Jobs, Projects & Classes

Figured it's been a while since my "start of the year" post, and I might as well put some more thoughts down on here. First off - the first few (four? five? what is it now?) weeks have just flown by, surprisingly.

Jobs - I now currently have THREE (yes, count them, three) on campus jobs, all within the film school. While it may sound like I'm pushing the system here, you do have to take into consideration that it all amounts to only about 6 hours a week, which is even less than my one, single job last semester. But still - 

I'm now working as Dodge's Events Photographer, primarily photographing the industry guests who come in for the Industry Insiders Dinners/Screenings on Thursday nights. 

I'll also potentially be helping with some other events coordination in the future. I'm still at the front office, though my hours have been cut way down due to my sporadic schedule. I'm pretty much filler there at this point, plus group tours now and then.

Finally, I got a job in Datacine. This is exciting for me because I get to be trained on a $1.6 million machine, work with all the film that goes through the school, plus see what others are doing. Strangely enough, I've been working for three weeks and still have only scanned two shots on one roll myself. Just the way the schedule has worked out, I haven't had any film to scan on my shift, and have usually gone home early. This week's no exception. Oh well. That will all change once the advanced productions get going.

Speaking of Advanced Productions, I'm working on one next weekend. The shoot is titled "October," and is being directed by my good friend Carly Pandza - perhaps the only other crazy film/theatre double major on campus. Actually, I just heard about a freshman attempting the same, but haven't met him or her yet. Hmmmm. Anyhow, the script is quite good and 'artsy' or, rather, mentally crazy to shoot. I'll be working as 1st AC or Focus Puller, my new favorite position on set other than Director or DP. People have been on me lately to AD (Assistant Director), but since I couldn't make the mandatory AD training (stupid Dodge college held two of them, but both were at the same time on Thursday, a week apart, and I happened to have theatre class during that time... so I couldn't make it) so I probably won't be 1st ADing anytime soon. I have, however, also been asked to produce a handful of Senior Thesis films... crazy! Especially since I've produced very little before now. Unfortunately I don't have the time necessary to give to most of those projects, so I had to turn them down... but it looks like I may still be Co-Producing one, so keep an eye out for news on that.

Now, classes. I'm not going to be the most animated on this subject unfortunately. I was initially excited about this semester because I got to take more upper level courses in topics that I really like. However, I haven't yet been blown away by anything. My Directing class, with well-known director John Badham, shows potential and since I'm interested in Directing it's definitely a class I'm investing my energy and interest into. However, it's once a week, a long (three-hour) class, and so far we've only really covered things that I already am well-versed in from acting (breaking a scene into beats, objectives, tactics, talking to actors, etc.). I'm crossing my fingers that it will get more detailed soon. That being said, it IS just Directing I, so I may end up just sticking it out until I get into new material I'm not familiar with in Directing II. Of course, it's still a great opportunity to just DO the directing work.

Intro to Digital Arts is possibly worse. Though I like the Professor (Ferncase) I am more than slightly bored with the material, having years of experience with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, etc., the programs we're using. Again, an entry course so for some students it's really helpful how slow he's going, I'm sure, but I'm just sadly bored waiting for some new material.

Cinematography, however, I'm pretty excited about. Though most of the students in the class aren't particularly interested in DPing, I'm loving any new training I can get, specifically in lighting. We shot our first two rolls of 16mm film with one light this week, and I can't say I wasn't thrilled to be working with film. There's something about it that just beats digital. The fact that it's a physical substance, maybe? That it's so fragile (light, dust, etc.?) I have no idea, I just LOVE working with film. We got to learn how to load, too... something I'd only been slightly familiar with till now. So the downside again of the class is we're working a lot slower than I might like, having a lot of experience myself on set and in production already, but I guess as entry-level classes into the subject matters they're going at a pace others can follow too. Can't wait for Cine/Directing II!

P.S.: 20 Second Rule is now online in an almost-finished cut, having been submitted (with TomThumb) to Sundance. I simply think it's hysterical. Risky subject matter... don't watch if you're easily offended, but if you want a good laugh, check it out: www.eric-petersen.com/portfolio/narrative  (and click on 20 Second Rule.... or TomThumb, now online!).

Back to School

Well, for better or worse, school's back again. It's been strange, actually, getting reaquainted here and gearing up for the workload ahead. Second year's hard, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's a strange year but (crossing my fingers) hopefully a good and rewarding one too.

