Senior Project- Behind the Scenes

Final Weekly Reflection

2008-05-25T18:23:00.002-04:00

This week was a hectic one. Linds and I not only had to finish the film but we were also in Production week of Cabaret. Lindsay and I were not able to work on our film during study hall anymore, therefore, most of our time during the day was spent in the lab. Production week involves the entire cast being in the theater from five to almost eleven every night. I was exhausted.

This week we learned more about iMovie. We mastered audio and learned how to perfectly cut a song so it matches the film clip. We learned how to make sound die out, get louder, and fade. We learned everything this week on our own by basically fooling around with the program. By learning on our own, it took longer for us to get things done. A problem that arose this week was putting a beginning to our film. We had no clue how to do it. By the end of the week, we had the rest of the film finished and all we needed was an ending. Finally, we decided what we wanted but did not know how to do it. We needed to put a title in the start of our film, however, we did not know how to do it. Finally, after a day of trying to figure it out, Nick Clemens showed us how. After that we spent the rest of our time fixing little cues and doing final details.

I think we were not asked to do a lot for Terry or Joan this week because we already had so much on our plate. We had already finished our hours and we had to juggle finishing the movie and production week. Everything went as planned this week, the show came together and our film was finished.

I benefitted a lot from this week. The show went amazingly and our film was finished. I am happy with the final product and I think it will convey what we wanted it to. Though some pieces we had wanted at first in the film were left out, I think it was for the better. The film flows well, is informative, and fun.

last blog!

2008-05-23T23:29:00.002-04:00

Today was the last chorus class so it was really sad. After Linds and I headed over to Brenda's and worked there for about three hours! We finished all the narration and are so close till then end. We added more film, and made our last to do list. Tomorrow we are planning on finishing the movie and making our presentation poster so we have all Sunday for our final paper. Tonight was opening night so it was really nerve racking. It went really well and the show came together. It was a lot better than last night and I didn't miss any cues! yay!

week three day 4

2008-05-22T23:03:00.002-04:00

Today we had a sleep in. Thank god. But of course I had to come in early to write the previous blog. I then went to B block to rehearse with Kris Johnson, I also watched Jaguar prepare for his competition in New York this weekend. After I went around school and hung up flyers for Cabaret. I met Lindsay and we worked on the movie. It is really coming along. One problem we have run into is that when we add a song all the song orders get messed up so we have to replace every song. We added the start of the movie today and did some cutting of scenes to make the movie shorter and flow better. We then had team dinner and went to the theater to get ready for the dress rehearsal. I saw Joan before the run and we talked briefly about the movie progress.

2008-05-22T09:10:00.002-04:00

Last night i was really tired after a run through and got home to find my internet did not work so i could not right my blog. I went to campus this morning to write this blog and I am no freaking out because I hope this will not prevent me from passing senior project. Yesterday was extremely long. I woke up early to send in college forms about classes and dorms. I then met Lindsay on campus to work on our project. I was late so she ended up working for a half hour by herself, but when I got there we added more songs, sped up some parts, and again corrected our to do list. I spent a hour and a half with her in the lab then took the camera and went filming around campus. I filmed random people saying Cabaret, I filmed Nancy's interview, and I filmed techies talking about lights and sound for the show. I then headed back to lab to load my film and cut it into smaller clips. We had a full run of the show last night and chuck was there. I did not get home till 11 so you can imagine my frustration when i found out the internet was out. I went to school early, even though I did not have to be on campus till 3:15, to write this blog so that is upsetting.

week 3 day 2

2008-05-20T20:46:00.002-04:00

Today F was second block so Linds and i headed over to the computer lab after. We mad a lot of progress on audio and add a lot of different songs. We searched our iTunes and found the best songs. We thought we were clever by putting techno music with the techie part of our film. We updated the to do list, it consists of interviewing Eliot about lights, getting a microphone and adding audio, filming people preparing for the show, and filming the teachers we sent questions out to. The teachers all responded and we decided three answers we really likes. Our three are Bill, Anne, and Nancy. Tonight I emailing them back asking what times would be good for them for us to come film.

2008-05-19T22:07:00.002-04:00

The play is really starting to heat up. We are doing full runs of the play every night, and running scenes in the afternoon. So the play in general is taking a lot out of me. Today we took it kinda easy and Linds worked on finishing the poster and creating a program. Meanwhile, I looked through our notes we took when previewing the film, and made correction. We ran into a problem with audio because we forgot how to display it. This is an easy fix because we will simply ask Jim tomorrow to instruct us again. We also sent out emails to several faculty members with two questions concerning their ideas of the importance of theater at Proctor and as a whole. We have already received many responses and now just have to read threw and pick the ones we would like to video tape and use in our movie. We also went to chorus today. Tomorrow we have an early start because chorus is second block, and we plan on focusing on audio for our movie.

