USC Week 2

It's been almost a week since my last post so I apologize for not updating more frequently. This week has been quite hectic since all of us have been working on our first film project. For the past 4 days, I've been preparing for my first film ever. It's entitled The Art of Communication, a story about the barriers of language. This past week, I've been scouting locations, filliing out permit forms, soliciting friends in my class to be part of my project. It's been a very arduous and tiring experience but I believe it will pay off in the end. I start shooting on Saturday and am anticipiating that the film will be good or at least not as bad as the examples we've seen in class.

One memory that I would like to point out that really made my week was when we went to Universal Studios on Wednesday and were given lectures by two people. The first, Joel Cox, a famous editor most known for his collaborations with Clint Eastwood, and Brett Ratner, the director of the Rush Hour series, X-Men 3, and etc. The fatherly advice that Joel gave out really stuck with me because it not only was directed towards the film industry but towards everyday life and how you conduct yourself on an everyday basis. "Relationships are key to being able to stick around in this business as well as doing more than what your asked to do". From Brett Ratner, he told us that we should keep making movies even if our first film doesn't get any responses from anyone. He also said the most important ingredient when trying to direct a film is storytelling. That is one of the most key components when trying to create a film is storytelling because you want to be able to convery a story to an audience.

If I manage not to retain anything from this course, I will definitely remember Brett Ratner calling me out during his speech. I was writing some notes down as he continued speaking but believed that I wasn't actually paying attention. He called out, "Hey, Asian guy with the glasses who's not paying attention!" I thought the whole incident was funny as well as embarrassing because he thought I was being rude to him when in fact I was writing down notes from his lecture. It will definitely be something I will remember for the rest of life and when the time comes and I manage to meet Brett Ratner again, I will be sure to bring it up.

These last two weeks have been probably the most stressful and most enjoyable weeks I've spent in quite some time. Whether or not I succeed as a director/producer/writer/editor, the experience I've had so far will bode well for what's in store for me in the future.

Exercise #2

Aaron and I arrived at our group meeting outside of the George Lucas Building and School of Cinematic Arts Building at 11 am to discuss our assignment that our professor gave to us the previous day. Our assignment was to shoot footage from an outsider's point of view (POV) who is searching for the dean's office. We talked about how the outsider would be a little child and that the dean would be his father. We went over the layout scene by scene and managed to draw up storyboards that would be used to illustrate what we were about to film. After listening to everyone's input about what we should do to incorporate all of our ideas into this 2 minute short, we started shooting the first scene.

The first scene took us about 5 tries to get because we had to adjust the angle of the camera as well as the sunlight and where it was shooting down from. The rest of the scenes went smoothly taking 1 or 2 tries each. We finished around 3:30 and from the looks of what we were able to shoot, our 2 minute short is bound to capture not only the attention of our peers but our professor as well. Even though I wasn't able to carry the camera and shoot the footage, I just had a blast hanging around people who are thinkers and really wanted this 2 minute video to succeed. It was amazing to see how it turned out after all of us gathered around to see the finished product.

Our assignment is due on Monday and I can't wait for everyone to look at our video. It certainly will be better than the ones our professor showed us on Thursday. I believe we got the best location out of every other group because first off, the George Lucas Building and School of Cinematic Arts is brand new and second, our prompt was really unique. Until now, I was really hesitant and thought I wouldn't be able to really think of an idea that would translate into film. However, what we shot today totally changed my mind about how I'll be able to tell my story. The unity and cohesiveness of my group really gave me confidence.

We'll the week is finally over and 4th of July weekend is here. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend!

Exercise #1/Camera Equipment

We had our presentations today about our analysis on a particular film. My group chose Magnificent Seven and I discussed production design. My presentation I felt wasn't up to par with all the others because I wasn't able to analyze the movie fully. However, I felt after I gave my presentation and witnessed all the other ones, I was able to learn a lot about what I should look at when I'm analyzing a film. After all of the presentations had finished, our professor and SA (special assistant) informed us that we would be getting our camera equipment and learn how to operate the camera.

We went to the Zemeckis building after lunch and there we received our camera equipment. Our SA told us to be very careful with the equipment and told us to check everything to see if it was all working. That would take us about 30 minutes and afterwards we were free to fool around and shoot some footage with the camera. We went outside and shot some really random and funny sequences starting with one of our group members riding his bike around the outside of the Zemeckis parking lot while another two members of our group creeped behind him. It was truly a fun experience and it educated me on how to use the camera and operate with different angles.

