Guitars and the Politics

So the three biggest "guitar-making-giants": Martin, Taylor, and Gibson are in the middle of a contreversy about the eradication of the forest of Alaska. The old-growth Sitka spruce are being cut down, for the rich tone it produces for the guitar. A Greenpeace representative is mediating the dispute saying that the guitar companies are allies in hi campaign to slow deforestation. Though this article is far from the topic of film, I feel that people should be aware. Music and sound play a very important part of making movies. Activist are making protest about the cutting of trees without the proper knowledge that most of the Earths oxygen comes from the ocean. Many instruments are made of wood like: pianos, guitars, flutes, chellos, violins, drums, etc. If these instruments are made scarce then many future music writers will be at a disatvantage. The composer who might be the hero who makes my movie a succes might not even show up because a guitar or a piano was not available to him due to activist protecting the forest. I feel like the more musical instruments out there the more musicians will be inspired to progress in there art, as I as an aspiring filmmaker progress in mine. As a student in the film arts I think that having the right equipment is essential in building experience in this art form. And musician should be allowed musical instruments so that they too may gain experience, so that in the future I can feature them in one of my movies. Would musicians be able to becomes geniuses without the use of guitars?

The Politics of Acoustic Guitars

Somethings to Keep in Mind.

So I finished my 5-minute movie--well I say finished but I mean turned in for a grade. The "5-minute movie" itself wasn't completed. Many of the foley was not all there. Som ambient sounds were missing. And the Doppler effect wasn't used, so basically we didn't mix the sound in properly. I guess my teacher made his point when he says that the shots of the film was only fifty percent of the project. Sound also plays an important role. I watched a 10-minute movie without any sounds in it. It was awkward. One thing I learned from this is:

1. Organize- Be organized and keep track of everything. Have a checklist prepared for the: schedule, foley, materials, and shot-lists.

2. Schedule your time so that you have EXTRA time after editing for the minor kinks and details of the film.

3. Actors...Memorize your lines thoroughly. And make sure you communicate with the director so that you guys have a accurate idea of how he wants the actor to act.

4. Record foley as soon as possible. Be creative. Always label which is foley in the editing sofware you happen to be using. Looking for certain foley in a mass of different slots is highly unproductive and a waste of time.

5. Label footage as soon as you transfer it from the camera to the computer. 

6. Try and record at a girls house. They cook you food.

Film Journal- The Struggle

So far I had thought that everything in my groups project was moving along great. We had all of our neccesarry shots recorded and all the foley we might have needed. Everything was moving along great but I hadn't accounted for the editting process to take so long. I don't know if we can finish it. Everyone in my group has been doing their best to finish this project but it is still very hard. Especially the ADR, which we recorded seperate to the film. *TIP* Finish matching the ADR to the characters lips ASAP. This should be the first thing you do after you finish editing the film sequence. ADR is very hard to do.

FIlm Journal-Editing and Foley

So far so good. My film is almost completed. I shouldn't say mine bu my group's film project is almost completed. We were supposed to have a re-shoot on Monday which was yesterday but it was cancelled. I even brought my clothes and everything for the re-shoot. It ended up getting cancelled because I guess the producer, director, and DP all thought we were done with shooting and had completed all needed shots. Or maybe because we still haven't edited the film to an extent where we still don't know what important key shots we still have missing. But I trust my DP and Director so I'll leave the job of deciding the shots to them. Now we are just editing. Our editor Mimi is doing a fine job with that with the help of my DP Eric. While our director is in the back supervising them. And I sometimes get the chance to edit once in a while. 

As the Sound Guy who is in charge of the foley I can pretty much say that 90% of all the sounds are completed. When gathering foley it is best to make a list of all the sounds you will need when one is creating a film. It keeps everything more organized. Also I learned from my teacher that if you don't have the actual props to make the sound then get creative and use something else. For example: Since I was not able to access a bike on a regular basis, I grabbed a wheel chair we keep in the storage of my film class and used that as the sound for the bike. I flipped the wheel chair on its side and spun the wheel in a fast enough pace where I can lightly jam a plastic ruler in between the ridges to make the sound of a bike's wheels turning in rotation on the concrete. It was the closest sound I could produce without the use of an actual bike.