Cal M

8/30/2018

My name is Calvin, I just go by Cal though. I'm just a student, not really any special skills, I'm not advanced, or even good at much. I think making films seems interesting so I decided this class would be a good one for me and hopefully in this class I can find that there is something related to film that I would be good at. I have a lot of inspirations that I can use for making films. I'm a gamer so I play a lot of games with twists and unexpected things happening in them and I think I would be able to do well at making stuff like that.

9 Comments

Cal

8/31/2018 12:23:16 pm

Describe the process of creating your one-shot and multi-shot films... Well when we were told to get into groups and choose an idea my idea was chosen. I thought that we could just recreate the scene with Lucy and Charlie Brown where he tries to kick the football and misses. We went out to film it and the main things that my group and I wanted to get perfectly was the camera angle as well as trying to make the fall not seem completely fake, it took several takes but we got the best one out of all of them.
How did you work as a group to develop what shots should be taken?- It had to be getting the camera in the perfect place. You see, because our project needed a lot of space to show me falling and the running start, we had to get just the right distance an stay in the same general area. We all had to come together to get all of that sorted out.
How are you approaching the editing process?- With the editing process I personally made the first video have 2 songs and what I thought was a funny title, with the songs I chose one that made it seem like it was going to be a cool kick but played sad music when I failed it. I wanted to do Peanuts music but it had a copyright. -_-
What have been some successes and hurdles in these first projects?- The successes to me were us coming together as a team to make it all happen, we all had to work together to film it all, especially with the camera positioning like I mentioned earlier. We were all able to share our ideas which made it a lot better. A hurdle would be what just happened filming the multi-shot. The camera was recording when we didn't know and when the cameraman went to record our stuff he didn't see it was on and clicked record. Instead of recording it stopped the last recording so every time he went to record it was in between scenes and we lost a huge chunk of our footage, it was devastating. Luckily Mr. Hanks is letting us film those shots again so we can get it right now and even better, all of this is happening right after if finish writing this though. (shout out to Mr. Hanks)
How do you feel your views on film have changed now that you've had a taste of the work involved?- Honestly, this all made it even better for me. I really enjoy the work that goes into it even if I have to act over and over again, it's pretty fun. The only thing is I'm more cautious as to when we are and are not recording but that can be seen as more of a plus. These projects just made me want to do more filming.

Cal McGee

9/14/2018 11:39:30 am

Consider the shots and camera movements we've defined, shot, and edited. Which is your favorite from those you captured for your commercial and why? Also, which is your least favorite shot/camera move and why? What has learning about all these shots/moves taught you about cinematography?

My favorite shot that we captured in the commercial was the zoom in because it has a lot of potential to be funny if you properly execute it which (hopefully) we did. My least favorite shot to film was the wide shot mostly because we didn't get to really be in it so it just wasn't as fun to film it. Learning about all these shots showed me how much editors and directors really have to do, I mean you have to get the absolute perfect shot of that and if you mess up then the whole shot has to be redone and you have to get the camera to the perfect angle, actually saying all of this now I really feel bad for the cameraman too.

Cal McGee

9/28/2018 12:21:12 pm

Reflect on the process of creating your TV Show Pilot: 1) Provide a logline (plot in a single sentence) for your original CJ6: Screenplay. 2) Connect what you designed for CJ7: costume(s) to the story you created - why did you design what you designed based on the story? 3) Tell, too, about the TV Show Pilot you filmed and edited with your group... 3a) what was it like to work with a script and 3b) what types of shot(s) do you feel brought the show to life most?

The plot to my TV Pilot was just a look into the lives of a few high school friends and following their "adventures." The design I made for a character in my CJ7 was just a sweatshirt and and joggers which was what I wanted to wear for the filming but that did not end up happening the way I wanted it to so I wore just a shirt and joggers. I designed that because it's something a simple high school student would wear. So for the actual video itself we used my script and working with a script was kind of easy for me, Donald, and Leo but hard especially for Angel but he ended up coming around in the end so I'm proud of him. As far as shots go I think that the establishing and point of view made it really come to life even more because you got a feel of what was going on in the scene, they were also pretty fun to film too. All in all I think that it turned out pretty well and that anyone who gets to watch it enjoys it.

