FilmSpace

A week ago I finished my second completed video for my film studies class. In comparison to my first video "Snow Day", "Just For Now" went much more smoothly and turned out much better. I think it had a lot to do with collaboration. With "Snow Day", I basically came up with the idea myself and told the actress what to do. She did a great job but, with only one brain doing all the storming, the ideas weren't as developed and intricate. In "Just For Now", I sat down with the actor and came up with a shot list and did some brainstorming days before actually filming. This helped a great deal. I had certain ideas in my head that, after being discussed, really didn't make sense. With his great ideas and mine combined, everything was much more thought and planned out and the ideas behind the video were much more developed. Two heads, in this case, were definitely better than one.
The planning behind the movie was also better. In addition to the brainstorm session, we also wrote down a definite list of shots and props needed and where they needed to fit into the video. With "Snow Day", nothing was specifically written down. It was all in my head and, therefore, some shots were missed. In "Just For Now", few details were left out. This made the editing process that much easier because I could look at the written shot list and edit in that order with no shots forgotten. The editing was really enjoyable for this movie. Since all the funny parts were kind of planned out, I didn't have to stress over whether or not they were funny. I also took a lot a feedback during the editing process, as opposed to simply at the end. The actor and I discussed if I was stuck and I showed him the work in progress periodically. This really made it a true collaboration and really added to the final project. I think the most important lesson I learned in this film making class would have to be the importance of collaboration in film making. At first I felt that my ideas were just really bad and I just wasn't cut out for film making. However, by the end of the class I realized that the best films come with a lot of collaboration. Just because there is just one name under "Directed by" doesn't mean the ideas within the film are just one person's. Knowing this I think will strengthen my film making abilities in years to come.

John Wayne is America's most iconic western film actor. His film Stagecoach set a new bar for the western genre and made him an icon. The movie takes place over the course of one long stagecoach ride. The inhabitants of the stagecoach are a host of colorful characters including a doctor and town drunk as well as Dallas, a prostitute recently banished from her town. Along the way they pick up Ringo Kid, played by Wayne, who just escaped from prison. Meanwhile, Geronimo and his band of Indians have become hostile towards any travelers through their land. The stagecoach is attacked by Geronimo and the Apaches and Ringo Kid heroically saves the day.
What really makes this movie stand out are the colorful characters that travel in the stagecoach. Each one has his own foible, like the doctor and his drinking or Dallas and her prostitution, yet each one has its own depth. The audience can see that Dallas is more than just a prostitute and that she is not a bad person. Life simply dealt her a few bad cards. Wayne sets the genre standard as the stoic and quiet hero, always brave and ready to save the day while sparing very few words. This shows why Wayne is an icon. He created the basis for western heroes for decades to come.
The impressive technical aspect of this film is the scenery. Instead of being shot in front of a studio backdrop, the cameras left the studio and filmed on site in the southwestern United States. This gives much more depth and reality to the movie. It is obvious to the audience that the backdrop is real and the stunning views really add artistically to the film. Because of the use of on site filming, the movie is more realistic and beautiful.
This film deserves to be on AFI's top 100 list because it set an industry standard. Before this film, westerns were seen as subpar one low grade films. After Stagecoach and Wayne's impressive performance, the western became a popular and more serious genre of films. Films like this one, that start a fad and have such an impact on American life, are noteworthy and always worth watching.

Few movies are as iconic and timeless as It's a Wonderful Life. The story surrounds George Bailey, played by James Stewart, a man with a seemingly perfect life, a philanthropic business, a good reputation, and a family that loves him. When his uncle Billy loses all the money they owe the bank on Christmas Eve, George has a life crisis and contemplates suicide. Before he is able to act, his guardian angel Clarence appears and takes him on a journey to see what life would be like if George had never been born. The timesless message of the importance of famil, love, and appreciation of life is what makes It's a Wonderful Life so applicable for any generation. This wholesome family classic is a must see and a tradition for many around Christmas time.
James Stewart gives a strong performance as George Bailey, the kindhearted business man that lets the stresses of money get in the way of what's really important in his life. Stewart is a classic movie favorite and his acting in It's a Wonderful Life does not disapoint. He is able to truly show the humanity in his suffering and makes George Bailey seem incredibly real. The viewer feels George's desperation and hopelessness with him. Stewart's ability to evoke emotion in the viewer is what makes him a great actor.
The set in the movie is pretty impressive. When the movie changes from reality to the world without George, the town is the same set up, yet all the stores have been changed an the mood is altered entirely. Much of this mood is created simply through the change in scenery. It is much more dark, dirty, and hopeless. It is impressive that the set designers were able to create two separate realities that are similar yet so very different. It's a Wonderful Life is a truly memorable and important American film. Because of its originality, it deserves to be on AFI's top 100 list. Few movies compare to this film.

