CAP Hollywood Weekly Reflection

Currently our film is doing alright. We have now gotten our footage and need to edit it. We have a lot of shots that we are going to have to edit and it will take a lot of time, but if everything goes smoothly then it will be worth it. Our film is going to be dramatic, but also humorous, I think. The biggest challenge is going to be making the most out of our shots. We didn't get great footage, according to Andreas, but hopefully it will be good enough. This is a little concerning for me because now we can't go back and film anything again. It will successful though that we were able to get our shots and have enough actors as well.

What I personally did this week was help the group prepare for filming. I wasn't there to film because I had a baseball game, and since I am the director I had to make sure that my group got the shots that we needed. At the start of the week I edited the script some to make it include less characters. Then the following class Leah, Grace, and I went over a full list of shots that we needed and also tried to get actors. A couple days during lunch I went around the school looking for certain people that I needed to be actors and most of them committed to being in the film. It wasn't the most productive week because there wasn't a whole lot to do, but my group and I made the most out of it.

This next week I have to analyze all of the shots that we got, and I have to put them into the correct order on our final cut pro time-line. I have to also create a rough cut. I have some pretty good experience editing, and I feel confident in my ability to edit. We have about 75 shots and have two weeks to turn that into a 4 minute film, but it's due able. During the 60 second film project my group and I had to turn 60 shots into a 1 minute film in two days. That should give me some experience with this assignment. Here's my 60 second film.

CAP Hollywood Update

Currently my group has finished the pre-production stage of CAP Hollywood, but this in no way means that we are actually close to the end of the assignment. We still need to find actors, film, and then edit. We have to film by this weekend and we need to find some good actors to be our drug dealers and basketball players. By story was mostly based off of the Wire and thus a lot of the actors I want need to reflect my inspiration. (This video has some language in it)

I know that there's no way I am going to find Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell, but I want people who reflect some of their values and acting abilities. In addition to drug dealers I need basketball players. The way I intend to shot a lot of the basketball scenes will be based off of high school basketball players like this one.

Again with the last video, I'm not going to get Aaron Gordon to be in my video, but a lot of the shots used in the mixtape I want to incorporate in my video. In the coming week of preparation before we film my group and I need want to change our script to have the basketball game be a two-on-two game, not a three-on-three one. That will allow us to require less actors. This project is going to long and tiresome and it's just gotten started, but by the end I think we could have an amazing product.

NBA Playoffs

The real NBA season has started, that's right the playoffs. There won't be anymore easy buckets and lackadaisical defense like there usually is in the regular season. Everything counts now. I am going to describe some possible scenarios that could occur in the playoffs, as well as my finals prediction.

Can Anyone Beat the Heat

As Jason Terry found out earlier this year, the Heat can be unstoppable. Miami is coming off a championship and is poised to win another. LeBron James said, "not one, not two, not 3..." and now he has to prove it by winning his second title. I don't see the Heat facing much trouble in the East, but if one team can beat them it's the Knicks.

'Melo and the Knicks


Carmelo Anthony is coming off his best year ever and is leading the Knicks into the playoffs. The Knicks can be a grind it out team or light it up from three. If they are going to beat to the Heat them Carmelo, Josh Smith, and Tyson Chandler need to take their games to another level and go off for four games. It will be hard, but I think that it's possible.

The Nuggets


I really like the Nuggets and I think that they will make it to the Finals. They are an up-tempo team that can outrun anyone, besides the Heat. They are filled with athletes that can score as well as defend. They don't have to rely on any player in particular and can win in a variety of ways. This is unlike a lot of other teams in the playoffs, but it has worked for the Nuggets so far this year. The playoffs are a different season though, and the Nuggets will have to step their game up just like everyone else.

Finals Prediction
Heat beat the Nuggets in 6 games. I would love to see this matchup because both teams can thrive in transition and also are great defensively, but the Heat are just too good. No matter who comes out of the West, I see the Heat beating them. LeBron and company won't be denied this year.

Baseball is Back

April triggers so many great things, school's coming to a close, winter is over, and most importantly baseball is back. This year great things are expected from the nation's capitol, as the Nationals are primed for a deep playoff run, and are the favorites to win the World Series. Last year ended poorly for the Nats after they blow a six run lead in game five of the Nation League division series, but it's a new year.

