The Back Burner
Hello to all! I did not expect to be writing this exactly one year after my previous post, but here we are. It's been an eventful year to say the least, so I'm going to do my best to mention the main highlights. I don't feel like breaking this into separate blogs so cope.
POST WHAT YOU WATCH
Obviously I finished the film, but not so obviously I passed AICE Media A level! It seemed like people and festivals liked it. The film ended up screening in New York City back in October for the All American High School Film Festival!
Following the Essay exams and portfolio submission our final task for class was a video assignment so I teamed up with my buddy (now roommate) John to make Growing Pains. For the assignment we had to provide our thoughts about "this whole growing up thing", so as soon to be college freshmen seeking independence, we made a film about a minor posing as an adult trying to rent a rated R movie. Throughout the film we get to see his doubts and fears manifest in his head as voices point out insecurities he holds about himself. As my final film in high school I wanted to have fun with it, working with good friends and simply making a film with very comedic writer.
BECOMING A NOLE
Following a fairly brief summer, I started my college career at Florida State University in late June. The most interesting part of the summer was meeting new people who were in the film program. The main reason I committed to FSU was for the chance to transfer into the program, so it was nice to meet people who I would later become good friends with. Anyhow I survive the summer heat and make it to Fall and am reunited with the aforementioned buddy John (now roommate).
It took me 19 years to figure out how American Football works, but I did it. The 2023 season was probably one of the most important seasons for FSU in the last decade. Their star quarterback, Jordan Travis, helped to give the team an 11-0 win streak, but then North Alabama basically tried to assassinate the dude. FSU was down 14 points and he tried to run it only to get absolutely tanked by the enemy defense; I've never heard a full stadium as quiet as in the moment where everyone released Travis wasn't getting up. What was supposed to he his final home game, ended up being his final game of the season, as he broke his leg. His backup Tate Rodemaker took his place and ended up winning the game.
The following week Rodemaker was tasked with opening for the big rivalry game against the University of Florida. In a shocking turn of events, he too was also tanked and got a minor concussion, forcing his to be replaced by a 3rd string quarter back who helped to win the final game before the ACC championship.
With that story explained, it becomes obvious why I became so invested in something as menial as American Football.
I'm sorry about the football stuff, I felt I should at least try to write about something that wasn't film related. Anyhow, I volunteered a lot last semester on film sets ranging from 2-minute films to a 90-minute feature. It was on these sets I became exposed to the wide array of responsibilities and jobs on set. It was through volunteering that I met the most people; I got to know a lot about people's interests and passion for film. It was very eye opening seeing how functional everyone was with proper processes and order to filming; it wasn't run and gun, it was plan and execute.
It was around this time that a few friends invited me to help make a film. I joined as cinematographer and as one of the animators who what would be a mixed media rom-com. It was really fun getting to develop a story with friends and especially people I haven't worked with prior. For this film I made my first ever proper shot list and a set up schedule for shooting. I also had multiple discussions with the directors of the film for feedback on the storyboards and input for direction of a given scene. After running into a couple scheduling conflicts and delays the film though was eventually put on the back burner in January of this year.
Following a similar trajectory, I began developing a story I though up following the WGA and AG-AFTRA strikes regarding A.I. as one of the points of protections. Given the subject matter and story, I felt a fully animated film would be fun to try, but I knew I wanted to nail the script before getting started as to make sure I'm not animating footage I'm going to cut. Little did I know, this desire for me to nail the story/script would lead to 3 months of character building and story outlining and another 4 months writing the script. I finished my first draft on January 1st, 2024 with 28 pages of script... just a little bit too long for my liking and current ability. After sharing it with a handful of people and rereading, I felt the story was still rushed at points. Ultimately I had to decide, whether I would continue to write a feature length story as an unfunded independent film or put it on the back burner in favour of another film that would be more feasible.
Also during this time, a student run film production group, Aquila Entertainment, announced a short script contest in which the top 3 films would be produced with their help. I submitted a script a made for a class in the Fall that was loosely based off the larger than life, soap opera-esque, and very public relationship my suitemate is in. In the end the script wasn't chosen and that made a 3rd film fall flat.
On the 22nd of January, my partner Sam and I decided to both come up with 2-3 minute film ideas that we'd develop into production and beyond. Within a month we both penned our respective scripts and within the 3rd month the film would be released. This revival of my blog is meant to log some of my experiences making new films. While maybe not going into the same level of depth as 4 mandatory weekly blogs, I will still try to be as inciteful as I can. My latest film In His Eyes, will be receiving a set of blog posts detailing the challenges, new territory, and overall process, so please stay tuned and enjoy.
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