My Reflections Looking Back

Wow! It’s hard to believe yet another semester here at Adelphi has come and gone. It feels like just yesterday we were starting the spring semester.

I remember back in January when I first decided to take Video 1. I walked into the classroom that first day, knew no one, and heard what was expected of us and I almost dropped the class on the spot. I was so worried that I had bitten of more than I could chew.

As the semester progressed and I stared blogging my progress and interacting with the other students in my class I soon came to love attending class, sometimes even wishing it was longer or more frequent. I don’t know when or how it happened by we’re rounding out the last week of the semester and I find myself sitting here typing this with tears in my eyes. I'm sad this experience is over. It's one I truly never saw coming and have enjoyed immensely. I find myself now with some of the best and closest friends I’ve ever had and with a new found love and passion for film that I never knew I had. I'll never forget where and with who it all began!

I would like to thank my Rough Exotica family, and that’s what we’ve become, a family. I never could have done it without you guys. We were like a “band of thieves in ripped up jeans, who ruled the world” with our wicked sense of humor and positive outlook. I’m so glad that we all found each other and I cherish our friendships. Fall Film 1 look out, Rough Exotica will be back in full force!

 

This really has been such a wonderful and enriching journey for me. I was uncertain as to what I wanted to do with my life and I really had no direction. Taking this class, working with these people and creating a film from scratch that I am so proud of  has really helped me to decide what I want to do with my life.

To all the young film makers out there who feel afraid, foolish, or that they can’t make movies, I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. Keep dreaming big and going after what makes you happy. If that’s your art, live it, love it and own it!

I will do my best to keep up the blog and will hopefully document my journey come fall when I start Film 1. Thank you everybody who has taken this journey with me! Your support means the world to me!!

 

This song, "Long Live," by Taylor Swift, is for our group. We did it guys!!

Adelphi Film Festival

One of the best parts of making a film is being able to screen it with and for all of your fellow peers, colleagues and professors. Last night (5/11/11) at 7pm in the Olmstead Theater was the annual Adelphi Film Festival.

Rough Exotica (Our group) did submit “Rebirth” for the festival but unfortunately we were not selected. We did however make the honorary mention category and our film was screened prior to the main festivities.

We were all disappointed in not being selected but we decided to, as a group, attend the festival and show support for our fellow film makers. As Professor Campbell once said, “One of the best learning techniques is watching, observing, and seeing what aesthetics you can take and apply to your own techniques and vision.”

There was such an overwhelming zest of excitement and enthusiasm for film in the auditorium which really made me feel happy and excited. I love seeing young film makers, like myself, who are proud and excited to celebrate and share their craft.

 

All of the films that made it into the festival were phenomenal in their own individual rights. I loved the creativity and liberty that was taken by all the directors and was really inspired to hopefully next year be one of them.

My favorite film of the night was, “All I Ever Wanted,” which was written, directed and starred my friend Brandon Scott Touhey. His film went on to win the “Best Actor” category.

Check out the film’s Facebook page here

Name Changes & The Whole Shabang!

Well, the film is finally finished. It feels extremely weird saying that. I feel like this is a project that I’ve been talking about for so long at this point.

I wanted to take you through the process and highlight something’s that I encountered while creating my film, “Rebirth.” I feel that these are very common things that occur during the creation of a student film and are therefore my final words of wisdom to you.

Let’s start with the title. Originally, the film was to be called, “Love Will Set You Free.” Based on my original script I really felt this to be an appropriate title.

I had written the script in such a way that it told the story of this young girl who had achieved her dreams of becoming a famous musician but got sucked into the monster known as fame.  It told the story of battling ones inner demons and being able to overcome obstacles. Her choosing love was supposed to be what set her free.  Granted in this synopsis it sounds cliché and campy but I promise you it had an enormous amount of heart and whit.

Once filming began and all of the actors were cast I knew immediately that the story that I had written and created would not be told. Our actors were not good at memorizing lines and felt more comfortable reading them and then improvising off of them. We did many rewrites of the script right in the middle of scenes. It was all about making it as fluid as humanly possible.