The team regrouped over the off season and has solid players at every spot on the field.
Catcher
The Nats have two very solid catchers in Kurt Suzuki and Wilson Ramos. Both catchers play excellent defense and control the pitching staff well. At the plate they aren't amazing, but are tough outs, and have long productive at bats.
First Base
Adam Laroche was resigned in the off season to a two year deal. The veteran first baseman is fantastic defensively and is coming off his best offensive season in a long time. Although I don't expect Laroche to duplicate his 2012 season, I think that he will be a good presence in the middle of the Nats order.
Second Base
Danny Espinosa is back again and looks to build on his 2012 season. The third year player is very good defensively and has his moments at the plate. He will have to cut down on his strikouts, but he has the power to be a force at the bottom of the lineup.
Third Base
Ryan Zimmerman the man who has been with this team forever mans the hot corner again. This year hopefully he can stay healthy and improve from his shortened season last year. Zimmerman like much of the Nats infield is fantastic defensively and can be a monster at the plate. If Zimmerman does what he's suppose to, he and the Nats will have a great season.
Shortstop
Ian Desmond is coming off of his best year ever. The young shortshop is an exciting player and is only going to get better. Although he can be shakey defensively at times, he also can be a vacuum at shortstop. At the plate Desmond will look to be just as productive as he was last year.
Left Field
The phemon, the great one, the best teenager to ever play the game besides Mel Ott, Bryce Harper will have a monster season this year. He is coming into his second year and is now playing left field. His talent is amazing, and his work ethic is unquestioned. He is must watch television and is coming off an unbelievable spring training. I am expecting amazing things from the 20 year old superstar.
Center Field
Denard Span is new to the Nats, but his impact will be felt quickly. He is a true leadoff hitter, which the team was lacking. Also he is a great center fielder and gets on base with ease. Although he might not hit .300, he will still find ways on base, and from there the big bats behind him will drive him in.
Right Field
Jayson Werth is starting his third season with the team. His horrible first season with the team has been forgotten and Werth has shown why he was worth of the money the Nats spent on him. He has a great arm in right field, and is a very patient batter at the plate, who has good power and contact.
Starting Pitching
The Nats probably have the best starting pitching staff in baseball. Stephen Strasburg has no innings limit, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Ross Detwiller are back and are ready to dominate, and recently acquired Dan Haren looks to prove that he belongs on this staff.
Relief Pitching
Rafael Soriano was signed to strengthen the bullpen, which did lose some pitchers in the off season. Along with Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen Soriano creates dominating 7th, 8th, and 9th inning combination. The rest of the bullpen is also strong and looks to build on last year.
The Nats are the pick by many to win the World Series, and I think that they will. They have good hitting, strong defense, and unbelievable pitching. Lets go Nats!

Tournament Time!

Although WVU won't be in the tournament this year, I am still looking forward to it. This year's bracket is already looking like one of the hardest to predict in my lifetime. There are multiple teams that could easily win, and I can't wait to see what unfolds in the next couple weeks. I am going to name three teams that I think have the best opportunity of winning the whole thing.

Louisville
The Cardinals are the number one seed overall, and enter the tournament on a roll after winning the Big East title last night. They are lead by one of the best leaders in all of college basketball Peyton Siva. He has been at the school for as long as I can remember and all he needs to complete an incredible career would be a national championship. He is surrounded by a team full of athletes, shooters, and good overall basketball players. Whenever a team wins the Big East Tournament you know that they are prepared to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Not to mention that this team as one of the best coaches around in Rick Pitino.

Indiana
Indiana has been atop the college basketball world all season. They have probably the most talent of any team in country, and won the Big 10 regular season title. They can beat teams in many ways, and are a great all around team. Although they have had some slip-ups this year that's only to be expected seeing that they played in the country's toughest conference. Tom Creen has done an excellent job bringing Indiana back to the height of college basketball and a championship would be a great way to end a fantastic season. I think that if any team in the field is going to dominate the tournament it would be Indiana.

