One Minute Movie Reflection: Post-Production

What was a challenge you had during editing your movie?

Editing the movie was very frustrating for both of us. Just one of the challenges was the music, because the school computers did not let us plug in the ipod, so Vendela had to burn the songs onto a CD. Another was that we recorded the last scene on one of the video cameras and after we edited all of it and put it on the movie the next day we came to it there were a bunch of dig red Xs on those clips. We had to get Mr. Paul to upload it again. The next day the Xs were there again. Finally Mr. Paul told us that we had to use the same computer from before.

Did you have to rerecord some of your movie? If so why?

We did, but it turned out that we did not have to. When we were editing some of the first parts we filmed we imported them onto our project, but unfortunately we did not put all of it onto the actual move. When we came back to it the next day it wasn't there, or anywhere. After we rerecorded we found it again in the uploaded stuff, so our feeble attemps fell flat.

Did the movie come out according to the script?

Our movie went along the script quite nicely, although some of the places where we wanted to shoot were unavalible. We also did not have one of the very last pieces of the movie, as a result of technical difficulties.

Did the movie match the story board?

As I said before, some of our scenes did not take place in the setting we planned it out on, so the storyboard was switched around a little bit, even though we tried our best to keep it along the storyboard.

What challenge did you have finishing your movie?

After we completed it and made it into a movie file...none. Except when we were viewing the whole team's movies we had to move it into a different folder.

What advice would you give to another young movie maker?

I would tell them to be organized and to remeber to stay with the same computer! Also to stay focused on the project.

One Minute Movie Reflection: Production

What was a challenge that you had during filming of your movie?

One big challenge that we had during filming was the ice cream. We had to re-shoot the ice cream scene twice because of many reasons. The first day we had problems with our camera. Just as we were about to start shooting, the battery died. The next chance we got was better, for we actually got to film the whole scene, although the ice cream was almost gone...

What was something that struck you about filming a movie?

One thing that struck me was that I had to be very strict with my actors and actresses, as they spent as much time filming as they did goofing off. The majority of our tape was filled with bloopers, even though the product was very professional compared to the filming.

What is something that you might do differently next time if you had a chance to film again?

If I could film again, I would spend more time preparing for filming the scene. The time we had filming was not endless, and as a result the ice cream scene had to be shot twice. I believe that if we prepared more time ahead and had our actors and actresses rehearse more then it would have run more smoothly.

One Minute Movie Reflection: Pre-Production

How did you come up with the idea for your movie?

When we started the One Minute Movie Project, we were asked to create the movie based on a situation that could happen in school. My partner, Vendela, and I had many ideas, including one about where the main character would kill the guy, to where she would push him into a pool. We finally settled with a more subtle way of revenge, where she would trick him into sitting in poop looking ice cream.

What was one of you biggest Challenges during the writing process?

Coming up with that idea was most likely our biggest challenge during the writing process, for we were extremely attached with the other ideas. In the end, the ice cream solution was best suited for our film.

Did you write many versions of your script?

As it turns out, we did not write many versions of our script, although we did have many drafts of the first one. Our first draft was the draft that had the ice cream solution and we did not have any other drafts with different ideas.

What was your biggest challenge during pre-production (before shooting your movie)?

One challenge that got in the way was casting all the parts for our film. We had a group of actors and actresses that were well-suited for their parts, but one actress did not want to be their part and wanted to be a different roll. In the end, we had to choose a different set of actors and actresses to be in our film.

Did you use your storyboard to plan your shots? Describe how this process helped.

The storyboard process helped very much as we used it during when we were filming to set up the angles. As a result, the final product had much better scenes when we had good storyboards to that scene.

A Story Like No Other

A tear bringing adventure, The Outsiders, by S. E. Hintom, is the most heartfelt, truthful story about the realities of life on the streets I have read. S. E. Hinton did an unbelievable job of capturing the readers' attention and holding it close until the very last page. From the innocent beginning to the tragic end, S. E Hinton has the reader wrapped around her finger as she makes them laugh at Sodapop and cry with Ponyboy.

What starts as a carefree trip to the movies finishes as a startling wrap-up to the creative plot. When Ponyboy and his friend, Johnny, get mixed up in some trouble, their desperate attempts to shield them only lead to more damage. This story will have the readers turning the pages until the last word and leave them begging for more.

