"It's not enough these days to question authority. You must speak with it too."

I came across this video recently and it really made me stop and think about the effects our language has on our society... or visa versa. Has our society become weak because of the way we talk? Or, was the way we talk grown weaker like the rest of us? Why is it that it is such a bad thing to stand up for what you believe in? Is it because for some god forsaken reason indifference has become "cool" has become socially acceptable where as being strong willed has become a thing of the past? If you want to know what I think, and your reading my blog so I am going to assume that you do, I think its that we as a culture are afraid of failure. We are afraid to be wrong. We fear that with failure comes mockery and taunting. So by speaking with indifference we can never really be wrong since we never really gave an answer. But we can also never really be right by the same logic. So if your reading this I want you to do something, Im going to do it too so you wont be alone. But I want you to not be afraid of mistakes, not to be afraid of failure. I know this will be a big life change for most of us. So do what Im doing and starting slow, speak with conviction. Speak as though you are 100% positive about your answer, and you never know maybe this will lead to bigger life changes. I will be periodically things about how it going for me and how being less wishy-washy is going for me.

The Dance

Link to the video. Watch this first

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gJ9-AUARMc

So recently I, along with the help of one of my fellow film class mates, made a movie. She needed to have it to submit for film school, and I just love making movies. So early on it was decided that she would direct and I was DP (be the director of photography, the guy in charge of lights and camera) we decided to do it this way because first off I want to go on and DP films as a career, and secondly I own a fairly expensive camera. This is about the time when we ran into our first problem, we had no story. We had to come up with a short script ( it could only be 5 min long), it had to be done in a short period of time, and our actor pool consisted of high school theater kids, so it had to be a film about high school students. Me being the generous and gracious type decided to let the director come up with a script. So she came up with a good solid idea (I posted the script just prior to this one). Once she finished writing the script it suddenly became my job to put it into the proper format, so I did and it took me all of like 10 minuets because formatting a 5 page script with limited duologue is super easy. So once I finished doing that I went and talked to my film teacher (if it wasnt for Mr. LaRue this film probably never would have been finished) and he told me that I needed to do a script break down. A script break down is where you go through your script and find out how many locations, actors, props, costumes, ect. are needed. So once again this kinda became my job. So while I am doing this our lovely director was supposed to be finding actors and coming up with a schedule so that way once i finished the script break down and the story boards done then we would be all ready to shoot with out having to wait for anything thus giving us plenty of time to get everything done. I get script break down done........ She hasnt started. I begin working on story boards...... hasnt started. I take like a week and a half to finish story boards..... she finally got around to asking some of her theater friends to act in our film, but no schedule. So I finished with all the pre production work by mid November, we get a random Thursday off from school so with the help of Mr. LaRue we shoot our first scene, and it looks really good (its the scene that starts at 1:04, where we see the three boys meet for the first time). To shoot a roughly :30 sec scene it took us over an hour from start to finish, I figured at this pace we would be a little tight on time but if we could get every thing done before Christmas break we would then have plenty of time to edit it. The next week we shot the first two scenes, besides the time we took waiting for out talent to show up it took us a like two hours. But thats when we ran into our second problem..... My camera deleted the footage that we taped that day. There was no trace of it. It was just gone. At this point we were on thanks giving break from school so we had a solid week off. I was hoping that in this week we could get virtually all of our shooting done. But.... no. We get one scene done, the one starting at 1:24 at the boys house (at 1:38 the bars across the screen were caused by a malformation in the tape that we filmed on, just one other thing that went wrong). After that we take the rest of the week off. Then another, and another, and another. And Another. By now we have two scenes and we have 1 week before Christmas break. 1 week before we had to be done shooting in order for us to have time to edit. So we started shooting as fast as we could. So that meant we didnt have lights, because “neither of us are going to film school for that” according to our director..... even though thats virtually ALL that a DP does. We didnt have a boom mic, we were just using a mic attached to the top of my camera, which picks up all the noise and vibrations of the camera its self. Also Mr. LaRue had loaned me a nice tripod because I only owned a cheap one from a place like target. But he needed his tripod back, so we were left with a tripod that i would not leave standing unless my hand was on it due to a fear that it would break because my camera was to heavy for it. So we were left with the ability to take one take of each shot, crappy sound, no lights, and a crappy tripod, and a week to get it all done. Wonderful. But we did it. We got there before finals started and shot, we would ditch class and shoot, we would stay late and shoot. It looks terrible, the focus is soft, which is caused by the lack of light. The color temperature changes every scene, which is due to the lack of lights. Its film at an angle, my crappy tripod. But luckily our actors were really good sports about it and if they did screw up they would quickly get back to were they were so we could restart the scene as fast as we could. So we get all of our shooting done and its now time to edit it. I volunteered to do it because if i did it my self i knew it would get done and plus I own the computer and the software that we needed to do it with (for those of you who care i have a imac and final cut express). But no..... “I need to be there just so I can make sure its good”. So I told her that i was free pretty much every day just tell me when a few days in advance and then come over. After like another week she finally comes over and sits there and tries to tell me how to edit even though she has no idea what she is doing and therefore it takes me a good solid 4 or 5 hours to do something that could have been done in half the time. But it finally got done, and considering everything that happened during the pre, production, and post it turned out pretty well.

