The Table Read

One big key point that the author of this article says is to make sure that you have a comfortable environment for your actors. If your actors feel comfortable, then they'll have a better time reading the script. Another thing to remember is to take breaks during the table read. Taking a break in the middle of a read is required because it allows the actors to breath and understand their characters while the writer gets to take more notes about how to change future revisions of the script. Lastly, it's important to thank everyone after the read. By sending off actors in a good mood, it hopefully keeps them in a good mood during the rest of the production. By keeping all of these aspects in mind, table reads will be a fun and easy thing for everyone involved.

Screenplay Formating

One thing that I learned from the video was that, when writing action in the screenplay, you always write it in the present tense. If a line is written in future tense, the action might seem confusing. In the line "He will pick up the gun," it implies that the character doesn't pickup the gun until later in the scene. Another thing that I learned from the video is use of parentheticals when writing the script. A parenthetical is a small line right below the characters name that describes a simple action. The example in the video is that a character is adjusting a rearview mirror in their car in order to see the passenger easier. The last thing that I learned was the slugline of the scene. At the beginning of every scene, its important to use a slugline. A slugline is a short description of the physical characteristics of the setting, things like interior and exterior and if the scene takes place during the day time. Without following some of these important rules, your screenplay could fall apart and be unreadable.

Ira Glass On Storytelling

Ira's advice relates to how we're doing in class because people don't feel proud about their work whenever they show it to the class. Whenever someones work is put up on the screen, the most common reaction that I hear is the person saying, "Oh no," or something along those lines. Everyone seems to be in that phase where none of their stuff is good enough: they're not satisfied with their hard work. One keep point from the video is that in order to be better, you have to keep producing work. If you stop producing hard work, then your work will hit a ceiling, never improving. This speech motivates me to keep trying as hard as I can in the work that I'm doing.

Hero's Journey and Star Wars

Kurosawa influenced George Lucas by making the samurai film a worldwide phenomenon. Without Kurosawa creating these legendary samurai films, Lucas would never have the idea of putting versions of his characters in space. One thing that Lucas incorporated into Star Wars from Kurosawa was his character dynamics. The characters C-3PO and R2-D2 and direct inspirations of 2 peasant characters from one of Kurosawa's films. The thing that I found most interesting about this video was how Lucas came up with the name for the Jedi, taking it from the Japanese word Jidai. Without the inspiration of samurai films, Lucas would have never had the idea to create Star Wars.

Intro To Hero's Journey

I think one of the easiest archetypes to write is overcoming the threshold guardian. I find this the easiest because the characters that it consists of are just the goons and bodyguards of the main villain. Even though some stories are able to have very constant and good goons, they aren't mandatory to the main story as a whole. The archetype that I think is the hardest to write is the mentor. Having a mentor to inspire the main character can be very difficult to write because you have to really know that main character's faults so the mentor can help them. The hero that I like to write and watch is one that always defends what he loves no matter the cost, pushing himself to be stronger with every fight.

11 Laws of Great Storytelling

One thing that I found interesting about this article is the very first law that it lists, "Assume Everyone Has ADD." Even though I knew that people working on a movie and people watching the movie have short attention spans, I still find it interesting that everyone seems to have a short attention span. This can help when creating a story by not having very long dialog scenes, making exposition even harder to pay attention to. Another thing I found interesting about the article is to constantly think about the stakes of the film. By keeping this in mind, your story will hopefully never have a point where the characters feel like they have nothing to do.

7 Basic Plots

Whenever someone writes a story, they normally fall under 7 different categories, overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. Two of my favorite story lines are overcoming the monster and the comedy. Overcoming the monster is a story about the protagonist either overcoming an evil force in the world or an actual monster that affects the main character in some way. The comedy storyline normally focuses around a character in a light hearted world that results in a positive conclusion. For a future project in this class, I would like to do a comedy because I think I can write some funny stuff.

Genre Movies

Genre un film isn't only important to the people who watch it, but its also important to the people who make the film. People who are fans of a certain genre will look for similarities in films of the same genre. In Sci-Fi films, people are subconsciously looking for certain cues, such as a space ship or aliens, to signify that the film is a Sci-Fi movie. Filmmakers know that people look for these common traits in films, so they try to implement these aspects into their films. Genres can also help films to be categorized. These different aspects help viewers decide what movies they think they'll go and see, and others that they'll skip and not watch.

