3/23/09

*Approximately four hours after posting this blog, I'm starting to regret the way I wrote about my group members. I was being insensitive and rude and I hope to eventually adopt a new, optimistic attitude. Yes, I was reading over the post and I thought, "Gee, I must be be really fed up four hours ago." Anyway, here is the fed up me writing about today's lesson:

For the Twilight Zone project, I am the sound editor and the producer. As a producer, I told other group members to scout for loccations over the "long weekend" (as we did not have school on friday). I scouted for locations with the cinematographer on the twentieth of March. I convinced Alec Laband to act in our film as the protagonist. I fulfilled my role as a producer. As for sound - I found a song under the Creative Commons license, which means that I can use it for our film. And it is not one of those freeplaymusic songs nor one of those mediocre Garageband loops. I can do more as a sound editor when I receive a proper screenplay from the director.

An excerpt from the 3/11/09 blog post:
How was I to know if one would really work hard if I were to allow one to do what he was supposed to do?
- If I did allow one to do what he was supposed to do and the person were lazy, then he would end up doing nothing and I would have to swoop down and do everything for the person last minute.

Unfortunately, what I stated on the eleventh is increasingly becoming the case for our current project. The director sent me a draft of the screenplay the day before class. I went through two pages of "Who am I? What am I doing here? Why am I being chased? What is happening?"; I shook my head upon completing the read. The head shaking did not cease: there were no references to the characters' actions and locations (or even at least a vague idea of the setting of the scene). Worried, I wrote and saved a document named "actionscript", listing an order of events that occur in the film in different scenes, ideas for portals, actions and locations to compensate for the lack of them in the screenplay. Locations for each scene were not confirmed, so I planned to bring my "actionscript" into class. This way, I could go to class, open the "actionscript" and fill in the blanks with locations which Andy and I had scouted and get the editor and director to fill in the rest of the blanks.

And get the editor and director to fill in the rest of the blanks with locations they that had scouted. Yeah.. well, they didn't scout for locations over the long weekend. The editor could be excused as she had to perform in the school production (but still). The director? Thanks for the screenplay.. but, er, maybe there's a little something missing in the screenplay? Maybe, maybe it's lacking in descriptions and locations? Maybe the dialogue is near-awful and should be refined and honed to the point that people don't actually laugh at it?

Due to the lack of faith I hold for the director, I will be completing the "actionscript" and think about voiceovers and such for the lesson on Wednesday. I'll probably pen the whole thing (isn't that what producers are supposed to do? According to Wikipedia, the principal writer is almost always credited as an executive producer rather than the more descriptive title of "head writer."). I better swoop down now before realizing it is too late to do so.

*I'm trying to be not as bitter/jaded as before, but I am utterly disappointed at the lack of effort (or is it incompetence?) that the director had put into writing her script. I also have a phlegm-infested sore throat, stuffy nose, and a mild fever, which results in a sour mood and the usual misanthropic attitude towards people. Had I stayed at home and rested to get better, the group would be sitting around in class without an "actionscript" to work on. Hopefully, this will be the last bitter/jaded blog post.