Done with film sets

So in case anyone asks, yes I took all of the pictures below. I was the set photographer for a student film entitled "Dirt." It's about a man trying to bury his past, and it should be pretty interesting. I ended up taking over 500 pictures, so these are just a few samples I thought I'd show. But I'm finally done with film sets for the semester. I'm really looking forward to spring and summer, even though I'll still be in classes during the spring. I just can't wait to play soccer outside, and just relax with everyone.

I did well on my mid-terms. I got a 148 out of 150 on one, and then a 96 out of 100 on the other. I lucked out on the 96. The one movie I hadn't been able to see shows up on the mid-term, and the question was worth 20 points. I honestly stated that I hadn't seen the movie, but I could answer the question with references to two other films. My professor gave me 16 points, and he made the comment, "As long as you know the kinds of films that contributed to this movement, why shouldn't I give you partial credit?" Whew...

And the science fiction story I've been writing is almost finished. I've been writing it for a class, and it just worked out that the story is about the right length for a semester long project. It's a short novella, but still a little longer than your normal short story (it's about 20,000 words). Once I finish it and get it revised, I'll try and post it so you all can add any comments, good or bad.

For one of my other classes, I'm involved with a project called Hands on a Camera. That has been really interesting. We got to various high schools, teaching the students about visual storytelling and documentaries. Then we loan the students video cameras, and they then have the opportunity to make documentaries about their community. We emphasize that "community" can include themselves, their friends, their family, or any group with a common interest or goal. It should be pretty interesting to see what kinds of stories they will tell.

Just to give an example: last week, we were discussing viewpoints, and how one person's background can change the interpretation of any image. I showed a series of photographs, and the students were supposed to write down one word to describe how they feel. One of the pictures was of a crowd of people raising Chinese paper lanterns. Everyone in the class wrote down words like "happy," "festive," or "party." But one girl wrote down something different. She wrote "sad" on the dry erase board. When I asked her why she chose that, she said it makes her sad because it reminds her of home: Hong Kong. Several of the students reacted differently, looking at the picture again to see how someone else's viewpoint could change the interpretation of the image. We're getting geared up for the day when we'll have a special screening of all the documentaries here on campus, and it should be a lot of fun.

Pictures from the set

I was just supposed to take a picture for continuity, in case anything got moved, but I really like the lighting here.

Yeah, it started snowing, so we had to make temporary canopies so the lights wouldn't explode.

The director and the cinematographer planning out the next shot.

Art department.

The sound tech.













The script supervisor.

We got to set a few minutes early, and the camera crew wanted a picture that looked like an album cover.

The cinematographer.

One of the few moments of down time on set.

The director working with one of the actors.

One of my favorite pictures from the set. It was literally one of those "blink and you'll miss it" opportunities," but I thought it came out really well.

One of the sound techs was in training.

film stuff

Wow, it has been a crazy couple of weeks. I have been working on several different film sets, and it has just led to some really long days. I also had a mid-term that took all night to do (it was open book, open note), so I was really glad for the break today. These next two weeks will be really nice, because I am going to be the set photographer (before I helped out with grip/electric, which basically means setting up and moving all of the lighting equipment. It can get pretty hectic when they're about to get a shot off but a light needs to be moved, and there's not enough extension cords, or we blew a fuse, or what not). So hopefully I'll be able to take some really cool pictures of the set and post them for everyone to see--after that, I'm not working on any other projects for the rest of the semester.
And tomorrow will be pretty cool. My brother got me tickets to go see Lifehouse, so that should be fun. Anyway, we are going to play Rook right now, so I'll try and post more later.

Greatest Hits, 2007

Okay, so this is the first time I'm posting in more than a month. Normally, that means that I would post some long e-novel, catching everyone up on what I have been doing, but I don't know if I really feel like doing that right now...I had a good Christmas break, and now I'm just getting ready to start school again. This is a picture of me holding my nephew--me and my brother were the only ones that were able to hold him (it took me the entire week to get him to warm up to me), so I thought that was pretty funny.

As for this next week, it should be pretty good. I'm going to get my haircut tomorrow, and I'm going out to dinner with a group of friends for New Year's. Since I know everyone is just dying to hear more about my life (...can you sense the sarcasm? I even posted on my blog saying it was on hold for awhile, and nobody even noticed...), I think I'll do a Top list from the past year---top movies I've seen, books I've read, and CDs I liked.

Top Movies (in no particular order):
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. Rescue Dawn
3. Ratatouille
4. Stardust
5. I Am Legend
6. August Rush
7. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

So I'm realizing that quite a few of these were action movies---I thought these were a cut above the rest (Transformers, Live Free or Die Hard). It's sad to see that the so-called "great" movies of the year were R-rated, so bleh...but I may add to this list once I see The Great Debaters.

Top Books -- okay, this may sound silly, but I don't think I read a new book that actually came out this year. So I'll write down some of the books that I read this past year, regardless of when they were published.