As the director I met with them as a group and we discussed the vision of the project. Ultimately we decided to use the script as a guideline and filming continued. I felt a little disappointed that my original vision had been changed but I was also very excited with what we had all come up with.

Listening to my actors really helped them to engage and get into their characters. It morphed from a drama to a dark comedy and got the story across in a different way.

While editing the piece together we felt that the title, “Rebirth,” fit not only the film itself but the group that we had become.  

While it is essential that you don’t lose the main focus of your film or what you’re trying to convey it is also just as important to listen and adapt with the people that you are working with. And so we have….Rebirth!

(PHOTOS) Pictures of the Sets

Here are a few of the different sets that we will be using to film:

PREMIERE - "Rebirth"

Here is the EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE of "REBIRTH"

Now starting tweeting Britney about the video @BritneySpears. Lets get her to RT it!!!

Photos From The Set

Here are some photos of us from the set of "Rebirth."

Rough Exotica: Danielle Tasca, Stephan Berger, Sarah Aiosa, and James Papavero

Cinematographer: Danielle Tasca

Sound Recorder: Sarah Aiosa

Editing continues again tonight. Our third and final night. We're currently half-way through. I'm excited for the finished product.

(Video) How to Light a Romantic Film Scene - Cinematography & Filmmaking

 

This was an interesting video that I found on You Tube that gives some advice and pointers of how to film while incorporating lighting and blocking.

Filming is DONE!

Filming on "Rebirth" has officially wrapped! We filmed all day yesterday (5/2/11) and have hours of footage which we just finished digitizing.

After briefly looking over the footage that we recorded, I am very pleased. Although we have a great amount of footage to thumb through and edit together. We are currently going through music selections and deciding how to piece of film together. I will post some pictures from the set later as well as a post about how to handle a filming day!

We will be editing our film tonight starting at 4 pm and going through to 4 am. Bring on the caffeine!!

Locations and Sound

The term “film” is an extremely overwhelming one. Most people assimilate the term with either a huge big budget Hollywood blockbuster or some kind of action packed adventure.

The truth is there are hundreds of different types of films. As a student and an aspiring film maker you have the ability to make a “film.”

We covered the steps to creating your own student film but now I want to discuss some important things to keep in mind.

Location. Location. LOCATION!

As a student film maker, location is key. Having the perfect location is what helps to set the mood of the film as well as being aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. It is extremely important to find the location that best fits your scene.

In most instances, we are working with little to no budget. So what are we to do? Well, as I mentioned in my post about script writing, it’s important to have a script with realist and achievable settings.

Look around your neighborhood, community or even your school campus. There are so many beautiful and available places around us that we never even think to utilize. Think about the scene first and envision how you want it to look in your mind. Once you’ve done that walk around these local places and see where you can picture these scenes taking place. It’s a cheap, cost effective and productive way to get the scenes you need while working on a student’s budget.

The Sounds of Music:

Another important factor to keep in mind is sound.

“Locations are often very noisy,” says Professor Tom Campbell. “Using microphones, booms, and headphones are elemental to achieving clear crisp sound.”

Regardless of where you decide to film there is always outside noises that are also picked up by the camera. It is important for either the director or camera person to be listening to the sound being recorded through headphones in order to make decisions about how to handle the noise issues. 

"Love Will Set You Free" - The Britney Spears Story

I am very excited to announce, in my detail, the specifics of my final Video 1 project. As I announced a few weeks back, the title for this film will be "Love Will Set You Free." The Britney Spears Story.


This is a concept and a script that I have been working on for more than two years. It is an extremely personal and meaningful subject matter for me. Since the age of 7, when I first saw Britney Spears strut her stuff down Rendell High in the video for "Baby One More Time" I have been a super fan. She is more than just a musical pleasure of mine, she is my idol.

I am extremely grateful that I have this platform and opportunity to create this film and tell this story. I must point out that the script is based LOOSELY on her life, as I don't actually know her.

