Sorry for the delay, but I now present you with my final thoughts on my Hollywood trip! It took me a week to think about what I really wanted to say, but I think I managed to figure it out!
Hollywood is a very different place than most people think. It isn’t the place you see in movies and it’s certainly not the same place you go to visit during a summer vacation. “Hollywood” is an industry that is extremely competitive to get into.
Once you are IN the industry, however, your fame and fortune could last for 2 years, 2 seasons, 2 weeks, 2 days. It is one of the most unpredictable job industries in the world. It all depends on how successful you and your final product are. This leads me into my next VERY important point: “Final Products”.
When I was in Hollywood, I learned an extremely valuable lesson (the hard way). It doesn’t matter how much work you put into your project – it doesn’t matter how many sacrifices you make for your project – it doesn’t matter how much time you put into it, how much money, how much ANYTHING. The only thing that matters IS the final product.
You can put all the time and effort into a project and be the nicest man in the world, but if your final product isn’t something that others can produce and become successful off of, nobody cares.
Overall, I learned a lot of things in Hollywood – many things that I THOUGHT I already knew about, but practically knew nothing about at all. Hollywood can be a great thing for some, but it can also be a nightmare for others. You have to be competitive. You have to show your talents. You have to convince HUNDREDS of people why YOU are the one they want more than anybody else.
It’s a challenging industry. But it’s something that I have a great passion and desire to get into. This is JUST the beginning of a lot more great experiences in the video industry to come….
A special thanks to everyone that followed my month long journey to Hollywood. I hope that you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed sharing them. It is great to know that I have many people that support me and my goals for the industry. If you ever have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc… PLEASE feel free to contact me! I’d love to hear from you all!
Thanks again!! I'll see you in the movies! :)
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
COMING SOON!!
My final thoughts, summaries, pictures, and videos are coming soon!
Keep checking and I'll be sure to have some updates this week!!
Thanks again to everyone for their continuted patriotisim to the site :)
Keep checking and I'll be sure to have some updates this week!!
Thanks again to everyone for their continuted patriotisim to the site :)
Friday, August 25, 2006
Jam Packed Day
Today was an exciting day. Not ALOT to elaborate on, but here's some of the highlights:
1. I completed my movie! It's all ready for Saturday's film festival!! :-)
2. My parents arrived in LAX / Hollywood today and came to pick me up at the school so we could go downtown to Hollywood.
3. On the way to downtown Hollywood, we got in a little car accident. Nothing big, don't worry.
4. We ate dinner and shopped down in Hollywood - then returned to come back to drop me off at the appartments.
5. GOOD NEWS: We're starting to actually enjoy each other's company a little bit more than before. Most likley because we don't have all the stress and competition anymore so we can finally relax.
6. BAD NEWS: Tyler is getting everyone on campus annoyed and is the only flaw in the group relationship - but we aren't letting him ruin our fun.
I think that's about all for now! Thanks to everyone for their continued patriotisim on my blog. I appreciate everyone watching for updates and I will keep updating until I reutrn back home on Sunday.
I can't wait to come home and see everyone again and catch up!!
Thanks again and I'll see you all soon!!!
1. I completed my movie! It's all ready for Saturday's film festival!! :-)
2. My parents arrived in LAX / Hollywood today and came to pick me up at the school so we could go downtown to Hollywood.
3. On the way to downtown Hollywood, we got in a little car accident. Nothing big, don't worry.
4. We ate dinner and shopped down in Hollywood - then returned to come back to drop me off at the appartments.
5. GOOD NEWS: We're starting to actually enjoy each other's company a little bit more than before. Most likley because we don't have all the stress and competition anymore so we can finally relax.
6. BAD NEWS: Tyler is getting everyone on campus annoyed and is the only flaw in the group relationship - but we aren't letting him ruin our fun.
I think that's about all for now! Thanks to everyone for their continued patriotisim on my blog. I appreciate everyone watching for updates and I will keep updating until I reutrn back home on Sunday.
I will also try to post a FINAL BLOG POST (maybe 2?) with a summary of the entire trip (hopefully with some pictures and videos), so make sure to look out for that!
I can't wait to come home and see everyone again and catch up!!
Thanks again and I'll see you all soon!!!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Desperate Housewives
Happy Tuesday, Everyone!
Today was a very fun day. We had an opportunity to edit a lot of our videos, and then around 12:00, we had the opportunity to travel to Universal Studios to take a walk down Westeria Lane and visit the soundstages for ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”.
When we arrived at Universal, we met with Ron, the Sound Supervisor (head of the sound dept.), for the show and he gave us a great tour of the entire complex. He had a lot of great knowledge about the industry, which was very interesting to learn.
Basically, the number one thing is this:
It isn’t about WHAT you know; it’s ALL about WHO you know.
Ron said that a lot of positions that have been open for employment on the ABC sets are often taken by friends of people that already work on the show. He said they had about 50 resumes for a sound editor position and the 2 people that got hired were NOT from the list of 50 applicants…they were friends of the Sound Supervisor and Director….
This seems to be the general theme for getting into the industry that we’ve been hearing the entire time, so my guess (duh) is that it’s probably true!!
