I Am Steven

Week 6: Filming Week! 

    I'll start by clarifying that the Steven I refer to in the title of this blog is of course the one and only Speilberg. Through this whole process, I knew what I was doing was essentially being a director, producer, and cinematographer but it wasn't till I wrote yesterday's vlog that I truly felt like I was in the film industry. I am going to break down my entire thought process for your enjoyment now!

Gianna S. and I working together:

As you know, I have explained my fear of rejection and judgment. It has nothing to do with Gianna, she even called me out on it, but I feel like I have been working on it and have been much better and sharing my ideas. To be completely honest, I already knew how it was going to be with me being the camera and Gianna in the scene. I have been working with her since 6th grade and I have come to learn she definitely has control issues (sorry G, I love you!). It's not a bad thing but there definitely were moments of weirdness. I say weirdness because I think Gianna thought I was hurt or offended by her comments but I totally understood. It was as much her project as mine! So Gianna, when you read this, please know that when you told me "no I don't like that" or "switch places with me so I can show you," I did not take it to heart <3

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Location:

We started at Schultz's house to film the bedroom scenes. We needed to make a few adjustments, such as ironically putting her gay flag back in her closet, but other than that her room was perfect just as. She had a record player, angsty teen posters on her wall, and just the right amount of lighting. We then went to Gomez's house to use her bikes (and her mom lol) and the bright, green nature of Weston, Florida.

Me Shooting Nature!

Self-Reflection:

I am pretty proud of myself! I didn't think I would be able to use my own judgment to shoot all of those shots on my own. I know that might sound stupid but I have a lot of self-doubt in this field (even if it is what I want to do for the rest of my life). Being able to film this project (for the most part) completely on my own was so insane to me that it makes my heart full :) :) :)

I Literally Am Spielberg and No One Can Convince Me Otherwise

FILMING DAY RECAP!!!

Week 6: Filming Week! (Finally!!)

    YAY, WE FILMED!!! Clearly, I am ECSTATIC shown in my use of exclamation points!!!! I am so happy and proud of what Gianna and I did. Not only was it so fun to film but I learned so much about filming and the process of shooting a piece. Here is the overview of how the day went:

9:30: Wake up

10:00: Our original call time but an emergency delayed my arrival...

The Emergency

10:12: I arrived at the first location- Gianna Schultz's house

10:30 (ish)- Gave Gianna Gomez the rundown and created a time schedule on when we should be finished shooting (this was a Schultz thing... always very, very organized). We said that we should be done filming by 12 so that we can get to Gomez's house by 12:10 and be done by 1:30/2:00.

11:15- Thought we had finished...

12:00- Finished right on time!

12:10- Got to the second location- Gianna Gomez's house- where we have access to bikes :)

12:15- Asked Gianna's mom very nicely to drive her car at about 10 miles an hour while I sat on in the truck and filmed the Gianna's riding their bikes and acting like they're in love... as a responsible adult, she obviously said yes.

Me Literally in the Truck of a Car!

12:45- Went to the park and filmed a few nature shots, thought about filming our deleted "swing" scene, decided no thanks, and wrapped up filming.

1:00- Went to a very yummy celebratory lunch 😎

That's all you guys get today. You know, gotta keep things interesting. Tomorrow I will be back and tell you all about my thoughts on today and all the fun we had and a ton of pictures which Mrs. Gomez geniously (my Grammarly is telling me I made up this word but it is very appropriate for ) took of Schultz and me being super cool little director girls!

A Weird Stand Still

Week 6: Filming Week! (Hopefully...)

    If you were expecting a film, we’ll im sorry to disappoint. We are filming tomorrow though! I am thrilled to finally say Gianna, Gianna, and I have finally found a date in the modern calendar that all of us are available. Given, it is a small slot in our day right in between my breakfast with my grandparents and Gianna G’s work call in, but we are making it work! 