Summer went well, I was a little too busy for my liking. One of the highlights was of course teaching a one-week filmmaking intensive class for students grades 5-8. In only five (full) days of classes, we sure got through a lot and they turned out some really fun work! I will, however, most likely never be a teacher. Not because I dislike teaching, but really because I'd much prefer to be ON set, DOING it and not sitting back.

Speaking of being on set and just "doing it," I was on set this past weekend for a three-day shoot... yes, into memorial day. The shoot was for director Clay Delauney (http://www.claydelauney.com/) / Jeff Cole Productions (http://www.jeffcoleproductions.tv/) (alumni, the same production crew I talked about in earlier posts for the short "TomThumb") with an ambitious script titled "20 Second Rule." Unlike "TomThumb," this short was shot in a variety of locations across the OC with a handful of extras, supporting/day players and a great comedic lead (actor Jay Laisne - http://www.jaylaisne.com/). In addition, DP Eric Petersen (http://www.eric-petersen.com/) chose to use two Panasonic HVXs complete with Letus 35mm lens adapters (which look EXCELLENT) which posed only a small challenge for the two of us - I once again worked as 1st AC / Focus Puller on this shoot.

Here are some screengrabs from the raw footage:




All in all, it was a long, grueling, but excellent shoot. The crew was awesome, and a fun group to hang around. Now, it's on to Sundance for "20 Second Rule" AND "TomThumb" - wish them both luck. The shoot's opened up a few new (paid!) opportunities for me as well, including a new web/tv series "The Hallway," but more on that later. Now it's on to the second week of classes!

SUMMER

Needless to say, I'm now on summer break (been home for about a week).

So not much to talk about, but I'll at least try to wrap this up for those of you who have been following: had to get out of the dorms by Friday, but my plane was early that morning so I left Thursday night and stayed with a friend who drove me to the airport. I've got my schedule mostly set for next semester, though things often change the first week back anyway, as you sign into classes, etc. I'll post that new schedule soon...

Summer's looking pretty up for me; I pretty much slept this whole last week to catch up on the sleep I missed during the VERY busy last few weeks of school. Now, I'm housesitting for some friends (which includes watching their dogs) and I'm taking advantage of the uninterrupted personal time to finish long-overdue personal projects and independent film projects from the last year. In July, I'll be performing full-time for a theatre company and working for them. In the meantime, and continuing through the summer, I have some pretty exciting film projects lined up:

- First one is working on the "WomensTrust" documentary I talked about in earlier posts. It looks like we won't have the funding to actually make it to Ghana (I'm still crossing my fingers, but also need to start being realistic) but the project is still a go at this point, I'll just have to rely on the footage we've already taken from the location.

- Second one is a new and exciting project that I just got involved with through my mother's work - a non-profit Mental Health organization. If I get the go-ahead from the bosses (should know Monday) I'll be interviewing survivors of suicide, or those who have lost friends or family members to suicide. I'll be gathering their stories, their messages, and the things that helped or hindered their coping with the loss. As proposed, the film would be approximately 20-30 minutes and would be distributed to healthcare providers and organizations throughout New Hampshire, with the possibility of taking the film further to National Organizations (ideally, that is... only if the film turns out to be really useful...). Anyway, a really profound, moving film for me to be heading up and I'm excited, scared and motivated by it. We'll see how this progresses...

- Final one (well, actually there's about a dozen other little things, but the last BIG one) is pre-production for the first Season of "Real to Real." Yes, the TV show that my friend and I originally created for the Fox Network/MySpace Competition... we're taking it to a full season now. We're going to try and get it on local television, as well as the web. Currently, we're getting packets out to writers, and are beginning the HUGE planning process - to give you a scale of the production, we'll be writing and planning from now until school starts, and filming pretty much EVERY weeknight and weekend for the first two months of school... for release in early 2009. AHHHH! It's a huge undertaking, but I'm hoping it will be a great experience for everyone involved (and that's becoming a LARGE group!).

Anyway, that's more or less my summer. Oh, I'm also teaching a one-week film class to Middle and High-School students at my old school in august. Should be fun.

But that's all I'm saying for now! Have a great summer, and as always, contact me with any questions or comments! (Plus, if you're going to be new on campus in the fall, get in touch with me!) See ya!

One Week!

Just one last week of classes (sure, and then finals week) and I'm free.
Not going to lie, it's about time. I'm getting that summer feeling; I think everyone is.

