Production Journal

As film students, we are encouraged to take risks and try new things. Unleashing your true potential can be achieved through broadening out and taking leaps of faith. In my case, my group and I have taken the opportunity to branch out into the style known as film noir. Despite that we have only had few lectures on the style, we have been able to learn through our own experiences as individuals. We have taken as much information as we got, put our brains together and have come up with ideas that we may not would have thought of if we had worked by ourselves. Creativity was key and we didn't want to follow such a formulaic way of making the movie. By that I mean we wanted to think of different kinds of shots, angles and lighting to make our own story unique. After coming together and throwing in our own ideas, we finally were on the same page as to what we want our film to look like. The vocabulary was a novelty for us and we found ourselves laughing at the different words we have stumbled upon in the collection of film noir jargon. After we had gotten used to it, we were able to weave it into the dialogue and give it a slick and witty feel. Finding out what different kinds of shots we needed definitely strained my creativity, however with the help of others, everything turned out alright. Not only did we get the shots we want, but it also served as a learning experience for me. Lighting also was an outlet that let us work together and visualize as a group. We decided where to place what lights and what to emphasize. Though this, I got the opportunity to see what other people had envisioned. 

I originally wrote the story, but as a group  we worked on it and tweaked it so that the story was just right. We decided that I would be the main actor, however whenever the crew needed ideas I did everything in my power to give ideas. The director felt that I was good with a camera so whenever the D.P. needed help with the camera, I instructed him the best that I could and hoped that he would do it better. 

I have learned that I need to be committed in making a film. In other words, there may be times where I need to sacrifice certain things in order to keep my group happy and my movie looking good. Being punctual is always encouraged as it is advantageous for your group. Finding time has been a real hustle due to the fact that there are other things going on in our lives. Finding a date that accommodates all of our schedules definitely proved itself to be a challenge,but in the end I know we will do good especially with the group I have.

Toy Story 4 Confirmed For 2017

Disney and Pixar have confirmed their production for a new Toy Story movie, Toy Story 4.  The film has been predicted to be released sometime in the year 2017, almost a decade from its predecessor, Toy Story 3. The film is planned to be directed by John Lassetor, who directed the first two Toy Story's before turning over to another director for Toy Story 3. The movie's plot is yet to be heard of, but by judging on how the third Toy Story ended, it is safe to say that the story will revolve around the little girl that recieved the toys from the main character, Andy.

Toy Story 4 will no doubt gather a lot of attention; even more than it already has, but is a 4th movie really necessary? A sequel may be a good decision, a three-quel may be risky, but successful like Toy Story 3, but a 4th movie may be a little excessive. Pixar and Disney had stated that they had no plan of making another Toy Story after the third one had been released, but now they have one in production with an official deadline. Why is it that they changed their mind? Was it a realization that a big profit can result in the making of this movie? It is possible that the companies reviewed their success with Frozen (which was the highest grossing animated film of all time) and said, "We should make another Toy Story." This movie can be either a big success or a big flop, depending on how well audience members react from this. Pixar has, no doubt, some of the best animated films in history, but it must be taken in to account that Pixar can make movies that are not so good. (An example can be "Disney's: Planes") 

So will this be a big success or will this be a big disappointment for the makers and the audience members? If it is a success, will they use that money to find other projects or make another sequel?

'Hitch' To Be A Show On Fox

http://deadline.com/2014/10/hitch-series-fox-will-smith-857697/ 

The hit 2005 movie "Hitch" is said to be under development by Will Smith himself  for a new 30 minute sitcom for the FOX channel. Release dates  are currently unknown as it is still in development, as well as the cast and crew. However, one can make the assumption that Will Smith will appear as the lead role, as this is an adaptation from the big screen to the television screen. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it stars Will Smith as Alex Hitchens who is a suave ladies man who runs into a not so smooth, Albert (played by Kevin James) and teaches him a thing or two on how to pick up the ladies.

Despite the movie being surprisingly decent, I highly doubt that the television show will be any better. Personally, television adaptations are worse than sequels. Once a film is introduced, it is best to leave it at that, unless you're capable enough of a movie maker to make another movie, like the Godfather trilogy. However in this case, I don't feel like Will Smith is capable enough of a producer  to turn a single film into an entire television series, considering that he has produced movies like 'After Earth'. The idea to turn this movie into a series came out of nowhere,and it seems forced and seems as though it was only made for a cheap way to make a profit. It would make sense to make a series out of a fairly recent film, such as The Hunger Games, but it keeps me wondering why anyone in 2014 would make an entire television series that was released almost a decade ago. People would not care, most likely move on and try to get into something that is more relevant. It is fairly certain that this series is going to result in a flop and a money loss on FOX's part. 

