Oh The Places You Will Go...

I've always been pretty restless. I don't like staying in one place and doing one thing for too long. I hated high school because it seemed like the same thing every day, every year. College, though, has been quite different. Looking back, this year has been especially crazy.

Last semester, I produced a documentary in New Orleans. I found myself in the car for a total of 80 hours with people who were once strangers. I was stranded in Tuscaloosa for 24 hours. I filmed at jazz clubs, and hung out with amazing musicians. I even ended up sitting in a bar that I was too young to be at, in the middle of a confrontation with a former NFL player because he didn't like our doc.

This semester, I've been to Buffalo and back countless times, often just for the day. I went to Canada for a couple of hours just because. I filmed a family being reunited after 15 years. I decided to not be a vegetarian for a day, and ate goat from an African market. I tagged along while an Ethiopian couple went grocery shopping in the U.S for the first time. I stayed at a hotel that was allegedly haunted by a child ghost. And I even went to a Trump rally...

That's right. A Donald Trump rally.

Of all the things I have been through this year, the Trump rally was easily the strangest. People were selling shirts on the street that said "Hillary sucks, but not like Monica. Trump that bitch." There were protesters corralled into a small section, and people protesting the protestors. A seemingly average lady told us that refugees take perfume as a sign that it is okay to rape a woman. And Donald Trump accidentally said 7/11 instead of 9/11.

One of the strangely surprising parts of the rally was the fact that we were able to get media credentials. I woke up that morning assuming we would just film outside the rally, and ended the night on the media riser, sandwiched between Time Warner, CNN and Fox. One of the reporters there was extremely helpful: he found us a spot next to him on the riser, got us hooked into the mic box, and gave us a run down on what we should expect. At first, I was shocked that he was helping us without us even asking, but then I realized that Evin and I definitely stood out. We were the youngest people in the press by at least 15 years, and I was the only female cameraperson.

The rally ended by Trump walking off the stage to the Space Jam song, while his supports all chanted. The entire thing was bazaar, disturbing, and the perfect way to wrap shooting for the year.

Being a doc major has been pretty crazy, and I'm excited for the adventures that still lie ahead.

What is a documentary?

The other day my professor asked our class to define the word "documentary." The whole class sat there stumbling over words and trying to find the correct answer. As a documentary studies major, I came into Ithaca College thinking that I knew the answer. As my time at IC has passed however, I am now more unsure than ever; is there a firm definition that explains documentary?

I typed "documentary definition" into a Google search and the response was,"a movie or a television or radio program that provides a factual record or report." Thinking back, that probably would have been my definition when I first started college, but I now realize there is one major flaw in that definition... the word "factual."

After taking several different documentary courses, attempting to understand what makes something factual sends me into a mild existential crisis. Due to human nature, everyone sees facts and truths differently. As humans, we are inherently subjective rather than objective, therefore can a documentary ever be completely objective and factual? What may be the truth for the producer, may not be the truth for other people. 

Let's say, for example, I produce an entire documentary about the positive impacts of refugee communities in the United States. Then, after the film is finished, someone (Donald Trump?) states that my portrayal is completely inaccurate and refugee communities actually have a negative impact on U.S. society. Since someone disagrees with what I have portrayed, does that mean my film is not factual and therefore not a documentary? I would argue no, but other people may disagree. 

The word "documentary" may seem pretty straightforward at first glance, but it is really quite complex when people take the time to think about it. 

How would you define documentary?

Tokina 11-16mm Lens Review

Your always looking for that next beautiful landscape shot, or the perfect astrophotography time lapse, but what the lens do you have by your side to capture these amazing scenes. While there are so many options and each lens have it's perks, there is not one perfect lens for any given scenario. It is up to you as the operator to compose the picture how you see fit. however, I recently picked up the Tokina 11-16mm for landscape and time lapse photography due to the amazing wide angle it provided, because I think in this type of photography this is going to help you gather the most interesting shots available.

(Due to uploading to blogger, the quality is quite poor.)

                 (Captured with the Sony a7s with the Tokina 11-16mm and Glidecam HD 4000)

This past Sunday I took to the football field to gather some B-roll of the stadium, I put together this teaser as a test video of the footage gathered. All material is shot in 60FPS conformed in post.

In the first shot you can see one huge problem right off the bat. The lens flare. While I love a good lens flare, it can be a bit much sometimes. I had no lens hood on while I shot because I was observing the flares and how they compared to my other lenses. But it would be interesting to see how it worked against preventing them. One interesting effect that occurs due to the full frame sensor, is that when completely wide at 11mm a picture will result like this.

