Last Post

Hey Blogger,

This is going to be my last post on this blog. It doesn't make much sense to continue blogging on the subject of "My Passion" because it was for a school assignment, and in my recent blogs, I have been blogging solely about my thoughts, therefore I decided to create a new blog called "Senseless Cognition" (http://senselesscognition.blogspot.com/) which I'll be posting on from now on. There is no specific theme associated with my new blog and so the subjects of my posts can be anything from cheesecake to nuclear chemistry, however, they'll most likely be about random thoughts I have or things I like. Anyways, I just want to say that I actually enjoyed blogging about my passion and it was actually a pretty cool experience, I hope to have just as much fun on my new blog, so check it out.

See you soon Blogger.

Dylan

The effects of better weather and no stress

So last night was quite stressful, but I finished everything and was rather confident in my abilities for the test and lab. I woke up at 7:15 feeling and looking like hell. My throat hurt so much that I could barely speak, needless to say, it already look as though it would be a bad day and staying home wasn't an option because I didn't want to fall behind.

So anyways for all of first period I didn't talk because I thought it would help me feel better. We finished Shawshank today, it was so good, definitely one of my favourites! Second period I had the Calculus test which I surprisingly completed with ease and at third I had the lab where I also think I did really well. ALl the while, my throat started to feel a bit better and I was actually able to talk by lunch.

By this point all my stress had been vanquished because I was not assigned homework in Calculus or Chemistry (although I am still behind so I have to catch up) and I was assigned a reflection for Religion (I am also behind on handing in another reflection). So I was really relaxed and carefree, it felt great.

Oh yeah and I had a wisdom teeth check-up today as well so my mom picked me up at two o'clock and I she dropped me off back home at 3:30. Then my friend/neighbour asked me to check if their garage was closed so I had to walk down the street to see.

Okay so that was a huge lead up to what I actually want to get to, which is how I'm feeling; happy and carefree. Getting no homework (even though I'm still a bit behind) was really nice today, and the fact that I don't have school makes it even better; I don't have to wake up early and I am going out to lunch with my friends. The other thing that made me really happy was when I was outside.

I walk home from school everyday, and in walking home from my friends house I walked part of this route. Usually when I walk home, I think about all the homework I have, how little time I have to do it (because I usually get home at 5), how tired I am, and most recently, how cold it is. But today was different.

I didn't have my bag, so I could walk more "freely" without having to bear any extra weight. This also made me more aware of the fact that I didn't have to rush home and do work all night, but rather that I was free to do what I wanted for the first time in ages.

Not having a mind consumed with stress and work really allowed for my mind to wander, and I found myself looking around outside as I walked home. The sun was out, covering everything with a blanket of warmth, there was also a weak wind that ran through my hair as I walked, and I noticed that colour was beginning to return to the trees and grass. I couldn't help but feel happy, Spring is coming, and it is sure to be followed by a fun-filled summer. I know its a while away, but its days like these that really keep me going amidst all of the woes of school. Now if I could just get rid of my soar throat...

tired, headache and soar throat

This isn't so much a blog as it is a complaint. I had to stay at school for a while because of drama so I only got home around 5:15, I've got to study for a calculus test which I'm sure will be extremely hard, and I still have to finish the pre-lab for chemistry (which I'm already behind in regards to the homework). And to top all off, I'm tired (although that's nothing out of the ordinary, my head is killing me and I have a soar throat. This is going to be one hell of a night, and I mean that literally.

To end things off positively, I'll just say that we're watching The Shawshank Redemption in religion class, it's pretty awesome so far.

Catch ya later Blogger.

I want school to end...but I don't.

My life is school. Plain and simple. Everything between is filler. I don't want it to be, but it is. I'm constantly being bombarded by homework, assignments, and tests that I don't have time for much else. Sure there's the occasional time spent with friends or my girlfriend, but there's never a day where I get to say "I have no homework" or even "I don't have much homework", instead, I'm reduced to saying "Sorry, I can't hang out because I have so much homework". And so, my life has fallen into a constant day-to-day formula of: wake up feeling tired, get ready for school, go to school, come home from school, do homework all night, go to bed late, wake up feeling tired, etc. I want to break out of this schedule but I just can't seem to do it.

My girlfriend tried to assure me today that school will be over soon, but that just stresses me even more. High school has gone by so fast that, I feel like I'm still just a kid, and I'm unsure if I'm ready to go out into the real world, into university/college, and, in what frightens me the most, adulthood.