Since Universal’s security is SOOOO incredibly tight, taking pictures on the set just wasn’t worth the risk. We got to see ALL of the indoor Housewives sets – including a hospital and divorce clinic (sorry if I spoiled season 3 for any of you DH fans). Which reminds me, if you want to hear about what happens in the first episode of the 3rd season (which premieres in a few weeks, I think), just let me know. I saw the script today and it was pretty neat!
Anyways…since the pictures weren’t worth risking, I got myself 2 different souvenirs to prove to all you “non believers” that I was there.
1. A backstage ticket to the Desperate Housewives sets (with my name on it) from Universal Studios
2. A watter bottle (personalized JUST for Desperate Housewives) from the show.
I almost think those are cooler souvenirs than pictures. Even though pictures would have been really cool!
For those of you wondering (*looks at mom, Allie, and Kasia*) “Did you see any stars?!?!”, the answer is yes.
Although we didn’t see as much of the actual filming, we DID get to travel to all the sets. As we were walking from set to set we would see different stars from the show such as Terri Hatcher and Iva Longora and whatnot. It was kinda neat to see them!
As cool as it was to see them though, I found a bigger thrill out of actually getting to hang out in their ‘houses’ that are seen on TV. We got to spend a good amount of time just sitting around and hanging out on the sets. I can now officially say I’ve sat in every housewife’s living room, their kid’s rooms, their bathrooms, and opened their fridges in their kitchens!
Anyways, I think that’s about all the excitement for today. It was a great day hanging out with the Desperate Housewives and stealing water bottles from the show.
I’ll be posting another update soon!
Today was a very fun day. We had an opportunity to edit a lot of our videos, and then around 12:00, we had the opportunity to travel to Universal Studios to take a walk down Westeria Lane and visit the soundstages for ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”.
When we arrived at Universal, we met with Ron, the Sound Supervisor (head of the sound dept.), for the show and he gave us a great tour of the entire complex. He had a lot of great knowledge about the industry, which was very interesting to learn.
Basically, the number one thing is this:
It isn’t about WHAT you know; it’s ALL about WHO you know.
Ron said that a lot of positions that have been open for employment on the ABC sets are often taken by friends of people that already work on the show. He said they had about 50 resumes for a sound editor position and the 2 people that got hired were NOT from the list of 50 applicants…they were friends of the Sound Supervisor and Director….
This seems to be the general theme for getting into the industry that we’ve been hearing the entire time, so my guess (duh) is that it’s probably true!!
Since Universal’s security is SOOOO incredibly tight, taking pictures on the set just wasn’t worth the risk. We got to see ALL of the indoor Housewives sets – including a hospital and divorce clinic (sorry if I spoiled season 3 for any of you DH fans). Which reminds me, if you want to hear about what happens in the first episode of the 3rd season (which premieres in a few weeks, I think), just let me know. I saw the script today and it was pretty neat!
Anyways…since the pictures weren’t worth risking, I got myself 2 different souvenirs to prove to all you “non believers” that I was there.
1. A backstage ticket to the Desperate Housewives sets (with my name on it) from Universal Studios
2. A watter bottle (personalized JUST for Desperate Housewives) from the show.
I almost think those are cooler souvenirs than pictures. Even though pictures would have been really cool!
For those of you wondering (*looks at mom, Allie, and Kasia*) “Did you see any stars?!?!”, the answer is yes.
Although we didn’t see as much of the actual filming, we DID get to travel to all the sets. As we were walking from set to set we would see different stars from the show such as Terri Hatcher and Iva Longora and whatnot. It was kinda neat to see them!
As cool as it was to see them though, I found a bigger thrill out of actually getting to hang out in their ‘houses’ that are seen on TV. We got to spend a good amount of time just sitting around and hanging out on the sets. I can now officially say I’ve sat in every housewife’s living room, their kid’s rooms, their bathrooms, and opened their fridges in their kitchens!
Anyways, I think that’s about all the excitement for today. It was a great day hanging out with the Desperate Housewives and stealing water bottles from the show.
I’ll be posting another update soon!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Magic Mountain was not-so-magic
Today was not the best day. Aaron and I planned on going to Magic Mountain today, and we found out that Tyler and Dawn wanted to join us as well, which was cool.
When we arrived, we began riding some roller coasters and I started to become more and more sick to my stomach. The rides at Magic Mountain aren’t that much more intense than the ones back home, but I did have a tough time handling a lot of the rides that should have been a breeze.
And speaking of breeze, there was none today. It was dry and hot all day long which definitely added to the excitement. I purchased so many water bottles and small little cracker (dry food) snacks it was unbelievable. By lunch time I had given up on riding the coasters because my body couldn’t handle it anymore. Everyone was giving me a hard time and all, but I know my body better than they do and I don’t regret a thing.
The only sucky part, was that I wanted to go on relaxing rides like the go-carts, water rides, and smaller things like that but nobody else did and I really didn't feel like leaving the group and having to RE-find them...
On an exciting note, our cook, Walter, shared with us some interesting history about Montclair (the dorm/apartment style complex we are staying at). I may have listed some of this before, but if not, here goes…
--Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson both attended the Monclair Prep School AND used the apartments for a small time.
