Blog 16: Answer 2

1. What is your EQ?

What technique can be most effectively employed to create a memorable film?

2. What is your first answer?

I think the technique that can be most effectively employed to create a memorable film is successful collaboration between filmmakers--professionals in their respective fields whether it be writing, lighting, directing, cinematography, etc.--to combine their expertise.

3. What is your second answer?

Screenwriters need to be able to empathize with their audience and know what appeals to people, whether it comes to story-writing or dialogue. In addition to having a memorable or original idea, they need to be able to write something that their audience can either relate to, laugh at, be moved by, etc.

4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• If the dialogue is too complex or outlandish, the audience may find it bothersome or tiresome. 
• If the story is unoriginal, viewers will lump it with other films, thus making it unmemorable. 
• A viewer may feel too removed or may not be able to enjoy the film if there is no connection with it in any way. 

5. What printed source best supports your answer?

• Scoff, Kevin Conroy. " Screenwriters' Masterclass: Screenwriters Talk About Their Greatest Movies. " New York: Newmarket Press, 2006. Print.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

• Stoller, Bryan Michael. Filmmaking For Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, 2009. Print
• Schellhardt, Laura. Screenwriting For Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, 2008. Print.

• Sternbergh, Adam. "14 Screenwriters Writing." The New York Times Company. The New York Times. 25 Nov 2013. Web. 21 Aug 2014.
• Lee, Spike. " Do The Right Thing: A Companion Volume to the Universal Pictures Film." New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. Print. 

7. Tie this together with a concluding though. 

Since I hope to professionally write films, finding sources that focusing on screenwriting and even actual scripts themselves were very important for my research. I feel that my first answer is the best, though my second answer is also equally as important, and has a large impact on the final product of a film. 

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

I figure since I was able to learn so much through focusing on the stages of production, I would like to make that my focus for independent component two.

This time, I will place more emphasis on the production, post-production, and distribution of Fangirl, though I will continue analyzing works that have already been completed, as well as books and other sources that will help me further understand production. 

See my post for my first Independent Component below for more clarification: 

Before you visit your local movie theatre to go see the latest blockbuster, it must undergo five stages--development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. My plan for this component is to focus on these stages while applying them to projects I've worked on, ones I am currently working on, and other works I have enjoyed.

For development, I will create various outlines and such for projects I have had in mind and consider the development for known works produced by others. For pre-production and production I will focus on the documentary I am working on with Veronica Lopez--mentioned in my previous post-- as well as drawing parallels to other famous works while they underwent these stages. For post-production, I will be editing the documentary, as well as analyzing and drawing parallels to the editing of other known works. Lastly, for distribution, I was considering developing a marketing campaign for the documentary, and analyze campaign strategies from other films.

The goal here is to compare my projects with other well-known works and to combine research with real-world situations.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

• Literal
• I, Micah Chambers, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 37 hours and 16 minutes of work. 
• Works Cited
• Lee, Spike. " Do The Right Thing: A Companion Volume to the Universal Pictures Film." New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. Print.
• Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Dir. George Hickenlooper. Perf. Francis Ford Coppola. 1991. Film.
• Link To Updated Hours 
• I worked on four out of the five stages of production. I used material from other films that have already been created in order to learn from and attempted to improve upon my own work by using examples from other works. 
• Interpretive 
• Through analyzing these stages of film production, I wrote my own outlines and scripts, planned out their production, watched documentaries and read a book on production while filming my own footage, and edited other works. Each thing I completed was relevant to the stages of production. 
• Applied
• Since I analyzed other people's works as well as my own, I was able to practice production and have a thorough lesson in each stage even though it was conducted by myself. This occurred specifically during production and post-production, when I was on an actual set and when I edited portions of other films, which gave valid insights on these stages. 

***Link to Independent Component Document 

Evidence: Edited Portions of Films 

The following videos are some edits I did for the post-production aspect of my independent component.

1. Breakfast at Tiffany's--When I searched for scenes to edit for this movie, I came across a comment on Youtube that said actor George Peppard's monologue was overshadowed by the juxtaposition between his face and Audrey Hepburn's face. I decided to enhance that by focusing on Audrey Hepburn throughout the entire speech, then suddenly adding Peppard at the end. I also changed the audio so that his voice seemed like it was echoing, which made his tone seem more reprimanding.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button--I personally love the original scene that this is edited on, and I find that Brad Pitt's narration adds a lot of emotional impact, so I decided to see if scrapping the audio and simply replacing it with the song from the orginal score would evoke similar feelings. It obviously doesn't, but it helps create a different, explorative tone to the scene, especially because of the images shown.

