Making an Unconventional
Film
The 546 semester at
USC Film school
#5 in a series of 13
09feb2001
Fade up & zoom in.
Wendy took the negative
of Liliana to the negative cutter
in Hollywood. First, she
had to check it
out from school, cuz USC owns the negative. The negative must be
cut
before the high-quality answer print can be made.
Each student is
responsible for getting their own negative cut & answer print
made.
The high-quality answer prints will screen at the Norris
theater [Frank Sinatra theater]
March 31st, for the
big, official screening of 508
films.
Before taking the negative to
the cutter, the low-quality work print must first be
marked, at each
cut, indicating whether each cut was intentional or unintentional.
Unintentional cuts are those simply spliced back together, cuz a particular cut
didn't work. Wendy marked her work print last week.
Some students are of the
opinion that, you're nobody 'til you've cut your own negative.
Negative-cutting costs $35/hr, & takes ~6 hours to cut a 5-minute film.
When asked
about a student discount, the cutter replied, "That is the
student rate." =)
It takes ~6 weeks,
from the time the negative is dropped off at the cutter's, 'til the
time the answer
print is done.
Wendy plans to submit a copy
from Liliana's
answer print to the 546 review board
next month. She plans to pitch
for one of the four available directing positions.
Deadlines for 546-Director
"reels" is March 23, which is 6 + 1/2 weeks from Monday,
when she dropped
it off.
So if 6 weeks is truly a valid time-frame, she'd have a high-quality
cut of Liliana to
show the 546 review board, which comprises Mary Jensen,
the head of 546, & the
546 faculty (Editing prof, Cinematography prof,
Sound prof, Directing prof, etc.).
One student rep also sits the board.
Deadline for 546 scripts is
March 19. Each student is allowed to submit 2 scripts.
Wendy wants to submit at least one.
***
The grapevine has it that the 546
director selection process is political. In other
words, political factors can weigh more
heavily than merit. For example, most students
agree that Tania
& her film
(508) was better than most screened, and that she
would've made
a better 546 film than most of those selected.
One of the girls selected to direct a 546 (no names) said
she wasn't even expecting
to be selected. She was caught totally by surprise. Wendy would love to be a
fly on
the wall & see how the 546 directors are selected.
Wendy thinks that she has a
good chance at getting selected to direct a 546, but
she's not counting on it.
***
Wendy has been talking to upperclassmen. Word is that 508 TA-ships are the
ultimate
Film school gig. The school gives units (6 units, @ $800/unit),
plus a salary. Wendy
has been impressed by
her TA's thus far. Tania received a 508 TA-ship this semester.
Wendy worked her first day at
USC today, in the Sound dept. Students must first work
a semester before being
considered for a TA-ship.
Wendy's 546 TA,
a girl named Robyn, edited a 546 last
semester. When the Sound
people couldn't finish the job, Robyn stepped up to edit not only the picture, but also
edited
the audio, doing the job of two people.
Wendy (& others) were impressed. Robyn is the head TA, of all of 546. Wendy pointed
her out to me in passing at the 546 screening a few weeks ago. Black girl.
Walks like
she
knows where she wants to go. =)
***
Headshots of the actor &
actress selected for Wendy's upcoming adaptation of a
scene from WH Hudson's Green Mansions are posted here.
This is Wendy's first attempt
at adapting a scene from a novel to a
screenplay.
Wendy received
a list of 101 films, recommended by her Editing prof, posted here.
I've never heard of most of them.
Wendy is
surprised that her classmates are familiar with so many of the obscure films
on the list. She's a Critical Studies major, and there are still many
films she's never
seen. Most of her classmates are non-Film majors.
***
Pema
(the director) is trying to do something different & challenging with his film,
titled Echo, which
is making some members of his crew nervous. Instead of a storyline
that involves
your typical, point A -> point b -> conclusion, he's trying to
be more
impressionistic.