--Cher’s children attended the Monclair Prep School
Many other children of well-known celebrities supposedly also have their children attending Montclair and staying in the apartments during the year. I just thought it was kind of fun to share….
Anyways, not sure what’s on the agenda for tomorrow. I think we begin editing or possibly a class on editing theory. Tuesday is our day to travel to the sets of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES!! I’m soooo excited!!
I’ll be updating again soon! Thanks for listening!
When we arrived, we began riding some roller coasters and I started to become more and more sick to my stomach. The rides at Magic Mountain aren’t that much more intense than the ones back home, but I did have a tough time handling a lot of the rides that should have been a breeze.
And speaking of breeze, there was none today. It was dry and hot all day long which definitely added to the excitement. I purchased so many water bottles and small little cracker (dry food) snacks it was unbelievable. By lunch time I had given up on riding the coasters because my body couldn’t handle it anymore. Everyone was giving me a hard time and all, but I know my body better than they do and I don’t regret a thing.
The only sucky part, was that I wanted to go on relaxing rides like the go-carts, water rides, and smaller things like that but nobody else did and I really didn't feel like leaving the group and having to RE-find them...
On an exciting note, our cook, Walter, shared with us some interesting history about Montclair (the dorm/apartment style complex we are staying at). I may have listed some of this before, but if not, here goes…
--Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson both attended the Monclair Prep School AND used the apartments for a small time.
--Cher’s children attended the Monclair Prep School
Many other children of well-known celebrities supposedly also have their children attending Montclair and staying in the apartments during the year. I just thought it was kind of fun to share….
Anyways, not sure what’s on the agenda for tomorrow. I think we begin editing or possibly a class on editing theory. Tuesday is our day to travel to the sets of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES!! I’m soooo excited!!
I’ll be updating again soon! Thanks for listening!
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Universal Studios - 2nd Time
Today I had the opportunity to travel BACK to Universal Studios for another jam-packed day of fun and excitement. Since I was a single person visiting the park, I enjoyed the benefits of not having to wait in long lines for most popular attractions. (Universal has a system for single riders to help speed up the loading process on most rides).
I couldn’t resist riding the studio tour again, which was really neat because we got to visit new areas of the backlot we were not able to see the fist time. I also was one of 25 select VIPS that received passes to walk down the red carpet of the TEEN CHOICE AWARDS. Sadly, I couldn’t take pictures since I didn’t have a press pass…but it was still fun walking the carpet and seeing some celebrates!
Possibly the biggest highlight of the day was being on FEAR FACTOR LIVE. At Universal Studios, they have a LIVE version of the hit TV show where contestants are chosen at random from around the park to compete in a miniature version of the show. I was amazingly picked as one of the 6 people to participate on the show. The challenges consisted of the following:
Challenge #1: “Hang ‘Em High”
This challenge was quite simple. All six of us were hanging tightly onto jungle gym bars and we were informed to hang on with our lives. When the challenge started, the platforms below us fell and we were left to hang 25 feet in the air (with the protective bungee cord strapped on).
The challenge only lasted about 2 minutes; and shocking enough – I had one of the two top times for that stunt. Since I was in the top four, I earned the right to move on to round #2.
Challenge #2: “Wheel of Doom”
In the 2nd challenge, things became more intense. In my mind, this was the most difficult of the challenges because it involved a lot of physical work – and we all know how much Kyle loves to do physically demanding stunts before a live studio audience.
My goals for round 2 were to complete the following tasks:
1. Unlock myself from handcuffs above my head (by spinning 12 times clockwise)
2. Run to the opposite side of the stage and remove a cloth from a fish tank
3. Observe the 4 flags and the electric eels INSIDE the fish tank
4. One by One, take the flags OUT of the fish tank (avoiding the eels is a bonus) and run over to place them on my flagpole.
5. Once all 4 flags are on the flagpole, I push a button and get soaked with water.
While this is happening, there are tons of wheels (specifically the ones near our flag poles) that were spinning to keep us guessing.
ALONG with that, there were added hurdles for even MORE enjoyment.
I came in 1st place on this round, moving me to the final round.
Challenge #3: “Recipe for Disaster”
This challenge sucked. But the prize was worth playing for.
THE PRIZE: A trip BACK to Universal Studios Hollywood (for 3 people) with airfare included for a 4-day visit!
The challenge was the following:
1. Spin a wheel. The faster you spin the wheel, the more shocks of electricity you get. The slower you spin, the less shocks you receive (but then you go slower…)
2. As you spin the wheel, numbers 1 thru 12 illuminate. As each number illuminates, fire spits out (on my friendly fire-retardant suit) and gives us a heat wave.
3. When you hit #12, you fly away on the bungee strap you are connected to.
4. The bungee strap travels a table with a popular FEAR FACTOR SMOOTHIE.
The smoothie included:
1. Pig parts
2. Fish
3. Old Milk
4. Worms
5. A few little other bug thingies
Once you finished the smoothie, you’d be declared the WINNER of Fear Factor!
I am sad to report that I finished all the tasks (including getting my fair share of a Fear Factor smoothie) but came out to be the 2nd place runner-up of FEAR FACTOR LIVE.
