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.

Be Kind, Rewind

What I loved most about making a movie Michel Gondry style is how free it was. There was no set script, no redos, and no editing. The movies were all far from perfection, but they were all still great. Some groups were better then others, but all the films had at least one good moment that had the whole room laughing. They were equally as fun to watch as they were to do.

And although I don't have much film experience, I think shooting them chronologically really worked well. There were certain lines or scenes that we thought would work, until we actually got to shooting it. By doing everything in order we really got to see what did and didn't work. And it also helped us think of new lines or parts that would work. Not having everything so planned out from the beginning was important because it forced us to think about each scene as we were doing it, instead of just following a script. I think this allowed for new ideas to come out constantly right as filming, and many of these ideas were brilliant. Filming with the Be Kind, Rewind protocol was effective, easy, and fun. I also feel that I got a lot out of it, even as a first time film-maker. Granted, the groups with more experience seem to have better reasons for why things work, but I seemed to have grasped what does and doesn't work.

Magazine Ideas

So I've been thinking about what to write for the magazine and here are a few things I've come up with:

• A list of gift ideas for each kind of recipient. For example, there would be things to get for your boss and things to get for your mom. Ideas would vary for each relationship you have with a person.
• Outfits for each kind of holiday party.
• Things to know how to do, especially in the winter. For example: How to find the right length coat, how to find the perfect winter boots, what's a good winter color scheme, etc.
• Cost effective things to do in NYC/Long Island in the winter. (I'd have to do more research on this one)