Universal Studios Tour

Today's events made my stay here even more enjoyable. The whole class traveled to Universal Studios where we would be introduced to Tom DeSanto, the producer of the Transformers and X-Men franchises. He talked about his experience working his way up from being a film student at USC in the summer to pitching ideas/scripts to major studios to becoming a full fledged producer. He was a very down to earth guy who I got the sense that was very passionate about his craft. The advice that he told the class that really resonated with me was: "You can accept failures but you can't accept not trying." That really stuck with me especially in trying to figure out what I'm trying to do with my life.

Afterwards, our whole class was granted a tour of Universal Studios which I can say is very different than just sitting in a tour bus with someone pointing out everything to you. We were able to look at the various sets and get an idea what people may try to base their films on. We traveled to look at costumes and props, which were filled with so many things that I couldn't keep my eyes focused. Although I was disappointed not to meet any celebrities...I kid, I was still awestruck at the idea of me and my classmates actually being at studio and seeing sets and locations that vary from the Wild Wild West to New York Street.

Lecture/AVID Lab

The aftermath of today left my brain fried beyond belief. Our SA, Zach Guerra taught us some many different things, most of which were foreign to me. We discussed 4 different spaces in terms of filiming: deep space, flat space, limited space, and ambiguous space. I learned so much today that I immediately wanted to rent a camera and start shooting. It was amazing to swallow so much information in one day and be utterly thrilled and excited. I could sense that my classmates were just as eager and I realized that I was in for a long and fun summer.

After our 1hr lunch break, we headed to the editing lab. We had an instructor teach us AVID, an editing software similar to that of Final Cut Pro. All of this of course was new to me so I jotted notes down and listened intently. Our instructor gave us the opportunity to test and play around with the software so Aaron and I first began playing a clip, marking (start-end), splicing, adding and cutting video/audio, and etc. It wad definitely a learning experience for me just being able to recognize each button and knowing their effects. The scenes/sequences that Aaron and I played around with turned out really well in my opinion.

Class ended around 5:30 which left myself and my brain hungry and thirsty. Chinese food mixed with Coca Cola is definitely a good way to get your body functioning again.

Orientation/First Day

I got up at 7:30 wide awake and ready for the day to begin. Aaron and I left the room around 8:30 and started on our walk to the newly furnished George Lucas Film School, which he donated 175 million dollars. We arrived on time and listened to the various summer film coordinators lecture us about what to expect and what forms we should have filled out and what not. The best part of orientation was when a fellow student who had sat in the same seats as us 10 years ago gave us his life experience in the film industry starting off as an intern for Jerry Bruckheimer, an assistant to Sylvester Stallone, and finally a producer for a major film company. It was just amazing hearing his story and the advice that he told us really sunk in with me. Although orientation ran longer than I had anticipated, I enjoyed every minute of it.

The first day of class was electrified with our instructor, an influential and upbeat person who has been involved in the film industry for 30 years. He showed us 3 films which were done by previous students of his and asked us to analyze it. It wasn't what I was used to in terms of being in a classroom because usually my professor would just ramble on and I would be just copying down notes from his powerpoint or lecture notes. This was a more relaxed class and he gave us the opportunity to ask us what we actually wanted to achieve from this class.

USC Summer School Film Program

I got up at 7:30 wide awake and ready for the day to begin. Aaron and I left the room around 8:30 and started on our walk to the newly furnished George Lucas Film School, which he donated 175 million dollars for the construction of the building. We arrived on time and listened to the various summer film coordinators lecture us about what to expect and what forms we should have filled out and what not. The best part of orientation was when a fellow student who had sat in the same seats as us 10 years ago gave us his life experience in the film industry starting off as an intern for Jerry Bruckheimer, an assistant to Sylvester Stallone, and finally a producer for a major film company. It was just amazing hearing his story and the advice that he told us really sunk in with me. Although orientation ran longer than I had anticipated, I enjoyed every minute of it.

The first day of class was electrified with our instructor, an influential and upbeat person who has been involved in the film industry for 30 years. He showed us 3 films which were done by previous students of his and asked us to analyze it. It wasn't what I was used to in terms of being in a classroom because usually my professor would just ramble on and I would be just copying down notes from his powerpoint or lecture notes. This was a more relaxed class and he gave us the opportunity to ask us what we actually wanted to achieve from this class.