Regardless, it was a lot of fun and I truly enjoyed it. Even though I’m sure my parents are freaking out that I was acting like a stunt man at Universal Studios…
Oh well! Tomorrow should be another exciting day. I think I’ll go visit a skydiving school…I MEAN! Maybe the Hollywood sign again… (just kidding, don't worry mom!)
I couldn’t resist riding the studio tour again, which was really neat because we got to visit new areas of the backlot we were not able to see the fist time. I also was one of 25 select VIPS that received passes to walk down the red carpet of the TEEN CHOICE AWARDS. Sadly, I couldn’t take pictures since I didn’t have a press pass…but it was still fun walking the carpet and seeing some celebrates!
Possibly the biggest highlight of the day was being on FEAR FACTOR LIVE. At Universal Studios, they have a LIVE version of the hit TV show where contestants are chosen at random from around the park to compete in a miniature version of the show. I was amazingly picked as one of the 6 people to participate on the show. The challenges consisted of the following:
Challenge #1: “Hang ‘Em High”
This challenge was quite simple. All six of us were hanging tightly onto jungle gym bars and we were informed to hang on with our lives. When the challenge started, the platforms below us fell and we were left to hang 25 feet in the air (with the protective bungee cord strapped on).
The challenge only lasted about 2 minutes; and shocking enough – I had one of the two top times for that stunt. Since I was in the top four, I earned the right to move on to round #2.
Challenge #2: “Wheel of Doom”
In the 2nd challenge, things became more intense. In my mind, this was the most difficult of the challenges because it involved a lot of physical work – and we all know how much Kyle loves to do physically demanding stunts before a live studio audience.
My goals for round 2 were to complete the following tasks:
1. Unlock myself from handcuffs above my head (by spinning 12 times clockwise)
2. Run to the opposite side of the stage and remove a cloth from a fish tank
3. Observe the 4 flags and the electric eels INSIDE the fish tank
4. One by One, take the flags OUT of the fish tank (avoiding the eels is a bonus) and run over to place them on my flagpole.
5. Once all 4 flags are on the flagpole, I push a button and get soaked with water.
While this is happening, there are tons of wheels (specifically the ones near our flag poles) that were spinning to keep us guessing.
ALONG with that, there were added hurdles for even MORE enjoyment.
I came in 1st place on this round, moving me to the final round.
Challenge #3: “Recipe for Disaster”
This challenge sucked. But the prize was worth playing for.
THE PRIZE: A trip BACK to Universal Studios Hollywood (for 3 people) with airfare included for a 4-day visit!
The challenge was the following:
1. Spin a wheel. The faster you spin the wheel, the more shocks of electricity you get. The slower you spin, the less shocks you receive (but then you go slower…)
2. As you spin the wheel, numbers 1 thru 12 illuminate. As each number illuminates, fire spits out (on my friendly fire-retardant suit) and gives us a heat wave.
3. When you hit #12, you fly away on the bungee strap you are connected to.
4. The bungee strap travels a table with a popular FEAR FACTOR SMOOTHIE.
The smoothie included:
1. Pig parts
2. Fish
3. Old Milk
4. Worms
5. A few little other bug thingies
Once you finished the smoothie, you’d be declared the WINNER of Fear Factor!
I am sad to report that I finished all the tasks (including getting my fair share of a Fear Factor smoothie) but came out to be the 2nd place runner-up of FEAR FACTOR LIVE.
Regardless, it was a lot of fun and I truly enjoyed it. Even though I’m sure my parents are freaking out that I was acting like a stunt man at Universal Studios…
Oh well! Tomorrow should be another exciting day. I think I’ll go visit a skydiving school…I MEAN! Maybe the Hollywood sign again… (just kidding, don't worry mom!)
Weekend Plans
If you're checking this for the first time since Thursday or Friday, check the 2 posts I have below this. I have some good stories and fun pictures below!
This weekend (being our last "real" weekend to do things in Hollywood) I have some fun plans. Here they are:
Saturday
Universal Studios - backstage pass day
Sunday
Hollywood Meet wih Tyler
Magic Mountain with Aaron
I'll be writing a ton about my day tonight I'm sure! Stay posted!!
This weekend (being our last "real" weekend to do things in Hollywood) I have some fun plans. Here they are:
Saturday
Universal Studios - backstage pass day
Sunday
Hollywood Meet wih Tyler
Magic Mountain with Aaron
I'll be writing a ton about my day tonight I'm sure! Stay posted!!
Pictures of Kyle in action
Kyle directing in a big fancy chair
Kyle (in background) with camera man Aaron
Kyle watching a shot
Kyle rehearsing a shot before a shoot
Watching a rehearsal for my movie
More rehearsal shots
Kyle as the cameraman for Aaron's shoot
Awesome Advisor MAX!
Friday, August 18, 2006
Heck Day
Today was hell day. We had 3 shoots (2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon) and not ONE of them was organized.
This morning I participated in Dee’s shoot as Assistant Director and Director of Photography – which is considered pretty rare. Basically, Dee is the youngest in the group and has found this camp to be extremely challenging for him. The advisers asked me if I would help take him under my wings and, in their words, “save his shoot”.