The Dance (script)

int. school locker - day

ASHLEY is standing in front of her neatly organized pink locker, pulling out a binder labeled "math". She closes the locker door and starts walking down the hall. She is wearing a tight T-shirt and a short skirt.

INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY

As she walks down the hall she passes an average looking guy, JUSTIN. When she passes he looks longingly after her.

INT. SCHOOL hall - DAY

As she walks down the hall her phone rings she pulls it out and begins texting. Not paying attention to where she is going she bumps into a guy, DREW.

Ashley

Oh, sorry

As soon as Ashley finishes apologizing she continues to walk, never looking up from her phone.

Drew

Dont worry about it Ashley...

Drew continues to talk even though Ashley has walked away. He watches her leave with lust on his face.

int. School class room a - day

Once Ashely enters the room she puts her phone back into her purse and sits down in one of the few open seats, in front of CHRIS.

Chris

(shyly, and slightly flirtatious) Hi Ashely. How was your weekend?

ASHLEY

(not noticing the flirtatious voice) Short, but good.

CHRIS

Thats good, im glad you had a nice wee...

Ashley turns mid sentence to face the teacher, MR. Z, at the front of the class.

Mr. Z

OK, everyone. Let's settle down now. Ok, a few announcements. The marching band will be having a bake sale all day outside of the office. The boys soccer team will play the Smithfield cougars at 7 tonight on the soccer field. And remember, this Saturday is the Homecoming dance, so if your still planning to ask someone, it better be soon.

(V.O.)

Ok we left off at chapter 7 yesterday (trailing off. the camera zooms in on Chris who is staring at the back of Ashley's head with a dreamily smile.) So open up your books to...

INT. SCHOOL CLASS ROOM B - DAY

Justin and Drew are sitting next to each other in class when Chris walks in and sits down next to them.

CHRIS

(as he walks to his desk)

Are you guys going to the dance?

DREW

Ya I'll be there.

Justin

Ya me too. Are you guys asking someone?

Chris

(with a smile on his face)

Ya I have someone in mind.

Bell rings

DREW

Ya, I also have someone in mind.

JUSTIN

(to drew)

Nice! Who is the lucky girl?

Mr. Smith

Boys stop talking or I will have to move you again.

Once Mr. Smith turns around, Justin makes a mocking face.

int. kitchen - day

Drew is in his kitchen pulling cup cakes out of his oven. and on his counter there are bags of flower and sugar, a bowl with batter on the side and a toothpick with paper attached to it that says "homecoming"

int. Chirs' room - day

Chris walks in from outside holding a small bouquet and some clippers. He walks over to the counter and puts the flowers in a vase labeled "homecoming"

int. Justin's bedroom - day

Justin picks up a teddy bear with a card attached to it. We see that the card says "Happy Valentines Day, Baby. Love Claire". Justin looks at it for a second, then rip the card off and throws it over his shoulder.

INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY

Justin and Chris walk up to each other both holding their respective gifts.

JUSTIN

Hey man, I see you're asking today as well.

CHRIS

Ya, I am.

JUSTIN

Who is it?

Drew walks up to them

Drew

(with a slight laugh)

We would all ask on the same day.

JUSTIN

(with a smile)

Do any of you guys know what Ashley has first period?

CHRIS

(not smiling any more)

Um... why do you need to know that?

JUSTIN

(his smile slowly going away) She is who I am asking

DREW

No you're not. I am asking her.

CHRIS

No. Screw you. I was going to ask her first.

JUSTIN

OK, calm down you guys. We need to figure out what we're going to do about this.

They all stand there for a few tense seconds looking each other.

(P.O.V)

Eye balls shift back and forth. Then they all go running off in the same direction.

INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY

chase scene

INT. SCHOOL hall - DAY

All three boys run into the hall at the same time from the same direction. When they get there, they see Ashley holding a flower and standing across from another average looking girl. The boys slowly approach her and as they do Ashley hands the flower to the other girl they share a loving look then hug.

Chris is dissapointed.

Drew is confused.

Justin is into it.