I forgot to mention in my last post all the things I was going through with housing, etc. Towards the beginning of April, you can fill out an online application for on-campus housing (either dorms or apartment-style, if you're old enough). Mid-April, you get a lottery number, and late April, you go to this HUGE lottery selection process... basically, hundreds of people show up, you bring your preferred roommate(s), if you have them already picked out, and you wait for your number to be called. After which, you fill out paperwork and are brought into another, quieter room where you select a room from the available spots. It's a strange, somewhat tedious process but it works, I guess. I luckily had a pretty low (good) lottery number - 56, AND I was in the out-of-area category (who all go before the 'in-area' - 50 miles or less - students).

My two roommates from this year had plans already for next year, plus our schedules never really meshed, so I chose to try and find another roommate. Unfortunately, the month or so before the lottery drawing, everyone I asked from the Film and Theatre departments already had plans... or forgot to get back to me. I finally (two days before, actually) met up with a friend of a friend who also needed a roommate - Psychology major, with a strong interest in music. Luckily, we hit it off, and look to be compatable as roommates... someone who won't necessarily be my best friend here, but someone I will actually enjoy rooming with / hanging out with. So phew. Got a roommate and a room.

Funny story is, they ran out of rooms even before the end of the second day of housing assignments (I think there were supposed to be three days, total). Chapman currently has some shortage on dorm space, so housing is NOT guarenteed for four years here (I have friends going into their sophomore year who didn't even get a room yet - they're on a waitlist). So that's a downside, for some, but we have a new housing complex that's under construction and should be complete within the next year or two, and solve a lot of those problems. I know a lot of people choose to live off-campus too, but my words of advice:

LIVE ON CAMPUS AT LEAST YOUR FIRST YEAR, IF YOU CAN.

I mean it, I know college is this time for being independent, and living on your own and all of that, and I do have a handful of friends who live off campus, happily, even their freshman year, but I truly think that living on-campus is an experience you can't replicate and will genuinely miss. Sure, it's not all wondeful, getting assigned to random roommates who you may or may not get along with, eating cafeteria food (which is actually decent here, but of course anything gets old after a while), etc. But seriously, I think it's something most people should experience... I would even reccomend living on campus the first two years, and then moving to an apartment on or off campus.
The benefits of living on-campus: It's a transition made fairly easy. You need to be in charge of your self, yes, but things are more together, more readily available, more planned out. Food, proximity to everything, friends, advisors, it's all there. You can still have a car, if you want to be out and about, but you're able to walk everywhere you'd need to be too. You don't have to deal with rent, the neighbors, groceries, etc. It's a few less things to think about in the already crazy (and exciting) change over to college life. You'll meet people, be involved in more on-campus events, and really just have a much stronger sense of community. And I think that's VERY important in college life.

That's the end of my bit on housing. What else have I been up to? Mostly finishing projects before I leave for the summer. Oh, and registration, which was crazy. (Welcome to stupid Chapman bureaucracy - as technically a freshman until grades come in, I can't register for the two 300-level courses that I'm required to take in the Theatre Department next semester, but rather need to get the signatures of the course professors, my advisor AND the department chair... even though I am REQUIRED to take the courses. So lots of running around to get signatures, just to turn in the form to get into the class. Argh. And the WHOLE freshman theatre class has to do that. Oh well.)
For projects, it's actually very interesting: Out of my five classes this semester, only one is holding an in-class final during finals week (Acting Fundamentals, we are performing a scene with a partner). The other four instead have final, culminating projects due by the end of finals week. So I'm working on sound designing a one-minute scene for Audio Techniques, finishing my 15-page short screenplay for Screenwriting, finishing an independent program for Computer Science, and editing a project for Editing I. Lots of fun. Actually, I quite like it because I have a lot of other stuff that I'm doing finals week (like packing! They make us leave our dorms 24 hours after our last scheduled final OR by 5pm on Friday, whichever comes first! THAT is another stupid thing that I highly dislike. We don't even get to stay through graduation, unless you're a graduating student!).

Anyway, I'll try to give an update before I head off to my summer plans, but after that... it's freedom! :) (oh, and working full time to make money. oh well)

The Last Stretch

I know, I know... I'm really getting worse and worse with writing posts. And it's not for a lack of things to say, let me tell you. (Actually I was kind of hoping to wait until I had some neat photographs to show, like in my other blogs, but for now... no such luck).

Well, we're into the last stretch of school now...