Cal McGee

10/12/2018 09:40:34 am

Share your ups and downs of film making on your blog, and how you plan to continue to grow in the second half of the class. Do this by writing about your two biggest psychological barriers when it comes to making films? For each, provide an example of the barrier you encountered this term as well as a solution you plan to initiate in the second term to overcome this barrier. Then finish off the entry by recalling the biggest success or an ah-ha moment that you've had this term. Provide details about what made it a great moment for you and how you felt you grew from the experience.

I basically only have ups when it comes to my film making, editing, writing scripts, shooting footage, you name it and if it has to do with filming there's a pretty good chance I like it. The way I want to get better next semester is by not overdoing it. In general when people make good content they try too hard to match it to be just as good as it was before and I don't want to go overboard and that worry is probably a huge psychological barrier for me I can do it if I just calm down though and treat them all like the first video I ever made. Another psychological barrier would probably be being creative, I get a lot of my ideas when writing scripts at least from like real life scenarios or events. I want to make my film really seem like it could really happen but with a little bit of something that wouldn't be like that in real life too if that makes sense. For instance if you saw my TV show the door scene, obviously that wouldn't happen in real life as cool as it would be but the rest could possibly happen. It's like reality with a touch of fantasy. So anyways the psychological barrier would be a creative mindset, I need to get out more and see more of what could happen in real life whether it's mine or someone else's. My biggest success would have to be the TV Pilot, I put a lot of editing into that and I'm glad with how it came out. The door scene really I feel like made it even better, that and the script in general were some of my biggest aha moments in this class and I really think that I can grow from the creative mindset I used to write it.

Cal

11/2/2018 11:40:03 am

Describe your experience shooting this project in the film studio with the added lighting elements. How do you feel the studio time affected your final product quality? Additionally, how did you approach the montage portion of your film. Describe what you chose to cut together and what effect you hope for it to have on your audience as a part of your "Flash Forward" film.

It was pretty interesting when we filmed the lighting scene because of how literally 1 light made a huge difference and how even the color of the background you want can give it a different feel. I think it made the quality of the video better, it made it more dramatic so that was pretty cool. The way I approached the montage portion was I put the voice over of myself telling the story under a file of the clips so it was superimposed, the montages showed more and more while bringing more significance to the storyline. The affect I want people to feel when they watch it is honestly that they think it's cheesy and dare I say, funny. We chose a parody of anime so I think the clips we used for it can tie in together just fine, but I'll have to wait and see what people think of it.

Cal McGee

11/30/2018 12:10:29 pm

Hitchcock is know as the Master of Suspense. Recall in detail a time when you felt a film had you most on edge--- either scared, excited, distressed, or passionate. What do you remember from the film itself (text, lighting, sound, set-up) that you believe made it truly effective? As a film maker yourself, what emotions do you think you'd be best at effecting in your audience and how do you imagine you would go about doing it?

A time when I was in a lot of suspense was when I was watching the movie "Get Out." The setting of the movie and the mysteriousness of the characters really made it suspenseful. Usually I can tell where a plot was going but I just didn't know how it would end at all. I think I'd be pretty good at like surprise because I can catch predictable plots so I know what not to do. I wouldn't hint at all toward plot twists so no one would be able to figure it out.

Donald

12/17/2018 12:09:28 pm

Cal is the best editor I have ever seen in this class. The way he uses effects in his flash forward and genre crossover videos were spectacular.

Angel

12/17/2018 12:26:09 pm

Congratulations Cal for being the best editor and for that you get The Editor award!

Mario Cornejo

12/17/2018 12:27:39 pm

"and the best editor award goes to . . . Cal " . I chose you cal for best editor award. i chose you because i think you at everyone probably in the class probably like editing the most and is best at it. you always spend the most time editing yours and they always end up looking good.

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Cal M

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