My First Baby: Sueño Rojo

I am fairly pleased with the outcome of my first film. Something miraculous, as shooting it was kind of a mess, the planning was vague and I only knew the basics of editing. It seems like every time I watch the finished version I find something that I want to change, however, I do keep watching it. I must have done something right. Overall it was fun and through this experience I found out that I actually like creating films; the haphazard process taught me a lot.

As is the style of FILMP/MEDP we were rushed through the learning and production process of the project. It’s understandable, but being the artists transplanting pieces of themselves into their work it’s easy to get frustrated within the constraints. Knowing how “real” we like to keep in MEDP I expected to be running through the halls of Hunter shooting a couple of takes of our shots and then running on. This would make a solid story bored extremely valuable.

My partner and I met outside of Hunter one night to draw it out, imagining the locations in Hunter we would utilize. Here I think we got a little overzealous and overestimated the amount of time we would have to shoot and did not anticipate the (unlikely) complications to come. Instead of fantasizing about all the cool shots we could do it would have been better to stick to a comprehensive storyline prioritizing continuity. Putting in this extra effort would have illustrated specific goals for filming and essentially made for a more elegantly constructed piece. I can say though, that the visualizing and drawing that we did do shows is the final product.

Despite the somewhat weak storyboard and my tardiness on filming day, the production went well. I think my forethought on having my girlfriend as an actor and the attractive wardrobe made the film more visually appealing. Her red dress stood out in Hunter’s bleak hallways and in juxtaposition with my grey attire. Our “wing-it” approach to filming actually paid off in some ways in that it allowed for spontaneous creativity and linear development as we basically shot the scenes in the order of the story. Realizing that we were running low on time and that we still needed to shoot more, I got the idea to take the story into the nearby piano practice rooms instead of wandering the school looking for the “perfect” locations. One problem we did run into was that we quickly filled up our memory card and had to fumble for a new one. Another (potentially disastrous) problem was the camera person getting the “record” and “standby” setting mixed up. We probably should have had a better recap of camera use. This resulted in great shots of the floor, auxiliary audio of us frantically planning shots and cuts at the time shots should have began. We only lost a few scenes. This made me even more proud of the editing of the final product.

I enjoyed editing the most out of the whole process. I feel this is the time that allowed the most creativity—it also satisfied my somewhat obsessive attention to detail and order. I would have liked to learn about more visual effects I could have utilized, making the film darker and more experimental, instead the film was kind of “ordinary”. With all that remains after my likes, dislikes and wishes, the film still makes me proud. In the context of its constraints it’s definitely impressive but I also think it plays out well on its own. If you don’t think so then you should have seen the production process.

Linear Editing Delivers Hilariocity

Linear editing has helped create one of the funniest few minutes in the history of television: “The Lesson on Fire” scene from The Office. The strength of the comedy, often dry, is the realism in how it is delivered in the faux reality style show.

This scene opens with Dwight preparing the office for the “simulation emergency” with his explicatory narrative. We see him open his desk, revealing his “fire safety kit”: a blowtorch and kerosene. It then cuts to him sealing off the exits by breaking keys in the locks, jamming the doors closed, and heating the doorknobs. After he lights a fire in the closet and the other employees see the smoke and panic, the camera does fast motion sweeping shots and there are quick cuts in the editing. People run toward the camera as they look for exits, going so far as knocking the cameraman over. This creates a sense of frantic fear while making their actions funnier as we watch these salesmen, accountants, and secretaries freak out.

Thematically, scenes appear to be cut when an idea is fully expressed; for example we see them go to a door and discover its locked—cut—we see Oscar stand on a desk and open an air duct to climb into—cut. As shots seamlessly progress with constant motion and with the employees attempting to escape we see them trying to ram a door with a printer—cut—throwing a projector through a window—cut. Finally when all attempts to escape have been exhausted, Dwight blows an air horn and announces, “This has been a test of our emergency preparedness.”

The linear progression conveys this scene in a clear and real way that makes the humor of the actors shine. The panic and fear magnified by the editing makes the scene even more hilarious. It ends with Stanly collapsing on the floor and Michael, the boss, fights through employees holding him back as he tries to give CPR to the still conscious man.