Challenges of Being a Filmmaker

                                    

Throughout the course of this year, my group and I have encountered several problems. Our trailer at the beginning of the year was somehow deleted, so we had to redo our trailer. Towards the end of the year, when we exported our almost completed film to present at Urban Arts, the computer couldn't read our film when we imported it back. The film could not render and we lost some attached files. So we continued working, adding on to the file that couldn't render, and in the end we had to start over, using an original copy of our film that could render.

I think going through those experiences was a nightmare, but I think it caused us as a group to get closer. We had to work together to fix the problem. With the computer breaking down on us we were able to get more advice and input on how to make our film better.

Advice I have for filmmakers is just to always save and render every chance you get. Always be careful with what your exporting and importing. Dont have several files of your film saved, maybe just the original and latest one you've worked on. Lets say you do have a lot of files saved, if something were to happen to you that happened to us, with your computer breaking down on you, it would be hard to find a file that works. Just always be careful you can never be to careful. Always render, always save.

Challenges Of a Filmmaker

Choosing My Interview Footage

Choosing what interview footage is to be put into the film and what isn't going to the film is probably the most difficult part of making the film, besides editing. We have to stick to our story line and the point of why I'm even in this film. Everyday the same questions are always in the back of my mind: does this show/prove the statement I'm trying to make about bullying? Will this inspire people? Will this film help kids like me? Or even help adults maybe, who are still stuck in their past? Will people enjoy my film or understand what is being said and why its being said? Everyday I walk into class and I sit down wondering if my film will be viewed and liked by others who don't know who I am, who are only seeing just a small part of me?
This week was critic week. So my film was viewed by my teacher who is also the principle and others. They had a lot of advice on what to change or put in/take out to make the film go along smoother. Honestly I am open to advice everyone is but certain things just shouldn't be changed. So where am I with sorting through my footage? I don't know. As a film maker, editor and actor, there are some things people just cannot have a say in. Some things you are left with controlling on your own and its best that way, but advice is always great. Sometimes advice can make your film stronger but if YOU like the way things are going don't change it, be happy with what you have but always have an open mind.
Right now in my film, my group and I are just putting the final pieces to our puzzle. Putting in any transitions, or adding extra b-roll, or interview footage. Our film is due next Wednesday and I think we will have everything ready by then. Hopefully people will like our film as much as we do, because everyone especially me has put in a lot of effort and dedication into this film.

The making of our soundtracks

For our film we had to create a soundtrack. We had to do this because we cant take other people's music, so its best to just come up with our own. We used Garage Band to make our soundtrack. Using Garage Band was easy, and fun. Its nice to play around with beats and things like that.

Our film is focused on me, and me telling my story about being bullied as a child, so I had more of a say with how the soundtrack would come out. Our music is softer, and slower because its a documentary basically I didn't want upbeat tracks because its a sentimental film. You need the music to flow with the film not bring it down or make people be interested more in the music then the story your trying to tell. Making the soundtracks weren't difficult but they weren't easy either. The process was difficult because I might like something I came up with that Zaria wouldn't like or the other way around. So it took us a while to come up with something we all liked.

Piecing together the soundtrack with the film, I would say wasn't that hard. If it feels right, if you like how the music sounds with a certain part don't question it. Just do it. You don't want to throughout the whole film have it sounding depressing, but the sentimental parts should be slow and low, and the uplifting parts should sound uplifting. 

 Our Trailer

My 4th Quarter Goals

In Quarter 3 I had started working on my interviews, soundtrack, and editing previous footage. Basically we had to make up our own soundtracks for our film. So creating those were difficult because I might like what I came up with but someone in my group would think it sucked. So finding something that we all liked took some time. We currently are done filming and now are just focusing on editing everything. Finding out how and where we ant to order things and all of that.
To finish my project by the end of the year basically we just have to order everything. See what goes here or there, make sure everyone in our group is happy/satisfied with how our film ends up. We also need to work on our soundtrack. Editing that and maybe making a few more soundtracks for our film.
My next immediate steps for this week and next week would just be to focused on helping Zaria with the editing because this is the hardest part of completing our film. Editing is our main priority. Film footage needs to be placed properly, edited properly, as well with the soundtracks and statistics etc. Also to work on the rest of my blogs for this quarter.