So as you can see I've got mixed emotions, I hate dealing with the stress of high school, but at the same time, I don't want to leave because after this comes the real world. I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way, and sometimes I think that I am, all my friends seem really confident in their plans for the future and I'm not. I just don't know what to do. I'm scared of being a failure.

Anyways that's it for now. Later Blogger.

Wisdom Teeth Woes

So this week was March Break, something I had been waiting for since February when the semester began, unfortunately, the week fell short of my expectations. The reason? Well actually there are four reasons; my wisdom teeth.

These little molars were going to come in and ruin my beautiful teeth, and so they had to be removed. I actually expected the whole process to be a breeze and that having a puffy face and eating jell-o for a week wouldn't be so bad. Boy was I wrong.

I've had to stay home all week, barely being able to open my mouth, and feeling severe pain in my mouth, while all my friends are out having fun.

It's been pretty bad, but every day I'm starting to feel a bit better. There's not much pain now, and the swelling has gone down, but I still can't eat solid food. Hopefully I'll be good by Wednesday, that's what I'm hoping for. Anyways I gotta go to homework, tomorrow is back to school. Bye Blogger!

Univeristy and College

So I applied to 7 University and 5 College programs, and almost all of them required "Supplementary applications" which was a fancy word for "more work", I've had to write a bunch of essays, questionnaires, and write-ups for each of the programs I applied to. So up until earlier today I had finished all of them except for two. This was my submission to Humber College's "TV/Videography" and "Film and Media Production". So I saw on the Humber website that they actually suspended my application for TV/Videography, because I didn't submit the stuff, and even worse, they withdrew my application to Film and Media! I hadn't intended to leave the work so late, its just that I've been swamped with work from school and the other programs, and even though it was march break this week, I had my wisdom teeth removed, so I've been out of commission all week!

But anyways, I've completed my TV/Videography stuff and submitted it and now the website says it's "under review" so that's a good sign, but I still have to get the FIlm and Media application cleared up. I'm going to try to finish all of the stuff that I have to submit tonight and then I'll call Humber tomorrow, when their lines are open, and make sure they un-withdraw my application. I'll let you know how it goes. Bye Blogger!

Oh yeah one more thing, I've gotten acceptances to three programs already so that's pretty awesome.

Back, but for how long?

So this is my first post in about a year and 2 months! My previous blogs were for an assignment for my grade 11 English class, so since then I haven't really needed to blog. I don't even know why I'm writing this post actually, I don't think I really have anything interesting to say at this time, oh well, I don't think anyone's reading this anyways. Alright, bye Blogger, maybe I'll be back, maybe I won't.

My screenplay

I never really thought of myself as a good writer before. I’ve actually always gotten pretty good marks in English, but it’s always been tough for me. It was actually my least favorite subject because I hated interpreting books and writing essays. But since grade 10, I’ve actually begun to like English class more because I got read some amazing books which have really changed my life (I’m talking about you, To Kill a Mockingbird). I guess I was inspired by these books because a couple months ago, I had this craving to write one too. I know its random right? But I guess I wanted to write a book so that someone will enjoy my book the way I enjoyed the books that I read.

Since then I’ve somewhat changed my mind in what I want to do. Instead of writing a book, I’ve decided to incorporate my passion into it. That’s right, I’m going to write a screenplay, AND, if it turns out well, I plan to take advantage of the equipment in comm. tech and film and edit it as well. I’m really excited to see my ideas come alive on film and I think it will be a great way to get some experience in the various jobs in film production. I’m not exactly sure what I want it to be about, but I was thinking that it could be about high school life, and that I could include some of my own experiences. I really haven’t given it much thought yet though, so I might change my mind, but we’ll see. Anyways I probably won’t have a chance to start writing for a while because I’ve got a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks (exams, CPTs, 1500 word essays on Death of a Salesman, etc.) but I’ll keep you updated about how the writing goes.

The editor

Film production requires many people to perform different tasks to ensure that the production is completed successfully. But what happens after all the scenes have been filmed? The film is now given to the film editor.

