Something that I learned this semester in filmmaking class that really stood out to me was the visual storytelling in the six word story projects and how to visually illustrate a story without using too many shots or dialogue. I found that interesting because having that good skill set of being able to show a scene and let the visuals speak for themselves could be very useful in the future. Something else I learned is how to edit with Premiere Pro. I found that interesting because it teaches how important the editing phase is to the final cut of the film and, if I have any filmmaking projects with future classes, to keep in mind how to piece together the shots and scenes while filming. Since I started this class last January, I’ve done and learned a numerous of things. I did projects in where I filmed a six-word story of my choosing, edited my own projects, along with a famous music video, and took pictures of myself, demonstrating the professional techniques and concepts behind lighting a scene. The class, as a whole, was very interesting and well-structured. I think, before the school closing, we, as a class, were working well together. Particularly, I think we did great on editing the six word stories project together, with the groups working together, trying to make a consensus on how to create a tone with their projects. After the school closing, I think the class got a little worse, but I put no blame of that on our filmmaking teacher, Mr. Mitchell. I think, because it’s a very hands-on and project-oriented class, that moving it to an online course deeply decreased its impact. This class had a large impact on me. Before this class, I was always interested by a career in filmmaking. This class, not only strengthened that dream, but also showed me a good sneak peak into what that job would look like.

https://nofilmschool.com/symbols-in-parasite

The article I picked for this week’s blog posting is “What Are the Symbols in ‘Parasite’ and What Do They Mean?”. It starts with explaining the concept of a symbol in a story, which are tangible objects that metaphorically represents something larger than they literally are. It then goes with talking about how the viewing stone is used to reflect the life of prosperity the impoverished Kim family want to have. It also discusses how, even when the Kims move into the mansion, they still smell “poor”. It also mentions the theme of a story, which is the issue at the core of the story itself. The main theme of Parasite is the question of who, exactly is the parasite. The director and screenwriter, Bong-Joon Ho, is showing how the lower classes are willing to kill one another over the top of the hierarchy. Something that I have learned from this article that I did not know before was a motif, which refers to a recurring thematic element in a movie. This article has a lot of implications for me as a filmmaker. For example, it shows how to use a object in a script to reflect the morals, personalities, and actions of a character. The article’s subject has many applications to the film industry as a whole. It shows American audiences and production companies how deep and appealing foreign films can be to show to an American audience. Ever since Parasite won Best Picture at the Oscars, more general moviegoers have seen it and has seen that there are many great films that wide audiences haven’t seen due to the barrier of subtitles. Like Bong-Joon Ho said, “Once you overcome the 1-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”.

Something that I have learned since my last learning reflection blog post that really stood out to me is the visual storytelling in the six word story projects and how to visually illustrate a story without using too many shots or dialogue. I find that interesting because having that good skill set of being able to show a scene and let the visuals speak for themselves could be very useful in the future. Something else I have learned is how to edit with Premiere Pro. I find that interesting because it teaches how important the editing phase is to the final cut of the film and, in the future with any other filmmaking project, to keep in mind how to piece together the shots and scenes while filming. Since my last personal learning reflection blog post, we have done a number of things. We had finished our six word stories project, filming and editing them together, and began learning about the techniques and concepts behind lighting a scene. I think, before the school closing, we, as a class, were working well together. Particularly, I think we did great on editing the six word stories project together, with the groups working together, trying to make a consensus on how to create a tone with their projects. After the school closing, I think the class has gotten a little worse, but I put no blame of that on our filmmaking teacher, Mr. Mitchell. I think, because it’s a very hands-on and project-oriented class, that moving it to an online course deeply decreased its impact. Something from class that I would like to know more about is lighting and how it can literally and metaphorically change the tone and context behind a scene. Fortunately, we are learning about that right now and are doing a lighting project.

