It's high time I write another post, and I was torn between discussing my excitement for the next installment in the Star Wars saga or writing about my [now completed] second student film. So... I decided to kill two birds with one stone and write about them both! I don't really plan theses posts out, so maybe by the end I'll have found some way to tie the two together to give some form of coherency to this post... but probably not. Let's start with my second student film, "Red Soil."
My second semester of film school was significantly different than the first. For the vast majority of the first semester, I was ahead of the technical learning curve. I already had a good deal of experience in cameras, video editing software's, Photoshop, and After Effects. On the technical spectrum over the course of the first semester, the thing I learned the most about was audio mixing. I challenged myself to really learn Audition and switch to it as my primary audio editor for both film and music (which I had previously been using Garageband for). All this was on my own though, although I have to pay it to the school for giving me access to all the softwares and a vast collection of resources to learn from. However, on the creative end of the first semester, I found all the coursework was geared towards breaking down my current ideas and stances on filmmakers. I came in with a lot of preconceived notions, and the creative coursework for Semester 1 seemed to really be all about erasing them. The second semester marked the start of building them back up, while simultaneously presenting new technical challenges for me to grasp in the world of 3D. The second semester's creative coursework was all about interpreting scripts, directing actors, and really seizing your vision and directing a team to actualize it. There was very little story training in the second semester, as opposed to the first where we took an entire class on storytelling. As the creative focus of the second student film was interpretation and directing actors, we were not permitted to write our own script and were instead given a script to interpret. A pool of about 30 scripts was released and we got to choose the one we wanted to film. I chose a script called "Red Soil", and I'll get to why in a minute. As mentioned earlier, the technical focus of the second film was on 3D visual effects, and we began work on 3D modeling, texturing, and rendering in Autodesk Maya. One of the prerequisites of the second film was that it had to include visual effects. I chose the script "Red Soil" because it took place on Mars, and out of all the scripts that were presented to us, I thought it would face me with the biggest challenge in terms of visual effects, and the opportunity to learn more about VFX than any other script could. The script was written by classmate Lauren Hammond, and is about a young girl on Mars who is faced with a critical decision after her brother discovers that the planet's teraformed ecosystem is failing. The film is now complete, and I can't wait to post it online for people to see! This summer I will also be creating a VFX breakdown of some of the shots from the film, that I will no doubt be blogging about later. As for the behind the scenes of "Red Soil", I will definitely be writing a BTS post before too long, but I will probably limit it to just one as opposed to the three I wrote about "Starfishing." The F2 films were all limited to two and a half minutes, due to the extensive amount of post production work that goes along with VFX (one student passed 1000 hours of render time...), so there won't be that much to talk about. Furthermore, I view this second student film much less as a personal creative piece of art and much more as a learning experience. It's not a story I would have written myself, but I challenged myself to pick it up anyway and make it my own while also challenging myself to create the most difficult visual effects I have ever attempted. I learned sooo much over the process, and I think that with the conclusion of the F2 and the second semester, my preconceived notions had been successfully torn down and the foundation for the rest of my education has been laid. I can't wait to get into the F3 and use this new knowledge and outlook on filmmaking to a new original story.
One thing several classmates commented about my choice of script was the fact that it was a science fiction, like my F1. I at first defended myself, saying that I chose "Red Soil" not because it was science fiction, but because it presented me with awesome learning opportunities. While I still believe that to be true, I can't help but acknowledge a grain of truth to what my classmates were saying... what can I say, I'm a Sci Fi buff! (Here comes that connection I talked about!) Star Wars was what inspired me to become a filmmaker, and all (literally ALL) of my first home movies were Star Wars movies. JJ Abrams had solidified himself as my favorite contemporary director with the release of Star Trek II: Into Darkness, and then when they announced he would be directing Star Wars VII I literally flipped. I have never been so excited for a film in my entire life, and honestly I have complete confidence in the filmmaking crew that is making Episode VII, especially since they are reportedly following George's original story outlines for Episode VII. I believe that while George Lucas might not be the worlds best screenwriter, often times poor with dialogue, overkilling comic relief, and struggling with pacing, he is a FANTASTIC story teller who has constructing the amazing story that is Star Wars. Hiring great writers like JJ Abrams (Super 8, Armageddon) and Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back) to write Lucas' story for Episode VII fixes that problem and presents us with - hopefully - the best screenplay possible. I also love JJ's visual style - yes, I'm a fan of the lens flares - and know that the film will look amazing. JJ is a character driven director, which is exactly what the saga needs after a story-centered prequel that received the amount of criticism and disdain that it did. When it comes to plot and storyline, JJ prefers to emphasize the mystery. He gave a fantastic Ted Talk on what he calls the Mystery Box, this idea that so long as you keep the box shut, no matter what is inside the audience will keep watching. I think this is most apparent in Lost. I think the combination of a character centered film with a brand new Star Wars mystery for audiences to be intrigued by, following the treatment of one of the greatest storyteller's of our generation along with the return of the beloved original cast will make for a fantastic film. I'm confident this film will be awesome, and I just can't wait for it. I had to write a post about it in some way shape or form, because going back to Star Wars is going back to my roots. It's why I'm here in the first place, and while I am my own filmmaker with my own ideas and my own stories to tell, Star Wars will always hold a special place in my heart (along with Lord of the Rings) and will always be an influence to me in everything I make... and who knows, with three new Star Wars films (plus spin offs) on the horizon, and my upcoming graduation form film school (2016), I might even find a spot on one of them... At least I hope so :)
This particular post almost seemed barfed out my brain, with one paragraph teasing at upcoming posts and the other fanboying over Star Wars, proving my true nerd-dome to the galaxy. But hey, it's something to keep the blog going while I wait for the distribution process of "Red Soil" to complete (Hopefully May 28). If you have any thoughts about Episode VII or Star Wars in general, post them in the comments (although I don't expect anyone to), because who doesn't like a good discussion about Star Wars!?