The film editor’s job is to take all the film and cut it into scenes. The same scene may be taken from many shots. It’s the film editor’s job to find the best shots and cut them together to make the scene flow coherently. When looking for the best shot an editor has to look for a few things: the best lighting and sound, the best angle for the shot, the best performances by the actors, timing, and continuity. Timing is important, for example, in a comedy movie, the editor must makes sure there is enough space between each joke so that the audience does not miss a joke due to all the laughter. Continuity has deal with whether everything is the same in each shot, for example if a character is wearing a watch in one scene, he should have a watch in every scene.

An editor’s salary can vary greatly depending on if they work for a production company or freelance. Editors in freelance may make more money for each project then ones who work for production companies; however they may not be working all the time during the year. Editors who work in television have a more secure job as they work on a TV show through its run and have average salary of $46000 a year. However their salary varies depending on how much experience they have and the type of production they are working in.

Film editing requires a great deal of knowledge of film and the software used to edit the film. While the job is very stressful and requires a great deal of work, it is an essential part of film production.

The director

The director is like the backbone in a film production; he manages all of the aspects in the entire production. The director’s job begins in the earliest stages of the film, pre-production. After the director is hired, they must read the script and begin to formulate about how he would like the film to be. During this time, he also works with the writer, to try to understand how the writer envisions the movie to look. From these interpretations, the director begins to plan the various aspects of the film. The director also plays a role in deciding on which actors and actresses will play the characters in the film.

As the film progresses through pre-production, the director works with the crew to discuss the way they has planned the film. He may work with the cinematographer, or director of photography, who manages all the camera work. Together they will discuss the camera shots and angles that will be used for each scene in the film. The director will also have to work with the wardrobe stylist and make-up artist to discuss the appearance of the characters. Finally the director works with the set-designers, where he explains the various sets needed for the film.

During production, the director must ensure that the film is progressing smoothly. He makes sure that the cast and crew are working diligently and are producing the movie that he envisioned. He may have to deal with whatever issues come up and make decisions. After everything has been filmed, the director’s work is still unfinished. He must now work with the film editors to piece the movie together and lend his opinion on which scenes should be used.

Directing can be a very stressful job because of the amount of work that needs to be put in to it. However if you are a good and responsible leader and have a passion for film, this may be the job for you.

The screenwriter

Hey Blogger! In the next few blogs I want to talk about some of the most important jobs in the film industry. In this one, I want to talk specifically about writing.

So, what’s a movie without a script? The answer is nothing. While movies require many roles such as director, editor and cinematographer, you’ve got to remember that the movie starts with a script and without it there would be no movie. Usually screenwriters are freelance, meaning that they do not work for a specific company, but rather they write scripts and pitch it to different studios, hoping to sell it. Needless to say, the job may not be a secure one, due to the fact that a writer’s script may not be purchased, but, if they do take the risk, and can sell their script, it can have a huge pay off. There is no set amount that freelance writers are paid (it widely ranges), but, if they are well known and have developed a good reputation, they are more likely to get paid more.

Some screenwriters might work for Television networks where they will work on a specific TV show. Usually there are a team of writers who work together. This team pretty much runs the show as they deal with creating the plot of the story as well as managing other aspects of the production, such as casting and budgeting. Their average salary is about $57000 a year.

I think that screenwriting seems to be a great job that’s full of excitement. Who wouldn’t want to write stories that would be performed by actors and watched by millions? Creative people who love to write should really consider this field as a possible career in the future.

My Aspiration

Since I was a child, movies have always mesmerized me. I enjoyed going to the theatres because the experience was like no other. I was in awe, staring at the big screen as a story unfolded before me. I admired the actors in the films because they got to be involved in productions that entertained so many. I wished to be part of it as well. As I grew older I realized that movies weren’t just about the actors on screen, it was about all the people who worked behind the scenes as well such as the director, the writer and the cinematographer. As I was learning about all the work that went into one movie, became very interested in film production.

For a long time, I was never really sure what I wanted to do with my life. I had an interest in film, but I felt like it was an unrealistic idea because it was such a competitive field and I had no experience. I tried to consider other fields I could work in and tried to find what I like best, but in the end, working in the film industry was always in the back of my mind.

Not too long ago, the idea of a career in film became more feasible than I had previously thought. When I took the comm. tech course, I got the experience that I was craving and over the course of this year, I got to learn a lot. Since then, I’ve been thinking more and more about it and have decided that I am going to pursue a career in film. Getting a job in this field would really make me happy. I’m not really sure what exactly I want to do in film yet because there are so many jobs, it’s just so hard to choose.

