screenwriting three

Since the idea of filming my screenplay scares me out of my mind, todays workshop was extremely helpful. I've never wrote a screenplay before this one, let alone made a film. Although I have ideas for how I want each scene to look, everything film-making-wise is still completely foreign to me. I now have crisper ideas of what I want when shooting. Steve gave me really helpful advice and thoughts; How to portray a person is at their end or beginning, how to make a scene feel really carefree or filled with tension, etc. I now have tons of thoughts on things to make my film better, plenty of thanks to Steve and Cassie who gave me the best ideas. Now I just have to get all my thoughts in order. But, I'm still plenty scared. It's hard not to be when doing something new.

life and art

I, undoubtedly, live many lives. In a way it makes me feel sneaky, and unwilling to admit. But honestly, doesn't everyone live different lives? Even the president wears different hats for every job he has.

I'm almost positive that you treat your best friend differently then you treat your buddy in math class. You save all your sacrilegious jokes and nasty comments for some one you that know won't judge you. Because if your neighbor in class happens to be in the Christian fellowship club and is best friends with that shady looking guy you wouldn't feel to hot after letting your mouth spill.

My dad has constantly told me to stop living a double life. He says I'm one person with my friends and one person with my family. It's wrong, I know, but I can't help it. Although he isn't completely right (there are some quirks you can't hide no matter how hard you try) I don't think I am completely capable of "being myself", or even knowing who "myself" is, all the time. It's not that my parents are abnormally unfair or are completely unsympathetic with their fifteen year old daughter, it's just more of a personal issue for me. Basically it's not them, it's me.

My conclusion to this is I think this might be apart of the reason why art appeals to me so much. My work may be the only place where all my lives merge into one, because no matter how small that role of yours may seem in your life it will always have some sort of an effect on you. Those effects on me throughout the day are what changes my thoughts and brings me new ideas, allowing me to create.

The fact that my art may be a merging of all my lives may just be the reason I don't like people reading a lot of my work. Am I ready to show the whole world the real me all at once? Well, all the real "mes".

screenwriting two

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

JULIA and KAITLYN are sitting on a bed gossiping and squealing. They're whispering and are clearly giddy over what was just said. The two begin laughing.

JuLIA

I can't believe he finally asked you out!

KAITLYN

I know! It's tomorrow too I have no time to get ready.

mom

(yells)

JULIA! Can you go run to the store quickly and pick up some more cranberry sauce?

Julia

OK, you wait here, and after I get back from the store I'll pick out an outfit and everything for you.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

JULIA runs down the stairs and approaches her mom.

JULIA

CHRIS ate another whole can?

MOM

Yes, I don't know what to do with him! It's all he's been eating for the past two weeks.

JULIA

Alright. I'll go now.

INT./EXT. FRONT HALL - DAY

JULIA grabs her bag and keys off a table near the front door and runs outside. She then waves to CHRIS who is bike riding.

JULIA

Hey kiddo. You really ate another whole jar of the red stuff?

(smilingly)

CHRIS

Yep!

JULIA smiles and walks to her car. She opens the driver's door and sits inside. She ignites her car and glances back through the back window. She pulls back until she hears a loud scream andshe immediately stops the car. She opens the door to see CHRIS' bike rolling down the sidewalk.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

It's three months later. JULIA is sitting nervously in a chair, biting her nails and playing with her feet. Her AUNT JANE is cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

JULIA

AUNT JANE?

aunt jane

Yes?

JULIA

I haven't really spoken to KAITLYN since, uhm, it happened.

AUNT JANE

Why do you think that is?

JULIA

She thinks I'm a murderer.

(thinking, pause)

I wouldn't even speak to me.

AUNT JANE

Honey, I think she knows you're not a murderer. I think she just misses your brother, and she needs some one to blame.

JULIA

I miss him too.

AUNT JANE

She probably knows that too. I mean think about it for a second sweetie. She wants to be able to take out her frustration somehow, and if she takes a second to think about how this might be even harder on you then it would be difficult for her to take it out on you.

(pause)

Has she even attempted to start speaking to you?

JULIA

No.

AUNT JANE

Give it time, she'll come around. You are sisters, after all.

JULIA nods and looks down at her hands.

INT./EXT. KITCHEN - NIGHT

JULIA walks into the kitchen as KAITLYN is picking up a dish of mixed vegetables. The two look at each other uncomfortably until KAITLYN walks out of the kitchen herself. Julia looks at the kitchen counter to see what is left to bring to the table and sees that only the cranberry sauce is left. JULIA freezes and stares at the bowl, as if debating picking it up or not. KAITLYN walks into the room and stops dead in her tracks when she sees JULIA and what she is staring at. KAITLYN slowly walks to the bowl herself and places one hand on the side. She then gestures to JULIA to come pick up the other side. Julia walks slowly towards the bowl, not looking away from it for a moment. Once she reaches the bowl she looks up at her sister, and KAITLYN gives a small smile. The two then carry the bowl out of the kitchen together.