Favorite Genre

The main genres that I see myself gravitating toward are genres like Animated, comedies, and Science Fiction movies. Animated movies have taught me many lessons over the years, things like nothing lasts forever and to never let go of your inner child like wonder. Animated films give me an avenue to feel like a child again. Comedies are some movies that I love, such as Napoleon Dynamite, that have me laughing along with friends. However, comedy is one of the most subjective genres, making it hard for me to like a lot of comedic movies. Science Fiction movies make me feel a little glimpse into the future, even if its all made up. I truly believe that Science Fiction movies and ideas pave the way to newer technologies that help the human race grow. Without these types of movies in my life, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I wouldn't have a sense of what I find funny or understand important life lessons that I'll need down the road.

The Hot Seat Technique

The hot seat technique is a way of building up the identity of a character in a story. The hot seat is when the writer puts them self in the position of the character they're trying to write, and they ask the character questions. This makes the writer think more about the obscure, but still important, parts of their characters. This technique also helps the writer become more familiar and close to the characters that they're writing in their story. I can apply this technique to when I write my characters by asking the character specific questions. For example, in the video Phil Earle asks his character Billy the first memory he could think of. Then Phil gives a fairly long answer, something that Billy would actually say. By using this technique, a writer is able to flesh out their characters even more than they could've thought.

Character Empathy

The main key component of having the audience empathize and relate to a character is to see them struggle to reach their goal. Everyone in real life has goals of their own, allowing them to understand the problems of other people. If we give a character the same traits, making them strive for what they want and showing us their journey on how they got there, it makes the character feel even more alive. Once we see a character reach their goal that they've been striving for, theres a sense of relief and joy. The desire to see a character succeed in what they aim to do brings us, the viewers, a sense of happiness just like the character is feeling.

Intro To Storytelling

I personally believe that good storytelling can be subjective and varies from person to person. One element that I think is important in every story however is an aspect of drama or conflict. If you're watching a movie or reading a book and the characters don't have much interaction with each other, the story is going to feel flat and uninteresting. Another important aspect of storytelling that should be displayed in every story is a sense of world building. If your story is set in a fantasy land full of mythical races and creatures, you need to give the audience a certain sense of how they are. If the race that your focusing on speaks in a certain way, communicating that to the audience is important. Lastly, a good story needs to have a satisfying resolution. This part of the story can be subjective, but leaving the audience on a cliff hanger normally doesn't end will with big fans of a series. Even if storytelling is subjective, everyone likes a good story.

Sound Unit Summary

After finishing the sound unit, I think its one of the units that I've learned the most from. One thing that I learned was the different types of microphones. Between dynamic, ribbon, and condenser, I've learned different things about each one and how they function. Another thing I learned is that Ribbon microphones are the most different when recording sound. A ribbon microphone records sound using a small, metal ribbon inside of the casing, making it more fragile than other microphones. One last thing that I learned about sound is the different devices used to record it. I learned that in order to have a proper sound set up, you'll need things like a mixer and a dedicated recorder. After finishing this unit, I'm prepared to learn more about using sound on set.

Coldplay music video

The main theme of the music video is going back. The lyrics of the song say things like "Take me back to the start" as it shows the main performer walking around in various places. The video is able to portray going back by having the whole video be played in reverse. This gives the viewer a sense of reversal or back tracking, making them feel slightly uncomfortable. This feeling of being uncomfortable also shows through the acting of the performer after he was in a car crash, showing him sad but also confused and happy. The Scientist is a great example of how to make a viewer feel uncomfortable through just whats happening on screen.

Loudness Normalization

Loudness normalization is a process of increasing the volume of audio without adding any distortion to it. This allows for a quieter mic or a quieter person to be heard at a better level. Loudness normalization can help in film production because of how some people project their voice. Some people are quieter and more contempt, making it harder for the microphone to pick up their voice. Loudness normalization can also bring down the levels of someone's voice if they talk to loud into the microphone. Loudness normalization brings a lot to the world of audio.

Tribe Called Quest Music Video

The main feeling that I get from this video is a sense of friendship. Throughout the whole video, the main performer is seen hanging out with his friends in different locations just singing along with the music. The mood I think is a sense of home and fun with all of the group shots contrasted with the group inside a film set or movie studio. One way they helped create this sense of fun and being in a group is through all of the shots of the group in different places all together. Overall, this music video displays a sense of friendship among the group, giving it and overall home feeling.

Beastie Boys Sabotage

The main mood that the film makers try to pull off with this music video is a feeling of a low budget Cop movie or TV show. The costumes and the camera movements give the viewer a feeling that the video wasn't the best put together idea. One technique they used is the introduction of the characters through text on the screen. This gave the video a feeling of a movie or TV show intro where they introduce the characters and their actors. Another way that the film makers portray this feeling is the non-serious nature of the actors. This shows the viewer that they don't seem too serious or well prepared for the roles. This video shows that anything, even something that looks amateur can be a great music video.