The huge vignette is quite unflattering thus making the lens primarily fixed at 16mm. The great
APC-S feature of the camera turns this 11-16mm into a 17-24mm which is a handy trick to get a bit more punch as well as helps with the vignetting.

The football teaser above also demonstrates the issue with the ND filter. Due to the sunny weather we had this past Sunday, the ND was necessary to be able to shoot at an appropriate F-stop. The filter is variable up to 8 stops, but getting close to 6 is when the black streak in the top right corner of the image occurs, in some images it is more noticeable, but is very noticeable in the time lapse below.

While those two issues occurred in the video, the lens overall is very useful. First off the field of view is amazing. Paired with the full frame, even when punched in to the 17-24 APS-C mode, the lens is so wide and if you want that extra wideness, the 16mm is more than useable, however filters do come in to frame so indoors might be the best option for that. But this wide lens is great to make your shot extra smooth with the Glidecam, as well as capturing a a large canvas with time lapse. 

(The vertical capability is also a feature which needs exploring.)

A feature I neglected to touch upon until this point is the speed of this lens. With f2.8, this is amazing for night time photography. I've been meaning to test out the low light monster that is the a7s, combined with this lens, because I think it would have amazing results. Now just to get to somewhere that lacks light pollution. 

The final picture is one testing long exposure with the ND filter. While in the corners, the vignette is present, the ability to do a 30 sec exposure really made the water quite milky. 

Overall, testing new gear is stressful but enjoyable and you learn that ever piece of equipment has its pros and cons. In the end you just have to decide what you want to put up with more and if its worth the resulting image.

A Revolutionary Gimbal For Now

As filmmakers we are always trying to get the shot no one else can get, the smoothest footage, the money shot. Recently, numerous 3-axis gimbal stabilizers have been released which have thought to be the replacement of the Steadicam. While there is a lot of controversy about this topic, a new piece of equipment has been released that might throw all we know about stabilizers out the window.

As you see in the video, Sachtler has combined the brilliant gimbal benefits, that are available through use of devices like the DJI Ronin and the Movi, and the steadicam, which has long been the go to method of tracking shots. The movie "Goodfellas" has a historic tacking sequence all thanks to our beloved steadicam. This amazing idea provides a whole new style of filmmaking. As mentioned in the video above one shot that has been created through this system is being able to peak around corners with the camera. This could be great for giving a shot the feeling that someone is watching a character in a film. Being able to invert the camera as well makes this tool that much more versatile. Low angle shots were not attainable with former steadicams. Due to this item being brand new, there are limited visuals of real world applications so far, but by combining both of these amazing stabilization systems, the world of filmmaking just got a little crazier.

(GlideCam)

Having used the DJI Ronin quite extensively, as well as owning a Glidecam, I have experience advantages and disadvantages of both systems. First off the Ronin is electric and must be calibrated for the specific weight load that it is carrying. This is frustrating because with my Glidecam and many other traditional Steadicams, all weight adjustments are done through physical weight distribution adjustments. With my Glidecam the weight distribution does not have to be perfect either to still get a smooth shot, this is great for run and gun when you can't always count on a motor holding up for the entire shoot. The motor also is very susceptible to the cold due to the intricate mechanics of the system.

The Ronin however does trump the Glidecam in certain ways though. Getting low angle shots is extremely hard when the weights on the bottom of your Glidecam are hitting the ground. The Ronin is great for these types of shots because you are almost using your body as a crane and you can control the height of the Ronin to a much more specific point. The motor of the ronin, while running haywire occasionally, does however help with any bumpy steps you are taking as well.

Sachtler having combined these two amazing tools is really on to something. As mentioned earlier a new age of filmmaking with emerge from this system, but it is also costs about 15,800 Euros at the moment and the price truly makes it a professional piece of equipment. I previously thought the Movi would be the top stabilizer in the industry for sometime, however this industry changes faster than you can adjust and I'm sure this currently revolutionary equipment will soon be outdated and the bigger and better stabilizer will be running the streets soon.

A look into the night with the Sony A7s (Part 1)

Recently I was able to make a huge investment for myself as a filmmaker. I introduced myself to a new camera, the A7s. I have had my eye on this Sony product for quite sometime now. I have been blown away by it's dynamic range and high ISO capabilities displayed online and now I finally get a chance to use this in a real world setting.

