NHSI Final Reflection

I hope you've enjoyed my writing as much as I've enjoyed sharing my experiences. To all who commented, thank you so much- it was wonderful to read your responses and they meant a lot to me. Silent readers of this blog- I am curious to see how you stumbled upon it (especially if you do not know me personally) and if it kept your attention- comment, I'd like to know! I do not know the future of this blog, but i'll decide that later. I could continue posting my life experiences, but I have a feeling that my high school life is probably rather uninteresting to the general public.

Here is some insight I have gleaned through the NHSI.

Some things I learned about myself, or things that became more clear to me:
1. I am talkative, and a conversationalist, but I am not incredibly social. I am also not as extraverted as I originally thought.
2. I dislike conflict. I am also afraid of getting angry.
3. Every career is hard and no job is stable.
4. If I am passionate about something, I can work hard on it and not feel like I am working. Similarly, my attention span is longer when I'm interested. That sounds obvious, but it wasn't obvious to me earlier.
4. If I am at Northwestern, I can be away from my parents, but I am at home. I never felt homesick at the NHSI- because in reality, I never left home. Also, Northwestern is awesome.
6. If I want something, I will go very far to get it. Not knowing what I want can depress me.
7. It doesn't take a whole bunch of musicians to make playing music a bonding experience.
8. It occurred to me that I am the only student at my high school that had this experience. There were several cherubs, but no other film kids. Everything else I do at school, someone else does too. This is one thing I can remember that makes me a little unique.
9. There is so much more to learn about film- I learned so much through NHSI, and I was shown the very tip of the iceberg.
10. I knew this before, but it has been confirmed in my mind, that people are interesting and wonderful. I like people.

Some things I now notice or ways I have changed: 
1. Calling clothespins C47s makes me feel special, and seeing a C47 brings happy memories.
2. Dutch angles, handheld camera, and silence sticks out to me like a sore thumb.
3. I notice lighting and shadows. I still don't know all that much about it, but before I only noticed if I needed sunglasses, if a light suddenly turned off, or if I couldn't see. Now, I notice quality of light and if there are unusual shadows.
4. Cameras, both video and still, are infinitely cooler. And I thought they were cool before I came.
5. I try to make an effort to not jaywalk, and that effort doesn't annoy me anymore.
6. I greatly respected film when I applied, but I now have a much greater respect for film and all that goes into it.

That is not anywhere close to everything I learned, and does little justice to my acquired film knowledge, but that is what I decided to share with you. If you have questions, ask me!

I loved my experience at the Film and Video Cherub. If there are any rising juniors reading this, I strongly recommend that you google Cherubs and consider applying to a division. Cherubs was definitely intense, and sometimes stressful, but a whole lot of fun and 100% worth it. I'm so thankful I had this opportunity and I will cherish it forever.

Thanks NHSI, and to my readers, thanks for reading!
-Molly

The Movies We Watched

I am now home. And suffering from serious NHSI withdrawal.

With help from several of the cherubs, we compiled a list of all of the movies we watched. Here it is. I missed four of the screenings for editing, logging, and pre production, but I was at all of the others. Not all of the films listed are features- some of them are shorts.

NHSI- The Movies We Watched

6/28 - "New Boy" 

6/28 - "I Love Sarah Jean" 

6/28 - "Shawn of the Dead" 

6/29 - "Spirited Away" 

6/30 - "True Lies" 

7/1 - "World of Glory" 

7/1 - "Rashomon" 

7/2 - "Never Cry Wolf" 

7/3 - "I Am Cuba [Soy Cuba]" 

7/4 - "Cyrus" (Movie theater)

7/5 - "Crimes & Misdemeanors" 

7/6 - Experimental Films Screening

7/7 - "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" 

7/8 – “Lost Cave Temples” 

7/9 - "Se7en" 

7/10 - "Scoring" 

7/10 - "Lessons of Darkness" 

7/11 - "Jurassic Park" 

7/12 - "Pan's Labyrinth" 

7/13 - Screen Student Docs

7/14 - "I Love You Man"

7/15 - Skype with "I Love You Man" Director/Writer

7/16 - "The War Game" 

7/17 - "Six Shooter" 

7/17 - "Talk to Her" 

7/18 – “Inception” 

7/18 – “Three Kings” 

7/19 - "Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Ware-Rabbit" 

7/20 – “The Last Picture Show” 

7/21 – “Singing in the Rain” 

7/22 - TV Screening (How I Met Your Mother, Veronika Mars) 

7/23 - Nights of Cabiria 

7/24 - "In the Mood for Love" 

7/25 - "Wet Hot American Summer" 

7/26 - "Sunshine" 

7/27 - "Rebecca" 

7/28 - "L'homme Sans Téte" 

7/28 - "Audition" 

7/30 - "Silence of the Lambs"

One more day left

Hello Everyone!