Sorry I Asked

EXT. parking lot - night

An attractive young woman in a short red dress walks out of a brightly light party. Once fully out side she takes her small purse out from under her arm and with draws a cigarette and lights it. Once the door closes behind her the porch lights only the thin wisp of cigarette smoke.

camera cuts to close up of smoke and the tip of the cigarette

when she brings it to her mouth the red tip slightly illuminates red lip stick.

camera cuts to medium long shot

the door is opened from the inside just enough for a man wearing a tux to slip out and props the door open with his foot. After standing there looking out into the night for a moment he turns to the woman.

MAN

Nice night.

the woman shows no recognition that she hears the man.

cut to reverse medium shot

still trying to get the woman to talk to him

MAN

Not enjoying the part? Neither am I, to formal for my tastes.

Once again the woman shows no sign that she hears him.

cut to medium long shot showing the steps leading up to the porch.

She takes a long drag on her cigarette and the drops it on the ground and begins to slowly walk off.

cut to medium shot of her walking away

When she realizes the man is not following her she gives him a seductive glance.

MAN

Hmm, playing hard to get are we?

The woman gives him a slight smile in response.

cut to medium shot

the man walks quickly to catch up with the woman.

camera tracks along next to them

They walk in silence past a row of expensive cars. The woman stops, places her bag on the trunk of a car, bends over and removes her stiletto heels.Once her shoes are all the way off she slowly turns to the man with a seductive smile on her face.

cut to medium close up of woman from mans perspective

WOMAN

So what is your name?

the man who is distracted by the woman's body misses her question

MAN

(with a shake of his head and raising his eyes)

Pardon me, what did you say?

WOMAN

(with slight humor in her voice)

I asked what your name was?

MAN

Kirk. Donald Kirk.

WOMAN

(with a wink)

Well Donald Kirk, are you ready for an unforgettable night?

Donald

(with a smile)

I think I am

The two of them stand there silently for a moment or two. The woman turns her back to Donald.

cut to medium shot from behind Donald, watching the woman.

DONALD

(reaching for his wallet) so what do you do, baby?

cut to reverse medium shot

with a quick motion the woman withdraws a scalpel from her purse and slits the mans throat. Once Donald falls to the ground the woman put the scalpel neatly back into her purse and pulls out a cigarette

cut to over the shoulder shot of Donald writhing on the ground

and lights it. She stands there and watches his red blood flow into a pool.

WOMAN

I'm a surgeon, babe

Script based on the short story "Sorry I Asked" by W.D. Miller

1965-1975

So far all of my posts on this blog have been more formal, an essay with a thesis and all that jazz, well I decided for this one I am going to be less formal and just kinda ramble. BUT it will not be just pure rambling, recently a friend of mine asked me what my favorite decade was for film and with out hesitation I said 1965-1975. When she asked me why I had a hard time explaining it, so finally here is my answer to that second question. Well to really answer this question I will have to talk about what was also happening socially at the time because it had a large effect on film. So kind of the calling card of the 1960’s was that it was a rebellious decade, people, especially the teenage age group, were breaking away from the stuffy post war society where people were expected to do certain things. So as a way of rebelling from this post war attitude a new group of people called teenagers began experimenting with drugs, sex, music and they formed the entire counter culture movement. This idea of rebellion and doing a complete 180 to what the previous generation had done really caught on with directors and much to the disappointment of Hollywood executives people loved it. Before the mid ‘60s everything in Hollywood was controlled and done in a very exact manner, everything was shot on sets built inside sound stages, every light was placed in an exact spot with an exact intensity, every camera motion would stop and start at the most optimal point with absolutely ZERO shaking or unintended motion. One of my favorite examples of this type of movie is Casablanca, one of the greatest love stories of all time. But to counter act this the directors and film makers of the 60’s just went out and shot. One of the best examples of this is in Easy Rider in the scenes in New Orleans director Dennis Hopper just found some of his friends how owned cameras and they just went out and shot. This concept of little to no pre-planning was mind blowing to the directors and other people who had been on the Hollywood scene for a while. I could talk about technical reasons why I personally love this decade for days but I think I would bore anyone who happens to be reading this so Ill talk about some of the other reasons why this decade kicks ass: subject matter. To go along with the social revolution of the 60’s things like sex and drugs lost their taboot status and became seat filling subjects for box office films. On the topic of sex no other movie was as ground breaking as the Graduate, a film in which a young man (Dustin Hoffman) who has recently graduated college is seduced by a much older woman (Anne Bancroft). When this first came out it people were shocked, they didnt know how to react to what they had seen. Another great example of this topic comes from 1975 with Rocky Horror Picture Show, a film about “a sweet transvestite, from Transsexual Transylvania” (“the rocky horror”). Then the other subject that had been only talked about behind closed doors was drugs, once again in Easy Rider the two protagonists were constantly smoking pot or doing some other kind of drug, and this very open attitude about showing what life was really like went directly in the face of the previous generation. The final thing I want to bring up about subject matter is that during the post war Hollywood boom what you saw in movies was fantastic, epic, wonderful, amazing......NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU! Take Casablanca for example probably the best love story of all time but its so fantastic that it could never actually happen. So to go against this the filmmakers of the 60’s were making movies that were believable. In Midnight Cowboy a young man goes to New York in dreams of making it big there but instead of becoming rich and famous, he becomes a male prostitute. The Godfather is a very realistic example of how Italian mobs and gangs worked during the time and it showed what could really happen. And then finally just the sheer number of amazing actors and directors and everything else that came out of this decade is why it is my favorite.