I have been blessed with an amazing cast and crew of people who have really embraced my passion and love for Britney and her story.

We began filming last night (4/26/11)and completed our first scene. It took about 5 hours to film but we were all extremely pleased with the outcome. It was better than I had even envisioned. I will post some behind the scenes photos later on. Filming resumes on Monday and we will shoot the remaining four scenes--including 2 fully choreographed dance numbers.

"Love Will Set You Free" is TENTATIVELY scheduled to premiere on YouTube on May 10, 2011 but I Will EXCLUSIVELY leak it here on my blog as soon as it's completed.

I will also be launching a Twitter and Facebook campaign to not only promote the film but to try and get Britney Spears herself to watch the film. She constantly watches fan made videos and tweets about them so here's hoping we can get our video to her!

(VIDEO) Final Cut Pro

Here is a video about how to edit on Final Cut Pro:

 

Check out Pro2Go95's You-Tube page for  more videos on how to use Final Cut Pro!

Blog Update!

Hello Bloggers!

Filming is beginning this week on my final project. It's a film written by me called, "Love Will Set You Free." I worked extremely hard on this script and am beyond excited to be able to film it.

My group and I will be filming select scenes tonight at Adelphis' Performing Arts Center and will be  filming the remander on location in New York City on May 2nd! I'll make sure to keep you posted on the goings on with the film!

I have also been working on an official banner for the blog and my own personal website. I'm hoping to have both of them up within the coming weeks. Also due to scheduling conflicts our podcast interview with Kim Pratt has been canceled.

Post-Production

We have finally reached our final step in the film making process: post-production.

Pre-production was all about laying the ground work for our film, production was about executing those plans and post-production is about taking what you have and creating your final finished film.

What is Post-Production?

“Pre-production is everything that takes place after filming stops,” say Professor Tom Campbell. “It’s about taking the footage that you have gathered and assembling it in a way that ultimately gives the best presentation.”

This stage of the film making process is where the young film maker is able to really take control and make the kind of film they have envisioned. It’s about piecing together all of the footage that they have gathered: compiling, fixing, and tweaking it to make sure that it is perfect. All of this is what guarantees a flawless final film.

Intricacies of Post-Production:

There are a lot of aspects that go into the post-production process.

In most instances, when we film we use cassette tapes to record our footage. You may be asking yourself, well how do I get my footage from the tape to the computer? This is an excellence question.

In post-production, we do something called, digitizing. What that simply means is that you are taking the footage that you shot and converting it to a format that will allow you to edit and view it on your computer. You insert your cassette tape into something called a deck. The deck is connected to your computer and allows you to choose what footage you want converted and sent to your computer.

For more information about decks and digitizing check out The Online Community for Filmmaking Forum.

How Do I Edit My Footage?

Once your footage has successfully been converted and is on your computer screen is when the real fun begins.

Generally, most student film makers choose to use Final Cut Pro as their choice editing software program. This is also what I use and speaking from firsthand experience, it is extremely user friendly and easy to operate.

Using Final Cut Pro you are able to make any adjustments you feel are necessary to your footage. You are able to cut clips, add music, adjust sound volumes and lighting as well as add text and effects.

For more information on Final Cut Pro check out their official website!

Post-Production is the last phase before your film is completed. Once you are happy with all of your edited and pieced together footage, the post production stage is completed and you have successfully created a student film!

Working With Groups

As young film makers, often our projects become like children to us. We create them and then nourish them into fruition. It’s a long and sometimes arduous process but it’s something that you’ve created and envisioned so ultimately it’s worth all the struggle.  

However, as we learned the film making process is not one that can be done on one’s own. Many people are required to help make your vision come to life.

What does that mean for you as the director? Relinquishing some control.

I know speaking from personal experience that this is an extremely difficult and daunting task for some. My personality is designed in a way that I like to get things done a specify way and if they don’t meet my expectations they need to be fixed so that they do. While this may get things done, it also is not the most productive approach. Trust me, when I tell you it creates more stress than you could ever imagine!