When I arrived I immediately was informed he changed his script once again from the version I had planned off of. Nothing was set, nothing was ready. To sum up the story in a nutshell, it was a horrible morning and Dee gave up on the project 2 times. After some serious talking with Dee between myself and the adviser, we convinced him to finish it out for his own good. The adviser (named Max) and I became very compatible today – we work a lot like each other as far as how we see film shoots.
While I was with Dee, Tyler was shooting his film on a different set with the majority of the people from our class. Tyler’s shoot was about as successful as Dee’s, if not worse. He moved some stuff around (specifically a huge expensive desk) without asking and it killed him. Why did it kill him? He broke it. It’s going to cost him a nice chunk of change to replace…
This afternoon was Tim’s shoot. Tim’s shoot was better than the morning, but it was still difficult to communicate with him about different things. I was his Assistant Director (seems to be the pattern today) and I helped run things as best I could. Not tons to say about his shoot, so I guess that’s all…
Tomorrow is Saturday!! That’s A REALLY GOOD THING! It’s been a long, hard week and I’m looking forward to doing something really exciting tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.
Until then, keep those emails coming! I’ll have some time to check them tonight.
This morning I participated in Dee’s shoot as Assistant Director and Director of Photography – which is considered pretty rare. Basically, Dee is the youngest in the group and has found this camp to be extremely challenging for him. The advisers asked me if I would help take him under my wings and, in their words, “save his shoot”.
When I arrived I immediately was informed he changed his script once again from the version I had planned off of. Nothing was set, nothing was ready. To sum up the story in a nutshell, it was a horrible morning and Dee gave up on the project 2 times. After some serious talking with Dee between myself and the adviser, we convinced him to finish it out for his own good. The adviser (named Max) and I became very compatible today – we work a lot like each other as far as how we see film shoots.
While I was with Dee, Tyler was shooting his film on a different set with the majority of the people from our class. Tyler’s shoot was about as successful as Dee’s, if not worse. He moved some stuff around (specifically a huge expensive desk) without asking and it killed him. Why did it kill him? He broke it. It’s going to cost him a nice chunk of change to replace…
This afternoon was Tim’s shoot. Tim’s shoot was better than the morning, but it was still difficult to communicate with him about different things. I was his Assistant Director (seems to be the pattern today) and I helped run things as best I could. Not tons to say about his shoot, so I guess that’s all…
Tomorrow is Saturday!! That’s A REALLY GOOD THING! It’s been a long, hard week and I’m looking forward to doing something really exciting tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.
Until then, keep those emails coming! I’ll have some time to check them tonight.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Shooting Day (and pictures)
Today was an exciting day! It was exciting because today I got the wonderful chance to finally direct my short movie. Overall, things went quite well.
The morning started with Krystal’s film (in which I was yet again an actor). It was a pretty smooth shoot and we got done right before the end of our shift, so that was a definite plus.
In the afternoon (after our really good lunch), we filmed my movie which was a great time. We started off very smooth, things were going great, we had all the time in the world, and things couldn’t be smoother (or better)!
Then, things started to shift a little. When we arrived at the second set, things started off well but we slowly began to get self-centered about our time (and how much of it we had left to shoot). As the time passed, we began to focus more on shots that we not as important, and less on the shots we really needed to obtain. In the end, it all worked out. There were a few flaws (like spilling Pepsi cans) that could have been prevented and would have made the shoot a little nicer, but welcome to the film industry. Stuff happens.
After my film, we packed our things and drove home. It’s been a pretty slow night around here. Not much action, pretty low and lifeless. A lot of people have been watching movies and taking power naps. Frankly, I don’t blame them! It’s intense and it’s only going to get more intense as the week continues through Friday.
As for now, I am VERY relieved that I had a successful shoot and was able to learn a lot about important film aspects!
SPECIAL NOTE:
For everyone that has been watching my blog lately, THANK YOU ALL!! I truly appreciate the fact that you take a little bit of time out of your day to read about all my experiences in Hollywood. I realize some of the entries require some picky reading sometimes (due to lack of grammar and spelling when I rush to type things), but I do appreciate it and hope that you are enjoying it!
Let me know how you like the pictures!
The morning started with Krystal’s film (in which I was yet again an actor). It was a pretty smooth shoot and we got done right before the end of our shift, so that was a definite plus.
In the afternoon (after our really good lunch), we filmed my movie which was a great time. We started off very smooth, things were going great, we had all the time in the world, and things couldn’t be smoother (or better)!
Then, things started to shift a little. When we arrived at the second set, things started off well but we slowly began to get self-centered about our time (and how much of it we had left to shoot). As the time passed, we began to focus more on shots that we not as important, and less on the shots we really needed to obtain. In the end, it all worked out. There were a few flaws (like spilling Pepsi cans) that could have been prevented and would have made the shoot a little nicer, but welcome to the film industry. Stuff happens.
After my film, we packed our things and drove home. It’s been a pretty slow night around here. Not much action, pretty low and lifeless. A lot of people have been watching movies and taking power naps. Frankly, I don’t blame them! It’s intense and it’s only going to get more intense as the week continues through Friday.
As for now, I am VERY relieved that I had a successful shoot and was able to learn a lot about important film aspects!
SPECIAL NOTE:
For everyone that has been watching my blog lately, THANK YOU ALL!! I truly appreciate the fact that you take a little bit of time out of your day to read about all my experiences in Hollywood. I realize some of the entries require some picky reading sometimes (due to lack of grammar and spelling when I rush to type things), but I do appreciate it and hope that you are enjoying it!
