Day Fifty-Five: Directing, In More Ways Than One

8/5/13, 6:55 AM PDT

In the car again, up really early for week two of film camp. Having a debate with my sister on the origins of Godzilla. I say nuclear radiation, she says lightning strike. I know for a fact that it's nuclear radiation, and since I will not baby my sister, I will defend my position TO THE DEATH. REGARDLESS OF ANY EMOTIONAL DAMAGE I MAY INFLICT UPON HER.



Same day, 6:56 AM PDT

She used her superior debating skills to both prove that Godzilla has lightning origins and that Wikipedia is an unreliable source that should be neglected.

I'm crying.

HAH. Just kidding. I schooled her and now she's mad and refuses to believe Godzilla has nuclear origins.

She'll get over it.



Same day, 9:11 AM PDT

Awkward frisbee game during check in, pretty much the same orientation but with a smaller class. Not as many people, definitely, especially in my film class, which has a staggering 8 people now compared to the 22 in the previous week.

The advanced week is pretty much the same as last week, were we start with a day of shot composition and framing and get separated into groups later. We haven't been separated right now, but James, the guy that came up with the idea of Banana Guns, is in week two as well. I'm hoping that I don't get in a group with him again since he's kind of annoying, but I have a 50/50 chance of being in his group. Hope and pray. Hope and pray.



Same day, 3:23 PM PDT

Almost fell asleep in class because I'm running on four hours of sleep and the lecture's all review. Walked a bit around UCSD, and now we're sitting in the Price Center, about to divide into group.

THIS IS IT. MOMENT OF TRUTH. PLEASE. NO MORE BANANAS.



Same day, 5:05 PM PDT

YES. No Banana Guns 2, not paired with James. He's a pretty cool guy, don't get me wrong, but he's really disorganized and has generally bad ideas.

The group I was put into? A girl and two guys, all 13 years old, which is fantastic, because it lets me have a leadership role in the group as the eldest. We've already come up with a great premise, it'll have a way better plot than Banana Guns. Fun fact, Banana Guns had no script. So take that as you like.

Taking the bus today again. While waiting for the shuttle right outside my film camp that'll take me to the MTS, a group of eight or so Chinese exchange students approached me and asked for directions to Gilman Drive. It was hard to understand their accent, but I told them to go on the shuttle and get off at my stop, which was right on Gilman Drive.

Or... Was it Gilman Drive? Maybe it was Gilman Street, or Gilman City, or maybe I didn't even stop at Gilman anything and I just saw it in the map while plotting my own route home. Needless to say, I checked my phone an awful lot to see if I really stopped at Gilman drive, which I did. But we're they asking for Gilman drive? Now that I thought about it, it sounded more like Hilman drive, or maybe Geelman drive. Aaaagh, what if I'm leading them the wrong way?!

Nah. I led them to the right place and they all said "bye" in unison, which made me feel pretty important.

But wow, was I nervous. Direction-giving is hard. Especially since I don't know what streets go where. I just memorize where I turn and hope for the best.

Seriously, that's the only way I've been able to navigate the UCSD shuttles. I count how many turns have passed since I got on and just leave at a certain time. Probably not a good game plan, especially since I sometimes lose count. It's hard to count to seven and play Tetris simultaneously.

Oh, and a guy on the trolley had some pretty cool steampunk glasses on. Well, less reading glasses, more like adjustable focus craftsmen glasses, with the four or five lenses attached to the right eyepiece. Pretty cool.



Same day, 10:00 PM PDT

Made the long commute home. Just EXHAUSTED. But I can't sleep, since I'll be semi-scripting out our next short film. I'll be keeping it a secret on here in case any of my fellow filmmakers are reading in and doing some corporate espionage. Michael's work is as infinite as his imagination.

...Someone slap that last line on a t-shirt. I'll definitely wear it.

Nice little Skype conversation with Hannah. Admittedly, I was nodding off a bit during our chat because I'm just SO TIRED. Five hours of sleep, no naps, and a two-hour commute saps the energy out of you surprisingly quickly.





RFotD: People who slept less than 6 hours a night on average have a 12% higher chance of dying earlier than people who slept 8 hours a night. Interestingly, people that slept longer than 8 hours a night on average had a 30% higher chance of dying earlier than 8 hour sleepers. SOURCE.

SGAT: Started preproduction on our second film for camp.