My Ending

My Ending
The story I wrote for writers workshop.
The sound of war rang in my ears. Tears ran down my cheeks, making little paths through the mud and dirt on my face. My legs ached in the uncomfortable position they were in, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was staying alive, hiding from the Nazis in the small basement room.
I looked to my father. He was kneeling on the ground, exposed and helpless. I had thought of him so brave and bold, but now, with my mother and brother dead, he was not so strong. I knew he could be, but now, it was no good to be brave or strong. It was good to be alive, and I had to try as hard as I could to keep Papa and me alive and together.
I wanted Papa to hold me close and tell me, “It’s okay Sophie, darling, we are all right and no one will hurt us.” But all that was impossible. We could never be safe anymore.
The bang outside interrupted my thoughts. “Papa?” I choked out.
“Shh, Sophie, shh,” he murmured. Attempting to be as quiet as I possibly could, I crawled over to him on my hands and knees. He was staring strait ahead, looking at the door that separated us and everyone else. When I got to him, he looked down at me. There were glistening tears on his cheeks, similar to mine, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.
Another bang sounded, and I forced myself not to think what was happening outside. An additional shot followed it, and the noise stopped. Papa perked up his head, waiting. I listened too. The quiet was deafening.
Then the knob to the door of the basement turned slowly, as if the person behind the wood was trying to be inconspicuous. I felt my heart stop. The being on the other side felt the handle stop, and I saw a glimmer of hope. Papa and I had locked the door, and although we knew it wouldn’t hold them for long; it would keep whoever was outside occupied for a while.
“Sophie,” Papa whispered, ”get behind me.” I backed up against the cold wall behind him and clung to his back, my eyes wide with fright.
“Papa,” I asked nervously, “what is going to happen?” He sighed.
“I…I don’t know,” he whispered, almost unintelligible.
Finally, one of the men from outside managed to kick the door down. He had cold, dark, piercing eyes that made me shudder. He scanned the room, and almost missed us, but unfortunately, he caught his mistake and his eyes fell back onto us.
“Who are you?” he barked out. My father gaped at him, unable to speak. The Nazi took it as further insult. “ANSWER!” he yelled. He took out his gun.
“Sophie,” my father gasped, “get out of the way.” I looked at him. Tears were streaming down his face. I scooted out from behind him. The Nazi pulled the trigger.
“Papa!” I cried. The Nazi let go of the trigger. There was a big boom, and Papa was no more. I stared at where he was just moments before, my mouth open in shock. Across from me, limp on the ground, was Papa.
I cried freely now. Papa was gone, and I could do nothing about it. I touched his palm. It was still warm. That caused me to sob even harder.
“Quiet!” the Nazi ordered. I looked at him, but kept crying. He raised his gun, pointed towards me. I looked down at Papa. Was it never going to end? He pulled the trigger, and I shut my eyes tight.
“Papa” I whimpered. The last thing I heard was a loud bang, piercing the air. Then all was quiet.

Pear Poem

This is my poem about a pear.

P
E
A
R
Pears
are a calm,
light green color
like a morning light
shining through the
leaves on which they
hang, waiting to be picked.
They are not a circle, or an oval.
They are both. Biting a pear, your
teeth sink through the skin like water.
Sweet, delicious juice trickles down
the pear. You twist the hard, flexible
stem until it pops off. You keep
taking big, sweet bites
down to the core.

Big City
This is one of the stories I wrote in humanities; enjoy!

The buzz of people in the big city made she head spin. Frowning, Katie shivered. It was cold too. And it wasn’t rainy or snowing, just overcast and cloudy, but still cold. She pulled her jacket in closer, but it didn’t help. Katie gazed up at the tall skyscrapers above her, and sighed. She missed the fresh air and the big open fields. Here, everything was too cramped and dirty.
Katie walked along the crowded sidewalk, stuffing her hands in her pockets. She didn’t like New York. It was too big, and her new school was lousy. My school is the size of the town that I used to live in back in Alabama, she thought. As she made her way through the throng of people, she staggered under the weight of her backpack, and grimaced. The teachers at her school gave way to much homework, and she also had to take the bus to and from school, which was a real pain. In Alabama, she had always lived in a big open house with acres of open fields all around, but here her family had to live in a cramped little apartment and at night she could hear the neighbors yelling and fighting, which kept her up till all hours. Katie hated it here.
She had got to the bus stop and sat down to wait. She absentmindedly stuck her hand under the seat, but withdrew it immediately with disgust. She stared at the gum on her hand, and almost threw up. But she didn’t. Katie looked around for someplace to wipe her hand of, and settled with the seat next to her. Luckily, most of it was easy to scrape off, but some of it was still on her hand. Yuck, she thought.
Katie turned her head up to the sound of an engine, and the bus was in front of her, with the bus driver looking at her with an annoyed expression on his face. She jumped out of her seat and stepped up onto the bus. She looked around for a seat and saw one in the very back of the bus. Katie walked down the isle to the seat, and gladly relieved herself of her backpack, throwing it on the seat. The bus jolted to a start and she steadied herself from the shake. As the scenery flew by, Katie got out her book and occupied herself for the twelve stops ahead of her. She didn’t even notice the people getting on and off. The next time the bus stopped even more people got on, and by the time it started again, there were no more available seats. Katie continued reading and didn’t see that the bus had stopped next and that there was a person standing beside her.
“Uhhh excuse me? Miss?” he said. Katie glanced up and saw a dirty looking man standing beside her, staring pointedly at her backpack.
“Oh umm ya… here” she stuttered. Katie picked up her backpack and set it in her lap. He turned around and sat down. The moment the man sat down Katie smelled something, and it didn’t smelled good. It smelled like rotten fish and skunk. Katie sucked in her breath and crinkled her nose. She looked at him, and it seemed like he was disgusted by the smell too. Katie tried to focus on breathing through her mouth but by the second to last stop she was ready to run out screaming. So she picked up her backpack and got off the bus.
After she got off, she turned around and looked back at the closing doors, and sat down on the bench, careful not to touch the bottom. Katie had planned that she would wait for the next bus, but once she looked around, she forgot all of that. Behind her, was the biggest open field she had seen since Alabama.
It was actually green and little yellow flowers were splattered around in the grass. With her mouth open, she got up and dragged her backpack to the middle of the field, where a tall tree was standing. When Katie got to the tree, she let go of her backpack and leaned against the tree. How could a place this big hide from her? This could have saved her from all that lament and feeling sorry for herself. Still awestruck, she slid down to the soft green carpet below her. Katie leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She sighed in relief. Maybe, just maybe, she could live with this.