May Blog

Well, I'm still here. At this point it means that I passed my hour presentation. But now I have to worry about the evening trade show. I'm not sure how I will attack it, but I know I'll figure that out soon.

Side note: I left my board leaning up against Piggot's class on Friday. If anybody piked it up or know where it is then please let me know. Thanks guys

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

1. Actually doing a good job on my block presentation as a whole and not needing to do it a second time is what I am most proud of because really I've put a lot of work into my presentation, only to find out that i didn't make time would have crushed me. Putting in more than 200 hours of mentorship hours is what I'm proud of for my senior project simply because I am surprised as to how committed I was for the program. I'm still currently working as the TA for the class even though I'm done with everything.

2a. I'd give myself an AP, maybe a P, on the block presentation simply because I feel like I was cutting it close on time, and when it came to the group activities I might have given them too much time. I noticed of few of them getting off task.

2b. The overall senior project I believe that I deserve a solid P. I've done all the requirements but nothing much was too special.

3. What worked was the type of research that I got for my I Search paper. They were not a lot but they were very reliable and effective.

4. If I had a time machine, I would have worked harder as to picking another topic. Film production was actually my fourth choice. But within the topic, what didn't worked was my ESAs, I just couldn't find any useful statistics.

5. The senior project really taught me how to expand my web of connections through my mentorship. From my mentorship was able to get in touch with other great people from the film industry. If I were to go into the movie industry right away it would actually be not as hard for me because of those connections. I'm going into the Navy, and in the mere future I want to open up my own business. I can apply what I've learned from my mentorship and establish a solid connection with a solid asset then expand my way through with new connections, which will hopefully help me expand my potential business. So, in more basic words, make a lot of useful friends.

Blog 21: Mentorship

Literal. I've logged on my hours of the mentorship I've done, excluding those I did for my Independent Component, on the Right hand column under "Sausage Links" titled "Cisco's Mentorship Log & Hours."

Interpretive. My mentorship as the ROP Film TA helped me out by relearning some film techniques that I might have forgotten and taught be some new techniques, especially in lighting. Taking this knowledge I put it into the test in some of my work to better understand where my answers are coming from.

Applied. I am able to apply this  knowledge to some work I've done and single out what was useful to spark an emotional connection. For example, with newly obtained knowledge of he use of colored gels I was able to use them in a Doritos commercial to help set the vibe that the scene was going to be filled with cheesy goodness.

Exit Interview

1. My essential question is “How can a filmmaker best use image to spark an emotional connection with the film’s audience?” My answers are, “through effective use of lighting,” “through camera angles and movements at specific times,” and by “directing the actors to portray a certain mood.” My best answer is “Through effective use of a lighting a filmmaker can change the atmosphere and mood of the scene bring out stronger emotions.”

2. In early august of 2014 I was discussing the matter of coming up with possible answers to my already found EQ with Phil Miller, the ROP film teacher at IPoly. He said that it comes down to a number of including camera placement, editing, subject directing. But what really stuck to me in that conversation was when he mentioned how lighting was important with changing the atmosphere in a scene. Doing further research I find how the different intensities of the shadows and colors of the light can alter the way a viewer is already thinking about the scene.

3. I feel like the only problem I had was this was not finding some proper research at first. I found a lot of research from interior lighting designs and the few I found for film they were too brief. But once I hit the advanced search engine I was able to find some psychology articles on color and some really useful videos on how placement of lighting to bring out shadows controls the trust in a scene.  

4. One of the most important sources that I have is my mentor Phil Miller for teaching me not only the importance of the simple 3 point light setup but also some advanced lighting techniques like the use of colored gels and lighting two subjects at the same time. The second most important source that I have is an article written by Jim Stinson called “Light Source:Lighting for Mood.” There I found out some key techniques and rules to keep in mind when planning and controlling the lighting of a scene.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

I, Francisco Gonzalez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
The source that I am using for my Independent Component 2 is my mentor, Phil Miller the ROP dilm teacher here at I-Poly. There is a Log of my 30 hours located on the right under the group "Sausage Links" titled "Independent Component 2 Log."

My independent component helped me observe the creative process of planning a film that is more complex than the shorts that I've observed previously in the year. Now that it's second semester, I was able to learn about advanced lighting techniques like lighting two subjects instead of one now, and the use of colored gels and their uses. Students actual applied this newly earned knowledge by putting it into practice in a Doritos Commercial that they had to write and produce. Here's a video that explains those two weeks.

Recently the students just started the productions of their own independent films, which is their final project. In this project they are gathering up all of their knowledge and skills that they've acquired throughout the course and they put it together into what will be their best work yet. 

Throughout this whole process I've been assisting on the crews that need an extra hand or even giving some of my insight on some things. I've even been filming a lot of behind the scenes footage and am currently working on a documentary on their progress this semester. With this experience that I am gathering I can better understand the applications and usefulness in which my answers have. 

March Extra Blog Post

I'm too tired to type for yo guys. I'll just let this video explain what happened early on this month. 

There will be more videos to come.

Blog 18: Third Answer

How can a filmmaker best use image to spark an emotional connection with the film's audience? A filmmaker can direct his actors in a way so that their actions can portray the certain mood that the scene needs. The action of a subject can personify the drama. When we look at the subject's face we know what kind of consequences the situation has, like the distraught face of Tom Hanks in Saving private Ryan. When the only thing in the shot we see is his face, we understand what kind of terror he is going when fighting in WWII. The action of the subjects can elect our matching emotions. Naturally, we as humans have a tendency to mimic and synchronize with other's emotions so when we see Audrey Tautou in Amelie grinning at what she's seeing in the movies we can't help but grin as well. Lastly, when a brings out a nuanced face they leave the scene open to interpretation allowing us to project our own feelings and beliefs. So when a filmmaker directs its subjects well enough, the actions that the actors portray shall move the audience towards the perceived mood.
All of this info was conducted from the article at Psycology Today.com called "3 Reasons Why We are Drawn to Faces in Film" by Siu-Lan Tan, Phd.