Day Sixty: Sleep Schedule

8/10/13, 2:38 PM PDT

Up early-ish, fixed family computer from the tons and tons of viruses that my sister accidentally installed from playing a bunch of online games. There was one that was particularly annoying because it ran a program on startup that made it look like it was scanning your computer and finding a thousand viruses on it. A trojan, essentially. But what made it a pain in the neck is that it auto-closed Task Manager, prevented me from opening other browsers, and slowed the computer to a crawl. But I fixed it. After smashing the keyboard a bit, yes, I fixed it.

Watching Cloud Atlas now, back in a bit.



Same day, 5:41 PM PDT

Cloud Atlas was AMAZING. Oh my god, it's BEAUTIFUL. Especially the Neo-Seoul segment, which looked absolutely GORGEOUS. Pretty much every genre of film is in this. Romance, action, comedy, sci-fi, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH. It's a masterpiece. Go watch it. GO FRICKING WATCH IT.



Same day, 10:53 PM PDT

Wow, film camp really fixed my sleep schedule. I used to sleep at 3 AM, now I can barely stay up past 11. On one hand, I'm a bit annoyed that I can't tap in to the more creative part of my brain, which only comes out late at night. But on the other, I'm relieved that I (probably) won't be falling asleep in 5th period in school.

Ah, who am I kidding. I could sleep for two years straight and still fall asleep right after lunch.

Oh, and got another college letter. Heh. Rice university.

Wonder what they serve for lunch there?

That's right. Mashed potatoes.





RFotD: William Marsh Rice University has a monthly event called the "Baker 13" where students run around at 10PM wearing nothing but shoes and shaving cream on the 13th and the 31st of every month (or the 26th on months with fewer than 31 days).

SGAT: Slept in, after running on less than five hours of sleep the entire week.

Day Fifty-Nine: Godzilla

8/9/13, 7:24 AM PDT

Aaaaaagh! Sorry I haven't been up to date on this blog for the past week, I forgot to set the posting schedule for my previous blog entries. Silly me. I'll update first thing when I get back from camp, don't you worry.



Same day, 8:25 AM PDT

Still waiting outside class. They're having an awkward dance party thing on the roof of my classes.

Nothing like seeing grown men and women awkwardly dancing out of sync to pop music.



Same day, 6:42 PM PDT

We finished our video! Check this shizznizz out!

Didn't get to write many notes today when class started because I've been editing so much, so let's see what I can remember.

OH. We saw Takeru again. HAHAHAHAHA. He asked us how we were doing and if we finished our video, then just walked away.

Also, my sister's watching Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla. I used to be a HUGE fan of Godzilla, but no matter what, I can't get over how weird that baby Godzilla is. Always weirded me out as a kid. I never liked that guy.

Just look at him. Disgusting.
(via http://changermonnom.tumblr.com)

Same day, 10:03 PM PDT

So after unsuccessfully looking for a link for Blackfish to watch online, I think I'll just watch something else.

Mama sounds like a good movie to watch. Gonna go for it.



Same day, 10:17 PM PDT

FUCK THAT. NO. NO.

NO. JUST NO. Gonna watch Cloud Atlas instead.





RFotD: A video called "Bambi Meets Godzilla" is ranked 38 in The 50 Greatest Cartoons by Jerry Beck. This is the video.

Bambi meets Godzilla - Marv Newland (1969) from O.C. on Vimeo.

SGAT: Finished my last film for film camp!

Day Fifty-Eight: Pure, Unobstructed Editing

8/8/13, 5:06 PM PDT

Woke up late, which was nice for a change. Got to class at 8:45 as opposed to effing 6:50. Class starts at 9, by the way.

Also, I think my group hates me for being so strict. But I have to be strict else we'll make a bad movie. Although with one week to write, film, and edit, it's hard not to make a bad movie.



Same day, 11:23 PM PDT

Up really late so I can download all of the clips, audio, and pictures I'll need for editing tomorrow. Also made an EPIC intro.

...Which got deleted because After Effects crashed and I forgot to save.

But that's okay, I made it again and I edited it to be EVEN BETTER. If this intro doesn't win me the spot at presenting tomorrow, then I don't know WHAT will.




RFotD: Adobe After Effects has an autosave feature. Interestingly, it's turned off by default.

SGAT: Worked on my video for DMA.

Day Fifty-Seven: Taking Candy From Strangers

8/7/13, 8:31 AM PDT

Film camp again. I'm actually thankful that I got here early today since I fell asleep while storyboarding last night. Quickly got that finished.

Also, interesting sight today, I saw a large, middle aged man slowly walking towards a brown seagull with a hobble in its leg. The seagull had the hobble, mind you, not the person. But it was weird, he just walked past me while I was storyboarding and continued slowly walking towards the seagull for a good five minutes. The seagull didn't even try to fly away, it just... walked. It was the weirdest game of tag I've ever seen.

Made me laugh hard. Should have caught it on camera.



Same day, 12:54 PM PDT

Lunchtime. So I told my group that I saw a few kids in my school wearing their snapbacks in an odd fashion. Not to the side. Not backwards.

They fold the back into the hat and wear the hat with the brim pointing straight up. It's stupid.

But apparently, here at Digital Media Academy, it's caught on because of Justin. Ever since I told him how they wear it, he's worn it all around campus, saying it's "Mira Mesa" style. Pretty funny.

So, after lunch, we walked outside the cafeteria, talking about swag when we see the swaggiest thing in DMA.

A kid. With his lunchbox on his head. He looked like an English guard.

WE LAUGHED. SO HARD. And apparently, the kid noticed because he look in our direction and IMMEDIATELY took off the lunchbox.

We felt bad afterwards.