(A still from the A7s, Sigma Art 35mm 1.4)

So where to start? The Sony A7s has so many favorable traits its hard distinguish a starting point. I'll start with my three favorite features and move on throughout each blog post, addressing individual features as we move along. For myself there were a few things that I found desirable about the camera that swayed me to switch from Canon to Sony. First off, variable frame rates. I previously shot on the Canon T3i as it was my starter camera and boy did it get me through some times. However, the highest frame rate you can go is 60fps at 1280x720. This is universal through most Canon DSLRs.

 (Tokina 11-16mm 2.8)

The 5DmkIII, which previously ruled the DSLR world, couldn't compete. The A7s can also be boosted to 120 fps with the downgrade to 1280x720. It can't compete with the Phantom or RED, but for a Full-Frame DSLR, this variability will get the job done. The video posted below is shot completely in 60fps.  All footage is played back in realtime until brought into post to be altered. 

While the variable frame rates are so much fun to play with, thats not all there is to this beast. The ISO is off the charts. Most of the footage above, besides what was indoors, was filmed at upwards of 30,000 ISO. This was my first day with the camera and I really was enjoying this party trick. Grain in the image began to increase as I went up, however it is quite clean around 20,000. Some 50,000 iso footage can even be salvageable. Once you increase upwards of this threshold you will need to use plug-ins like Neat Video to decrease grain levels.

 (Sigma Art 35mm 1.4)

Many filmmakers have highlighted in reviews this outstanding feature, and I hope to learn how to take advantage of this feature and really get some outstanding footage. Once difference I noticed is that the Video ISO is much cleaner at much higher ISOs than the photos. This is due to the sensor only having 12.2mp, thus the pictures suffer loss of quality in order for the video to prevail. Although the resolution is not quite up to par with Cameras like the 5D or even the A7s older brothers the A7 and A7r, the pictures produced still look very nice when paired with the right glass.

While these two capabilities are useful and help with more advanced shooting, you can never forget the little things. The live recording punch in feature is so handy and is something I've been looking forward to for quite some time. Paranoia strikes at the strangest times, especially when conducting interviews. The everlasting battle of not being able to tell if you have something in your eye or if your shot is soft. Being able to punch in and check focus is an amazing feature especially when it comes to doc work, not only in interview settings but out in the field too. The back tilt able LCD screen paired with an amazing EVF makes this camera very diverse. 

(Sigma Art 35mm 1.4)

Using the EVF paired with the punch in focus feature will be great when recording in the field and you need that extra assurance that the subject of your shot, whether that be an animal, mountain top, you name it, is in focus. There are multiple custom keys on this camera that you can arrange which ever is most comfortable for you. I prefer to have my C1 button (located on the top right corner diagonal from the shutter release) to be my short cut to this handy feature, but to each their own. 

I'm very excited to start using this new investment for personal projects, thesis films, and even try my hand at time-lapses. It feels weird making the next step of your career goal and being faced with new and unique situations. While the learning curve in this industry is always changing, this factor is what drives me to be the best I can be. There will be plenty more reviews to come in regards to the time-lapse capabilities, picture profiles, and much more. Until next time. 

Nightfire: Filming in Verona, Italy

While many of you may have either seen the trailer, or even the full film, Nightfire is probably a talking point you've heard about when hanging out in the Park School. I was lucky enough to travel to Verona, Italy this past January to work as the 1st Camera Assistant for this thesis film. It was a great opportunity to work on a professional run set with amazing actors, crew, and of course gear. Oh, how I miss that gear.

Now as demonstrated in the trailer above there were some quite intricate scenes that occurred throughout the film. From bike chase scenes to explosions, every day was an adventure to say the least. But you must know that this film wasn't made over night, well yes we constantly shot through the night, however, the production lasted 3 weeks and most days we worked for 16 hours with the occasional all nighter shoot. Well choreographed shots and blocking was the name of the game, because when explosions and special effects come into play there are only so many takes you get before you must move to the next shot.

(16mm ARRI Ultra Prime used with the Red Dragon.)

As 1st AC I was in charge of everything from making sure batteries were charged before we went on set(or right before the next big explosion), calibrating our DJI Ronin, even making sure the DP was out of bed in the morning. Now while I look back fondly on this trip, there were some serious road bumps we ran into across the way. 

(View from the watchtower located on the set of the military base.)

