Film: Secrets and Lies (1996)

As I went down the movie list and read their descriptions, this movie jumped out to me the most. The first place I went to search for it was YouTube and, sure enough, there is was in fourteen parts :).

I really wasn't expecting to like this movie as much as I did, mostly because I had never heard of it. The very first thing I noticed and really liked was that it started off with three different stories (Hortense, Cynthia, and Maurice), and how the movie did not take long to make the connections between them. I was engaged in the movie the whole time as if it were a true story happening before my eyes, in the present time. The characters and their mannerisms and personalities were very real. The story was also very believable, something I believe to be very important for any movie in the Drama genre.

What also made the movie different from any other "adopted child seeking their biological parent(s)" movie was the racial tension of it all. The mystery of who Hortense's biological father is also kept me wondering throughout the entire movie, waiting for an answer. The man's identity was never directly revealed, but through Cynthia's reaction at the mention of him, the viewer can gather that something bad happened (possibly rape), considering she became pregnant at fifteen. I also like how the story leaves it up to the audience to determine what may have happened.

Two things surprised me in the film. The first is Cynthia's turn around from not wanting anything to do with Hortense to actually building a genuine relationship with her black daughter, and being proud of who she has become. Second, is that Roxanne accepts Hortense as her sister at the end. I definitely didn't see that one coming. Overall, I would watch this film again! :)

Cinematography/Screenwriting Readings

I definitely learned a lot from the readings listed on the blog for this week. I actually spent six and a half hours on Saturday reading most of them, and finished the rest on Sunday. Thinking about it now, I really couldn't have done that if they were not slightly interesting, but they obviously were otherwise I would have given up on them. The article I favored most would have to be the "Premise" article. It's my favorite, but also the scariest. Even now, the question, "What's your premise?" resonates in my head. Two of the notes I jotted down were:

• The premise should be the driving force behind every event in your screenplay.
• If your story does not have a clear premise, it will lack focus and drive.

I guess it's the importance of the premise that scares me. If I don't have a good one, which is foundational to the film itself, my film will be unsuccessful.

I also enjoyed the character development article. This one left me a bit anxious too. I'm no expert in developing characters by any means. I even remember story writing assignments in middle school and some high school, and this has always been a problem for me. I develop them as I write, when I should really develop them first, then write. Not just that, but I also learned that EVERY character must be carefully developed and in detail, not just the protagonist and antagonist.

The readings were great. Those were the two that I enjoyed the most. I did enjoy the basic time structure of a two-hour film. Now, I will be the girl in the theatre timing the first 30 minutes, then the next 90 minutes, and the final 30 of any two-hour film. :)

A Movie that has Impacted Me

I really had to sit back and think about what movie has impacted me. I remember mentioning in class that I hate bullying and that it truly is something that bothers me. So Pay It Forward came to mind. While I had never really been bullied, I remember watching the movie with my family when it came out, and I was bothered that the bully in the movie bullied people for no reason. And it wasn't just verbal. It bothered me as a ten-year-old (age I was when movie came out in 2000) that this boy (main character) and his friend were bullied and they didn't do anything to deserve it. I also realized that it could happen to me or anyone my age and younger (I realize even now that it happens at any age). That may be why it scared me and stuck with me. I watched it again a few years later, still very anxious, dreading the end. It did not have a happy ending but I learned later that that's just reality. Victims of bullying have died from it and that bothers me to this day. They are either killed from direct physical abuse, or they end their own life, because they have no hope of it stopping. That breaks my heart.

Goals for this Class

In this class I really want to learn the technical skills of shooting and editing video and composing it into an interesting film that really captures the audience's attention. I am I Digital Media major alone. My concentration is not in film or animation. It's just Digital Media, but I do want to learn how to compose a short film for future reference. So in list form, here are my goals:

• Learn video/sound editing techniques
• Learn to write a story (screenplay) for a movie/ short film
• Learn how to create a compelling short film
• Discover the audience(s) I wish to reach
• Truly narrow down the topics I want to explore for short films
• Learn to effectively convey my message to my audience
• Learn how to properly critique a film

This is the list I came up with in one sitting. I'm sure more will come up as the semester continues. I am extremely nervous about this class because a lot of this is new to me, but I am excited about learning new digital techniques.

4 Minute Speech Notes

So below are the notes I wrote down in preparation for my 4 minute speech about myself.  There were six prompts to answer:

1. Peculiarities of my life that have made me see with special eyes are ...

2. Conflicts formative in my life are ...

3. Themes that I'd like to work with are ...

4. Types of character I empathize with are ...

5. Story topics I'd like to explore are ...

6. Ways I'd like to act on my audience are ...

 

So, normally, when I prepare to do a presentation of any sort I try to jot down my first responses at they form in my head. I did the same with these prompts. I read them to myself and I wrote down what came to mind, hence, the large amount of notes. 

After I wrote down my notes for this assignment I realized that I only had 4 minutes, so what I did next was go back through my notes, realize I could not cover everything in 4, and then decided which information was the most important for this assignment.

I circled a few letters here and there as visual reminders, but I also made mental reminders. I tried to program an order in my mind so that I wouldn't have to glance at my notes too much.

So this is a photo of my note taking:

4 Minute Speech

So this is our first assignment for this class and I am really nervous because I am not comfortable speaking in front of people.

I have written down my notes, but may have not practiced as much as I should have so we'll see how it goes.