Miami
This is my guttiest pick, but I truly believe that Miami has the talent to win the championship. Although they stumbled into the ACC Tournament, losing three out of their last four games, they were able to regroup and win the title. In the championship game today I saw Shane Larkin, Miami's point guard, put on an unbelievable performance. He was hitting all kinds of shots and easily penetrating through the lane. He turned into a star today, which is a good sign for Miami going into the tournament. When Miami gets rolling no one can stop them, just ask Duke who lost by 30 points earlier this year to the Hurricanes. I think that Miami could win the whole thing, or lose early, but I am placing my bet on the Hurricanes.
This predictions could easily be incorrect, but I am sticking with them anyway. March Madness is about to begin and I can't wait.

Documentary Reflection

My group's documentary focuses on what role the internet plays in the music industries for artists, record producers, and the fans. This topic interests me a lot because a large part of my life revolves around playing and listening to music. I love that Mr. Mayo gave us the freedom to select our own topics, but I think that the freedom of selection might have made some topics to unrefined. Looking back on the project there were some bright spots, but also some pretty bad ones. I am glad that I had this experience, but also slightly upset about how it ended up.
At first my group and I decided to do something about the evolution of music, due in part to the internet. Then our topic slightly changed and we wanted to focus a lot on how artists and record producers use the internet. Then finally, after all of our interviews, we decided to focus solely on the internet's effect on musicians, record producers, and fans. We were able to interview some very important people for this project. We interviewed Kip Berman on the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Ian McKaye the operator of Dischord Records and a member of bands like Fugazi and Minor Threat, and Sean Peoples the former owner of Sockets Records.

The problem with the interviews is that since our topic slightly changed a lot we weren't able to get the best information out of our interviews. Still, the planning part of the project was my favorite part. I loved being able to meet and talk with this people about music. I have seen the Pains of Being Pure at Heart live and it was an unbelievable experience to talk with Kip.
After we put our interviews onto the computer things got bad. We didn't have any real direction to go in, and spent many classes watching interviews over and over again, just trying to figure out what to do about the project. Eventually we kind of laid out what we had, but it didn't flow at all, and Mr. Mayo called us out on it. It was disappointing to be called out, but it needed to happen if we were going to make anything of substance at all. We took Mr. Mayo's feedback and were able to make something with it. Mr. Mayo hasn't watched it yet, but it is a thousand times better than it use to be.
Looking back on the project I feel one major issue needs to be addressed. Next time I would recommend that there be more set deadlines. There was suppose to be a rough cut due sometime back, but Mr. Mayo never asked us to look at our rough cut, which is good because we really had nothing. Without scriter deadlines we were able to slack off a bit and not focus hard on trying to create a solid documentary. If I had to do it all over again, I would have worked a lot harder to try and create a rough cut, then tighten it up, and finally create a good final product that I can be proud of. This project was an interesting experience for me and I gained a lot of knowledge from it. I am excited to use the experiences from this project in future. I know now to pre-plan well, and don't get discouraged if interviews don't work out as well as I thought they would. All in all, I enjoyed this project and was able to work on a topic I find interesting for three months, I can't ask for much more than that.

The Killing

Over the past 17 hours I have watched the entire first season of The Killing and have tried to figure out who killed Rosey Larkin, yet I still don't know. You could say I'm hooked.

The Killing is an AMC series about the murder investigation of Rosey Larsen, a 17 year old girl. It is based off a Danish television show called Forbrydelsen. What makes the show great is that it has three separate yet intertwining stories. The stories are the impact of Rosey's death on her family, the impact on the upcoming mayor's election, and the actual murder case conducted by the cops. Each episode of the show encompasses a day, which although making the show slow at times, makes the show more realistic. With all of the shows various subplots it's not hard to get hooked.
 
What I love about the show is how different it is from most other U.S. crime shows. Instead of just solving a mystery in one episode it takes more than one season to. The audience really gets to see what the cops have to deal with in a murder investigation. That aspect of the show reminds of The Wire. In addition, the idea of have three separate stories is very original. Each story has its own twists and turns and in the end they somehow tie together. I specifically like how the story of Rosey's family has been told. The struggles that the family has to face show just how painful the death of a loved one can be. I commend the show for writing that section so well. 
 
I strongly recommend this show because of it's well written, shot, and it's very original. It is very slow at times, and extremely dark. Not many happy things happen in the show. There isn't a lot of comedic relief, and it can be extremely depressing, but in my opinion that's what makes it great. There's such a variety of storylines and characters in the show that it makes me want to keep watching. Hopefully next time I write a blog post I will know the answer to this question.