Teens are overwhelmed, partly because they don’t yet have the skills to manage the unprecedented amount of stuff that enters their brains each day. – from LifeHacker.com
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
Watching some of the videos helped me on creating a better plan for organizing the things i do throughout the day to achieve my goals. I feel a lot better about my system of getting things done after doing all the tasks on this assignments.
A trusted system is your method for managing your tasks in a way that you consistently get things done
OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)
I really like going on the walks because even if they are just 10 minutes (even though I usually spend longer) they really allow you to take a minute and do // think whatever you want. Either plan ahead what you need to do next or not think at all what you need to do. And it’s all up to me to me to choose what I do with that time.
I learned how to properly use a GTD system for my benefit. We use a GTD system a lot in this class, and I’ve even started using it for my other ones, so it was really nice to get other perspectives as well as understand my own better. I feel a lot more confident now with my organization skills.
I like the Challenging Automatic Negative Thoughts worksheet because it goes into detail about how to relieve stress, which I think everyone could use right now. I was thinking about school and dance on my walk and have they been a lot on me lately. I think this was a good way to think about it and what I need to do so I can lift some of it off my mind.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
Writeonly a few sentences of WHAT YOU LEARNED
In one or two sentences,describe a PROBLEM YOU SOLVED
DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE
WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION
This week I was able to get a deeper understanding about Film Production and different methods I can change // use in my every day routines to relieve a stressful week to help me achieve my goals.
This week was less stressful than others because watching some videos really helped me think about my organization. I plan to try a few different methods and see which one best helps me stay on track and focused while relieving as much stress as possible, so i can still manage to get things done.
PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)
Screenshot from sneakonthelot.comScreenshot from sneakonthelot.com
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
Screenshot from The Story of Film Trailer on NetworkReleasing YouTube channel
I usually structure my day by writing down everything at the beginning of the week to remind me of upcoming events (tests, homework due, family events, meetings, etc.) Then I highlight things off as I get them done throughout the week because it gives me a feeling of accomplishment and that way I know I actually got things done and don’t have to stress as much.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
I learned that if you have a plan B, your plan A is less likely to work so it is better to stick to one plan all the way through before moving on.
A problem I solved this week was grades. I was able to bring every single grade of mine up by turning in missing assignments I had been putting off due to lost motivation for school.
Your toughest work is defining what your work is! – Peter Drucker
SUMMARY
This week was pretty good overall. School stressed me out a little bit in terms of trying to get all my assignment in on time but it wasn’t as bad as it has been. Dance team has me pretty stressed though in regards to all the routines we have to remember and makes me pretty tired after practices, which doesn’t help to motivate me with school.
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
Screenshot from David Allen TED Talk
PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)
In this ‘room’ you are going to try Getting Things Done(GTD).
STEP 1: MAKE A LIST
Screenshot of David Allen TED Talk
Film – this blog post
World History – lecture #1 and #2 notes and textbook questions due
Geometry – 1.6 ready set go due and a symmetry assignment due
French – french notes and que tu assignment due
English – Tempest workbook questions and annotation of Act 2
Biology – keystone species due, research due, and human impacts due
I thought it was interesting how he has his step 4 as a reflection and his step 5 is to engage in your activities because as you think about it more it totally makes sense. You have to look back at what you do in order to move on and fully understand the process of what you’re doing.
On my walk at first I had a lot on my mind regarding schoolwork and dance and even this blog I am working on right now. I was thinking about how it totally makes sense as I said before to reflect before you move on and do something. I’m not sure why but that was just kind of an eye opener for me.
OPTIONAL EXERCISE – Read the article and go for another walk 🙂
Katia Verresen, kvaleadership.com
“I coach C-suite executives and rising stars from the earliest startups to Fortune 100 companies. My passion is to help ambitious leaders achieve their full human potential.” – Read more about Katia…
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
The biggest thing I took away was yet again the reflection thing. When you really think about it, you have to reflect before you move on because that’s what helps you really understand things. If you don’t understand what you’re doing there’s really no point in what you are about to do.
“You can’t fix a bad script after you start shooting. The problems on the page only get bigger as they move to the big screen.” – Howard Hawks
SUMMARY
This one was pretty interesting to write about, I’ve always been interested in screenwriting. Although it was a little difficult to get everything I wanted down in the set amount of times. Other than that it was good 🙂
I did learn a lot from this section though, about some of the history from when film first began, and how it has developed all leading up to today’s versions of it!
PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
Image from sneakonthelot.com/my-courses/
I wasn’t able to finish all of this section because I ran out of time. I took a few notes from the first ones, and read it through a few times because I spaced out and didn’t quite remember all the information it was saying but I think I got it now.
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
Often times I find myself wanting more out of my life. Lately it feels like everything’s being blurred together because in one way, the same things are happening every day, like a repeating cycle. But on the other hand, it’s different every day, just not in the way I want it to be.
I wake up for school, go to my classes, finish my homework, do some chores, go on my phone, go to dance practice, and them go to bed. Every day feels the same. I want something different from it. I don’t want to look back at my sophomore year of high school and only be able to think if 2-3 core memories I have from it. Which I know is asking a lot because of everything going on in the world right now but it’s still what I think about. Almost as if I’m stressing about the time I have left because we only have 2 more years before we move onto different parts of our lives and have to start taking more responsibility for ourselves. I guess what I’m trying to say is it feels like we’re running out of time.
Another thing is how I feel really disconnected from everyone. I have my phone on me all day yet I barely talk to people. I’m not sure why, because all I really have to do is type out a quick text to talk to them but I miss seeing everyone at school. I’m a really social person so I personally love being around people and seeing them on a day to day basis. Feels like everyone right now is mentally drained from just everything.
OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)
Right after a car crash
Girl battles eating disorder at a thanksgiving dinner
Reading old love notes from past lovers
Watching the asteroid about to hit Earth
Driving home from the hospital
Stepping outside after the first date
Listening to an old song that has a memory attached to it
STUDIO (FILMING)
Yes, I thought it was interesting to see other people’s mindsets and opinions on all of it.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
I learned a lot about the history portion of film and cinematography. I think it was interesting that the whole idea of different people’s perceptions of how a horse gallops is what sort of started the evolution of film making and that’s where it all grew from.
Problem solving wise I had to come up with something from scratch for dance practice today. We had to wear Halloween costumes and dress up for it, when I originally planned on not doing a costume this year. But I came up with the idea of cupids evil twin and made a costume from a few things from Party City and what I had from home.
WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION
I really liked this weeks activity, especially the writing parts where I got to write things from my perspective.
Image Creative Workflow from Behance.com, https://www.behance.net/gallery/27919515/Creative-workflow-GIF
Work•flow /ˈwərkflō/
“The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion.” – lexico.com
Stages of Creation Development
Inspiration
How do we find ideas to develop?
WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
I think there are many different tools you can use as part of your inspiration. Whether it is mental tools and ways to create ideas or even physically looking up workflow ways, there are a variety of options for the process.
WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
I think we should always show others our work, especially if they are more advanced than we are. They can give us their own perspective on how they viewed it which is important because it allows you to see from another person’s point of view, not just your own. Once they give you their corrections, you should take what they said into account and try to change it in a positive way.
HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
As I said before, one way to measure your quality is to get feedback from others. Whether it’s positive or negative sometimes it really does help you come up with better ideas.
Other ways you can measure quality would be to try out different styles of equipment. Before, during, and after production there are so many different styles of producing top quality things, even when you start out with low quality things. If you can get all the right view points and story line’s that really grasp people’s attention, they’ll want to watch it no matter what.
WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
I personally think your audience measures the quality. Your audience is who you are trying to please so their opinions are what matter the most.
Intention
How do we clarify our specific goal(s) for a project?
Your intention is all up to you. You can not blame anyone but yourself if you have a bad intention and something doesn’t go the way you want. You need to be able to decide for yourself what your intention is behind what you are doing because then and only then will you be able to develop more and more of an idea for where you want things to go.
There are many different kinds of intentions. First off, you need to be able to have what kind you want in mind. Are you trying to make the audience laugh? Are you trying to make them feel something in their heart, like love or sorrow. Or maybe you’re just trying to get a good scare out of them. Like I said in the beginning, your intention is all up to you and how you want others to perceive it.
Another thing to remember about intentions is your own audience. Let’s say you’re making a comedy movie. People who want to have a good laugh are gonna be more drawn to watching it. Now you also have to have an age target. One thing I learned from a marketing class I took last year was that everything has an age category. Sure, any age can watch a movie, but who do you want to be drawn the most? Adults? Teenagers? Kids? Then you have to be able to keep up with the trends. The jokes have to be up to date in order for people to find it funny because no one wants to hear the same old things. People want something new, like things that haven’t been done before.
This sort of depends if you are working alone or with a group. If you are working alone I find it best to always have a note section on your phone that’s easy to type something up quick if you happen to see something that grasps your attention.
Another thing you could do is bring a camera around with you. You could snap a quick picture or even take a short video, either way you have something to look back on and study the details from it. How can you incorporate that into your film in order to gain something from it.
Now, if you’re working with a group I think the best things to do when planning is as soon as you have an idea tell them about it. You don’t want to spend all your time thinking and planning out this amazing idea just for everyone in the group to not like it because let’s be honest, that’s just a waste of everyone’s time.
When working with a group it will be very hard to always come to an agreement on everything but I feel it’s important to hear everyone out, and talk through everyone’s point of view until you can come to a collaborative decision. This way you won’t make others feel like their opinions aren’t validated, and no major arguments begin.
Production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our plan for this phase? This is where we actually make the project.
As I said in the pre-production statements, it’s important to always write down your ideas because then when you go back to review the footage you have taken you can decide if you really put your emotion into it. A storyboard is a technique a lot of writers use when writing their books because they have a clear image in their head of the perfect way to describe what they feel/saw. The only difference is instead of putting all of that description into writing, you try to capture that on a camera that way it has it’s own story to tell.
For example, let’s say it’s a cold, snowy day in the winter. You’re walking down a sidewalk and see a bride trying on a wedding dress through the windows. All her bridesmaids are there cheering and you can just tell by the expressions that that’s the dress she’s going to choose. Now, if you are going to put that into a film you have to be able to replicate the same view you saw that day and think about how you felt when watching that. Did it make you happy for her because she looks happy? Or maybe you felt sad because you had just broken up with your significant other. It all depends on what story you’re trying to tell, but either way you have to be able to capture the emotion.
There are all different kinds of emotions. There’s the basics: happy, sad, numb, scared, etc.
Then, there are the more complex ones which are usually the best to portray: elated (great happiness and exhilaration), ethereal (something that seems too perfect for this world) etc. And since we can’t use the writing to capture that, we have to rely on capturing that with the camera.
Next, is your time. Time management is everything. Something I have learned from my dance team at Capital is that you have to be able to follow through with the things you say. If you tell someone your film will be done by a certain time, it is your job to make sure that happens. Time management is a huge part of your production, if you don’t have a plan for it all nothing will get accomplished. You have to have a very organized and detailed plan, especially when it comes to figuring out all the money, paperwork, cameras, lighting, editing, audio, etc.
Lastly is reviewing and final changes. You have to review your footage and make the final decisions on all of your video’s. This is extremely important because in order to have your film look how you want, it all has to be put together in order.
Post-production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our final stages of the project for this phase? This is where we publish the project.
In order for your film to be successful, you have to work with the team you have and use all your talents to the best of your abilities.
Again, you need to be thinking about your audience. If they were watching the whole film all put together, what are they gonna think of it?
You’re also going to be figuring out where you want your showings. Figure out how and where you want your premier to be at, as well as giving out the press releases in order to gain more hype for when it does officially come out.
Presentation/Performance
How do we share our project with our learning community, advisory members, and the world?
One way you could go about this is hiring a manager to schedule all of your appearances for you and make sure that you are up to date about what’s happening with your film
Thankfully being as advanced with technology as we are in 2020, we can easily get word out about films on various different social media accounts. All you need is one thing of it to go viral and you will gain more and more hype, especially if you already have any famous actors in it.
Feedback
How do we conduct a feedback session at the end of the project development cycle?
A good way to easily obtain your feedback is to look at reviews critics and customers have written about your movie. One thing you have to remember is that not everyone will like your film, and that’s okay. You will have negative feedback because people are always gonna find things they don’t like about it.
It is important to look at the negative things people say because then you can take those things you didn’t do well or didn’t add and try to incorporate it next time or work on developing it to be better. It’s good to know your weak points.
But it is also important to look at your positive feedback because then you know what your strong points are and what positions you are most successful in.