First off, the weather. We were filming in the middle of winter in northern Italy, seeing the Alps as we drove to set became a normal part of our day and it was a clear reminder of the winter cold. Not only did you have to bundle up before venturing to set, but we had to make sure the electronics would work properly. 

(Director of Photography, Garret Nicholson, preparing a shot on the Jib)

The entire film was shot on the Red Dragon which had quirks we constantly had to deal with. The first thing to know about Red cameras is that to have a clean image at higher ISOs you must perform what is called "Black shading". Black shading is the process of obtaining the functioning temperature of the Red. Typically this rests around a 45/65 split. There are two temperatures of the camera as you can see in the picture below.

To perform a black shade you will wrap the camera in a sound blanket or jacket, whatever is around really, and ensure that no light is getting to the sensor. It takes about 20 minutes but this will eliminate any grain obtained through high ISOs. However, after the one black shade is run, the camera needs to stay at that temperature of 65/45 (a few degrees off doesn't hurt). With the cold affecting the camera we would always have to have the Red otherwise the camera would drop below operating temp and the grain would trickle back into the shot.

Battery life was short lived and like most sets we needed a charging station. Sometimes it was a room indoors located on set, other times it was out of the back of a van or running off a generator.

(DJI Ronin)

Due to the calibration needed for the DJI Ronin's 3-axis gimbal we were forced to used RED volt batteries. To ensure smooth movement from the rig we had to have perfect balance and the larger batteries would not cut it. These RED volt bricks only last about 30 minutes when the weather is warm,  so when the cold was added it was cut down to 15 minutes at best. To keep the volts warm we resorted to holding onto batteries beneath our long johns and armpits. 

When using a tripod the larger Anton Bauer V-mount batteries were able to be used, but the majority of the film was shot on the Ronin so we had to troubleshoot this problem. When we were constantly running around I would carry the V-mount adapter. After we completed a shot we would set the Ronin on it's stand and plug the AC power adapter in and prepare for the next shot. This was a huge stressor of the trip, since the responsibility of battery master fell upon myself. However, having the AC power truly helped our situation.

Another issue we ran into was difficulties with the wireless follow focus. Due to the cold and issues with the receiver the follow focus would not deliver it's signal. We tried everyday to get the follow focus to work but still struggled to find the solution. In the end we had to just close our iris, cross our fingers, and keep our distance. The follow focus would have been an extreme help, especially for the long tracking shots the movie had. It just goes to show you never know what will happen on set, but you better be damn ready to work around anything that gets in your way. 

(Paul Wolter getting Wild)

Overall, I had the time of my life. Being able to travel across the world for film is something I want to continue to do for the rest of my life. I met amazing people, learned so much about the filmmaking process and how to become a better DP, and the wine made up for any sort of mishaps we had on set during the day. There is so much that I took away from this project but I'd have to write a book to do explain it all, so until then this will suffice. Until next time.

CollegeHumor: Real humor for real people

CollegeHumor is one of the most popular channels on all of YouTube, and for good reason. Like the channel's name suggests, the videos which the group of comedians post mostly pertain to and are directed towards humor for college students. How convenient! We're college students! For those of you who have watched any of CollegeHumor's material, you understand what I mean when I say that the videos are hilarious--most of them, anyway.

What CollegeHumor does that most other YouTube comedy channels don't do is it perfectly displays so many situations that happen oh too often in our everyday lives. Arguing with your smartphone is always a pain, and while the comedy is blown a bit out of proportion, viewers still understand exactly what the actor is feeling, and can just as easily laugh at his pain and suffering.

This video is even a better example of the kind that's made specifically for college students. Have you ever had a terrible roommate? A strange one? A scary one? Luckily, I haven't had to deal with most of the six roommates which are depicted in the video, but I certainly know people who have. I'm sure you do, too. My current roommate is The Ghost. I don't usually see him from when he leaves for class in the morning until he gets home around 11 o'clock at night. There are A LOT of strange people out there (Not saying that my current roommate is strange. He's actually one of my very good friends), many of which you will encounter at some point or another in your life. It may not happen for quite a while, but there's a very good chance that at least one of you will The Zombie.

"POV: Gym" is by far one of the most accurately comedic videos CollegeHumor has ever made. I can sadly but honestly admit that the large majority of occurrences in the video have happened to me while going to the gym. I've told myself I'll start going to the gym every day. I've seen the naked old man in the locker room--there's always one. I've walked past the enormous guys and made some sort of excuse to explain why I'm not as big as them. And yes, I've bumped up the weight on machines to the point of complete ridiculousness to try to impress the girl working out next to me (come on guys, we all have).