https://nofilmschool.com/kubrick-the-shining-king

The article is a list of changes that writer and director Stanley Kubrick made when adapting Stephen King’s classic novel The Shining into a film. It also goes into speculation why Kubrick might have made these prominent changes and how hard the transition is from book to screen. It tells how movie adaptations of films have to find a balance between pleasing the fans of the original novel, while trying to find new fans with a entertaining movie. Something that I learned from this article that I did not know before was how important the relationship is between the author and the director when adapting a novel into a film. If the relationship is strained, it could potentially ruined the film. I found the subject particularly interesting because of the stories of how Stanley Kubrick treated Stephen King and others during the filming of The Shining. This article has many implications for me as a filmmaker. Particularly, it shows that if you plan on adapting a book into a movie, you should work alongside the author. The reason why is because you might be able to learn new things about the novel that you would not have known otherwise. This can help you make a deeper and more insightful movie. This article’s subject has many applications for the film industry as a whole. It shows how the art of cinema is the most unique form of art. There are many great books and tv shows that would make terrible movies. The reason for this is because you only have a limited amount of time, typically 120 minutes, to entertain an audience with a interesting plot, good visuals, and relatable characters. The movie also has to have a certain amount of rewatch ability, or else general audience will never remember it.

Something I have learned since my last personal learning reflection blog post is the framing of the shot and how it could visually tell the emotions, personality, and actions of a character. I find that particularly interesting because it just adds another layer onto how filmmaking is a visual and metaphorical art. Another thing that I have learned since my last personal learning reflection blog post is visual storytelling and how to visually illustrate a story without using too many shots or dialogue. I find that interesting because having that good skill set of being able to show a scene and let the visuals speak for themselves could be very useful in the future. Since my last personal learning reflection blog post, we have done a number of things. We did two activities that allowed us to use a camera and show our artistic vision, one using the different framing techniques we have learned and one illustrating two different six word stories we picked. We also watched a couple of videos on framing techniques and numerous MasterClasses from Jodie Foster and Werner Herzog. I think the class has been a lot better since my last personal learning reflection blog post, and will continue to get better as the school year progresses and we tend to do more and more hand-on filmmaking projects. I thought the class as a whole worked alright together but it could have improved. I thought we did the recording projects very well, helping us prepare for our final project and any other filmmaking activities we do in the future. Something from class I would like to know more about is how editing works. Fortunately, we will be editing our own recording projects, which will help us get a good example of how editing can progress a scene or movie, literally and metaphorically.

For my article review this week, I decided to review 5 Completely Different Approaches You Can Take to Make Your First Feature. The article is about 5 pieces of advice for aspiring filmmakers for their first feature, taken from 5 directors whose first features were chosen to be presented at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival. The 5 case studies are as followed. Got an idea but tired of development? Just grab the camera and go. Have a directorial style that’s difficult to explain? Make a short first. Start below-the-line. By the time you have a great idea, you will have the skills and crew to make it! Need to inspire confidence that you know what you’re doing? Shoot your film before you shoot your film. Got no direct experience in the lead? Enlist the help of a co-director. The article includes another case study, saying “Have the contact of someone in the industry who is amazing? Cold-email away!” I learned a lot of things from this article. For example, I had never thought of using a co-director, or cutting rehearsals and sharing them with people so they could see your vision for the feature. I found the subject very interesting, especially how one of the first-time filmmakers was able to just cold-email someone he knew in the industry, Darren Aronofsky, and that’s how he got his producer. This article has many implications for me as a filmmaker. It shows that there is really no barriers you can’t get over into making your first feature film. That whatever is stopping you is either mental or something you can easily get over. This article’s subjects has many ramifications for the film industry as a whole. The most prominent is seeing a lot more first features from filmmakers that are a little more indie and not as expensive-looking.