What I took from this is that even if you are a very well known actor with many hits that grossed mainly over $300 million , a background of acting in television and experience with filmmakers, have a whole bunch of money laying around, doesn't mean you have to seek another way to make profit. This series was thought up simply for the sake of making a series but I think it's safe to say that this show will flop.

NBC News Freelancer Diagnosed With Ebola

A freelancing cameraman who worked for NBC News was recently diagnosed with the Ebola virus. The 33 year old man was hired Tuesday to be a second cameraman for NBC Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent, Nacny Snyderman,  who is with three other NBC news employees to report on the Ebola outbreak in Monrovia. The man came down with a slight fever on Wednesday, but instantly quarantined himself for insurance. He went to a treatment center on Thursday to find and recieved his realist which diagnosed him positive for Ebola 12 hours later. Upon the request of the family, te name of the man has not been released but it has been known that he was also a writer and had been working in Liberia for various projects. The rest of the crew, including Snyderman, are under close watch for any fevers or symptoms of the illness and the president of NBC News, Deborah Turness claims that she and the staff are doing everything possible to keep the man and her employees safe.

This has taught me that I should be careful and aware of what may happen when working on a project. The man seemed like he had of an idea of what possible things might happen to him considering that he quarantined himself when he found himself to be a bit feverish. Another way of saying of being aware is to have a back up plan, and this is what it has taught me to do. The man was also a freelancer, meaning that he is self-employed and is not committed to any certain company or organization. But the president, Deborah Turness dd claim that she is doing everything possible to keep him safe, showing other potential employees that the NBC Corperation that they care for their employees, regardless of the terms of the time they will be spending working in their place. Depending on whether this she claimed is true or false, this may grab the eye of people who would want to work for a news corporation. Now the question here is will the man be okay? Will he take legal action for being hirt on the job?

http://deadline.com/2014/10/nbc-news-ebola-diagnosed-freelancer-845227/

'The Daily Show' Airs Controversial Piece

In a recent making of an episode of Comedy Central's, "The Daily Show", Jon Stewart had decided to send out reporter, Jason Jones, to tackle the controversy that is the NFL's Washington Redskins controversial name. Jones met with four big fans of the Redskins and fans of the name. After the interview had taken place, the fans went to the Washington Post and  reported that the have been tricked by having been "ambushed" by Native Americans during the taping of the segment, leaving them feeling "in danger" and "defamed". Jon Stewart, the host of the show claimed that he "learned later that some of the participants who participated in the piece — they didn’t enjoy the experience.” He also said, "We take the complaints seriously…If we find out, in a piece, that someone was intentionally misled or if their comments were intentionally misrepresented. We do not air that piece."

This whole fiasco is honestly a really dumb thing to be having to have controversy about, and I don't mean that the controversy about the name is really dumb because its worth talking about. Native Americans are being offended by the name, as they see it as a racial slur. But the dumb problem that I'm regarding to, is the fact that these four fans are complaining that they were finally confronted by Natives. They feel that they have been "duped", but they failed to understand that whatever Jon Stewart has planned or does for the show is simply for the sake of comedy and that they never intend for anyone to be offended. A word that really got me to think was "ambushed", which means that the people playing the Natives came up without the fans knowing about it. One can argue that the producer of the show should have told the fans before-hand that the Native Americans were coming, but that would pretty much defeat the purpose of the surprise. It's obvious that the producers didn't tell the fans that Natives would appear because it would ruin the authenticity of their surprise, just like you wouldn't tell your friend that you are throwing a surprise birthday party for him or her, because that would ruin the surprise. Again, the fans go to the Washington Post and tell them that they have be attacked and ambushed, in other words offended. But wait, isn't that what many other Natives across the U.S. are feeling? The fans seem pretty hypocritical and aren't seeing that they're making themselves look bad. If anything, this controversy has probably grabbed the attention of some people and made them new viewers, which is a good thing for the show. The one thing I can take from this is that in the event that you hire some people, be prepared for any possible outcome. Now this makes me wonder if any legal action will occur and if  so, who is right?

AMC Theaters Extend Budget for Auditoriums

AMC Theaters go out of their way to make their consumers' movie going experience a better, more comfortable one. They pla to achieve this by adding and additional $38.8 million to their original $200 million budget to speed up the installation of recliner seats, build MacGuffins bars and IMAX screens. Stifel analyst believes that this would enable them to "outperform their domestic peers."

I believe that it was sort of a silly idea to pay an extra $38.8 million to pay for something that was going to happen anyway. They would have saved all that money had they been a bit more patient. Despite the impatience, I believe it was a smart idea to install all the new things. Consumers who buy Premium tickets would reel in more money for AMC as they get a better movie experience. The MacGuffins bars will surely bring in more money it prices are reasonable, considering the fact that movie theaters are notorious for having expensive food and beverages. Also, with all the conveniences of having recliner chairs and IMAX screens, the tickets for those specific auditoriums will be a bit more pricy, giving AMC a little financial boost. Now with a all the money they are making, the question many of us might have in mind is what will they use that money on and will they keep evolving the auditoriums?