The Maltese Falcon is one of the most iconic mystery films of all time. The movie follows Same Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart, as he works to search down the culprit of the murder of his partner Miles Archer. Soon, though, Sam is tangled up in a web of obscurity all surrounding one figure: The Maltese Falcon. A host of mysterious characters like the secretive and sultry Brigid O'Shaughnessy and the conniving Casper Gutman all combine to make this a memorable movie. The greatest aspect of the film is the mystery surrounding the plotline. Its twists and turns are unpredictable and keep the viewer guessing. It creates a believable and exciting mystery story.
Humphrey Bogart makes a noteworthy performance in his strong and commanding character, Sam. However, it seems Bogart always chooses movies in which he plays similar characters. It makes me wonder if he really was a great actor or if he was simply being himself in all of his movies. Mary Astor, as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, made the character more complex and mysterious. She plays Brigid as an innocent and unsuspecting woman. It isn't until later in the movie that the viewer finds out about Brigid's darker past. This makes the character interesting and unique. Astor's portrayal of this complex character is truly memorable.
An interesting technical aspect of this film is the use of camera angles and lighting to create drama and add suspense. During the scene in which Sam's partner is shot, the viewer cannot see the shooter and is thrown off by the skewed camera angle. This creates the idea that something is off and adds to the confusion in the murder scene. This is an important development in cinematography because it is a new element of story-telling that wasn't used much during the period before The Maltese Falcon was made. The interesting film angles set the movie apart from other mystery and suspense films of its time. Because of this, it does deserve to be an AFI's top 100 list. It is unique from many of the other mystery movies that were made in the past are being made today.

Annie Hall is a story about love and loss hysterically told through the perspective of awkward and nerdy comedian Alvy Singer, played by Woody Allen. The relationship between Alvy and Annie Hall, played by Diane Keaton, is shown, beginning to end, through a series of memories. Alvy's anal-retentive behavior and Annie's quirkiness combine to make a hilarious couple. The dialogue in the film is what really makes it great and drives the plot. Not only is it fast paced and verbose, the banter is also smartly witty, filled with sarcasm, puns, and innuendos.
Woody Allen, who directs and stars in the movie, convincingly portrays Alvy's foibles and wit. He develops intricate mannerisms for Alvy, like his awkward and fumbling speech. However, the true gem  in this film is Diane Keaton's performance as Annie Hall. Keaton won an Oscar for best actress for her tole. Annie's complexity is deepened through Keaton's ability to create a rich humanity and realness under the external ditsy and quirky behavior that characterizes Annie.
An interesting technical aspect of the film is Allen's departure from accepted and 'normal' types of storytelling. At times he speaks directly at the camera, while all the action is still going on around him. Sometimes it is simply Allen alone, doing a monologue to the camera. Allen even uses animation as a way to get the ideas and events across to the audience. Such use of different mediums and methods truly adds to the artistic vision of the movie as a whole. It mirrors the eccentricities seen in the characters in Annie Hall.
I think this movie deserves to be on AFI's top 100 list. The movie is unique to the genre of romantic comedy which can tend to become formulaic and predictable in nature. This movie keeps the audience guessing and throws quirks and curve balls at the viewer. This is what makes Allen's work in general stand apart from the rest. The movie's undeniable wit combined with its unique and fresh perspective on the romantic comedy makes it a must see for all movie connoisseurs.