 

Steven Urry

 

 Six years ago a 13 year old boy named Steven Urry hung himself in his bedroom closet. He committed suicide because he was being bullied and tormented at school. It's a terrible thing to see young teenagers like Steven, or Amanda Todd, a 15 year old girl commit suicide because they think that's the best way to escape. Bullying needs to be put to an end because of kids like Amanda or Steven. Steven loved skateboarding, baseball, music and he just loved to have fun like every other teenager, but how can a kid like him really be happy if everyday he had to wake up knowing that people were going to torture him once again at school.  Steven's mother, Pam, found him in his closet, when she was looking for him because it was dinner time. What a horrible way to find your child. I feel so bad for his parents because I know they loved him, I wouldn't want my child to be so unhappy at such a young age, to the point where they have to just give up on life. Steven was artistic and didn't fit into his school, he stood out. To me I believe he stood out in a great way but to kids in his school he was a loser or a freak or whatever it was they called him! In the beginning of 7th grade was when the bullying got out of control, and he just couldn't take it anymore. It was too much for him. Earlier in school that day, the day he committed suicide, his tormentors set him on fire with a lighter and an aerosol can of body spray. They recorded their attack on a cell phone and posted it on the Internet.

Steven's parents found out abut Steven being bullied a month before his suicide. They did their best to help Steven. They filed police reports and talked to school officials, they were even going to switch schools for Steven before he committed suicide. But Steven's dad, Mike said, "We just found out too late, or maybe we didn't act fast enough, I don't know. The teachers and staff had no plan, no procedure in place to identify and stop the abuse."

"Tragically, many people knew what was going on, including many of Steven's fellow students. One of the bystanders wrote about her guilt and shame on her blog: We all knew what he went through. We knew who beat him up. We knew who locked him in a cupboard. We knew who had held his head under water in a sink. So why hadn't we told anyone? We were stupid. And we expected somebody else to do something about it. I wish I could apologize to Steven. No, I never bullied him up front, but if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. "

Kids had a chance to stand up and help Steven, be there for him, and yet they just stood back. Maybe they were too afraid to speak up or maybe they just didn't care, but to think that maybe if those kids did help Steven he could still be here, alive today? No one will ever know. But my condolences go out to his family.

To read more check out this Huffington Post article. 

New Yorks Times Article

Effects of Bullying Last Into Adulthood, Study Finds

• Studies have shown that victims of bullying at school are likely to experience psychiatric problems during this time in their lives. Researchers have found out that the risk of psychiatric trouble extends into adulthood. In some cases it might even happen a decade after. 

 published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday

This link is the newest study to establish what might happen to a victim of bullying in their later years. 

“It documents the elevated risk across a wide range of mental health outcomes and over a long period of time”

“The experience of bullying in childhood can have profound effects on mental health in adulthood, particularly among youths involved in bullying as both a perpetuator and a victim”

"Researchers found that victims of bullying in childhood were 4.3 times more likely to have an anxiety disorder as adults, compared to those with no history of bullying or being bullied."

Researchers show that bullies who were also victims were 14.5 times more likely to develop panic disorders as adult, and 4.8 times more likel to experience depression. This research also showed that men who were both bullies and victims were 18.5 times more likely to have had suicidal thoughts when they got older. Females were 26.7 times more likely to have developed agoraphobia (Extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public places.) 

My Hopes for This Film

Telling my story through this film I am hoping will help people who are struggling with their past. These memories and nightmares will never be forgotten that I know will never happen but I want kids especially kids younger than me to understand that you can overcome this. There is a life ready to be lived ahead of you, and sometimes you just have to get through the hardships to reach the good times, and maybe someday you can look back one day years from now and be proud to say that people's actions and the hard times I've went through have made me stronger, and have made me the person I am today. I want people watch this film and not only be able to relate, but understand that my life still has its struggles and I know that bullying has affected my life forever, and my path of direction has changed because of others actions. I would hope in a good way because I can say I am wiser and stronger. I would also like for people to watch this film and realize bullying can really defeat a person if they feel like hey aren't strong enough or if they feel like they are alone, or if they don't have hope. When a young child commits suicide in my opinion I think is an act of feeling like there is no way of getting back up, or being happy ever again. A lot of kids that do commit suicide  I think they do this because they feel like this is the only way to be set free or to get away from bullies and being bullied. I just want to reach out to kids and I want them to know they aren't alone in this that there will be brighter days.