The Canceled Episode

Wow Blogger, it’s been a while, sorry about that The last two weeks of school in December were pretty hectic, and well, on the break…I was busy relaxing. So anyways I’ve got to catch up on some blogs! I’m going to try to blog a lot in the next little while, the only problem is that school is getting even more hectic with the final projects and exams coming up, but anyways, you don’t want to hear about that, so let’s get back to business, I’ll start by telling you how the episode went in December.

We didn’t do it. The reason why is because we simply had no time to complete our segments for the episode. Our episodes always air on Fridays, so that means that we have from Monday to Thursday to plan, film, and edit our segments. That week ended up being the same week that the school had a mass everyday, and who was in charge of running the lights and sound? My class. We were very busy for the entire week and because the mass took place during the time when we have comm. tech, we could not complete our work so our teacher canceled it.

I was pretty upset about it at first because I was looking forward to being talent. I mean, as I said before, I was getting pretty nervous, but really wanted to try it out at least once, so I at least knew what it was like. In the end, it was kind of a blessing that the episode was canceled because I was really stressed out with school and was worried about my performance on DYTV. Maybe sometime in the next couple months I’ll get another chance, I guess we’ll see. Anyways we have another episode coming up soon so I’ll tell you about that as it gets closer to the date, I’m not sure if I’m going to be talent yet, but either way I won’t mind, we haven’t done an episode in a while, so any job will be okay with me.

The third episode: What? I'm Talent?

We started planning for the episode on the Thursday before the other class’ one aired. We only had a couple days to shoot and edit as our episode was in a week. My job this week was the feature segment, with my friend Steven. For this episode, the feature segment was going to be about the Christmas basket drive that was happening at the school. In addition to that, it was determined that Steven and I were going to be talent for the episode (for those of you who haven’t read my previous blogs, talent is the name for the people on camera, i.e. the hosts).

I was really excited and nervous at the same time. I mean, talent had to memorize a script and was performing live in front of over two thousand people, it’s kind of like acting and I had never acted in my life! But at the same time I thought it was going to be an awesome experience, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be talent, and I always wanted to try it at least once. The thing I was most worried about was coming off “cheesy” during the conversation between Steven and me. I just wanted to make sure that everyone would enjoy us as hosts.

The other class' episode

Hey Blogger, sorry I haven’t written in a while, I’ve been pretty busy, but anyway I’ll try to catch you up about what’s been going on.

So about a week ago the other 1-credit comm. tech class had their episode of DYTV, and being in the leadership class meant that we had to go to their rehearsal at school the night before. Now, you are supposed to have all your segments finished by the end of school so that you’re able to have a rehearsal right away, however the majority of the class had not finished! So needless to say, I spent a couple hours at school just waiting. During that time, I ended up helping some people with their segments and even set up the studio. I was actually pretty happy about this because I really felt like a leader! I was able to help people and ensure that they had a thorough rehearsal.

After the episode on Friday, I found that a lot of people enjoyed the episode that the class had put on. I was glad but at the same time I felt uneasy because our episode (3 weeks before) had not turned out as well. I was worried about our class’ reputation, because we were supposed to be leaders, but the other class had surpassed us. However, as I’ve said before, I knew that we’d have a chance to redeem ourselves; our episode was set to air last Friday.

What about photograhy?

So I picked film production and photography as my passion but I haven’t really had a chance to talk much about the photography part (with the exception of the camera show), and that’s simply because I don’t have any real experience in photography. I mean, the idea has always intrigued me, and I’ve been eager to learn, but I’ve never really had the chance. I tried to take the course at my school this year, but because of a mix up I was switched out of the class and now I cannot switch back in because it’s full!

I was pretty upset about that and still am, but I need to find another way to get some experience. But to get experience I need to start taking pictures, and for that, I need a camera, which I planned to get from the school when I took the course. So I got a problem. I realized this a while ago and decided that I’d focus on comm. tech for a while so I could learn about film, but last weekend my interest in photography ignited once more, at my friend’s band’s show. They invited another friend of ours to come to the show and take pictures for them. It just made me wish that I could be the one taking pictures for my friends! For now I’m going to focus on comm. tech, but I’m going to take any opportunity I can get to learn more about photography. I’m considering taking a course outside of school or taking a summer school course so that I will have a space for it next year.