CollegeHumor portrays such realistic humor that you can't help but watch it. Yes, 99% of what they do is exaggerated beyond belief, but most topics they cover have, in some way or another, affected you personally. It's really just fun to see that you're not the only one who deals with the things that happen to you.

The Real World: Life After College

After watching the video about The Hobbit today in class, and working with people on our final project, I got to thinking...what's the future going to be like?  We're all struggling these last few weeks with finals, but what's going to happen once we step out beyond the Park School and actually have to do this for a living?  Instead of having classes to deal with on top of our productions, we'll have real life issues like families, mortgages, and all of that fun stuff. Is that going to be easier to balance, or more difficult?  Will we manage those two day run and guns?  Can we complete a feature film with only four days until the premiere?  Are we ever going to get adequate sleep again in our lives?

Noon...eight hours into a shoot...and I'm not even
on the actual makeup department.

The fact of the matter is, despite the kind of semi-insanity it takes to put in the hours in either pre-, post-, or regular production, the dedication is one of the most important parts.  You can't make a quality film without genuinely caring about the final outcome; when you make something truly good, you feel as if you've put a part of yourself into it.  It's like all of your time and annoyance at the entire thing has finally paid off, and will, with some skill (and maybe some luck), make this a really worthwhile production.  It's something you have to feel for yourself to wholly understand, I think, and from what I've known of the sensation, it's an awesome payoff.

You've also got to be flexible if you're going to work on any kind of shoot; your title might be "camera 2," but if someone asks you to, you can jump in and work as a boom op, extra, gaffer, or anything, especially on smaller productions akin to what we'll more than likely all be starting in.  Again, it goes back to your dedication; when you really want something to come out well, it shows in the work that's put in, even when it isn't technically your job to do something.  Being an extra hand never hurts on most shoots, so hopping in on little things to make the entire production go smoother.

So, the question: what's the better life choice, to get the necessary amount of sleep each night to function properly at a mediocre job that you mildly like, or to stretch every last minute with work you're passionate about despite its slight impact on your health?

As much as I love my naps (and I really love naps), I'd totally go into this field of frenzy and film in a heartbeat.  The years ahead working with this sort of thing will without a doubt be spontaneous and full of late nights, but for the enjoyment I get out of putting in the time and effort with a group of like-minded people, it's worth it.

Final Project status

So the scripts been done and shooting is under way.    We have 30 pages worth to shoot in less then a week, and its getting rough out there.  Not really though.  We are making good progress and have most of it shot.  Lots of work to do tomorrow but after that we should be in the clear.

So for those of you who dont know, our project is a mockumentary about a college election.  The two candidates Brian Morgan, and Veronica Taft, compete against each other to win the colleges vote and become the new SGA president.  Along the journey there are highs and lows for each candidate.

So far the real difficulty I personally, have run into, besides for the lack of time, is the size of the project.  I personally have never done a project this large and when I worked on writing it I wasn't sure what to expect from length and preparation.  It is all new to me.  I do think that with the time we have and the ground we have to cover we are doing just fine.  A lot more has to be done so lets get at it.

Robert Cannon

Ithaca College's Park School...

and it's lack of classes devoted to how the industry and business works.

I first thought of this when we watched that video in class on Wednesday.  Now, I know Arturo has told us certain things about the industry and how production is the best way to get into the business but it was interesting to watch the video and see the vast number of positions available in just one department on set.  I was really amazed that I had never really thought about that kind of stuff because knowing the business and its positions are extremely important as well as how the hierarchy works on a set.  A lot of times, we only learn production type things in park and I think because of this, we forget that learning about the industry we get into and how many of the different things work is extremely important.  I really wish the school would create a class or two other than the intro media industries class that students could take to learn in depth about how the industry works in different aspects.  Some things they could talk about would be how to get investors for films, going through all the production jobs on set of a movie or television show (field, live, sports, scripted, ect.), all about the different studios and how to get in contact with them, and even the different areas in the country and around the world that are hidden hotbeds for video other than LA and NYC.   I think this would be extremely beneficial for students to really fully understand the business other than only knowing how to produce things.


-Tyler Chadwick

First Film.....Old Camera.

Most modern technologists and filmmakers would laugh at the sight of this old 8mm Camcorder H460. While some may laugh, others will know that this was the first camera I used as a child to make my first movie. I spent the other night looking through old baby films and old childhood things lying around in my basement, but couldn't come upon the film I made with this old camcorder. It must be in my childhood belongings in California with my dad.

