CAP Hollywood Reflection #1

Everyone should be wrapping up all filming by the end of this weekend for their CAP Hollywood productions. All filming must be completed by this Wednesday, May 8th. Otherwise, there is no way you will complete your films on time.

Here is the prompt for the CAP Hollywood reflection that is due before our next class. You can either post your reflection on your blog or type it out and hand it in. If you have any pictures or short clips from your films please consider sharing them in this reflection.

1. Describe how your film is progressing at this point. What are some of the challenges? Successes? Concerns?
2. What exactly have you contributed to your project this week. Please be very specific.
3. What exactly do you need to get done next week? Please set a short term goal(s) for the following week.

All groups should have a rough cut of their films in their timelines by the end of this week. The footage I have seen so far is looking great. I can't wait to see your rough cuts at the end of this week. I'll be staying after school all this week for anyone who wants to put in extra editing time. I will also be at school the next two Saturdays for anyone who wants to edit.

Call for Submissions

Local youth media organization, The Ghandi Brigade, is taking submissions for their upcoming film festival. The deadline to submit work is this Friday, April 5th. The film festival is Saturday, May 11th, at the Silver Spring Convention Center in downtown Silver Spring. The categories for submitting work are: Visual Art | Performance | Photography | Video. You can submit work created in or out of school. Many of the documentaries we created this year would fit into the video category.

There are prizes and awards for the winners. All work will be screened at the convention center on the day of the festival and winners will be presented with awards. There is also a four hour film challenge on the day of the festival. The film challenge would be a fun way for you and a few friends to test out your filmmaking skills.

To submit work CHECK OUT THIS PAGE. Please consider submitting some of your original work! And you should seriously consider checking out the festival. There's lots of cool (and free) workshops and the chance to see interesting and creative work created by your peers across our area. Let me know if you have any questions.

Step 1: Write the Rough Draft

Hello,

Hopefully, some of you will be able to find a little time over the break to work on your scripts.

HERE IS A LINK to the script formatting handout we reviewed in class. We're using the one column script format for this project. We also used this format for the 60-second film challenge.
Remember, the most important part of writing your rough draft is actually writing your rough draft. Don't worry about getting everything perfect. Just focus on getting the rough draft completed.

Please follow the typical 3 Act Structure as a general guideline when writing your script.

Act 1:

• The setting is established
• Main character(s) are introduced
• Main conflict is introduced (inciting incident)

Act 2:

• The dominant part of the film. The action, obstacles, challenges, or problems heighten leading to an eventual climax in Act 3

Act 3:

• The climax, resolution and closing action

A few tips to remember:

• Try to limit the number of characters. What does your main character want? What are their goals in the film? This should be very clear to the audience.
• Limit the number of locations. This will make it easier to film.
• Make every scene count. EVERY scene should have a distinct purpose: To move the plot forward, to reveal something about the characters, to help establish setting.
• Keep it simple. It's very important that you cut everything and everyone from your story that is not essential. Your story MUST be clear and understandable.

No More Videos

Hello,

I said I was going to post one last film today but I have run out of time. So you only have to watch the three films. Please bring your responses in tomorrow to the questions. We will get into groups tomorrow and start working on ways to adapt the stories into scripts for CAP Hollywood.

mrmayo

Questions Due Tuesday

Hello,

The questions for our Short Film Marathon are due Tuesday in class. I will post the final film Monday afternoon.

Short Film Marathon! Film #3

The Man at the Counter from Brian McAllister on Vimeo.

One thing many of you may want to do with your stories for CAP Hollywood is use narration (voice overs) in your films. This can be very helpful for a number of reasons. First, we do not have quality microphones that allow us to capture quality audio when filming. The audio is sufficient IF you have the camera close to the actors. But you may want to consider integrating narration (voice overs) throughout your film with actual dialogue from the actors. Second, narration can help fill in the gaps in your story if needed. Maybe if there's a flashback or if you need the audience to hear what one of the characters is actually thinking.

However, IF you decide to use narration (voice overs) and dialogue in your film it's very important that you carefully plan everything out beforehand. The narration should be carefully scripted along with any dialogue.

Questions:

1. Why do you think the filmmaker uses mainly narration (voice over) in this film? Do you think this is a good choice? Please explain.
2. Pacing and tempo is very important in film, especially short films. Just because it's a short film doesn't mean it has to feel rushed. The BIGGEST CHALLENGE for our CAP Hollywood project is making sure your story is clear and understandable. Write a short summary of this short film. Describe the beginning, the middle, and the end, focusing on some of the major events or scenes that move the story along.

Short Film Marathon! Film #2

I recommend watching this film twice before answering the questions. It's only 2:30 minutes. 

Two Questions:

1. Why does the filmmaker increase the sound when the man is eating the Snickers candy bar? What does this symbolize in the film?
2. Why does the filmmaker have a distinct sound effect for every time the character puts his hand through the black hole? It's like the black hole has it's own sound effect. What's the purpose of this?

Please answer each question with a thoughtful response. Your answers don't have to be very long. However, you need to clearly state an idea or original thought in response to each question. Your response should be a few sentences at a bare minimum.