https://nofilmschool.com/five-casestudies-making-your-first-feature

The 5th best Super Bowl commercial was Hulu: “Tom Brady’s Big Announcement.” I liked how it was teased before the game on Tom Brady’s Instagram page. The post was only an image of him walking onto the field with a cryptic image, playing off his fan’s expectations that it was a post announcing his retirement. The 4th best Super Bowl commercial was Amazon: “#BeforeAlexa.” I liked how each character that someone would ask had a similar name to Alexa. The 3rd best Super Bowl commercial was Tide: “Super Bowl Now, Laundry Later.” I liked how it was ongoing throughout the entire Super Bowl and how the character would invade other commercials. The 2nd best Super Bowl commercial was Hyundai Sonata: “Smaht Pahk.” I liked how it played off the stereotype of people from Boston and their accents. The best Super Bowl commercial was Jeep: “Groundhog Day.” I liked how it brought back Bill Murray to do his character from the movie Groundhog Day. The 5th worst Super Bowl commercial was Rocket Mortage: “Jason Momoa.” I thought it wasn’t that funny and was kinda weird looking. The 4th worst Super Bowl commercial was Mountain Dew Zero Sugar: “As Good as the Original.” I actually kinda liked this one and thought it was kinda cool how it used the elevator scene from The Shining, but replaced the blood with Mountain Dew. The 3rd worst Super Bowl commercial was F9: “Official Trailer.” I have never really liked the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, and they never stop making them, the newer ones each getting more and more ridiculous. I liked the song choice in this trailer, though. The 2nd worst Super Bowl commercial was Doritos: “The Cool Ranch feat. Lil Nas X and Sam Elliot.” It just wasn’t that funny and dragged on for a while. The worst Super Bowl commercial was TurboTax: “All People Are Tax People Remix”. It dragged on for a while, and was just kinda awkward.

One thing I learned so far in this class that really stood out to me was how interlaced scanning works. I find it very interesting that an image is organized by odd and even-numbered lines and how, once it’s together, our human perception fuses the lines together. I also found it very interesting that movies are just still images being played, with it first being discovered in a bet by the Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University. For the first week, we watched a lot of YouTube videos about how film projectors and digital TVs work. For the second week, we watched a Star Wars fan film that a former Saint X student had directed and a Master Class taught by Martin Scorsese. For the third week, we watched some videos talking about rules of editing and how editing can portray a character’s emotions or actions. We also watched a Master Class from Ron Howard. We were going to go into the computer lab and edit a group of shots into a scene. That would have been fun and very helpful for getting us experienced for our future films. Some things we’ve done well so far in the class are each of us making our own individual movie blog for article reviews and personal learning reflections. I also really like watching the Master Classes and hearing filmmaking advice from some of the most talented directors in the world. Something we can improve on is not having days in class where we do not do anything. Something from class I would like to know more about is editing and how it can change the genre and themes of the movie. I would also like to know more about cinematography and how it can set the tone and reflect the characters in the scene.

The article I picked to review was One Big Score: Capturing the Frenetic Pace of The Safdie Bros.’ “Uncut Gems” on Creative Planet Network. The article first goes into the plot of the movie and the kind of reviews it has been getting. It then goes into the history of the directors, the Safdie brothers, as filmmakers and how the original idea for the plot came from stories their father used to tell. The article mostly goes into telling the directors mindsets into making the film. This includes having to change the plot due to casting, creating a gritty, ‘80s aesthetic for the film, and the metaphor behind the title Uncut Gems. The article also goes into filming the movie with an Arricam LT camera with Panavision C Series lenses, and using non-actors to fully portray authentic personal experiences. I found the part of the article about creating a gritty aesthetic for the movie very interesting, particularly because it’s done so well. I didn’t know that, for some of the scenes, the directors would not get extras and have real New York citizens walking in the background of shots. I also found the meaning of the title very interesting, given that it’s a metaphor for the main character. This article have many implications for me as a filmmaker. It shows how that, for my future films, having the same atmosphere when the camera is filming as when it’s not filming could help the actors and directors make a more authentic experience. For the film industry as a whole, the article’s subject and the film itself could have a huge impact on future indie filmmakers. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that it’s not like mainstream movies. It’s very loud and abrasive, with a plot that some general audiences might confuse as boring, when, in actuality, it’s a character study on a broken and addicted man. The fact that this movie has been playing in the same theaters along Star Wars and Jumanji 2 is huge for potential indie filmmakers wanting to be the next, big thing.

My name is Sean Roth. I am a sophomore at Saint Xavier High School. I am currently running Track and Field. The only experience I have with filmmaking is directing a video for a school project in 8th grade.