    I am slightly worried that we won’t get it all done. It took us so long (so extremely long) to finally find a day and time that all three of us were able to film. If we don’t get it all done tomorrow, we’re going to have to go through that whole process again to find another time. We also have to improvise with a few scenes such as the bike scene. We do not have bikes. We do not have a driver (Zoe is out of town along with everyone in our small town of Weston). So we adapt! I’ll let you guys know how everything goes tomorrow… slightly nervous but slightly excited. #directorhannah😎

The Correlation Between Communication and Success

Week 5: Last Minute Improvements

    I have come here with bad news: my worries were not over exaggerations. the question I am talking about in specific is "What if Gianna (Gomez) cant film on Thursday/Friday?" Well, turns out she couldn't. I am slightly frustrated because it was Gianna's (Schultz, a.k.a., my partner) job to make sure she was available. Yes, I could have definitely texted her myself or pushed Gianna S. a little harder to get a response faster, but regardless, she was not and we did not film. I have no idea when we are going to film and that scares me a little (okay, maybe a little more than a little). I have no doubt that we will figure it out but spring break just started so both of our schedules are all over the place.

    We are now faced with two choices: we either change our actor or change our story. When Gianna S. proposed this ultimatum to me, my heart jumped. I just wanted to scream "YOU REALLY THINK WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THIS STORY ONCE AGAIN FOR A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IDEA THAT INVOLVES ONLY ONE ACTOR????" But after chilling out a bit, I realized it doesn't have to be like that! Our filming is going to take an entire day and reshoots are going to take maybe half a day. So as long as we shoot this week, we can edit the week we get back and work on final decisions until the deadline. Honestly, I think the solution to our problems is better communication. I am going to talk to Gianna S. and create a game plan so we don't fall behind. 

(P.S. I know this double Gianna thing is getting confusing and I apologize.)

Teamwork Makes the Dream... Better!

Week 5: Last Minute Improvements

    As the title insinuates, today we got to work in teams! Mrs. Stoklosa put us in groups of 6 to 7 people to spread ideas and suggestions. We went around our group, telling each other a synopsis of our films and what current issues we are having. To be completely honest, Gianna and I aren't having any issues (at the moment) given we haven't filmed, but it was really interesting to hear about my classmate's different projects. I didn't realize how unique (and one might say cool) other people's openings are. Here are my favorite discoveries:

Isa: Coming of age story about a teen model who struggles with the balance of school and her passion.

Sabrina: A teenager struggles with her passion, track, and her past issues.

Miguel: A mob story. That's it. Mob stories are freaking cool.

My Pretty Group Helping Each Other!

    I started off this group meeting thinking "Gianna and I are good! We have absolutely no problems with our project!" Well by the end, I realized how many potential problems we were going to have. Are we going to need music? If so, how are we going to pick it? What if we find the perfect song and we can't get the rights to it? Has Gianna asked Gianna if she's available sunday?? What if she's not??? When are we going to film???? Clearly, it has sent me into a spiral. 

    I'm glad I noticed these things because now I'm going to talk to Gianna about my crazy head explosion of questions and figure out everything we're missing. I also remembered that I have never shared anyone's blogs on here... I know, selfish move. I'm going to link my beautiful partner's blog as well as the three shoutout's I mentioned today. Make sure to check them out to see their insane journeys and projects as well! Till tomorrow :)

Gianna (Partner in Crime): https://theschublog.blogspot.com/

Isa (Model): https://ignzr.blogspot.com/

Sabrina (Track): https://sabriilv05.blogspot.com/

Miguel (Mob): https://suggestlist.blogspot.com/ 

Running Down the Logistics

Week 4: Beginning to Form a Film

    We're getting close, the moment we've been waiting for, actually filming "It's Complicated". But we can't just grab a camera, point it at someone, and wait till something happens. We need to plan out exactly the "who, what, where"s of our project and we have pretty much have it down.

WHO: We have our two leads, Sami and Maxx. We have chosen to have our friend, Gianna Gomez, play Sami. Gianna, Gianna, and I were in theater together in middle school and she has always been the sort of underdog actress I wanted for the role of Sami. And for Maxx, we have decided that out very own Gianna Schultz will be playing her. Both Gianna's are extremely talented but they also have amazing chemistry on and off the stage. I have seen them play roles off each other and I love how their dynamics work. 

WHAT: For our film opening, AICE requires us to include our credits in some way, shape, or form; therefore, here is what we have so far:

    Maxx- Gianna Schultz

    Sami- Gianna Gomez

    Director- Gianna Schultz, Hannah Ackermann (that's me!)

