With this school year coming to a close I would like to look back on my filmmaking class. I am a bit disappointed that CoronaVirus cut our in school class time short. I was looking forward to filming my own work and editing it to make my very own film. Unfortunately, due to CoronaVirus, it was more difficult to learn and therefore we were not prepared enough to make our own film. My filmmaking class was always the class I could look forward to having fun in. I sat next to two of my very close friends and we had fun in class everyday. Projects were never difficult when we worked together. We were able to complete projects quickly and have fun doing them. We started off the year by learning the basics of filmmaking and we watched lessons given by famous filmmakers. We then began learning how to shoot. We did two six shot films based on six word stories. We then began learning how to edit using adobe premier. I was able to complete our first editing project the very first day we started and I learned how to use the software relatively quickly. I then helped my classmates that were struggling with their project. We then shifted over to online learning and I thought learning filmmaking remotely was going to be extremely difficult. While I did struggle a little bit on quizzes, the editing part of online school was very fun and didn’t feel like work because it was something I wanted to learn. The last couple weeks of this class were very enjoyable due to the long periods of time we had to complete our projects. I was able to take my time on projects and make sure they showed the skills I learned in class. I will recommend this class to friends at Saint X because I believe this class was the perfect way to escape the stressfulness of school while still learning a very important skill, and having fun doing it. I am very thankful I took this class because I know it will be beneficial to my future. Thank you Mr. Mitchell for a great school year.

Coronavirus has begun to affect every aspect of our lives, specifically, it has begun affecting film making. The first famous actor to contract the disease was Tom Hanks, who made this statement-“Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive. Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We’ll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves!” Tom Hanks contracted the disease while filming a movie about Elvis Presley in Australia. The COVID-19 pandemic is roiling the film and entertainment industries. The Chinese industry was hit almost immediately as all movie theaters across the country were shut down and made productions nonexistent. Hollywood soon began to feel the effects of this pandemic, too, with all operations shutting down and theaters closed. It is expected that the impact of Coronavirus on the filmmaking and entertainment industry will certainly grow. With the postponement of mostly all filmmaking projects, we will be stuck without new material for a short amount of time before the quarantine is over. Once the pandemic is gone, the film industry will come roaring back to life and great new films will be released. One interesting and thought worry effect from this pandemic is that after this quarantine is over, within the months following, an incredible documentary will be released. This documentary will most likely consist of the things we wish we could see while we were going through it, like hotspots and hospitals, places we would never want to visit, but wanted to see.

With all of America’s schools out due to COVID-19, us students are having to do school online. Unfortunately, I already messed up pretty bad on the very first day of online school. I slept through my alarms and ended up missing two online classes. However, after completely screwing up the first today, I began to get the hang of online classes the following days. The most difficult thing to adjust to online is taking test and quizzes. It is a very different experience to have to take test and quizzes on an iPad. The first assessment I had to take was a math quiz. The way this quiz had to be taken was multiple choice because there is no online format in which you can really show your work while you are taking the quiz. I find this format easier yet less fulfilling because I feel like I do not have to give very much effort to get a good grade. While I do not like online test and quizzes, I am very happy with my homework workload and scheduling. I might have this feeling because I am an athlete that rarely has much time to do anything and now I have been given an entire day to do homework. I used to feel so stressed everyday because I knew I would have hours of homework to do after practice but now 3 to 4 hours of homework is no problem. While I do feel like I am unfulfilled during this quarantine, I am enjoying the time I have because I know I will eventually return to normal life again. In the entirety of online school, I enjoy it but would not like to do it for a very long period of time. Hopefully everyone can do their part and adhere to social distancing so we can knock out this virus and still make it back to school.

