Chopped: A Silent Film

This was a very intersecting project. We were assigned about 2 1/2 weeks to construct a short film, do preproduction, film, and edit.

Preproduction was a major feat for my team. To begin, the first week of preproduction I was doing other outside projects and was not able to be apart of most of my team's preproduction. That means the second week was so much more important for me to get with my team members and collaborate. I needed to talk to them about my schedule. We didn't have as much time as I would have liked to work this out this. Granted, we didn't need every single minute from both of the class periods I have dedicated to video production to talk. However, I wanted more time than was given. Multiple things I love to do include: video production, asking too many questions, and learning, especially in a specialized project based class. And all of that would have been accomplished if I had more class time.

The date that was picked was a day I work. Therefore, I was not on set (which was fine in the long run because I was the head editor). Secondly, the script took place in a diner. When we talked to different restaurants, none of them were too thriller with the idea or cutting off a finger and feeding it to a customer. Totally understandable! (heath codes and all). Soon, Saturday came and my team was off to film.

I can't comment on this as much as I would like to. I love being on set! Having a camera in my hands or directing an actor on what to do is such an exciting feeling. Even though this weren't my job, I would have been able to collaborate easier with my group on what shots I would like to see when I began editing.

Monday is here! It's my time to shine. I go through all of the clips and lay them into the timeline. We hit the wanted five minutes. But watching the rough cut though, I really wasn't enjoying what I was seeing. I asked my self: How do I make this interesting? The first solution I thought of was to make it shorter. It was a risk because then it would not meet the requirements. I sometimes really dislike YouTube (or other videos in general) because people talk for a long time when really they could get the information to me just as clearly in half the time. Knowing how I felt, I didn't want anyone feel that when watching my video. Bring my group together, I asked Tanner (the director) what he thought. Looking over it again, I had an idea to make it a Silent Film. Everyone was on board. There was still the possibility that it would not work. So as I started editing it, Abbey began to look for music and after that edit one with sound. Once I deleted the sound and added the film effect (I customized a preset to do this), Tanner said that the film looked great. So we didn't edit the other one. While Abbey was adding the music that the team had agreed on, I continued to watch and learn from the master himself, Charlie Chaplin. Some things I learning:

1. Text screens to replace dialogue
2. Music to match whats happening
3. Reaction from actors are so important when filming
4. Black and white
5. Must be sped up to get the look that it wasn't shoot in 24 frames per second
6. Ummm... no sound

By making this video, I was able to share this information with the class in an entertaining way. Of course, what's art if you don't break the rules? Rules that could've been followed better:

1. We talk.
3. That was a challenging because we decided to do it afterwards; however, there were some great reactions.
5. Made it even shorter
6. There was sound. My team felt the the scream was very important in delivering the message of "cutting of the finger".

In conclusion, I LOVE THIS VIDEO! I learned. I entertained. I conquered. I would love to make another one some time. If you watch the video closely, the art department did an amazing job making it look like it look like the finger is cut off. Watch it! I still have no idea how they did it. I know Abbey really wanted to get that right look. Tanner did a great job on directing and he added one of his alligators. Way to go if you asked that question! You are on your way to being a major film critic. Answer: we had access so we used one. Cyle got some amazing shots that were clearly in focus. And Olive, that girl can story board!