A few weeks ago I finished a short video called Snow Day. It depicts a young girl and what she imagines a great snow day might be like, and then shows the reality of what her snow day really turned out to be. Going into the day of shooting, I had some basic ideas of what shots I wanted to do and the basic story line I wanted to get across.
Lesson #1: Create a very detailed shot list and a script BEFORE the day of the shoot.
Because I didn't have everything laid out in detail, I missed a couple shots I meant to get simply due to my own forgetfulness. This hindered the storyline and my end product.
I got a really great pan of my backyard covered in snow. I was really excited about the shot until a closer review of what I captured on film revealed a hair stuck to my lens, very obviously ruining the shot.
Lesson #2: Make sure your equipment (especially the camera lense) is thoroughly cleaned and functioning properly prior to doing any filming or taking any shots. Again, this hindered my end product and made it less professional looking.
Prior to filming this video, I had another idea to make a short film depicting different students in my grade simply living and being themselves. I then planned to put some sort of sentimental music in the background and create a sort of tribute to the class of 2010. This was the extent of my idea when I went into filming. Needless to say I ended up with hours of useless footage of my friends doing homework, talking, and looking generally awkward and uncomfortable in front of the camera.
Lesson #3: Generally, most people are not comfortable in front of a camera, so the only way to truly capture people in their 'natural habitat' is to be creepy and not let them know you're filming them. This requires not only a quality camera with a very high zoom but also a complete disreguard for your reputation as a normal, non-creepy person. These were two things I did not have and, thusly, I was unsuccessful.
My inexperience as a film-maker/director/editor/writer was very apparent to me throughout this entire process. However, judging by the three very important and pretty basic lessons I learned above, every film, whether a success or a failure, leads to new discoveries and a wider knowledge base for the next project.

Point of view is one of the most important and basic elements of film making. Like with written storytelling, the point of view can range from first to third person depending on the positioning of the camera.

Third Person
The third person is the most objective point of view. The viewer simply watches the action unfold, without seeing the point of view of any of the characters. The camera plays no part in the action and the viewer sees the scene as if it were a play on a proscenium stage. This is the same as in literary works when the author uses pronouns such as 'he', 'she', and 'they'.

First Person
When the camera sees the point of view of one of the characters with either an over the shoulder shot or simply a shot of an object the character is looking at, the point of view becomes first person. The perspective is through the eyes of the character.
A completely subjective shot is when the camera actually is the eyes of a character and other characters communicate directly to the camera. In this case, the viewer can only see what the character sees and nothing more. This is almost never done for a full length film. It is most commonly seen in suspense movies when, for a few seconds, the camera becomes the eyes of the killer, slowly following the victim. This only happens for a short time in the shot usually. The most drastic example of first person film is in the film The Lady in the Lake (1947). This film noir is shot entirely from the point of view of the detective trying to solve the case of a missing woman. The viewer only knows what the detective knows and can only see what the detective sees. Mirrors are creatively used throughout the movie to show the face of the detective when he peers into them. Other than these few instances, the viewer does not see the detective. Characters talk directly to the camera, creating a personal experience for the viewer.
It is important to be careful with this type of point of view within a film. If the subjective shot is unintentional or shot incorrectly, it makes the viewer acutely aware of the camera which ruins the illusion of the film and breaks the 'fourth wall'. When it is well done, like in The Lady in the Lake, this technique can be an effective form of storytelling.

I recently watched the movie American Beauty (1999) starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, and Thora Birch, and directed by Sam Mendes. This movie embodies everything I love about film and the reasons why I want to spend my life working in this field. Not only is the film well directed and the acting spectacular, but the story truly left a lasting impact on me.
The story is about a man and his wife and daughter, each of whom go through their own personal awakening throughout the course of the movie. The part that moved me the most about this film was the story of the man's daughter, played by Thora Birch. At the beginning of the story, she is just another teenager with low self esteem and a best friend who really is not a good friend at all. Then she meets the new next-door neighbor, a strange boy named Ricky Fitts played by Wes Bentley. The way this guy views the world is truly remarkable. He films everything. He doesn't see the world through his camera, he just captures it like pieces of his own memory. The things he films are things he finds beautiful even though most ordinary people would think nothing of them. Most notably is his film of a plastic bag floating in the wind. He shows this film to Thora Birch's character and says the famous line "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it. Life my whole heart is going to cave in".
I think this is a great lesson to take into consideration both in life and in film. In life, it is the idea to never take for granted the beauty that is around you and to try to find the beauty in everyday life. It is impossible to be negative or unhappy when you look at the world like this. For film, the lesson can be used by looking for a great, artistic shot in everyday life and in the places you wouldn't expect to find beauty. As I learned from this film and from my own experiences, some of the most beautiful occurrences in history were never recorded because no one stopped to truly appreciate their beauty. I would love to incorporate this into my life and my filmmaking in the future.