Let me know how you like the pictures!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Breaking News and Tuesday Update
The first weekend we were out in Hollywood we had the opportunity to travel to Universal Studios and visit the outdoor sets of many popular movies and televison shows. In particular, the hit ABC show “Desperate Housewives”. A lot of us were excited just to get the opportunity to walk around the outside neighborhood set of the show, but today we received some exciting news.
On Sunday, we will be traveling BACK to Universal Studios to get a complete studio tour of the Desperate Housewives outdoor AND indoor sets. If we get lucky, we may even get the opportunity to see a few other sets in the area, but either way, it should be a good time! Richard said there’s even a good chance that we will see some shooting taking place, too!
Anyways, besides that exciting news, we had an interesting day of shooting.
This morning was Josh’s shoot and it seemed to go pretty smooth. He took control of most of it himself, which was a new approach that hadn’t been used yet, but I can’t complain because he got the shoot done – early, in fact. In his movie I was one of the two lead roles! That was fun.
This afternoon was Jadon’s shoot. We’ve been talking with Jadon from the beginning about his movie idea and how it is very fuzzy and would be difficult to shoot. Today, the things we had been predicting for so long finally came true. Jadon’s shoot was a failure. We got all the shots, but it took to the very last minute. I give mad props to Krystal (Jadon’s Assistant Director) for keeping him on time (or trying to, at least) because she definitely had a run for her money and did an excellent job. I was one of the lead actors in this movie as well and it was definitely an experience.
Tomorrow I will be shooting my film in the afternoon. I’m glad I waited to sign up for mid-week so that I could watch how things worked out today and yesterday. A few of the teachers and the TA (“technical advisor”, a girl that goes to the college named Mary) said that my shoot will probably run smoothest and turn out to be very successful. Hopefully I live up to the expectations!
I'll be updating again soon with some pictures so keep watching!!! Wish me luck on my movie tomorrow!!
First Day of Filming (Monday of Week 3)
Today was an extremely busy and tiring day. We filmed from 8 AM til 11 PM and didn't get taxis to pick us up (the ones that the school pays for and schedules to take us back to the complex) until midnight. Needless to say it's been a long day but I'll write more later.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Sunday Update
I wanted to put up another video this weekend, so I hope you enjoy it! I edited this today during my spare time at the appartment for a fun little thing to do. I'll update Thursday-Saturday blogs tonight or tomorrow!!
Let me know what you think of the video!
As a fun side note, I might add that the producer from Warner Brothers said that YouTube is starting to put more and more film makers on the map. He highly encourages us to put up any and all videos we can to this site because there are LOTS of people that get paid a nice chunk of change to watch these websites and see whats popular - and its definatley working. He said "YouTube could be your big break into the movie industry", so if you get a chance, make sure to leave it a nice rating :)
Let me know what you think of the video!
As a fun side note, I might add that the producer from Warner Brothers said that YouTube is starting to put more and more film makers on the map. He highly encourages us to put up any and all videos we can to this site because there are LOTS of people that get paid a nice chunk of change to watch these websites and see whats popular - and its definatley working. He said "YouTube could be your big break into the movie industry", so if you get a chance, make sure to leave it a nice rating :)
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday CATCH UP!!
So let’s catch up a little from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Monday was a day to finish polishing the scripts for our individual movies, and we also had the opportunity to have some professional script developers check them. It was a great chance to see if we had what we needed for a successful movie, and it appeared as if they all enjoyed mine and said it had a nice twist and I really developed my characters well.
As the day continued, and as we moved in to Tuesday, we began focusing on storyboards. I am a very strong believer that story boards are essential to film making, and I think they speed up the process, keep you organized, etc etc. The list can go on forever. I learned a lot of great things from storyboarding, but I learned one thing VERY important that I guess I hadn’t realized before:
I can’t draw storyboards for shit. If I ever become a big shot in Hollywood, the first (and most important) person that I will hire for a movie, is someone that can draw. Why? Simple. I can’t.
So that was Tuesday’s lesson. Today is Wednesday, and we had an opportunity to draw some more, as well as learn some acting skills. We also had the opportunity for some more people to read our scripts and see how they enjoyed them. The man from Warner Brothers (the producer of “Grumpy Old Men”, etc) said the following:
“You need to get out there and sell your ideas. They are excellent. If you go out and try selling your pitch to 100 places and they all reject it, they are wrong. Move on to the 101st.”
:-)
For now, I think that pretty much sums things up. I’ll be figuring out my plans for this weekend tomorrow and whatnot. I’m not sure if Sondra and Dale (my parent’s friends) are coming out to LAX area this weekend to visit Mickey or next weekend, so I need to check that out. Either way, it should be neat and I’m looking forward to exploring more of the area.
I’ll be back to write more soon!
Monday was a day to finish polishing the scripts for our individual movies, and we also had the opportunity to have some professional script developers check them. It was a great chance to see if we had what we needed for a successful movie, and it appeared as if they all enjoyed mine and said it had a nice twist and I really developed my characters well.