WEEKLY REFLECTION

2008-05-18T19:52:00.002-04:00

This week we focused on editing and learned a lot about the editing process of movie making. Jim Cox nicely taught us the basics of iMovie and how to work it. We got really good at cutting and basic editing of film. We also learned on our own other editing techniques like how to fast forward film or duplicate it. I did not expecially like what we did this week. We spent hours in the lab just editing, but i did enjoy seeing the kids again. They were excited to see us and it was fun to see their forth grade play. Though editing was long and tedious it was extrmemly productive because our film is basically done and we just need to fix audio.

I think we were asked to follow up with the kids this week to help them with acting skills and to help warm them up for their big performance. I think by playing acting games with them before they went on helped to take away the nerves and let the relax and have fun. Everything happened as expected. We finished our film and are completely on schedule. We had a showing of our film and got very good feed back which was a pleasant surprise.

We benefitted a lot from this week. Not only do we have the films order finalized, but it is mostly complete. We made a small list of what else needs to be done, this will allow us to be more efficient in the following week. I think we set our selves up to be able to finish our project without a last minute crunch.

2008-05-16T23:11:00.002-04:00

Today Linds and I went to F block and then to Joan's class and warmed them up for the glacier play. We had them focus on a spot on the wall, lean toward it, and return to center. We did this to help them focus, and get in a calm state of mind so they could better concentrate. We then did a vocal warm up and played the one to five came to get them excited and moving. We then watched their play.It was fun to see the kids really getting into their parts. We then went to play rehearsal, in the afternoon we did an act one run through. At 5:30 we had our showing of the movie to Terry and Joan. Both seemed very positive about our progress and ideas. Michael could not attend because he is sick but hopefully he will get better soon. We then ran act 2 during night rehearsal. All I have to say if TGIF!

2008-05-15T22:23:00.002-04:00

Today F block was first so Lindsay and I had an early start. After chorus we headed over to New London for a free ice coffee from Dunkies... if u did not know it was free Ice Coffee day u missed out because it was AMAZING! We got back to school for B block and sang threw Cabaret songs with Kris. We headed over to Brenda's after B and stayed there until our rehearsal at 3:15. After rehearsal we headed back to the lab, threw lunch, then rehearsal at 5:45 - 7, and back to the lab. Today was an extremely productive day. We finished cutting and putting all our clips in order for the movie. We finished every section. Today we did dance, techies, music, bloopers, and dedications. We fit them all together so they run smoothly. We then went back and added the fast forwarding affect to a couple clips, we also discovered how to turn the audio back on which was amazing! Today we also filmed more interviews for our project and loaded film that we taped from yesterday's run through. We then went back and watch the entire film, which is about 43 min long, and took notes on parts that we needed to cut, add, or narration/music was needed. We are ahead of schedule and fully prepared for a preview tomorrow for our sponsor and mentors. We also talked to Joan today about us going to her school for the Glacier Play. I am glad we have so much of the movie done because we are heading into production week so we are going to be really busy.

Week 2 day 3

2008-05-14T21:03:00.002-04:00

Today we got to school around 9 30 and worked in the tech lab until 12 and then went to rehearsal. We had a full run through with costumes so rehearsal did not end till 5. After we went to dinner than back to the lab till 7. In the lab we started putting our movie together... finally. We Started with the audition section. We watched every clip, cut some down more, and but them together.We tried several different types of clip orders in order to find the perfect flow. We then did the same for the acting section. We took notes on narration we wanted for certain parts of the film and made lists of what else we needed to film. We then revised our movie outline. Hopefully we will have most of the movie together by Friday for the preview. Our only problem today was when we put the clips together in order for some reason they lost sound. Tomorrow we are planning on talking to Jim again to figure out how to fix the audio. We did more than expected today, and we are on schedule.

Week 2- day 2

2008-05-13T19:36:00.002-04:00

Lindsay and I woke up late today, we were supposed to leave by 8 30 but instead woke up at 8 30. We arrived at f block chorus practice late today, but so did Sarah so it was ok. After class we headed over to the tech lab were we worked on organizing and splitting clips. We stayed in the tech lab all day, leaving briefly for meals, and worked on our movie. By the end of the day we had finished splitting all the clips into smaller scenes and organizing those scenes into different categories. The categories were acting, dancing, singing, auditions, and random. Our plan for the rest of the week is to map out our movie and put things into place and on friday hopefully have a viewing of our rough movie. Michael, Terry, and Joan will be present at the viewing and share their feedback with us, we will then use our final week to improve and edit the movie. After being in the lab all day we went to night rehearsal and got out early so we went home.