    Cinematographer- Hannah Ackermann (that's also me!)

    Production Assistant- Zoe Reimer

WHERE: Originally, we wanted a more rural city, like Miami, to fit the more "queer teen angst" vibe we are trying to create. But after discussing it, and remembering Gianna is an angsty queer teen, we decided we are going to her room and neighborhood as our location. Her room is exactly what I pictured Maxx's room to be and honestly, I'm disappointed I didn't think of it sooner. 

    We plan on filming Thursday, March 17th, after school and Friday, March 18th, for the whole day. That's not finalized yet but we wanted to film then so we can edit over spring break. Exciting things are coming...

The Long Awaited Progress Update

 Week 4: Beginning to Form a Film

    Look! It's a bird! It's a plane! Oh, wait, it's PROGRESS! If you are updated on all my blogs, you will have noticed that Gianna and I have been at a standstill when it comes to our project. We have had constant interferences that have blocked us from creating any decisions and leaving our ideas to sit and alter. But today, we worked the entirety of the class, creating a storyboard, establishing a filming schedule, and assigned positions for the credits.

    First update: the storyboard. Gianna has made me realize many things about myself. Today, I have realized that I am not good at doodling drawing. But to be honest, neither is she, but that is why we are filmmakers and not artists! I thought to make it more of an opening and not a film, we needed to take out the park scene. It was cute but for a 2-minute film opening, it needs to focus more on establishing the setting, relationships, and characters. We start the opening with three shots that establish the location. We are filming in Pembroke Pines, Florida, so we wanted to set the scene representing the nature and freeness that comes from it. As the story continues, we made it so that the relationship between Sami and Maxx becomes intimate with each scene. They also start physically very far from each other (on their bikes) and end very close to each other (on the floor, faces near each other). I like how it looks but due to recent trends, it is extremely subject to change.

Story Board: Rough Draft

Story Board: Slightly Less Rough Draft

    I'm am really happy with how it is looking. I also am feeling better about my ideas. Gianna and I have been working together well, although we have had slight scheduling conflicts. In my next post, I will tell you guys when we plan on filming and who gets to have what job (sneak peek: one of us is playing a lead!)

Psychology Lesson: Fixation

 Week 4: Beginning to Form a Film

    I know that the title of last week's week was "making ideas official" but this wouldn't be a media class without constant change! Between essays and guests speakers and walkouts, Gianna and I haven't had any time to work on or discuss our project. So when I walked into class on Wednesday, I was completely shocked to hear Gianna say something along the lines of "let's completely change every idea we have settled on."

    This class has made me realize how fixated my brain gets on mental images. Because in reality, Gianna's new idea had components of my original idea, and as I mentioned in an earlier blog post, it took me a while to change my vision once it fixated on something. And now I had to change my ENTIRE perception back and retrace. And yes, I didn't HAVE to but she made an excellent point when she said that we should not do a montage so we need to make the scenes flow better.

Storyboard actual

1. Girls on the swing

1. Long shot

2. Maxx’s converse

1. Close up

3. Samis converse

1. Close up

4. Maxx gripping swing and looking at Sami

1. Close up

5. Sami gripping swing and looking at Maxx

1. Close up

6. Looking at each other than sprinting

1. Long shot

7. Develop intimacy while they get to bike

8. Riding bikes and laughing

1. Long shot

9. Dropping bikes and running into the house

    The above is a copy and paste from our ideas document. It's what we created together in class for the little time we did get to work. I liked it but when I got home, I thought about it more and realized it was still too much. for a film opening, I feel like it needs to be 2 minutes in 1, MAYBE 2, locations and really establish location, characters, and relationships. by changing scenes so many times, each scene will be bared 10 seconds each and the audience will not get out the intended purpose. 

    I spoke to my sister (who is absolutely killing it in the film industry in L.A) and she gave me her thoughts on our project. it makes me really happy to see my sister enjoy my work. the more we work on it, the more I assure myself that this is what I want to study in college... although it absolutely terrifies me to think about. Hopefully tomorrow we will have the long-awaited finalized storyboard, as well as any updates, but realistically, I will update you all on what interruption we were surprised with!