    I spent today trying to enjoy my last few moments with my fellow cherubs. I am going to miss this place so much. I am at home here, and I think it's one of the best learning environments i've ever experienced, and that says a lot. Every day, I was living and breathing film education- what I went through here would have been torture for a lot of people, but for me and everyone else here, it was an incredible experience. I can look back on it and say that yes, I was a cherub, and I loved it.
   Tomorrow is the final showing- it goes all day, and we will watch everything that got created at NHSI this summer. That includes the experimental films, the documentaries, the silent films, the bolex films, and our final projects.
     My final project is finished- I got out of the editing room at 10:30 last night, and my project is all compressed and ready for tomorrow. If I could go back, I would change a lot about my script- seeing it on film exposes a lot of the flaws of my story, and the story is the core of every film. However, I learned so much about the process that if I get the chance to make another film, I will hopefully be able to do it better.
    I really, really don't want to leave. I miss my family and friends, and can't wait to see them, but I wish the program could be at least a week to two weeks longer. I've gotten very accustomed to life in the dorms, too- the food isn't too bad, and the beds and rooms are comfortable. I miss good meat, though. Cafeterias do not have good meat. Although the cafeteria cookies are very addicting, and i've really taken advantage of the fact that my parents paid for my food already, so I could eat as many cookies as I wanted, with no other repercussions besides my health and weight.
    I'm going to head to bed soon because I know I won't sleep much tomorrow night. I'll let you know how the screening goes.

Molly

Post Production

Hey everybody!

     For once I had time to blog here, but I lost internet the past two days, and have just now gotten it back. I have spent twelve hours in the editing room and will spend four more in there this afternoon. I'm fairly close to it being picturelocked (meaning I will no longer change the visuals) and then I can move on to sound design, and if time, color correction. Editing is like a puzzle, because you have a bunch of pieces, and they need to fit together to communicate. However, it's also different because not every piece is used, so you have to figure out which ones work best. The next four hours will be crunch time, and then I will be finished with my film.
    My film is clearly a student film. It's not brilliant, but I'm proud to say that it's mine.

Molly

Production week is finished!

       So much for posting frequently this week- it's been pretty hectic due to being on set all day. I directed my final project on saturday, and it was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. Basically, the weather was terrible in the morning, so I had to start off shooting in my cover set (we can't film outside when it rains). I wasn't happy about that, but I made some revisions to my script on the fly and began to shoot it. David (the FA on set with us) and Jim (my advisor), because it had cleared up by lunchtime, suggested I get outside as soon as possible and try to reshoot the parts I shot in the morning. Once I finished what I had to shoot, I reshot ALL of the indoor parts at a breakneck pace, with just enough time on the P2 card (memory) to get it all. I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of my amazing crew and actors, and I have so much to thank them for. It sounds like next week will be editing and electives. I don't want to admit to myself that I have to leave in a week- its heartbreaking, and I don't want to go. Today is sunday, so we played a really intense game of ultimate, and then I went shopping and out to dinner in town.
     I've learned so much here, about myself and about film. I see things differently, I talk a little differently, and my world is different, but all in a good way. I'm going to miss the people here so much.

Here's some lingo to leave you with until I post again:

This is a C47. Yes, it is what you think it is, but it's a C47 to me and the other film peeps. 

Let me know how you all are doing! 

Second Day on set!

My arms hurt. 

We have to carry our equipment- all of it- to wherever we film. Everything, most notably the tripod and the light kit, is heavy. 

I was the AD today- I feel like I wasn't as successful as my peers who were ADs, but I think I did a fairly decent job of resolving some of the problems on set and keeping it cool. The shot lists totally changed, and lighting was difficult as always, but the shoot went well, and the director said she was happy with it, which is great. 

I am back to sound tomorrow. I'd really like to do camera at some point. However, my friends are putting their more experienced peers on camera, because set isn't exactly the best time to troubleshoot or admit you don't know how to do something. Not to mention there are fifty billion (more like seven) steps you have to take whenever you change locations and before you hit record, and I'd probably forget them. 

