all of the screenings. The disappointments of Cucalorus didn't stop me from having an amazing experience. I am obsessed with every film I saw, as well as the directors that spoke about their films after the screening. I watched Burning, Abigail Falls, Birds Without Feathers, and Miss Arizona. I left all four of these screenings overwhelmed with emotion and inspiration. The latter three films were all directed by women, which definitely boosted my confidence in being a filmmaker. My favorite experience was watching Abigail Falls because it was shot entirely on an iPhone, which blew my mind because of how beautiful it was. The director, Erica Dunton spoke afterwards as well as some of the cast and crew. This was my first ever Q&A with any type of filmmaker, so hearing what they had to say was just awesome. Walking into Birds Without Feathers, they handed everyone a piece of paper and a feather. I'll attach a picture of what it said because it was adorable and made me feel all warm inside. I feel like all of the filmmakers that I saw speak just knew everything about their film because they were obviously so invested in it, so I feel like if I were to present at a festival I would be able to answer any question thrown my way because of all the work I put into creating the film. 

Assignment 1D Reflection

Through assignment 1D, I have learned to really appreciate how important sound is. My initial thought was that sound comes after image, but sound is way more than an afterthought. It was really interesting to listen to a soundscape and then try to figure out what images would best accompany the sound, instead of vice versa. I learned that it is not always the sound emphasizing/conflicting with the image. Sometimes the image is putting an emphasis on/conflicting with the sound. I have learned a lot about the different image and sound effects in Premiere as well, so I believe that this entire project has made me a better editor.

Cucalorus Pre-Event Intentions

Intentions

Cucalorus will be the first film festival I have ever attended and I am really excited for this opportunity. I plan on getting out of my comfort zone by trying to engage with as many people as possible. I hope that this experience will make me a better filmmaker and more confident when it comes to networking.

Plan of Action

Burning - Friday @ 3:45 pm // Thalian Main
Abigail Falls - Saturday @ 4 pm // Thalian Main
Bird Without Feathers - Saturday @ 7:30 pm // Thalian Black
Miss Arizona - Sunday @ 1:15 pm // Jengo's Playhouse

Challenges

1. Meet someone new

2. Talk to the directors of each film I see

3.  Talk to the editors of each film I see

These are all very difficult challenges for me because I am quite introverted. It's hard for me to open up and have the confidence to talk to someone I don't know. My end goal is to become an editor or director, or maybe both. I am hoping that getting the chance to talk to actual editors and directors will help me figure out if that's what I want to do. I'm hoping Cucalorus will guide me into the right direction.

Assignment 1C Experience

Shooting on film was a new experience for me, so I learned a lot about the equipment and how to use it. I learned that where you put the light meter when taking a reading is very important in order to achieve what you want to achieve in the photo. I also learned how important composition is. It was interesting going through three pictures of the same thing and seeing how just the slightest movement of the camera can ruin the picture. I also learned that mirrors can do amazing things for a picture, as well as something as simple as a water bottle.