My parents bought this 8mm Camcorder H460 in 1991, two years before I was born. from what I have seen from old VHS' is that they would use this camcorder to record family events like Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc. When I was born, everything changed. The camera was used for nothing but for my "so called cute baby things I did." When I looked through these old films, I mean what I say that my parents recorded almost every little thing I did. Whether it was walking, sitting, sleeping, singing, laughing, playing, bathing, even going to the bathroom for crying out loud, they recorded every day of my child years till I was 4 when my parents got divorced.

4 or 5 years later, I borrowed the camera from my mother and made my first "movie." I say this in quotation because as a 7 to 8 year old, I just filmed two friends having a light saber battle from the film Star Wars. What wasn't a movie, but a long recording of a fighting scene turns into a "million dollar movie" in the eyes of a child of that age.

Since I was only 7 or 8, I wasn't aware of the different camera shots and angles that I have learned about the past few years. It was only a wide shot with a number of different pans that followed the talents fighting with their green and red light sabers. As much as I look back on it today, I laugh myself thinking "wow, I just made a fantastic scene from a movie and this will make me rich." If I was to record the same exact scene today from the famous franchise of all time, I would definitely be using more of the special camera techniques (shots, angles, etc.) that I have learned thus far in my college career.

"Making films is solving problems"

I really have no idea what to think coming into this class; sure, I've spent my time in Park's multitude of introductory level classes and found a love for field production, but this is something entirely new.  Now that I have a little of a background in the area, it's expected that I also possess some basic level of knowledge about all stages of the field.  Some things are fuzzy from last year (attending class on painkillers for a contusion and sprain in your knee doesn't really help you focus), but it is with absolute certainty that I can say that I enjoy what I do.  However, scheduling Fiction Field 1 into my semester for Fall 2012 was a bit anxiety-inducing.  Not only do I doubt my own ability, but what's to say that I won't have a terrible class, limited skills, or an awful professor?  What will I do then?

Fortunately, I didn't have to give that much thought once I was into the first class.  Almost immediately, I felt comfortable in the lab with the group around me, and Arturo's words caught my attention from the start.  I was particularly drawn to one statement, which I went to great lengths to remember: "Making films is solving problems."  Now, there's something I could latch onto and think deeply about.  This quote really hit home for me, because it seemed so incredibly relevant to my life and what I'd like to do with my future.  It is my greatest dream to somehow work within the communications industry to bring about change for the better, or at the very least bring notice to overlooked yet important ideas.  I've had a passion for filmmaking and editing for several years now, only to be enhanced within Park's walls, and to hear words that so profoundly state what I want to dedicate my life to is perhaps the most reassuring thing I've had said to me all week.

I'm no longer worried about this initial leap into a new level of work and intelligence; as a matter of fact, I'm quite looking forward to it.  I want to have my skills and thoughts challenged and provoked by new lessons, despite knowing that I will inevitably make mistakes and get down on myself for slips in my work.  Hopefully, by the end of the semester, I can look back and say that I've made progress on my journey to making films that solve problems in the world.  As long as I can do that, and be happy with said progress, I think that Fiction Field 1 is going to be one hell of an awesome class.

Kofi Boundy's 1st Blog Entry

As I enter my junior year at Ithaca College, I feel a sense of accomplishment and determination. With the finish line close in sight I can accept the fact that college is more than halfway over, but nevertheless, the fight continues! This summer I was fortunate enough to nab two separate internships at two local radio stations. Through my hours spent with these internships, I was able to gain a great deal of knowledge, experience, and wisdom.  As well as meeting some really cool people.  As the summer came to an end, I and a friend got an opportunity to be an extra for a "Wendy William's Show" commercial (daytime talk show).  Even though all I did was walk in the background, it was awesome to see the amount of production and preparation that went into a 15 second long commercial.  Anyways, being back at Ithaca, I can say I am excited to see what is in store this school year.
-Kofi Boundy

P.S. Keep Reaching For Your Dreams

Image from http://www.eynjuls.com/harsha/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ps-i-love-you.jpg

"Dear Gerry, you said you wanted me to fall in love again, and maybe one day I will. But there are all kinds of love out there. This is my one and only life. And it's a great and terrible and short and endless thing, and none of us come out of it alive..." ~ From the movie P.S. I Love You

There's nothing like meeting up with friends and sitting down for a movie night... even on a school night. So, with our bowl of yogurt covered raisins and glasses of water in hand, my friends and I squished eagerly on the couch and watched P.S. I Love You last night. As you can imagine, for those who have seen this movie, there were tears and many exclamations of "awe" throughout the film. As the credits started, one of the girls who had just viewed the movie for the first time said, "Well that stinks. She never fell in love with someone new! What a horrible ending!" Now, I have seen this movie probably ten times, yet this was the first time that it occurred to me that Holly (the main character) never did find a replacement man. Not very romantic, I suppose. Yet, why was I still so satisfied with the ending?