and p.s all of my citations except for the one quote come from the movies A Decade Under the Influence and Visions of Light both of which are documentaries about making movies and are both wonderful and i suggest that you watch both of them.

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .

Horrifying horror

Since the early 1900’s film has become a intricate part of the American society. Films are very powerful, they make us happy, sad, they make us laugh, cry, they make us have hope, fear. But despite all of this power it has over us film, like all businesses, is a not static, it is constantly changing and evolving to fit its current target market. But no film genera has gone through as much change as horror. From F.W. Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece, Nosferatu, to Alexandre Aja’s 2010 slasher film Piranha 3D, this genera has seen great changes. The evolution of horror films from epics to blood baths mirrors the American societies progression into a modern fast paced society with a need for constant and instant joy.

In present day society people expect to be able to get things instantly, this is seen in virtually everything from faster cell phones with thousands of apps to the having TV on computers letting you watch whenever and wherever you want. This demand for instant gratification can be seen in modern day horror movies such as Saw 3D or The Human centipede. Both of these movies are nothing more than blood baths in which the director attempts to “horrify” their audience through the shock factor. This is primarily present in the second film, The Human Centipede, a movie in which crazy, evil, German, “ [Dr.] Heiter plans to surgically join his victims by sewing together their mouths and anuses, all in a row, so the food goes in at the front and comes out at the rear. They will move on their hands and knees like an insect” (Ebert, Roger) While this sound truly disturbing and maybe even frightening, it is nothing more than a gimmick, a trick, a way for this film to become infamous. Is is truly awe inspiring scary? In my opinion no it is not. There are moments in which I was startled, surprised, it even made me look to see what was behind me at points, but once the movie was done I was no longer scarred. Is this because I have seen too many horror movies and therefore have become jaded? I don’t think so, because when watching a truly well done horror movie I will become as scared as anyone.

In comparison to this modern day shock inducing slasher film, the classic film from 1920 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari might seem slow. To an audience that is accustomed to seeing movies that are very action packed and have things constantly jumping out at you this movie would probably be considered slow, greatly due the fact that its a silent film. But even if this movie is considered by some to be slow it is anything but boring; “a traveling fair comes to town, its main attraction being Dr. Caligari and his prophetic somnambulist Cesare. Soon after the fair arrives in town, the town clerk is murdered, the first in a string of odd homicides”(“horror film). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a movie about murder, lies, deceit, insanity.... Megalomania. By the end of the film you are not sure who is sane and who is not, who is truthful and who is a lier. By the end your not even sure if the whole movie was nothing more than a psychotic dream. Also by then end of this film the view is truly scarred. With the use of unsettling props that constantly put things at unusual and odd angels, a very unique plot for the time and out-standing acting, create an atmosphere of horror and dread. Long after this move was finished I was still thinking and wondering about it.

As horror movies progress through this current evolution trend they become less scary and more reliant on special effects, blood, shock and peoples fright at from things that POP out at you. You can blame it on MTV with its infamous “MTV editing” which is described as “dizzying pinball effect of hyper speed editing... jittery...and a chaotic, rat-tat-tat style of assembly” (old Hollywood). Or you can blame it on the fact that people no longer want to be scared, instead they want to experience that JOLTING, that JARRING, unsettling, disturbing, unclean feeling that you get when you see Leather Face, from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, jump out at you with his chainsaw running and slowly approaching. But whatever the reason people no longer seem to seek a long lasting fright, instead they want a sudden terrifying moment that leaves as soon as it came.

Works Cited

Ebert, Roger. "The Human Centipede :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews." Rogerebert.com. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

"Horror Film History — Horror Films in the 1920s." Horror Film History — Introduction. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

"Old Hollywood Style Editing vs. MTV Style Editing or Silver Screen vs. Computer Screen - Part 1." The Joy of Film Editing. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .