Week of June 12

Last week the film festival seemed to be a success. People were cheering for all the films (especially the comedies).  I really enjoyed the energy and seeing people appreciate the films even if they weren't taking a class.  It was a really large audience and when my film came on my heart skipped a beat. I love it when my film is on the big screen and I hear a contrasting silence from all the previous laughter.  I know my film, so I wasn't really surprised to watch it.  My favorite film was the friendship PSA. It made me laugh and although it was super cheesy, it was actually really funny.  It was also really great being able to see the other film students and the work they produced. I think that one of the things that make it fun is that we recognize each other. I'm really excited for the evening film festival so that others can also indulge in our awesome films.

Week of June 5

This week Salvador and I shot, edited, and completed our documentary on Luis Angel. It was really tiring and I'm done for the week.  Except I'm not, I have a test tomorrow and my cousins are visiting from out of the city so I'm going to try and get them to help me shoot something for our biology film. (Which we completed the lyrics for) We just need to know what to shoot.

Week of May 29

We have started filming for our ethnic documentary.  We are ready to conduct an interview for our Luis Angel documentary.  The questions are ready and organized.  Today we're going to get some shots of Bell High School as establishing scenes.

Week of May 22

This week I've almost completed the lyrics for my ecology song. I'll be done with it for sure next week. I've been invited to create a film about the diversity of Bell High School students.  It will be a documentary and the longest part should be the interviews and editing. We are deciding what still shots to include of the actual school.

Week of May 15

I managed to finish 2 films.  I am looking forward to completing 2 more films. I attended a film festival this weekend because my film "Age of Consequences" was submitted. After looking at it on the big screen with an audience, I felt really confident about it.  I saw other films and I was able to learn from them. Now I see why we need to incorporate a clear message in all the films we make.  Not all the films were concise or too interesting, but there were definitely some great ones. It was nice to see the other ideas that students express through filmmaking.  Personally, I thought I would win because people gave us really great  feedback during the break.  I was proud to at least be able to participate because it means my film stood out among many others that were submitted.  I was impressed by the fact that Bell High School had the most films accepted despite the other schools and programs that held an artistic title.  I also enjoyed interacting with all kinds of students.

Week of May 1st

It's going to be a challenge, but we have to manage a film and finish it by next week or shortly after. I decided to make a PSA about the California drought and I want to include very visually stimulating images: quick and easy. I want to make it like the style of the TV show Dexter opening.  Mostly close-ups but I have yet to determine how to put it together to mean something powerful.

Week of April 24

We finally finished our first film on Friday.  I thought it would be amazing, but it fell through because of communication (I think).  I learned that its really hard to be efficient when you can't keep check of the production because everyone has a different period. Personally, I thought it turned out great; however, I felt that the work wasn't distributed evenly. If it's okay, I think next time I'll work with only one other person.  I don't want to talk about that film anymore, so moving on... I have an idea for our next documentary.
I want to interview the memory club instructor, Luis Angel because he's interesting and inspirational (at least to me he is). I believe that his experiences are relatable to us as high school students because he tells us that he didn't make the best out of his young adulthood, but now he aspires to do many things.  He is generous and wise.  I would like to bring out some of his experiences and turn it into a film for other students to watch.

I'm not sure about my third film. I thought it'd be easy to make a music video on a biological subject because my biology teacher is making that an important project after AP exams. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.  Another idea I had was to make a PSA because I would love to make a film that is short and concise, but I don't have a clear idea on the subject.  I thought about making one about being "pro-peace" rather than "anti-war" but to me that's a spiritual concept that probably wouldn't mean much to other people, so I won't even go into detail.