Same day, 4:19 PM PDT

Just about finished filming for the day. A bit of green screening, which was problematic, along with a bit of zoom reveals and lavalier use, which was interesting.

But the highlight of today? So we filmed at this REALLY crowded place in UCSD. A Japanese guy named Takeru passed by and asked us what we were doing. We told him that we were making a movie and he walks away.

...Only he doesn't. He turns back around and asks if he can watch us film. To which a person in my group instinctively responds "yes." So he starts walking to us while we're punching ourselves in the face, thinking "WHAT THE HELL DID WE DO?!"

He sticks around for a bit. And by a bit, I mean AN ENTIRE HOUR.

But it wasn't that bad. He was a pretty cool guy, even though he had a pretty thick accent. He asked a few questions, then offered us candy as thanks for letting him watch.

Maybe one of these characters says "Cyanide."

He had brownie bites, Hi-Chew, sour gumdrop things, reverse Pocky (sticks with filling in the inside), and caramel cubes, all unopened and factory-wrapped. It was much needed food for five hours of shooting.

He also asked us for a picture as a group while holding the candy. He had a blue flip phone, which was interesting because I expected him to have a smartphone. But whatever. Finished filming and said bye to Takeru as a group, then divided up the remaining candy. I got the brownie bites.

After hearing about the incident, my teacher commented that it was the sketchiest thing he's ever heard of. In hindsight, a Japanese man watching children, asking to take pictures of them, and giving them candy does sound pretty sketchy.

But it was some damn good candy, I'll give him that.

Oh, and our TA made this adorable giraffe card.

IT AIN'T GOT EYES.

Same day, 10:34 PM PDT

SO TIRED. I'll write the rest tomorrow, I'm EXHAUSTED.





RFotD: Michael is only human and sometimes forgets to set his posts to "schedule" when he's tired.

SGAT: Almost finished filming. Does that count?

Day Fifty-Six: One Advanced Potato

8/6/13, 7:28 AM PDT

Early again. GOD, my head hurts. I've barely had sleep this entire week.

I'm trying to find a comfortable position to sleep at UCSD even though I don't have a backrest or anything for support. Unfortunately, when I find a comfortable spot, some goddamn seagull flies overhead and force me to look up to see if I'll get bird bombed.

I hate seagulls. A lot. Any other bird is cool. But F seagulls.



Same day, 8:38 AM PDT

Found a chair and fell asleep. It was pretty comfortably. When I woke up, I saw five people staring at me.

Huh.



Same day, 5:08 PM PDT

First day of filming. Well, first we had more lecture where I sort of fell asleep because I'm just SO TIRED. But it's okay, because it was all review. Or at least, I hope it was review.

Anyway, first day of shooting, and once again, I'm the lead role. I'll be playing a mad scientist that can do parkour. I'll be manning a potato that can jump dimensions and they'll be calling me "Doctor" throughout.

Sounds like my kind of role. And look at our props!

It's a dimensional interlacer.

Also, on the way home, my mom told my sister to stop laughing while she was eating or else she might choke and die. So while we were eating fruit snacks, my sister and I heard a news story on the radio where the reporter said quote:

"The man was just on the operating table when his appendix EXPLODED."

We were eating fruit snacks at the time and we just kind of looked at each other, frowning to try and suppress our laughter.

We swallowed the snacks.

And we screamed in laughter. BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. THEY COULD HAVE SAID "BROKE." THEY COULD HAVE SAID "RUPTURED." BUT NO. THEY SAID "EXPLODED." And we're just imagining a guy on an operating table, calmly looking at the ceiling when BOOM. APPENDIX CHUNKS ON THE ROOF. ON THE PATIENT'S EYES. ON THE FACES OF BABIES IN THE NEARBY NURSERY.

He's okay, the news lady said. So it's okay to laugh.



Same day, 11:32 PM PDT

AAAAAGH. Storyboarded the HELL out of my group's video. I'm so tired.





RFotD: Archaeologists have discovered that Romans wore socks and sandals. SOURCE.

SGAT: Storyboarded a lot of my second video for film camp. 

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.

Day Fifty-Four: Filming, Day Two

8/4/13, 9:48 PM PDT

Second day of filming today! Only Nick, David, and Diana showed up, which was a bit disappointing since we wouldn't be able to film the rest of our intro scene, but we made it work. We filmed a lot, including a fight scene with David and Nick which took awhile to choreograph, but we made it work. Poked a few holes in David's cheek with a shotgun, but no big deal.

We also moved out most of the stuff from my fridge for a shot, which was a little problematic. Had no idea that we had so much alcohol in our fridge. Probably should start some awesome huge secret party with illegal underaged drinking. Police, if you're reading this because my blog pinged something on your huge NSA spying web, I'm not really gonna throw a party, but feel free to visit. I could use extras in my short film.

After that, played with potions and color changing eggs, then made my dad drive down Westonhill at mach 7. It was pretty awesome.

Oh, and before I forget, here's all the props we've used in the two days.

My sister's room looks like an armory.

Week 2 of film camp starts tomorrow and immediately after that, I'll be camping with my parents and their friends for a few days, so I'll be RIDICULOUSLY busy this month. Getting all anxious that I won't be able to finish summer homework, so I'll start a schedule for that too.

Speaking of things I have to do soon, I'll need to complete a rough cut of the movie during this week along with repair my steadicam since mine broke today while shooting, which sucks.

Don't worry, buddy. I'll fix you.

Lots and lots to do, so sorry if I neglect this blog a bit while juggling!





RFotD: A New York woman was visited by the police after looking up "Pressure cookers" and "backpacks" on Google. SOURCE.

SGAT: Worked on a lot of my film again.