As the day continued, and as we moved in to Tuesday, we began focusing on storyboards. I am a very strong believer that story boards are essential to film making, and I think they speed up the process, keep you organized, etc etc. The list can go on forever. I learned a lot of great things from storyboarding, but I learned one thing VERY important that I guess I hadn’t realized before:
I can’t draw storyboards for shit. If I ever become a big shot in Hollywood, the first (and most important) person that I will hire for a movie, is someone that can draw. Why? Simple. I can’t.
So that was Tuesday’s lesson. Today is Wednesday, and we had an opportunity to draw some more, as well as learn some acting skills. We also had the opportunity for some more people to read our scripts and see how they enjoyed them. The man from Warner Brothers (the producer of “Grumpy Old Men”, etc) said the following:
“You need to get out there and sell your ideas. They are excellent. If you go out and try selling your pitch to 100 places and they all reject it, they are wrong. Move on to the 101st.”
:-)
For now, I think that pretty much sums things up. I’ll be figuring out my plans for this weekend tomorrow and whatnot. I’m not sure if Sondra and Dale (my parent’s friends) are coming out to LAX area this weekend to visit Mickey or next weekend, so I need to check that out. Either way, it should be neat and I’m looking forward to exploring more of the area.
I’ll be back to write more soon!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Universal Studios Pictures
King Kong:
The Studio Tour:
Universal Front Gate:
Kyle with Van Helsing:
Kyle in a T2 Motorcycle :)
Jurassic Park:
Apollo 13 Space Capsule:
The Studio Tour:
Universal Front Gate:
Kyle with Van Helsing:
Kyle in a T2 Motorcycle :)
Jurassic Park:
Apollo 13 Space Capsule:
Universal Studios Pictures: Exclusive set photos!!
Desperate Housewives Set:
Outside Bruce Almighty's House:
Outside Bruce Almighty's House:
Universal Studios
Today was a very awesome day. What we were anticipating to be an exciting day in itself (traveling to Universal Studios, Hollywood) turned out to be MUCH more than we had expected.
First things first. Kyle made a nice dent in the credit card today. There was SO much Hollywood and “Universal Hollywood” memorabilia it was unimaginable. I actually did pretty good and got some nice neat Hollywood stuff!
Anyways, Universal Studios. This park is AMAZING and MUCH better than the one in Orlando, Florida. There is SO much stuff to do!
First, we have the “Revenge of the Mummy” ride, which is based off of the “Return of the Mummy” movie by Universal. For those of you that have been to Disney’s MGM Studios and have challenged yourselves on the “Rockin Roller Coaster”, you may say it is a hard ride to beat. However, if you ride “Revenge of the Mummy” at Universal, you will soon forget the MGM Areosmith ride and make new favorites with Universal’s version.
What makes this ride so great?? It’s basically the same as MGM’s – it’s mostly thrill ride coaster, in the dark, neon signs, all kinds of twists and turns. But the best part, is half way through the ride when you hit a dead end. The only way out is to go back – and thus when you begin to ride the entire ride again….backwards. IT WAS AWESOME!!
As the day continued, we rode many other rides including “Jurassic Park” (which was a neat water ride), and “Backdraft” (which we planned to do after getting soaked in Jurassic Park).
The best part of the day came when we went on the “Universal Studios Backlot Tour”. When we were on the tour, we were privileged enough to sit in the front row (thanks to Kyle insisting it was worth the extra 20 minute line). When the tour began, we started talking with the guide. We told her where we were from, that we were attending a film school, etc etc and in no time flat, she gave us some VIP access passes. Basically, we got to ride the Studio Tour ride (which consists of MANY different sets – including a mini stunt show of the “Fast and Furious” and “Earthquake meets King Kong”) and then we were dropped off on Westeria Lane (from ABC’s Desperate Housewives). She told us to stay and let the next tour bus pick us up, so we did! We had about 5 minutes to tour around the famous set of “Desperate Housewives” and take pictures like CRAZY!!!
When we got picked up by the next bus, we traveled to an area where they shot the majority of street scenes in “Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3”. We also passed by a lot of the outdoor sets used in “Bruce Almighty”.
Speaking of “Bruce Almighty”, we learned that there is a SEQUAL coming out called “Evan Almighty”. They showed us a little bit of the filming that was going on for the movie (they were on break as we passed by), but we all saw a GIANT ark, so one could imagine a few things….
The 2nd best part of the tour (besides getting to walk around the ABC set of Housewives) – which in all honesty- might not compare to this next part – was getting to see the crash site from the new “War of the Worlds” starring Tom Cruise. This set was amazing! It gave me goose bumps because it looked so realistic. It was amazingly huge and looked just like it was seen in the movie. We got a chance to snap a ton of night photographs there, too! It was VERY cool!!! (pictures of this coming soon)
At the end of our tour, the original host we had (that gave us VIP passes) was waiting for us. She gave all of us some Annual Passes to come back to Universal Studios in Hollywood as many times as our heart’s desire in the next year!! HOW COOL?!?!?!
We interrupt this broadcast…..