1. Les Miserables -- actually, I'm still reading it (it's now six months and counting---I only read it on Sunday afternoons, and even then it's only a few pages)
2. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
3. Shipwrecked at the Bottom of the World, by Jennifer Armstrong (true story about Shackleton and his men getting shipwrecked in Antarctica)
4. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson
5. Moving Pictures, by Terry Pratchett (absolutely hilarious, and the satire about the filmmaking industry is spot-on)
6. The Landry News, by Andrew Clements
7. The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks -- okay, trippy science fiction about conspiracy theories and what-not (i.e., an organization that tracks people's political views based on grocery shopping habits), but it manages to blend elements of the The Matrix, 1984, and A Brave New World into a fun story.
8. The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander
9. And of course, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows -- awesome ending to a fun series (and boo on that whole Dumbledore thing)

Top Movies (from classes, DVD rentals, etc.)

1. Offside -- an Iranian satire about women not being allowed into sporting events. Thought-provoking, funny, and unexpectedly touching.
2. Four Days in September -- I don't actually know what this is rated, because it was edited for content here on campus. It's a Brazilian movie about a group of terrorists that kidnap an American ambassador---you are on the edge of your seat the entire time, and it's even more intriguing when you realize it's all true.
3. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles -- a Chinese movie about a man trying to complete his dying son's last project. Awesome story, great visuals.
4. Il Postino --I put it in italics because it's an Italian movie...get it? Okay, joking aside, this instantly became one of my top five favorite movies ever (Signs, The Truman Show, Life is Beautiful, and It's a Wonderful Life are the other four). It has comedy, and it has romance, but it's not really a romantic comedy. I saw it as an inspiring story that anyone--no matter how simple their lifestyle--can do something great.
5. Cinema Paradiso -- this one was also edited on campus (although there is a PG version available...I'll have to look into that). The ending scene was classic --
6. Pan's Labyrinth -- from CleanFlicks. Amazing cinematography, and an ambiguous ending that can either leave you crying or smiling silently to yourself, depending on how you see it.
7. Children of Men -- also from CleanFlicks. Great cinematography as well, but the characters are also very detailed and realistic.

Top TV Shows
1. Heroes--when Peter caught Nathan after the explosion, I was reminded why this is my favorite TV series.
2. Chuck -- a new series that has quickly become a favorite.
3. The Office -- "Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica."
4. Man vs. Wild -- it's like watching the story "Hatchet" play out in the desert, in the rainforest, in frozen tundras...Bear Grylls is awesome.
5. Planet Earth -- the only nature documentary that has kept me glued to the screen, amazed at how cool the world really is.
6. Lost -- As much as people talk about the whole "We have to go back!" thing, my favorites from this season were Paulo and Nikki with the spiders ("Paralyzed..."), and Charlie's grand finale. The episode where Charlie writes down the "greatest hits" (the highlights of his life) because he knows is going to die is one of the finest moments of television I have seen in a really long time.
7. Pushing Daisies -- it's quirky, it's fun, and I haven't seen an episode that hasn't made me smile.

Okay--i think that should be good for now.

temporarily offline

sorry guys, I haven't been able to post on my blog because I have been so busy with school and everything. I will have time in a few days to actually write a good entry, but for now, my blog is temporarily MIA....

Story of my life

It was a sad day for intramural sports today. We got killed in our football game by four or five touchdowns (we stopped keeping track--our goal was just to score a touchdown so we wouldn't get shut-out). The girls also lost their first tournament game, but at least their game was close. We even lost our volleyball game. So now my knees are all banged up, The Office is now over because of the writers' strike (Heroes, Chuck, and Pushing Daisies aren't too far behind), and I haven't even started studying for the midterm I have to take tomorrow. But my classes are already done for Thanksgiving break, so I am going to have a nice vacation.


And I'm trying to think of what else I can do with my blog to make it more interesting, and I was thinking about using it as an outlet for stories and writing. As I talk about my day, I'll also write about how events from my day could be turned into stories--short stories, scripts, whatever. So I'm going to be asking for everyone's help in commenting on the stories: which ideas you like, which ones you don't, and any suggestions you have. I'll just try it out for a week or two and see how it goes.

You cannot find us...

I was so busy this past week that I haven't been able to post anything. There were some pretty fun things that happened though. I got to work on a film set for a Monster Energy Drink commercial. It was a concept designed by several ad students, and some of the more advanced film students helped produce and direct it. They asked me to be key grip, meaning I was basically in charge of setting up and moving around equipment. It was actually a lot of fun, because once the equipment got set up, there wasn't that much to do. So I got to help out in different areas on set, like helping out with stunt safety--there was a stunt involving a guy diving through a sheet rock wall, and I made sure he had a safe place to land and that there was a cushion for his head (regardless of where he landed). I'll try and post a link to the video later.

Some girls in the apartment complex tried to prank us earlier this evening. They rang our doorbell and ran onto the balcony that overhangs our door. They left a little gift-wrapped present on the picnic table outside our apartment, and as soon as I stepped outside to get it, the water balloons started coming down...I'm actually surprised that I didn't get hit, considering they only had to drop the balloons on my head. They ran away before I could see who it was, but they didn't realize that the gift-wrapped present (an empty can of frosting) actually had one of their names written on it...It reminded me of this Calvin and Hobbes comic--http://www.marcellosendos.ch/comics/ch/1990/08/19900829.gif