I got a lot of great and really helpful feedback on this script today. I think the best suggestion I was given was to change the second to last scene with Aunt Jane around a little. It would start off with Kaitlyn walking into the kitchen as Julia and Aunt Jane are preparing the dishes to get ready to be taken outside. Julia and Kaitlyn would have this awkward tension between them for a moment, and then Kaitlyn picks up some dishes and goes outside. Aunt Jane would be watching the whole encounter between the two knowingly, and once Kaitlyn leaves the room Julia would start off the conversation with Aunt Jane about how she no longer speaks to Kaitlyn. I love starting that scene like this because it really allows another peak at that tension between the sisters even before the final scene. Another idea of shooting the last scene with multiple endings (Julia begins to pick up the bowl and Kaitlyn stops her, Julia and Kaitlyn both refrain from picking up the bowl but Aunt Jane comes and picks it up, etc.) is helpful because after seeing all the different possible ways in film it would definitely be easier to pick the best one. I'm genuinely excited for rewriting, filming, and seeing the end product.

screenwriting

I've wanted to take a screenwriting class for about three years now, so naturally I was excited when I heard about the workshop. I'm only two classes in and I already feel like I've learned so much. The actual screenplay formating was my first challenge. Even with CeltX to help I felt so lost. I don't think that every part of it is 100% correct, but I think that it's right overall.

After I came up with an idea and actually wrote the screenplay the next challenge was taking the screenplay apart. I constantly was revising and even completely changing my piece. That helped me learn a lot on my own because it gave me a sense of what worked and didn't work.

And although I didn't get to go over mine in yesterday's workshop, I learned so much just from listening to responses to other peoples screenplays. I got tons of thoughts on what makes and doesn't make a good screenplay. The responses that were given to the screenplays that were read helped me figure out what's really important in the recipe for a good film.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED IN TWO MONTHS

When I first heard the question “What did you learn in STAC so far?” I thought that nothing major could have happened to me because of this class yet. I mean, it’s only been two months, how much could my outlook on life change? STAC has challenged me in ways that no class has before, and it most definitely broadened my horizons, but I was skeptical to believe that I now have a different outlook today then I did in September. Once I reflected I realized that two months in STAC did change my outlook on life drastically. Before STAC I knew what I liked. After two months in STAC I find myself figuring out exactly why I like it. Nothing is “I love this show” anymore. It’s “I love the subtle wit in the writing, quirky actors, and good cuts.” It’s a part of seeing and hearing everything piece by piece, and not as a whole.

I wish I could say I was still a master of this, since figuring out what does and doesn’t work would help my own artistic pursuits, but I’m far from it. I only notice things when I want to notice them. I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary until I go searching for it, but when I do I notice things that kind of blow my mind. My hardwood floors are no longer brown, but they’re now a biegish-brownish-tannish color with a slight undertone of reddish-purplish. It’s almost impossible to explain. I guess now I can notice the not only seemingly unnoticeable, but the inexplicable.

So STAC taught me how to see with my eyes, and not my brain. I no longer am forced to see things for what they are, but instead I now see things for what they’re made up of. Not only things like films, paintings, or songs can be broken up. I even find myself seeing regular household objects as the different shapes they’re made up of. I’m now capable of seeing the little things in everything. If this much changes by the end of one quarter, I’m both a little scared and excited to see how much I grow by the end of the year.

PHOTO

I finally got the DSLR camera I've waned for a while now, and I obviously couldn't wait to use it. I got home about an hour ago and instead of working on the numerous things I have due tomorrow I played around with the camera. I've always loved photography, and I've always wanted to get into it myself. Here are some shots that I took playing around with different lenses and filters.

As hard as it is for me to stop taking random pictures right now, I'm going to have to control myself in order to finish this italiano take home test!

KONTROLL

Kontroll was just as amazing the second time seeing it as the first. It felt so much shorter the second time, and less heavy since I already had an idea of what I thought everything meant. I mean, the feeling that I've been living in the subway system for a week still made me go crazy, but it was less crazy since I've felt it once before. I'm beginning to believe my own theory of who the pusher is more and more, that the pusher is the pain growing inside each person. That pain is what grows into the pusher that makes them jump. The only two things that keep me from fully backing this theory up is the fact that on tape Bootsie was obviously pushed and that a lot of the people being pushed looked so shocked by the pushing. They didn't look like they've had this thing growing in them for so long that it's grown strong enough to push them into their death. What I love so much about trying to figure this movie out is that I have thought of so many theories for each piece of symbolism myself, and I can seem to back up most of them somehow. Then on top of that I can back up and understand all the other theories people have been giving out. I love that after backing up one theory and finally thinking I've got it, another one comes up and all my thoughts unravel again and I have to put everything back together again. There are so many ways of looking at Kontroll, and beyond beautiful cinematography, funny lines, and great acting, that is what is so amazing about this film.

The Hungry and the Homeless

After having a conversation about Thanksgiving in STAC I haven't been able to stop thinking about a way to help or raise awareness for all the homeless people in NYC that don't have a turkey to eat for a night, let alone the leftovers that can last some families for weeks. I love the idea of helping out at a soup kitchen, but how does that help the other 1,500 kids at Herricks understand the battle of homelessness. Having STAC dress up as homeless people themselves may work, but I can already see the kids that would see the whole thing as a dumb joke. I liked Jillians idea of having the pictures starving people hung up around school. What I think would make more of an effect then that would be having a picture of something that most kids do today, going to the mall, being at a party, hanging out with there friends, and having all the people in the pictures seem happy. Then you should be able to lift this picture up to see some one suffering at the same time, a picture of some one begging outside the mall, a group of homeless people sitting in the city together huddling for warmth, or maybe just a group of homeless people begging together. I hope to make an impact so people actually give thanks on Thanksgiving for things other then having off from school for an extra two days.