I’m typing out my blog and it is approximately 11:30 at night. As I was typing, I heard a loud rumble and quite a few helicopters pass overhead. For about 15 minutes, 2 helicopters were scanning an area not far from where we were with search lights and then flew off. Not sure what happened, but I got it on tape J
ANYWAYS…
I think that pretty much sums up our awesome day at Universal. I got some heck from Universal employees for wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt (including getting squirted with a squirt gun at one point), but it was a great day full of awesome movie-related things.
Week 2 starts tomorrow and we will be casting for our movies. I’ll hopefully get a chance to call home and a few of my friends tomorrow night when I get home.
Talk to you all soon! PLEASE keep sending your emails!!
First things first. Kyle made a nice dent in the credit card today. There was SO much Hollywood and “Universal Hollywood” memorabilia it was unimaginable. I actually did pretty good and got some nice neat Hollywood stuff!
Anyways, Universal Studios. This park is AMAZING and MUCH better than the one in Orlando, Florida. There is SO much stuff to do!
First, we have the “Revenge of the Mummy” ride, which is based off of the “Return of the Mummy” movie by Universal. For those of you that have been to Disney’s MGM Studios and have challenged yourselves on the “Rockin Roller Coaster”, you may say it is a hard ride to beat. However, if you ride “Revenge of the Mummy” at Universal, you will soon forget the MGM Areosmith ride and make new favorites with Universal’s version.
What makes this ride so great?? It’s basically the same as MGM’s – it’s mostly thrill ride coaster, in the dark, neon signs, all kinds of twists and turns. But the best part, is half way through the ride when you hit a dead end. The only way out is to go back – and thus when you begin to ride the entire ride again….backwards. IT WAS AWESOME!!
As the day continued, we rode many other rides including “Jurassic Park” (which was a neat water ride), and “Backdraft” (which we planned to do after getting soaked in Jurassic Park).
The best part of the day came when we went on the “Universal Studios Backlot Tour”. When we were on the tour, we were privileged enough to sit in the front row (thanks to Kyle insisting it was worth the extra 20 minute line). When the tour began, we started talking with the guide. We told her where we were from, that we were attending a film school, etc etc and in no time flat, she gave us some VIP access passes. Basically, we got to ride the Studio Tour ride (which consists of MANY different sets – including a mini stunt show of the “Fast and Furious” and “Earthquake meets King Kong”) and then we were dropped off on Westeria Lane (from ABC’s Desperate Housewives). She told us to stay and let the next tour bus pick us up, so we did! We had about 5 minutes to tour around the famous set of “Desperate Housewives” and take pictures like CRAZY!!!
When we got picked up by the next bus, we traveled to an area where they shot the majority of street scenes in “Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3”. We also passed by a lot of the outdoor sets used in “Bruce Almighty”.
Speaking of “Bruce Almighty”, we learned that there is a SEQUAL coming out called “Evan Almighty”. They showed us a little bit of the filming that was going on for the movie (they were on break as we passed by), but we all saw a GIANT ark, so one could imagine a few things….
The 2nd best part of the tour (besides getting to walk around the ABC set of Housewives) – which in all honesty- might not compare to this next part – was getting to see the crash site from the new “War of the Worlds” starring Tom Cruise. This set was amazing! It gave me goose bumps because it looked so realistic. It was amazingly huge and looked just like it was seen in the movie. We got a chance to snap a ton of night photographs there, too! It was VERY cool!!! (pictures of this coming soon)
At the end of our tour, the original host we had (that gave us VIP passes) was waiting for us. She gave all of us some Annual Passes to come back to Universal Studios in Hollywood as many times as our heart’s desire in the next year!! HOW COOL?!?!?!
We interrupt this broadcast…..
I’m typing out my blog and it is approximately 11:30 at night. As I was typing, I heard a loud rumble and quite a few helicopters pass overhead. For about 15 minutes, 2 helicopters were scanning an area not far from where we were with search lights and then flew off. Not sure what happened, but I got it on tape J
ANYWAYS…
I think that pretty much sums up our awesome day at Universal. I got some heck from Universal employees for wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt (including getting squirted with a squirt gun at one point), but it was a great day full of awesome movie-related things.
Week 2 starts tomorrow and we will be casting for our movies. I’ll hopefully get a chance to call home and a few of my friends tomorrow night when I get home.
Talk to you all soon! PLEASE keep sending your emails!!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
More Pictures
Hollywood Sign:
90210 Post Office:
Filming Permit:
My future car (as seen in Beverly Hills):
Mr. Tim Burton:
90210 Post Office:
Filming Permit:
My future car (as seen in Beverly Hills):
Mr. Tim Burton:
More pictures
from "The Little Rascals"
Voice of Bugs Bunny and other Loony Toon's characters!
The DeMiles – famous paramount directors (some of the originals)
Johnny Ramone
The current set of BONES (former Batman set) with Hollywood sign in the background
Birthplace of Mickey Mouse (Walt's Office)
Mickey's star (look at the shadow)
The BATCAVE
Captain Jack Sparrow with some fans
Voice of Bugs Bunny and other Loony Toon's characters!
The DeMiles – famous paramount directors (some of the originals)
Johnny Ramone
The current set of BONES (former Batman set) with Hollywood sign in the background
Birthplace of Mickey Mouse (Walt's Office)
Mickey's star (look at the shadow)
The BATCAVE
Captain Jack Sparrow with some fans
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