The Suckiness of Group Projects

 Week 3: Making Ideas Official

    Okay, so I may have lied. We had a text media essay in class today so we didn't have time to work on our story board in class. So I am going to use this blog as what it should be used for: to rant. 

    I am going to start with my partner, Gianna. And no, this is not going to be a "she sucks" type of rant. It's more of a "I think she thinks I suck." I'm not really sure why but every time I suggest an idea, I automatically assumed she isn't going to like it. And it's not necessarily true but I always get scared to suggest anything because I don't want to let her down (yes, cheesy, I know, blah blah). I just need to get over this fear, basically, and then I can spill all of my ideas out!

    But in the meantime, i will give my ideas to you. So I was thinking of this order for the scenes:

1. Buzzfeed quizzes

2. Jamming in the car

3. Swinging on swings

4. Looking across at each other

5. Riding bikes

6. Dancing on the street

7. Out hair behind ear

         8. Complicated title

    These scenes are based on the outline we created last week (as shown in "It's Complicated?" entry). I think this order of the scenes would be really cute. I am a sucker for a good love story so we need to make sure this doesn't look tacky and unoriginal. Also, the way I ordered them allows us to develop the idea of going from a platonic relationship to representing their more romantic relationship. For the first scene, my idea was to start it on the magazine open covering Maxx's face and then she puts it down and we pan it to Sami who's also taking it. Then we can see the quiz that says something gay- obviously. I'm not sure if this scene should be first now that I think of it, since this would automatically hint to their relationship, but I like the idea of it.

    That's it for now. Hopefully next time i will have a story board for you and will have gotten rid of my fear of rejection!

Maxx and Sami: A Not Boring Love Story

Week 3: Making Ideas Official

    It had been made official: our two main leads are Maxx and Sami! After Gianna dissed me in her blog (link below for reference), I had to clear up some misunderstandings we had about the two characters. Yes, I may have said that I wanted a light versus dark character aesthetic. And yes, this may seem very typical and ordinary. But I would never want to create yet another boring love story where the two characters are polar opposites and are brought together by their inevitable love (BORING!). It was simply my burning love and passion for the show Euphoria getting the best of me. But now that we have cleared up this misinterpretation, Gianna and I have created, some might say, fire mood boards to depict our characters and set a base to create our story.

    
    So these are our characters. Each one with their own unique story. As you can see Maxx has a very grunge and punk aesthetic. She has issues with body dismorphia and is insecure with her sexuality. She also had an absent father which definitely did not help with her problems. Then we have Sami- do different yet so similar. She has a little more soft, earthy grunge. She is extremely scared to come out but is slowly becoming less scared with the help of Maxx. She uses reading and music as a way to escape reality and be in her own world of perfetness.

    I am  very curious to see how we can develop these stories and ba ckground information into a 2 minute film opening. I am having issues with the concept that this is not an entire screenplay but I'm getting there! See you tomorrow with a full story board :)

The Current Rundown

Week 3: Making Ideas Official

   

    Gianna and I decided that we are going to film our opening after March 12 due to extracurriculars and responsibilities that we have both committed to previously. We also decided that she is most likely going to play one of the leads in the film. Therefore, the combination of the first two sentences of this paragraph terrifies me due to the fact that I will be filming this myself. Currently, I am thinking about going to school for the film but I am conflicted on which career I would like to pursue. I think this opportunity will be a perfect chance to see if I would want to be a cinematographer, director, or work in post-production. And I know this phrase may be the most frequently used phrase in my entire blog but I am going to say it again: I am so excited.

    Here is our list of people we are going to ask to audition:

1. Gianna Schultz

2. Gianna Gomez

3. Gaby Werble

4. Olivia Wagner

5. Sofi Edelberg

6. Ellie Esquenazi

    As for the layout of the film, we are making one today in class. We have decided to do a montage-style film with scenes of the two girls interacting. It will represent their relationship but we are going to build on the idea that they are not out yet and the rest of the world thinks that they're just friends. It will be fairly platonic scenes until the final scene where they will either kiss or gently touch each other. This is where the title of the film with pop up and the audience then realizes "oh, yes, this is complicated." 

   

    (P.S. I'm starting to get the hang of blogging... its basically free therapy.)