He's trying to find ways to cinematographically represent
varying psychological states
of a character. Not many understands what he's trying to do, but Wendy knows exactly
where's he's
trying to go with it. She thinks Geof does, too.
btw - Geof previously worked w/ Martin Scorsese, tho we don't yet know the details.
Anyway, Pema likes
talking to Wendy, cuz she understands what he's trying to do.
Being from a
dramatically different culture (Tibet), Pema has a different view of the
world. He's trying to apply that different view of the world to his film.
But both Pema & Wendy would
rather have pins stuck in their eyes than make a
cookie-cutter film. They want to push the limits and explore different techniques,
even if it involves the risk of a film that's not clear. Pema says, "Life isn't always
clear. We don't always
know exactly what's going on, even when we think we do."
Some crew members
are uncomfortable with Pema's
approach. They feel the film
might fail if done too unconventionally. They prefer something
straightforward
and
transparent.
Wendy says the lead
actor is going to make
this film rock. He has the talent to pull
it off.
***
Wendy edited her first scene
last week, before any of the other editors (from other
films) started editing theirs.
Pema wanted to see how a certain scene was going to
look. Geof had plans with
out-of-towners, so Wendy handled it. Geof said, "I owe you
one."
Pema & Dennis
(Producer) showed up right as she finished the last cut. It took her ~3
hours. They
liked it.
Wendy said Dennis is kicking
butt. He runs the film's web site (here)
in addition to his
normal Producer duties. Dennis wants to direct a 546, too. Some of Wendy's
classmates
find Dennis arrogant, and think he'll have a hard time finding crew. But Wendy
doesn't
think so. She says, "It's nice working with someone who has their shit
together."
After viewing
the scene, Wendy spent a couple
hours talking to Pema. She had ideas
for a special type of cut she learned in
her Editing class, which is an editing technique
that's used to distort reality
.. which is what they plan to do in the flashback scenes.
But in order for the scene to
be edited properly, it has to be shot a certain way.
Wendy wanted to use the editing technique for a certain scene she had in mind.
Pema said,
"I was just trying to figure out how I was going to handle that
scene."
So Pema might shoot the scene the way Wendy described, so
she'll be able to make
the type of cuts she wants.
Pema is generous in his consideration of
creative input from members of his crew.
He actively solicits ideas & feedback. Wendy suggested that it's time he changed
from receiving input, to communicating HIS OWN vision of the film, to
the crew, so
they know exactly what he has in mind .. his vision for the
film, so everybody is on
the same page. Too many cooks can spoil the stew.
***
The Sound
people apologized for
poor sound logs, which made it difficult to find the
correct audio tracks to sync to the picture. It was made a big deal of in class.
Geof
stay up all night long, trying to locate the correct audio tracks. No other editors were
up all night. Most were in & out in a few
hours.
It's hard to get Sound people, cuz so few people are willing to do Sound. So
it's difficult
to get on their case.
When Wendy got home, there were phone messages
& emails apologizing for the logs
from both Sound people, vowing it
wouldn't happen again. The sound logs have since
been excellent, making it easy to find the correct sound tracks. Wendy was
impressed
by their professionalism in taking responsibility.
I overheard Wendy telling Myrt
(big Native American), "Alright, then I guess I won't
have to kick your
ass." =D
***
Wendy's been
editing on the Avid
at school, but she's not been very impressed.
Compared to the editing she's
done at home, on her PC, with Adobe
Premiere,
she doesn't see what all the fuss
is about. A few of her editing compadres feel
the same way.
Her Intermediate
Directing
prof, Jeremy Kagan has a movie that he directed, airing
a week from this coming
Sunday, on CBS, titled The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, starring
Glenn Close
& Meat Loaf.
Wendy
was starting
to get that glazed look in her eye, so I made a pot of grandma's
chicken soup, a crock of industrial-strength stew.
She's got her groove back now.
She's studying Editing & Directing this semester,
her two
favorite subjects in the
whole world. So she's one happy
camper.
=)
Fade to black.
Next ->
Editors' Cut
Previous -> First
Primary Shoot
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