"School for Scandal," the Theatre Mainstage Production that I was in, is now over (phew!) so I have at least SOME evenings free. On the Theatre front, I'm still busy Stage Managing a student production that will go up in two weeks and tech directing the B.F.A. Showcase; sort of a culmination show to showcase the talents of the graduating B.F.A. Theatre Performance Students for both this community and the L.A. community. In addition, Freshman Theatre & Film students are now preparing for the first B.F.A. Screen Acting Major auditions... I am not among them because I am going for the B.F.A. Theatre Performance (which auditions in the sophomore year for theatre students) AND of course B.F.A. Film Production. However, it will be interesting to see how this new major (the first in the country!) progresses over the next few years.

In film news, I'm currently sound designing the senior thesis project "Pepper Mountain," which finally got me a picture lock after an initial public screening at the Film School. We don't have the composer locked down yet, so I'm taking on the ADR, folley and background sounds. It's a pretty simple sound design, but something that I should also be able to have fun with (most of it is narrated by the lead character). So I'll keep you updated with that.

Also, I just got roped into another senior project, by one of my friends from Editing I. She's already filmed 1/3 of her project, but needs to complete it. Initially, I signed on as 1st AC for the 2-weekend shoot (which was condensed into one), but now we're on hold because she can't be greenlit until she at least has something to show for the first 1/3 of the footage... i.e., edited well into something to show the administration. Her editor has flaked on her, so she went to our editing professor (Scott Arundale) and he reccomended me to fill in - a nice plug for me, to be sure. Anyway, now she's getting me the footage and I'm trying to edit a few scenes together by the weekend in order for us to get funding to continue. Fun, fun, fun.

Let's see, what else is there to say... oh, my family is up from New Hampshire for the week, which is nice. Unfortunately they flew in a DAY after my show got done, and weren't able to see it, but still it's been nice to have dinner with them and plan on going to the beach with them on Friday. For all of you out-of-staters, you should know that you're in the minority (ESPECIALLY if you're from NH), but it all works out and taking the chance and going somewhere far away is a lot of fun too. Plus with computers and cell phones, everything's so much more connected anyway nowadays.

That's all for now folks, I'll try to write more often for the last few weeks of school (yay!).

Back from Break

So, first off sorry it's been so long since my last post. It's been a really busy few weeks, including spring break! Basically, I went home to NH for spring break, which was wonderful... except for the three or four feet of snow. But still, really nice to be home. I actually worked a lot during the week, having a few meetings, finishing film projects, etc.

One of the things that came out of this was a partnership with a non-profit organization based in NH called "Womens Trust." Founded by an amazing and inspiring woman by Dana Dakin, the organization "supports programs to empower women and girls in the developing world through microcredit, education, and healthcare." The program currently is focused on Pokuase (poe-KWA-see) in Ghana, West Africa, but shares partnerships with other organizations in developing countries.

Dana had called me up this past February after hearing about me through my private school (for which I recently did a documentary) and through common friends, and asked me to meet with them while I was home to give them my opinions and experience on filmmaking. Over dinner, we discussed making a documentary for their organization and what that would entail. Along with another local filmmaker we created a gameplan for creating the film and are now currently attempting to get the funds for the summer. With luck, I'll be travelling to Ghana in either June or August for a few weeks to film their program in progress, which is incredibly exciting! I love to travel and I love even more to tell a good story, and this is an excellent story that I feel needs to be told. SO although I didn't get into the Dodge Cambodia Documentary program this year, I may still be travelling to far-off countries over the summer and filming documentaries! I'll keep you posted...

This past week was crazy mostly because it was the first week back from spring break. Everything seems to pile on during that week, I think. Between a dozen class projects, three midterms and an ADR / Voiceover session for the Senior Thesis project I'm sound designing, I had rehearsals every night for both my Theatre Mainstage that I'm performing in ("School for Scandal") AND "Beyond Stage," a musical review benefit that I was Tech Directing (Lighting Design, Sound Design, and booth crew). So I got an average of four hours of sleep a night last week. Luckily I'm past that now and hopefully it will be better.

To add to that, this past weekend I was on set for "Now & Zen," an advanced production directed by Becky Bauer, to count for my Audio Techniques class. Basically, we had to be on sound crew as one of our projects, so I asked to be placed on this weekend (out of three) as I was LESS busy this weekend compared to the next two. Of course, that still meant I was only free one full day out of a Friday-Sunday shoot schedule, but luckily including me we had three people working sound, which is really only a two-person job on a student set (one on mixer, one on boom). While I was on set, I worked with body mic-ing the actors when necessary and running boom. Here are some photos:

Anyway, that's all for now.