How the O Canada video turned out

Hey Blogger, today I just want to inform you about how the O Canada video went. I wasn’t actually there on the day of the episode because I was sick, but I got to see the O Canada video afterward. I heard a lot of people were criticizing the video and pointing out some problems, so I was interested to see how it turned out.
After watching the video, I did realize that there were some problems with the shots, but yet I didn’t think the blamed lay solely on me. The video didn’t turn out the way I expected it, in the original video there are a lot of shots of other things that have to do with the topic of the song, but in this video they only had shots of the band playing. I think the editing was a little bit “off” as well due to the fact that the audio and video were not synced. A big problem in the video was the lighting; unfortunately, the video was filmed in the evening which caused some shots to be dark. I probably could have fixed this problem, (as there are settings to get brighter shots) but as I said in my previous blog, I still haven’t learned how to use all the functions. This experience only makes me want to learn all the functions of the DVX even more; I’m going to try to learn as soon as I can.

I want to be certified too!

Hey Blogger, I just wanted to write a blog to talk about a problem I’m having in comm. tech currently. At the school we have very expensive cameras called the DVX, and to use them we must acquire DVX certification by the teachers which is determined by a test. To put it bluntly, if you don’t pass the test, you don’t use the camera! Anyways, the test comprises of a lot of important functions on the camera that are both useful and crucial when filming things.

Now, before certification, we started using the cameras to film announcements and as time went on, we never really received a proper lesson on how to use the cameras, and therefore I do not fully understand how to use the DVX camera. The reason this upsets me is because the other classes in comm. tech have all been taught how to use it and have been certified.

My class of 8 is supposed to be the leaders of comm. tech, and we are supposed to know about how to run all of the equipment, how can I be in the leadership class of this program if I am not even certified and the other classes know more about it than me? A couple times I have had other students ask me a question about the camera and I’ve been unable to answer them. I really want to learn how to use the camera but it’s so late in the semester that I’m embarrassed to ask my teacher about how to use the camera. However, I’ve decided that I can’t go on without the knowledge so I am going to ask someone in the other class to teach me how to use it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Today was another day at home because I’m sick, which meant another day of boredom. While I was watching TV, I noticed that the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was on. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the movie, and decided that I’d watch it. For those of you who haven’t heard about the movie, it’s about the life of a man who’s aging backwards. At the beginning of the movie he looks like an old man, and at the end he looks like a baby. He leads a very interesting life because of his peculiar condition; as all his friends and family watch him get younger as they grow old.

This was a really amazing movie. It was really long (about 3 hours) but I enjoyed every minute. While it was a very captivating story for me, my favourite thing about the movie was the use of CGI and make-up. Because Benjamin is getting younger, it is necessary for these technologies to be used to create the image of Benjamin at different ages. For example, this technology is used to make Brad Pitt (who plays Benjamin) look like an 85 year old man at the beginning and a 20 year old near the ending, and all the ages in between. I decided to write a blog about this because it excites me about how advanced technology in the film industry has become. It’s truly remarkable how realistic it looks that Brad Pitt is all of these ages (at different parts of the movie). It’s awesome seeing movies like these which really put the latest technology to use; I really hope that one day I’ll be able to work with this kind of technology to make movies!

Sick days, the pro video and O Canada

So for the last couple days I’ve been sick, and it really messed up my plans for this week. I missed the opportunity that I had mentioned before, to film and edit a professional video. The guy came in to film on Tuesday, but I was feeling so sick that there was no way I could come to school. In the end, some friends in my class filled in for me and made the video. Even though I couldn’t be a part of it, I was happy that at least someone got the chance to work it and had that experience. I still wish that I could have been there but I’m sure some other opportunity will arise for me in the future.

On Wednesday I decided to go to school, even though I wasn’t feeling much better. I didn’t want to fall too far behind in school, but what I really needed to go for was to film the O Canada video that I spoke about in a previous blog. My friend was counting on me to film this after school for him, so I didn’t want to let him down. However as the day progressed I began to feel more and more sick. I tried to find a replacement to film but no one was available.

Even though I was sick, filming O Canada was pretty great. As I said in my previous blog, I was really excited to help create this homage to one of my favourite Smosh videos. I was only there for the filming of the playground scenes (see original video), so needless to say I haven’t seen the other shots. I’m not exactly sure how the director intends for the final product to look, but I can’t wait to see it on this week’s DYTV.