4/1
End Week 11, Shoot Film 5
Wendy
is on her way to Claremont, to the home of Stacey, a classmate she calls 'a
true artist'. Stacey's background is as a sculptor (sculptress?). Wendy said Stacey always has gorgeous/sensuous footage
and interesting stories, but sometimes her films aren't complete when she shows
them in class. Stacey has a 5-year old daughter.
Film
5 (last film this semester) will be a story about a 9-to-5'er who is weary of the daily grind,
and has dreams of becoming a sculptress -
something she currently does only part-time and half-heartedly in her garage, but which
requires total dedication to do on a serious/professional level.
Wendy has 1 actress + 1 boy
slated for the shoot both today + tomorrow. The little boy, Luigi, is cutie as a
bug's ear. She found them both from headshots sent to her from an ad she placed in the
Backstage West magazine while stilling working on film 4. The stack of
envelops of headshots she received was nearly six inches tall.
Took her a few
hours last Saturday morning just to open and review them all (qualifications +
experience).
She
held auditions earlier this week at USC. The people she like best from their
head-shots were the ones who she liked best in person. These were the ones she chose.
This was her second rehearsal, so she's getting more comfortable with them. The actress
slated for film 5 is totally into it & enthusiastic about the concept.
She
said this actress is "comfortable with herself" and should do fine. She
looks like the Ivory Snow girl - pure, wholesome, long, blonde,
straight hair.
Wendy
had the hardest time with the concept for this film. She agonized about what to do.
It's her last film of the semester, so she wants it to rock. But after the last
film, Vandancing, she said it felt like somebody pulled the plug. The
emotional drain from doing Vandancing seems to have sapped her creative energies.
The
idea for this story has continually morphed from day 1 & is now much
simpler & focused than her original ideas - thanks to advice from her profs.
She calls them frequently (especially the prof who is/was a cinematographer),
asking for advice on tricky parts. The prof said she's the only one who calls.
Plot:
the
girl in film 5 will happen by a little boy (Luigi) on the beach (in Laguna) who will
be making a mermaid in the sand. The actress will approach the boy and offer to
help him build the mermaid. While helping the boy (maybe representing her own
inner child), she will (magically?) be inspired sculpt a mermaid from clay at
her home, and to follow her dreams.
Wendy's gonna try to engineer the sand-castle building so
that, when she's done filming the encounter, the tide (low tide is at 1:30
tomorrow afternoon) will come in and wash away the sand castles for a final shot.
Wendy
has some artist-friends in Laguna who have their sculptures in art galleries
there. She has permission to film there tomorrow. I won't say much more
cuz she gets mad when I give away too much of the story. =)
Wendy
sits down the day before the shoot and plans all the shots on 'storyboard'. This
helps her visualize the shoot better and ensures that she'll get the shots she
wants, especially the key turning points. Some students have ideas in their head
and simply shoot on the fly. More pre-planning usually means a more organized
shoot - less standing around.
The
critical element that she wants, and tries to get, is the arc of character - the
character has to change in some meaningful way. That's at the core of what
they try to teach students at film school - that and the emotional structure,
or beat, of the film. Films that work tend to have a certain emotional structure they
follow. These are the things she's been focusing
on in her latest films.
For
example, in her last piece, Vandancing, she used footage of herself walking
south on the beach. South represents down into the muck and mire of painful,
longing memories. At the very end, when she comes to a resolution that her
brother is really gone, and accepts it, she uses footage of herself heading back
north.
It's a
subtle change, but, on an unconscious level, is used to (tangibly) represent her 'arc of
character,' which = coming to grips w/ harsh reality + accepting it.
The music also changes to upbeat at the end.
Mom & Sidney came over Wednesday, and watched Vandancing on 'the big screen' (our 32-inch TV). Emotional. But we finally felt like we finally turned the corner on that one. Then we all went for lunch the Ramos House, by the mission in old town San Juan Capistrano - across the train tracks. After lunch, we walked over to the petting farms nearby, where goats and other animals eat right out of your hand.
The main point is that every film
improves, even if only in some
small way - or that she tries some new technique, & learns something new.
Most
students complain of bring tired. Many say that, for
their last film, they're not going to do anything that requires much work. Wendy's
tired too. She took an herbal (legal) stimulant this morning before heading out,
and Dr. Advil is a constant close companion. (Better living through chemistry.) But she
badly wants her last film to rock - tired or not - so she finishes the semester
with a bang.
After
the shoot today, she'll head to USC for acting rehearsal, with Dennis, who has
an acting background. Dennis is directing, and she has already learned much from him. They're
doing a scene from the play Angels in America. Wendy is playing a valium-addicted
Mormon. Her acting partner for the scene is Quinn, who also has lots of acting
experience. Quinn is playing a flaming gay.
Scenes are chosen by the student doing the directing. Sometimes I think the directors chose scenes that most challenge the students doing the actors. For example, Wendy has played several roles, but none of them are congruent with her basic personality. Wendy hasn't said this. It's just an observation I made myself.
Everybody
thinks Dennis is gay, as he has some decidedly feminine traits. But he's married to a
(real) woman, which confuses his classmates. No one has yet approached Dennis
and asked whether he's (actually) gay. Many of Dennis' movies and scenes involve gay themes
and characters.
When I went to USC with Wendy, to see the showing of their
entire class's films, Dennis' was one of the best. Wendy has several gay friends
and is comfortable with them.
Wendy
is happy that she's in group 'A', cuz now she has only one film left, whereas
other student have two more to go. Group A had it rough in the beginning.
She
has 10-page script due Thursday morning. Screenwriting has been one of her weaker areas.
Wendy
said USC Film school students are used as seat-holders at the Oscars.
When someone leaves to go to the restroom, or for whatever reason, someone will
take their seat, so when the cameras pans the audience, they see no empty
seats. I never noticed this before, and see no problem with a few open seats.
But made a point to watch for empty seats,
and couldn't see any. She wanted to be a seat-taker, but was too busy to make it
happen.
A
few
days ago, I made a crock-pot full of yummy beef stew - from all the stuff
that grows in the ground (roots). Yesterday Jahmar and I made a caldron-sized pot of nuclear-grade chicken soup. She says those two things do
the best to give her the energy and stamina she needs. Today we'll can it in
wide-mouth mason jars & squirrel them away in golden containers of yumminess.
Several people have suggested that we stash copies of these emails in a safe place - for posterity. I haven't been very good at this. They've gotten scattered and lost, but mom had 'em all, and sent them back. I copied and pasted them into a Word document. So far, it's about 60 full-sized pages. Maybe this summer, I'll throw it together in PageMaker & make a homemade short book titled A semester in the Life of a Film School Student, or post them on the Net.
Next -> First look at 16mm Equipment
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