“I think part of the problem is that we, as film makers, want to preserve our visions,” say film maker and colleague James Papavero. “It’s about preserving the art.”

As the director, you are the one calling the shots and deciding the overall direction of the project. Knowing that, it’s essential that you designate positions or roles for people on your crew.

By delegating power and responsibilities you will not only alleviate the stress that you feel but will also make the production as a whole run smoother.

It is also good to listen and incorporate the opinions of others. When working on a project that you are very near and dear to it’s easy to get tunnel vision. Listen to what others on the crew has to say. They may see something that you’ve missed or have an alternative view of how to better shoot a scene.

Film making is all about communicating and having an open dialogue with others.

Script Writing

Before the cameras can role or the set can be determined one thing needs to be set in stone, and that is the script.

The filming process is an extremely chaotic and often unpredictable thing. You are working with so many different variables that everything is in a constant state of flux. Granted, some slight alterations may be needed throughout filming, but for the most part the final script is the one thing that keeps filming in focus.

What Goes Into Making a Script?

Creating a script from scratch really isn’t as difficult as one may think. What inspires you? What are you passionate about? Those are questions you must ask yourself. Once you find something that you feel a strong connection with you are really in good shape.

Once you have your inspiration it’s helpful if you create some kind of an outline. This allows you to not only get out all of your thoughts and ideas but to brainstorm possible storylines. Also you can decide on settings, locations, themes and any other factors you want included.

At this point it’s really important to start thinking about your characters.

“A good script tells the story of the people you create,” say Professor Cohen. “It is your job to bring these characters to life for the audience.”

Effective story telling relies heavily on the connections that the audience makes with your characters. It’s important to create and develop characters with substance and layers. People love to root for the underdog or hate the villain but regardless emotion is being evoked within the viewer.

The format of a script is very flexible. It’s important to include dialogue, direction (for both camera and actors) and location. There are several script writing software programs that can be purchased or download. For a list of them click here.

Here is a little insider hint. While creating your script keep in mind your budget and your accessibility. Our imaginations are wonderful things but sometimes they can get carried away. Wouldn’t we all love to film at a medieval castle or on the beaches of Aruba? Problem is, those are not ideal locations. Make sure to write within what your budget and accessibility allows.

Check out Script Writing and Screenwriting Help for more information.

Welcome to My New Friends/The Horrors of Casting

My Hopes and Visions for the Blog

The purpose behind me creating this blog began simple enough, as a way for me to connect with other young filmmakers. I wanted to create a space where I could not only share creative thoughts and experiences but take the average student, like myself, through the process of making a student film.

My hope was to inspire and encourage other young film makers by taking them on this journey with me. I felt that by documenting my experiences in steps and stages it would be less intimidating and more beneficial. I wanted to debunk the myth that creating a film that you’ve not only created, envisioned and believed in was out of your reach.  

So for all my new readers, welcome! And to all of my loyal readers, thanks for taking this journey with me!

The Horrors of Casting

When creating a student film, it is very easy to get caught up in all the minute details that have to be dealt with, especially when you’re the person in charge.  One important factor that must be handled with the utmost care and detail is that of casting.

The actors and actresses that you cast are elemental to your final piece. These are the people who will be bringing your visions of these characters to life. When you create a character in your head, you also create a personality and traits for them. It’s important that you choose actors who convey those attributes that you have created otherwise your film will not have the intended meaning that you want it to have.

Most student film makers are working with little to no budget. So you’re wondering, how are we supposed to find actors?

There are several options you could use. “Holding auditions in your schools is often very beneficial,” says my colleague and fellow film maker Emily Frisbie. “It’s been my experience that many theater majors are itching to act and enjoy working on their peers productions.”

Some other alternatives would be trying to involve fellow classmates in your project. Make a trade off. Offer your services and expertise, in exchange for them helping you with your film.

Another option would be asking friends to act in your films. Although this is certainly a convenient option, I wouldn’t necessary recommend it as the best option. While working with friends may be fun, it doesn’t always make for a conducive and professional work environment.