I learned a lot about lighting today, and ways to make lighting less harsh but equally powerful. 

Sorry this is a sporatic post... I handed in another draft of my script, and i'll really want to finalize that tomorrow, and i'm on set all day, so I need to get to bed so I can work tomorrow. 

The days feel long again, which is actually great, because I don't want this to end. 

-Molly 

First Day on Set

Hi everybody!

    I had the time of my life today- being on set was incredible. We had an almost perfect shoot! The director was prepared, the actors (who happened to be our FAs, the equivalent of RAs) did a great job, and the crew got along really well. I was the boom operator, which means I hold a really long metal pole with a microphone on it, and my job was to direct the mic right at the actors lips, as closely to them as possible, without being in the shot. Our editing teacher was there to help us out, and he gave me a ton of help on proper booming technique. I began to get the hang of the over-under cord coiling, which looks easy but for some odd reason is really frickin hard. Apparently, if I can do that really fast, I can get a job as a PA. Our FAs were hilarious in shoot- they kept making parodies of songs while they had to wait for us to set up.

Two examples:
Creep by Radio Head turned into "I'm a crepe, I'm for breakfast. I'm full of bananas, covered in chocolate!"
Shots by LMFAO turned into "Establishing shots, shot shot shot shots, shot shot shot shots, Over the shoulder!"

At one point, I held the boom while standing on a table, and another, I had to stand on a chair and then hold my arms up as high as they extended. Most students regard it as a sucky job, but because of the environment I was in, I loved it.

I learned a lot today, and not just about booming. It really makes a difference when you are prepared and treat people nicely- our shoot went so well and I am a lot closer to the people I worked with now.

I have five more shoots left, including my own, so I should be revising my script now. I am an AD tomorrow, so I have lots of responsibility, but its still gonna be awesome, I know it. An AD means Assistant Director, and basically their job is to make sure everything gets done- that means creating the schedule and securing the props. My AD came up to me just to see how I was doing- and it happened to be when I was stressed out- and she really calmed me down- it meant a lot.

I am so tired.... I wish there are more hours in the day so that I could sleep more, and work on my script more. But that is not the case, so I am going to log off and go to sleep.

Comment, please, and let me know what you are up to!

-Molly

Photos, finally

Hello! Here are some photos I have taken while I am here. I am not putting up photos of any person besides myself because I don't know what my classmates are comfortable with internet wise.

This is my bed, and my movie posters, of Iron Man and Chocolat. 

I took this at the fireworks on July Fourth. 

Here I am with a camera, filming the Documentary Project. 

This is a Camera Log, which is taken during production and helps with editing. Most of that is my handwriting- I filled this out more than I used the camera. 

This is a P2 card, which stores video memory. We labeled it so our teachers wouldn't mix them up. 

This is a script I wrote sitting on my desk. It has since been revised, and probably will be revised again. 

Here I am with a Bolex, which is a film camera. These are frickin awesome, and we are filming with them tomorrow. 

So, there you go! I hope you enjoyed this. I'll try to post updates more frequently over the next two weeks. 

-Molly 

"It's show business, not show you're f*@#ing around"

Hi!

        I'm sorry I haven't written lately- I eat, sleep, write, and go to class. However, I am still having a good time. We had some time to go to Navy Pier yesterday, which was great. We skyped with John Hamburg, director of I love You, Man, which was a really neat experience. He was a cherub too. When the final project setup was explained to him, he replied, "You have eight hours to direct a five minute film? You're screwed." He was actually a very chill guy, and we all liked listening to him.
      We start filming final projects next week. Four days till the first slot of people. AHH!! My script is pretty close to final, and I filled out my assistant director sheets. Coming next are shot lists (what you will film and how) and overheads (drawing of sets and where you will put cameras). Then we rehearse actors, talk to crew, etc. Jim told me to relax at one point- I know I get stressed out, but it's more obvious than I thought. However, I cannot say enough how fortunate I am to be here and how much I love it.
     Being here sometimes has a weird feel to it- I'm me, but it feels like I got pulled out of my world and placed in a parallel universe. Like, who would I be in a different world? This is me, in film world.
     Pretty awesome world though, I got to admit.