This really started shifting the gears in my rusty summer-dulled brain. In the romance genre, we are so used to what I would dare call the "cheesy princess love syndrome." Girl faces some problem or obstacle, Prince Charming shows up, and suddenly everything is okay and they ride off into the sunset. Or vice versa. In any case, there is always a "happily ever after." Yet, the typical description of the modern "happily ever after" includes some kind of true love between two people that is expressed in a way that is so unbelievable as to be believable because we all wish it to be reality. Hey, I love my Disney movies just as much as the next person, but at some point one has to acknowledge that those endings either don't exist in our world, they are very, very rare, or they do exist but in some other happier dimension. P.S. I Love You gives the audience an ending that everyone can relate to (whether they like it or not) because there is a reality to it. It is an ending that is rarely ever seen in romantic movies. She doesn't fall in love with another person, but as I started thinking about it, she does fall in love with something else entirely.

This is what I love about storytelling. I love finding themes or messages in books, movies, poems... you name it. I hope that someday I will have accomplished such a feat in my own work. Anyway, at one point during the movie, Holly states that, "... there are all kinds of love out there." It is so true. In the end, she fell in love with designing shoes. She had a passion and a direction in life that she discovered on her own (or you may believe with the help of her dead husband). Holly made it through all the obstacles of losing her husband, her job, even her friends and she didn't need a Prince Charming to do it. Okay, so maybe she thought Gerry (her deceased husband) helped her, but really it took her strength and determination to direct her life towards a goal.

This is such an encouraging idea. We are all pushing forward through life trying to reach our passions, our loves, our goals. Some yearn to direct, or produce, or edit, or even act (yay!). Others yearn to do biology research, or find a cure for cancer, or run a theatre company. Whatever it may be, we are all on a path that requires sweat, blood, tears and most of all passion. The end of P.S. I Love You showed me that no matter how bleak the future may seem or how big the obstacles appear, if we just keep pushing onward, someday we will find love. Not in the form of another person per say, but maybe in the form of success in our dreams, or contentment in how we have achieved some of our goals.

So good luck to students everywhere starting a new year in school! I hope you can persevere like Holly as you journey to reach your own version of a true "happily ever after," whatever that may be. Push down mountains and swim across oceans because when the road seems impossible is when we find the strength to find the possibility in it! I know I will never stop dreaming and pushing forward.
~ Amber Capogrossi

Film Crunch Time

During our first Fiction Feild class we discussed "crunch time" or the time when you need to stay up for hours and work  extra hard to complete a project.  I've learned over this past summer that there is no "crunch time" like "film crunch time."  I'm sure we've all had our fair share of late night essay writing and pre-test cramming, but it wasn't until this summer that I truly had to push myself to the absolute maximum to make a deadline.

This summer I was fortunate enough to study at the Hanyang University of Seoul, South Korea for approximately a month.  During my time in Korea I took a course called Cross Cultural Documentary Studies.  The goal of this class was to make a short documentary in only a month.  Like any class, I thought that despite the time extreme constraints with good planning and hard work my group and I would be able to ease through, get our sleep, and not have to go crazy and stay up for hours the night before.  Initially our group was ahead of the game.  We came up with our topic and began research.  We got a Korean translator and began to set up interviews.  Our planning was nearly perfect, wasting no time.  We simultaneously collected b-roll of anything and everything we thought could be useable.   Finally we were able to conduct all our interviews.  Just like that we were done shooting.  "Wow a whole week and a half to edit, we'll be done with time to spare" we thought.  

