Cucalorus

Another solid year of films at Cucalorus. I was unable to fully immerse myself into the festival like last year but still caught enough to satisfy my appetite. I saw:
That Evening Sun
Mississippi Damned
House of the Devil
The Port Salut shorts
and Big Fan.

My favorite film was "She's a Fox". I thought it was one of the best shorts I've seen in a long while, from start to finish, it was flawless. I talked to the filmmaker afterward and he answered all questions I had about Chapman University, where he went for grad school, and certain aspects of his film. The atmosphere of Cucalorus is always great, laid back, energetic, outgoing, intelligent. It's always a great time to meet people and discuss film. I thought the entire block of shorts in the Port Salut program were amazing. Chip Hackler's "Two Hours in the Dark" received a standing ovation, which added all the more to atmosphere and my perceptions of it. The ovation was sincere and joyful and I was very happy for Chip. I also liked the short, "Nous". It depressed the hell out of me, knowing the outcome of this man, in his forties, and seeing him during a period of bliss, in love, happy. The image of a man dying, alone, with his memories of love locked behind a refrigerator door has stayed with me. I thought the film worked great blending the holiday footage with the facts of life. If the man in the film, on his holiday, had known then, what end was to become of him, what would he do I wondered.
Also, the short, "Small Change" was a very solid short as was the other film about a letter which escapes me. Both films, told a story in less than five minutes, which is no easy feat.

"House of the Devil" started off great, the opening titles, the set up of, the suspense. BUT the suspense dragged on and oN and ON. Finally, the "blood" which supposedly was to drench 75% of the frames came and in five minutes the entire "conflict" if you call it that was resolved and the audience was left with a cliffhanager.

Disappointing.

It was my last year at Cucalorus and I'm glad I was able to see so many great things. It truly is a remarkable event.

My Rough Theater

My rough theater would look like this:

It would be dark and personal. It's the kind of theater that encourages viewers to see a matinee and then sneak into a completely different film. It's the kind of theater where one leaves, often lost within oneself, within one's own thoughts.

Of course I would have another theater, and that would look like this-


This theater would be fun and goofy. It would bring out the child in all of us. It would encourage uncontrollable laughter, it would contain a rule where viewers cannot cross their arms ever, it would be silly.

Mystery Workshop Response

Fun as always!

I've never worked with 3D animation, and it was a fun new experience. I wish I had been able to think of a creative story to tell, or something unique. Also, I wish I was good at arts and crafts. My 3D glasses were nearly lost, barely salvageable. Luckily, Mark Eaton cut the glasses back to their most basic form. After that I added a little top hat and I had something. It was Saved.

3D appears to be the wave of the future and I was happy knowing, while watching the final product, that I could do it. However rough it turned out, I could do it, and I think that is something I am really learning throughout this course, that anything can be done. It might not be great at first, but most attempts aren't, as long as I keep working hard I can perfect whatever my endeavor my be. I'm also taking another look at what film tools are in my tool shed and what can be added to that shed of film tools. The means by which you tell a story should reflect the story itself, and when one has the power and the knowledge to wield many tools, they have choice when they begin production.

I am not and have not been the most knowledgeable person in the editing room, and I liken my mindset in the editing room to my mindset towards the weight room in high school. I played football throughout high school and unfortunately had to participate in wrestling my freshman and sophomore year. Both of these sports required time in the weight room to improve the body's strength. My older brother and I share similar frames but, unlike myself, my older brother spent a lot of time in the weight room and in turn excelled at both sports, finally receiving a scholarship to play football at a DI school, but I never spent that time and thus never bulked up. I was weak my freshman year of high school and I got deterred from going in because everyone older than me could put up a lot of weight. I think that's what happened to me in college with the editing room. Instead of working harder at my weaknesses I gave up and turned to something else. What I turned to was acting and I have done that the majority of college. For that reason, I haven't really felt like a filmmaker throughout college because I've created so little, but through this class I have created multiple projects that I am proud of and through these projects I've eagerly jumped into the editing lab and I've become stronger. I have more confidence when I say I am a filmmaker now, because I have projects that I created to back it up. I also am gaining confidence to undertake new technologies.

Overall, good stuff.