4th Dimension Movie Theaters Taken Into Consideration.

For quite some time now, we have had the concept of  "4-D movies." 4-D in the sense that water squirts, wind, chair shaking and leg-tickling play a role and enhance the film watching experience. An example of 4-D is wind machine blowing air at you while a gust of wind brushes the characters on-screen. The purpose of this is to engage the audience and make them feel as if they were really in the movie. The CJ 4DPlex is what makes these 4-D movies happen and are in 112 theaters in 20 countries around the world. 

This is a great idea and 4-D theaters should be more common in the U.S. considering that there is only one which is located in the Regal in Los Angeles. Despite a minor financial set back in buying the CJ 4DPlex, the money will quickly brought back by the many people who want to experience a film in 4-D. For example, Transformers: Age of Extinction has been playing in 4-D in a 4-D theater and has made a whopping $105,016 over 13 days as opposed to $44,054 of showing it in a traditional show in the same amount of time.

More money for the film industry and a better experience for audience members, it's a win-win situation, despite the larger price for the tickets because once you buy it it'll be your money's worth. This has taught me that film is rapidly evolving and we should keep up with all the positive changes, such as this one. 

http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/09/03/the-future-of-cinema-is-here-prepare-to-enter-the-fourth-dimension-2244997?lt_source=external,manual#bPXJTZ

'Breaking Bad' Piracy Rate Increases After Emmys

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-breaking-bad-emmys-piracy-rates-20140903-story.html

The hit television show "Breaking Bad"  won a numerous amount of awards last week in the 2014 Emmy Awards. As a result of its popularity, the anti-piracy firm, known as CEG Tek, has analyzed that the piracy rate of the show had increased by 412%. 

What caught my eye about this article is the word "illegal". Piracy in the United States is not only illegal, but it is also a federal crime which can result in a hefty fine. Although many of us already know that "Breaking Bad" has a multitude of pirated versions on the Internet, but what's special about it this time is that after the Emmys aired, more and more people made, watched and shared illegal files (412% more). The question is "why did that happen?" and the answer is recognition.

What I've learned from ,this as a film student, is that recognition may not always be a good thing. Say if you were to make a television series and it was one of the best t.v. shows out there, so big that it was fortunate enough to be the reason that you recieved a number of awards and an enormous amount of recognition. Although this may seem like a great thing to think about, the show is bound to be pirated and illegally shared across the Internet. You're not making any money off of any of that and you are technically being robbed of your show and your money. Th whole point of the recognition is to get people to buy your product and you to make money but nowadays recognition has gotten to the point where it may not even result in money. People will most lieu deprive you of money that you could've earned by illegally sharing it on the Internet. Over all what I have learned is that even though you have such a popular show, even if its "the greatest show of all time", it's great recognition may result in a loss of money.

Now as I have said many times, piracy is a federal crime. The question is though "Will the creators take legal action?"  Personally, I think it would be a waste of time and money to pursue every single person who has ever illegally shared an episode of "Breaking Bad" but it still may be a possibility. Another question would be "How are they going to prevent this?" The creators of the show should definitley  come up with a way of keeping people to access their show in order to keep losing potential money.

'The Simpsons' Marathon Reels In Record-Breaking Amount of Views for FXX.

http://deadline.com/2014/08/simpsons-marathon-fxx-ratings-record-823563/

The Simpsons has been revived on the channel, FXX, with a grand marathon which has been showing all 552 episodes back-to-back, plus The Simpsons Movie, as of August 24, 2014. The marathon has been predicted to be quite a success but it is likely that the proprietors of the FXX channel were not predicting that on the first day, the marathon would reel in over 1 million views, including another 623,000 views for their demo. Because of this, FXX has ranked No.1 with all basic cable networks in prime time. To put that in perspective, the FXX channel has averaged only 206,000 viewers since it was launched in September 2013 as opposed to The Simpsons marathon, which reeled in almost five times the amount of those viewers!

This specific event caught my eye because they gathered record breaking numbers of viewers with something as simple as a marathon! As a student of film, this has taught me that any little thing you do I. Your career can have a big impact on you, negative or positive. Now, I think it's safe to say that these people have made an adequate amount of money for themselves, but the question is, what will they do with it exactly? I mean, the marathon will only be on for 12 days but what will happen when it ends? With that many viewers I think the best thing to do is to keep them, by maybe making new episodes or maybe even make they're own Simpsons movie sequel.