I WANT TO SLEEP. Goodnight. Take care, and I miss you all :)

-Molly

The Doc on Docs Doc

Hello everyone!

     Finally, sunday is approaching again, and we get a day to relax. We filmed our documentaries today, and our topic was the documentary on other documentaries. The other documentaries were on the man made lake on campus, the earwigs in the dorm, and the acting students, so we ran around and filmed them. I don't think i've ever made so many people annoyed at me- cameras filming people in stressful situations equals angry people on camera.
     Our staff threw us a little party tonight- they used set lights and covered them with gels to make it look like a dance party. It was kinda lame, but I danced like a fool and had a great time.
I'm going to bed, and i'm going to make the best of our day off tomorrow. I took some photos today, which i'll post later.

Bye!
Molly

More thoughts since Sunday

Hello again!

     I haven't written in a while because all of my free time has been spent doing homework. I've been writing scripts and doing proposals and such. I'm enjoying this experience, and it's constantly challenging me in a way that I love and that annoys me- but I do honestly love every minute of it and I am going to be very sad when I have to leave here.
    We had our first meetings with our advisors today. Our advisors give us ideas and try to keep us on track, and they are all members of our staff. My advisor is Jim- one of the program directors. He has brown hair almost to his shoulders, wears red converse shoes, and is scarily perceptive. Eight people including me have him as our advisor, and we spent four hours today listening to each person pitch their idea and get it critiqued. I actually had a fantastic time- it was really great to help each other and take characters and make them more interesting. Creating the ideas was awesome- one person would be the springboard for another, and someone else would add more. I am still very lost on how to properly go about writing my script- i'm keeping my idea to myself for the time being, but i'll share it on the blog later.
       On tuesday night, our experimentals were critiqued. We got roasted- we were told that it didn't fit the assignment, we didn't do enough research, our footage didn't fit our theme, and all sorts of things. We were totally dejected, all of us- although I did have a reality check when I realized that I had only been a film student for a week when it was filmed. I'm getting better about receiving criticism in general, and i'm prepping myself for a lot more of it.
       We are filming documentaries on saturday. This week has gone by so quickly- last week felt like it took eons, but it's already thursday and Sunday felt like a second ago. Also, people swear a ton here- the people who know me at home would flip out if I dropped the f-bomb, but people do here all the time, and I can and no one will think twice. It's kinda nice to quote people and not have others be surprised. On another note, I'm getting along with my roommate well- she's very nice and a very cool person.  Also, word that I brought a guitar has come around, and multiple people have borrowed it and played it. There are two people that like to play duets together, and we managed to cram twenty people into a common area so we could watch them play.
        The world that I have been shown through this program is incredible. As stressed as I get, I love it here. The people are great and I feel like I am constantly reinventing myself. Things are going to get so crazy I won't get to say much, but I'll try to update when I can. I miss you all- let me know how you are doing!
Molly
      

Mandatory Fun

Hello!

    I had an awesome day today. Sunday is our only break from our insane schedule- we get to sleep in, and then we go have fun together. Jim (one of the program directors) calls it Mandatory Fun. I went to see Cyrus (okay, not great) with the cherubs, and then I split up into a smaller group that went to Levi's, CVS, and a thrift store. I bought a dress for six bucks that looks very good on me. Then, we went to a field that's on the Northwestern shoreline to watch the fireworks. We had a staff vs. students football game, which got really intense. I surprised myself- I expected to totally fail but I ran the ball once and caught an interception. We then played ultimate until we were so tired we just all collapsed in a heap on the grass. The fireworks were great! I missed seeing them with my friends but I had a great time with the cherubs. There are a few people that I am becoming closer friends with, which is really nice. 

    I get a roommate tomorrow- an acting on camera cherub from the east coast. I'm excited to meet her- I really enjoyed the privacy of a room to myself, but sometimes I ended up being alone when I didn't want to, which isn't fun. 

   We filmed an experimental film on Saturday- our group dynamic was better than others, and considering we were only able to find a crappy location, it went very well. We will be taking our footage- people making faces, written definitions of words, and a pillow towel allegorical to the tower of babel- and editing it in a nonlinear form. 

    Tomorrow we are back to classes all day- with the exception of meals, we have class from 8am to 10pm, every single day but Sunday. We have to hand in our ideas tomorrow- I have them written down, and they need major workshopping, but they are there. 

    Sorry for my very long posts- I'll trim it down in the future so there isn't so much to read. 