3. The Graduate--When I first watched this film, I thought the original scene in which Elaine and Benjamin flee the church after Elaine's wedding would feature music, and I found it awkward that it didn't, so I added a Simon & Garfunkel song--which is featured earlier in the movie-- and decided to enhance the movie's bitter ending by adding another somber Simon & Garfunkel song. 

Extra Blog Post-Fangirl Progress

Development and pre-production for Fangirl is going extremely well. Last Friday, Veronica and I met to discuss and used a few articles and books on documentary filmmaking to help us narrow our focus, specifically what story we hope to tell, the types of events and people we are hoping to include in the documentary, and how we were hoping to go about these things. Luckily, we took notes so that our ideas were not lost. We made an email so that we would be able to reach out to potential interviewees and such and began drafting a flyer we're hoping to dispense so that students at I-Poly can be informed of our project.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 presentation and why?

I feel most proud of how informative I was. I think I provided adequate examples and explanations that helped my peers understand my EQ and first answer.

2. A) What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson 2 presentation and why?

I would give myself an AE

B) I think I provided more than enough examples and explantations to educate my peers about my subject, my EQ, and my answer, as well as displaying the depth of my research. I feel that my presentation was very engaging, and my answer was made even more clear through my activity.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

I felt very confident about the content in my presentation, and when the activity was done, I felt that my peers fully understood what I had gone over.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I think I might have clarified my activity a little more. In the handout I passed out, I stated that if the students had another idea for a film they wanted to create, they were free to use it. A lot of people ended up using movies that had already been released, so I probably would have said that that was an option.

5. What do you think your answer 2 is going to be?

My second answer will be that filmmakers have to be empathetic to their audience. They have to know what appeals to them, whether it be visually, aesthetically, or even in regards to stories.

Blog 12: Mentorship Hours

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship in my ROP video production class and at Disney Channel.

2. Who is your contact?

My teacher is Phillip Miller and my contact at Disney Channel is Amanda DiPiazza (although I have not completed ten hours with her yet.)

3. How many hours have you completed during the schoolyear?

So far, I've completed 75 hours and 43 minutes.

4. Summarize your ten hours of service.

In ROP, I have learned various filmic processes--storyboarding, camera angles, lighting, and screenwriting, among others.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

Content:

1. What did you do over the break with your senior project?

A crucial portion of my independent component is combining research with real-world situations. Luckily for me, my research involves watching films. In fact, I was able to watch quite a few over my break--Top Five, Annie, The One I Love, La Belle et La Bete, Populaire, Fanny, Marius, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Since I am analyzing these films and not simply watching for enjoyment, I created a doc where I could log my thoughts once I finished viewing them. I am working on developing a spreadsheet where I can continue logging the films, my reactions and my opinions on them so that I may have a clear, organized way of displaying my research when I turn in my Independent Component. 


2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why? What was the source of what your learned? 

I feel that I learned the most from Top Five and The One I Love. 
Movies are often praised when the director's "artsy-ness" is displayed through obvious methods. When I think of artsy sequences in films, scenes where laws of physics are suspended briefly or specific camera placement and lighting are used to create a certain mood/tone come to mind. Directorial choices are made for artistic purposes. I felt that Top Five was artsy, though in different ways than most films. There aren't any scenes that suspend logic or overt artistic choices that I could perceive as typically artsy. I believe that is due more so to the dialogue, storyline, and atmosphere. Basically, my point is that the film taught me that there doesn't have to be dramatic lighting or camera pans to get one's point across in an "artsy" way. 
The One I Love, however, taught me that it is still very possible to surprise viewers, even a little. As a fan of The Twilight Zone, I was immediately drawn to the tone of the film because I could tell that it had to be inspired in some shape, way or form by the show. The reason I love of the show, of course, is because it is transcendent and the endings are still baffling, if not shocking, some sixty years after it originally aired. The One I Love did the exact same thing with an ending I definitely was not expecting, so even though the typical movie-goer may have a bit of cynicism in them, it may still be possible to surprise them. 

3. If you were to do a ten question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why? 

I would probably talk to seasoned writers, directors, producers, and distributors, among other people who have roles in filmmaking because there are so many aspects that make a film memorable.