More than 50 projects at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival used Blackmagic design. The Blackmagic design company gear includes digital film cameras, DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, VFX and audio post production software, and more. The Director of “The Killing of Two Lovers”, Robert Machoian, used the DaVinci Resolve Studio editing for the first time and acclaimed “It was my first time editing in DaVinci Resolve Studio, so I took a chance, but I wanted to test the workflow and see if this could be a future workflow for me. I have to say, I’m so thankful I took the risk! Editing was smooth and organized, and when it came time to turn the project over to my colorist, it was so simple. For me, DaVinci Resolve Studio is my post production software from now on.” Other films such as “The 40-Year-Old Version”, “And Then We Danced”, “The Cost of Silence”, “The Killing of Two Lovers”, “Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist”, “This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection”, and many more used DaVinci Resolve Studio. This is so important because it is paving the way for new norms of filmmaking. This sudden change in the devices used to make films is a revolution of new fronts and technology, enabling better criteria and ability to create films. Blackmagic Design is making it easier to create films without needing big cameras and high production. With more and more creators using Blackmagic Design, we will most likely see films that not only look better, but flow together better with the use of DaVinci Resolve studio and other Blackmagic Design devices. Blackmagic Design is creation groundbreaking innovation such as 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and developments in 3D and UltraHD resolution. Another great product that has been very helpful to filmmakers is Blackmagic Design’s color collector. This product makes corrections in colors of films, making them blend extremely well and give off the desired tone. I am excited to see the great new products that Blackmagic Design will create and the film that will be produced through the ingenuity of this trailblazing company.

Since my last learning reflection, I have been learning about filming six word stories. Six word stories are short films based off six word sentences that evolve into 6 shots. I was working in a group with three of my friends and the stories we came up with are “A hug can change someone’s day” and “Freeze, don’t move; no I, Bang”. The different shots we did consisted of changes in angles and points of view. In our first story, the first shot was of two students taking a test in a view in which the camera was pointed in the direction of their fronts. The second shot was of one of the students looking around the room and seeing if he can look at the other students paper. The third shot was of me, playing a teacher at a desk, in which I was engulfed in my computer and not paying attention. The fourth shot was also of me, but over my shoulder so that my screen could be seen along as the students in the background. The fifth shot was of one student handing his test to the other so that he could cheat off his test. At the end of that shot both students looked up in surprise and panic towards the teachers desk. The sixth shot was once again over my shoulder so that the students and myself could be seen. The story was ended with me looking up and then yelling “Stop” and giving the student a detention.I was sick during the day my group filmed the second six word story but I can imagine it went something like this. The first shot was most likely of a student at his desk from his front. The second shot was most likely a teacher handing the student a test back, once again from the front. The third shot had to have been of the test over the shoulder of the student in which the shot would reveal that the student got a very bad score on the test. The fourth shot would therefore be of the students face or whole body, looking sad. The fifth shot was most likely be of another student seeing the sad student and getting up to confront him. The sixth and final shot would be of the students hugging and the originally sad student deeming a happy face or smile.

With the last Oscars recently coming to a close, it is interesting to look back on the films that won oscars and specifically, winners that surprised everyone, or at least me. The movie that caught me off guard the most was “Parasite.” I expected “Parasite” to a film about a fictional disease that plagued China yet it turned out to be completely different. The best way I can explain “Parasite” is greed and class discrimination that threatens the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan. The article I am reviewing today is “5 Screenwriting Lessons from Bong Joon-Ho’s ‘Parasite’”.  The first lesson that can be learned is that drama is universal. ‘Parasite’s drama was such a hit because it reached so many dynamics, it didn’t only relate to Chinese culture, it was able to relate to all cultures that had a wealth gap. The story of class warfare was perfectly universal. The second lesson that can be learned from ‘Parasite’ is to do your prewriting. Before ‘Parasite’ went into production, it was a treatment that a South Korean company bought. A treatment is a multi-page document written in prose, that tells the story that happens in your screenplay. It is a synopsis, with action, sparse dialogue, and works as a roadmap for the reader, producer, and writer. The writers of ‘parasite’ gave themselves time that would allow them to find the time to make the screenplay the best it could be. They followed the lesson that “When you have a great idea, follow the steps you need to make the actual screenwriting process easier.” The third lesson that can be learned from the making of ‘Parasite’ is that all characters are developed through interaction with others. This means that elaborate backstories are not needed to develop characters. It is much better to allow the characters to show who they are through what the characters do. Allow drama to come from the characters and it will formulate the story. The forth lesson that can be learned from ‘Parasite’ is don’t shy away from metaphor. The movie is about parasitic relationships between families of different economic classes. The movies director sat down for weeks and wrote parasitic relationships so that he would have a thorough understanding of what he wanted to foretell. The fifth lesson that can be learned from the movie ‘Parasite’ is to care about your descriptions and actions. It is extremely important to make sure that every single line in a film is clear, concise, and not messy.