    How are your summers going? Let me know what you are up to!! 

   -Molly 

Lots more to learn

Hello Everyone!!

      Things are getting stressful- tomorrow we are filming our experimental projects, and I have no idea how it will go. I still only know so little and our teachers expect so much- I'm just focusing as hard as I can, and seeing how everything goes. At one point, I told my screenwriting teacher that I had ideas, but was worried about not having good ones, and he replied, "bring us your ideas and we'll make them good."
     Despite all of the craziness, I am learning a lot. In production, we learned about how to set up lighting, and practiced portraying different moods with standard light kits. We also had composition practice, where the program directors gave us sheets up paper with actions and shot lists, and we had to go film them. I ended up acting a lot, which resulted in my attempts to cry while sitting on a bench, and hitting my head on my bunk bed. Some of our shots were great, others were crap, but I'm beginning to understand the camera a bit more.
    We also had a lecture on things we need to organize in pre production, which scared the crap out of all of us. There is SO MUCH that needs to be done before filming days- location scouting, finding actors, crew meetings, shot lists, set lists, scene planning, scheduling, and so much more.

     This is a photo of some notes I took today. This is me taking half of a scene one of last year's cherubs wrote, and I blocked out where the cameras would go. This would be one camera that changes locations, not five cameras. 

      Tonight we watched Never Cry Wolf. Now, i'm going to bed- early rise tomorrow to film the experimental films. I hope all is going well for you all! 

-Molly 

I. Am. So. Tired.

Hello all! Thanks so much for the comments. At our night showing tonight, we saw a Japanese film called Rashomon, which is a murder mystery allegorical to world war II told from four different perspectives. Last night's film was True Lies (directed by James Cameron), tuesday night was Spirited Away, and monday was Shaun of The Dead. In editing today, we finished editing a beer commercial- we had to cut seven minutes of takes down to 45 seconds. In animation, we analyzed Pixar short films, discussed animation techniques, and started making flipbooks. In screenwriting, we discussed three act structure. We had two lectures on experimental films, and we recived an assignment we are filming saturday. With my group, we need to make a film about the theme deconstructing language in the style of formal analysis (and no, I don't get it either.) Every group was assigned different themes. Tomorrow will me more class, but with all breaks devoted to preparing for our experimental films. I'll put up a photo of my dorm when I get a chance, but now I'm going to bed! I'm exhausted, but very happy- which is definitely something I'm willing to live with :)

How are your summers going?? Keep me updated as well!

NHSI!!!

Hello Everyone!! 

      Rather than obsessively updating my facebook status, I'm going to keep in touch with you peeps here. So far, things are going well. Jones (my dorm) is actually very nice, and I don't get a roommate for a week (the acting on camera kids come later)  so I get a double to myself. This situation is nice, because for this first week I can get adjusted in privacy but then I'll have someone around later. 

     Sunday was move in day, monday was campus tour and chill day, but today was our first day of actual classes. We have class from eight in the morning to ten at night, six days a week. We have classes in production, screenwriting, editing, and animation every day. I need to come up with three ideas for my final project by monday... and we have casting and location limitations, but otherwise great possibilities, so I have no idea where to start. 

     Thank goodness though, because we have one break in between dinner and night lecture. It turns out a couple of the girls also play guitar, so I used that break to play with them. I brought mine, and someone else brought theirs, so we just passed the two guitars around during the time we had. I also had a little time to play catch with a girl who brought a football. The break was just what I needed, because we had five two hour classes today. 

     Our teachers are all very unique and interesting. I'm new to everything, which is terrifying, and I hope I can tackle everything thrown at me. The days will be so tiring, and its so hard to focus for that long- but it helps tremendously that everything I need to focus on are things that I really want to learn. 

    The program is strict- if we are late to class, we need to write a 100 word paragraph using only one being verb on the movie we watch at night lecture. My goal right now is to go a week without being late. I'll let you know how it goes. 

    The food is okay- I was bracing for the worst, but its not too bad. I need to start making healthier choices. My room is immaculately clean right now, and I hope it stays that way. Again, I'll let you know how all of that that goes. 

    If you are reading this, feel free to respond, and if you know me, please let me know what you are up to. 

  Take care, and I'll try to write later, 

   Molly 

     

Wow, blogger has changed.

This blog looks super nifty in my opinion, but is it too colorful? Let me know.