In post-production I served as Co-editor alongside my friend Colton, also from Ithaca College.  The days pasted as we spend hours and hours sorting footage and translating interviews.  Soon we found ourselves editing into the night just to keep on track.  Suddenly our perfect schedule had fallen apart. Even with the extreme amount of time we had allotted to edit it wasn't enough.  Before we knew it we had two days left until the project was due for a screening!  Unlike many other classes assignments where teachers can give extensions and accept late work, we had no such room for error.  The final projects were due for the screening the day before we got on our planes to go back home.  It was "crunch time" in those two days I stayed awake for 37 hours and edited for approximately 23 of them, only interrupted to eat and attend my other classes for Hanyang in the morning.  Eventually after many sleepless nights and more "Hot 6 Energy Drinks" than I could count we had finished and come up with a great piece.

It wasn't until my first serious film project that I learned what real "crunch time" was…film crunch time.  The hours and hours I put into the project had produced a 13minute 27second documentary I was proud of.  I feel this experience has taught me a lot as a film maker and also a lot as a student.  I have learned the value of having a plan and keeping organized.  I have learned that in this field of film, documentary, and television punctuality is key.  However most importantly I have learned that a deadline is a deadline (invest in energy drinks accordingly).

College is a like a Roller Coaster

When I began college in  Fall of 2011, I heard from many older friends that College was similar to riding a Roller Coaster. After completing my freshmen year, I realized what they were talking about. To give evidence to their comparison, I have for you a roller coaster from Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, California. X2 or XTREME 2 is, in my opinion, the craziest and most entertaining ride at the park. Not only do you began the ride going up backwards, but on the first drop of 90 degrees you are facing the ground beneath you. The seats rotate 360 degrees and near the end of the ride you are surprised with spitting flames.

I chose this ride because it is not only the most thrilling, but also because it has a number of different similarities to college that I found interesting. For starters, the beginning of the ride begins backwards as how most freshmen begin college. Since riders are backwards, they have no idea where they are going. This could compare to freshmen beginning college because most freshmen enter college not knowing exactly where they are headed. Some begin their major and switch, while others begin exploring their options, and eventually decide where they want to end up.

The next aspect of the ride as riders facing the ground beneath them at a 90 degree angle. As with most college students, this would compare to the fact that once students choose their major, it starts with a straight path or "faces" you to the path of your choice. With the edition of loops, 360 degree rotations and fire, these are most commonly compared to as the obstacles and struggles that come with school. With hours and hours of studying and gaining the experience, following your path through college will bring you loops, rotations, and make you tired and stressed to the point where you will wish you could spit fire, in a metaphorical term.

However, the ride always comes to an end as this would symbolize your graduation. What makes this similarity interesting is the ride finishes as it began with the passengers riding backwards. I came to the conclusion that this metaphor could describe how once you graduate from school, it isn't always easy to find a job. Again people do not know where they are headed in life prior to graduation and find themselves trying to find the path that best fits them and the life they want.  

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

And so we end up back on campus for another year at Ithaca. I must say, I am very excited for this class. Even the six word exercise got me excited because it was something I never would have thought to try and do in order to accomplish the task of telling a story. I was very interested in this because it was so out of the box. So yes, I am very excited for this class.

Anyway, the title of this blog post is in reference to internships. There are good ones, bad ones, and then just the plain ugly ones. I'm sure you can figure out which ones are good and the others, well, not so much. But I'm going to tell you anyway how my summer went:

I start my summer really excited because I got an internship at the Jeremy Kyle Show in Manhattan. I had to say, I was the most excited I could be because it was my first internship in college as a production intern. I got there super early because I was so excited because I knew that I would be able to take something away from it and have a great experience. Well, let me tell you: I got an experience alright, but not exactly the one you are thinking of. I ended up pretty much becoming a slave. I had to build cabinets, chairs, paint rooms that were rarely used, go on runs, go on extra runs to get a receipt, etc. The list goes on but I'm not going to get too into detail. So like I said before, I ended up a slave. I got nothing out of this internship that I was able to use in the future, except for the fact that I had to make approximately 1000 phone calls over the course of 2 months. So I guess that may have helped with the being on the phone fear that I never had.

It was possibly one of the worst experiences I have ever had. The part that made me the most angry was that I saw posts on Facebook about all of my friends interning elsewhere talking about how great their internships were and how they got to work in the control room and how they got to work on the set and work with someone that actually worked there. Yeah, not me; I had to build cabinets and go all the way to the other side of Manhattan to go buy a lamp.

So I would think that it is obvious that all of my friends got "The Good" internships and I got "The Bad" AND "The Ugly."

Hopefully, if I'm lucky that is, I will be able to intern at a place that will actually let me experience something worth while and help me in the future.