https://nofilmschool.com/parasite-screenplay-lessons

With this past Super Bowl 54 taking place, there were some incredible commercials played. My favorite commercial has got to be Honda’s commercials for their new car feature, smart park. In this commercial, John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans have a conversation about smart park in heavy boston accents. The heavy boston accents are very comical and add an appeal to the commercial that makes you interested in the new car and feature. My second favorite commercial was Budweiser’s and uber’s commercial about not drinking and driving. In the commercial, there are many robots having a conversation to portray the ability to use technology to get you home safe after drinking. My third favorite commercial is Hulu’s Tom Brady commercial. A couple days before the commercial, Tom Brady posted a picture on instagram in which he was walking out of a football stadium. This picture created havoc because people thought Tom Brady was foreshadowing his retirement from the game of football. However, this commercial was simply about Hulu being the new way of television. This was a great marketing strategy on Hulu’s part because it caused so much speculation that led to popularity. My fourth favorite commercial is Bud Lights Commercial featuring Post Malone. In the commercial, Bud Light is advertising their new product, Bud Light Seltzer. The commercial attracts customers because it is filled with comedy. The commercial consists of a rendition of the movie “Inside Out” in which we see inside Post Malone’s mind as he decides which beer he wants to get. My fifth favorite super bowl commercial was the Pringle’s and Rick and Morty commercial. I enjoyed this commercial because I am a huge fan of Rick and Morty. This commercial consist of Rick and Morty realizing that they are trapped in a Pringle’s commercial. The commercial contains many jokes that attract the watchers to buy their product.

This week in filmmaking class we learned many important details about the art of filmmaking. The first important detail we learned about is the art of cutting and pasting together film. My classmates and I watched a video that reviewed movies in which cuts were not pasted together properly. We watched a clip from the movie Goodfellas in which multiple characters sat together at a table and listened to a story. During the story the camera switches angles multiple times in order to give a look at both sides of the table. At one point, the conversation intensifies and the camera switches many times between Tommy Devito and Henry Liotta. During these switches, many mistakes can be seen. It is clear that after cuts, they did not pay attention to where they were and what they were doing during the piece of film before the cut. This resulted in clips not piecing together as well as they could have. For example, the first mistake that is seen is hand position, after cuts, it is seem that Henry’s hands spontaneously changed positions and were in different places. Another problem was the way some characters were sitting, after cuts, characters changed their sitting position and messed with the fluency of the film. It is so important to make sure that clips that had to pasted together flow. Being able to make cuts look like one shot is an art of filmmaking that makes film exceptionally better. Another aspect we learned about filmmaking is the film itself. We learned about types of film strip and how filmmaking worked before the use of digital cameras, and why some filmmakers still use old school to give their films a purposeful look. We learned that large production films like Star Wars used 35mm film. We also learned how film cameras worked in order to give the special aspect that filmmakers love. Old school film strip cameras have many attributes that make recording on film very special. The film camera would consist of two rolls of tape, one roll of tape on the top that was ready to be used, and one roll on the bottom that was already shot. The film also consisted of two pieces of slack that would insure that the tape had no discrepancies in timing. The camera would pull down the tape at an even speed, almost pausing at each film strip, in which the camera would take a still picture on each slide. When these slides would be played back at the same speed they were taken, it would look like a video. I was sick the last day of class last week and I believe I missed out on learning about adobe spark editing. In the future, I would like to learn how to use adobe to edit videos and create special effects. While I have used other editing apps in the past to edit together film projects in middle school, I want to learn how to use other apps and compare them to what I have used in the past.

My name is William Dane Bruenderman, and this is my first Blog post. I live and grew up in a place called Louisville Kentucky. I am a varsity swimmer and a hardworking student. During my upbringing as a child, I always loved watching movies with my brothers and then analyzing them. I have always wanted to learn how to create my own films and that is why I am here, starting my own Blog. The only real filmmaking experience I have is the few short films I made in 8th grade with a couple of my friends for drama class.