2008-05-12T22:53:00.002-04:00

Today Lindsay and I started the day with a meeting with Terry. We discussed our Project and how we complete our hours. We then headed over to Jakes grabbed some food and went to the tech lab. At the lab Jim Cox was nice enough to show Lindsay and I a bunch of short cuts on iMovie. Thanks to him our process is so much easier. We spent the rest of the day at rehearsal and organizing our film. We started cutting clips and organizing them into piles. A section for acting, dancing, singing and random film. We also had a meeting with Michele Koenig today to firm up what was allowed to be counted as hours. We then went to rehearsal and then came home. We also showed Terry our poster design and she liked it, so the poster is completed. I also got to try on a lot of costumes today which is always fun because it is just like dress up.

2008-05-12T00:00:00.004-04:00

Lindsay and I are creating a movie about the process of making a musical from audition to opening night. Lindsay and I were not extremely prepared coming into Senior Project. We had been taping since the start of the term and out project was prepared. but we didn't understand the off campus sponsor par of out project completely. This week we spent a lot of time focusing on costumes. I learned a lot about the tedious process of costuming an entire cast. I also learned a lot about loading film onto iMovie. it is a time consuming process. However, after a week of suffering through hours "letterboxing" I still have NO CLUE what it means.

I love everything Lindsay and I did this week. Even though most of out activities sound dull, each and everyone has a story behind it. My favorite activity was working with Joan Saunders's class. By trying to explain acting and teach the kids simple games to become better actors, I was able to become a better actor. It was fun to share my knowledge and experience with such willing kids. They seemed to soak up everything Lindsay and I were saying. I have never looked at myself as a teacher or role model, but i realized that anyone could be a teacher by simply sharing his or her experiences with others.

In all honesty I don't know why Lindsay and I had to move a trellis, but it was defiantly was an experience I will never regret (sorry morgan about the trellis). Most the time Lindsay and I worked in the costume shop. I think it was because costuming is a behind the scene activity that the audience doesn't fully understand. An audience member sees a costume but doesn't comprehend the time and thought that goes into every article of clothing every cast member wears. By working in the costume shop, which I have never done before, I respected that aspect of musicals a lot more. Also, it allowed Lindsay and I to film the intricate process of costume making.

We had lots of surprises this week.We did not expect loading movie to take as long as it did. Our biggest surprise though was our confusion about our off campus sponsor. We did not think that we would have to spend our fifteen hours a week with Joan, but we were soon told otherwise. After a brief freak-out on day one, we got our act together and worked out our necessary hours with Joan.

Well I don't really know how i will benefit from this next weeks activities cause I don't know what we are doing yet. Lindsay and I just go to the theater every morning and wait for direction. I know we will be visiting Joan's class again, but thats about it.

weekly reflection!

2008-05-11T23:57:00.000-04:00

weekly reflection

2008-05-11T23:55:00.001-04:00

week summery

2008-05-11T23:52:00.000-04:00

Blogger 5 dude

2008-05-09T22:35:00.004-04:00

Today Linds and I went to Joan's class and did acting exercises with the forth graders. We used our planned curriculum to control the class. When they got out of control we yelled FREEZE and everyone had to stop what they where doing. We started and ended the class by having the kids find a spot on the wall, lean toward it, and return back to center. This was a relaxing exercise, it warmed and calmed down the kids. We worked on games to improve concentration, and use the body and voice. The kids seemed to really like and our games and it was fun to teach them. After, Lindsay and I worked on redesigning the Cabaret poster, we designed our own font to write Cabaret in, and decided on using real pictures that we have taken of the show on the poster. It took along time to finally agree on a poster layout but it was worth it. We then went to school for the afternoon rehearsal were we took a lot of pictures. We then went to work in the lab, we loaded more video, and organized the film. I made notes on what was in every clip so Linds and I can find a certain scene faster. After we went to rehearsal and filmed.

the forth blog

2008-05-08T22:13:00.002-04:00

Today Linds and I had an early start. We had to get to Proctor for first class F block and go to chorus. After Chorus we worked on the poster for Cabaret more and had a meeting E block with Terry to plan what we were going to do tomorrow with Joan's class. After, we headed down to the costume shop and worked on costumes for two hours. We made lists of what Kit Kat Characters need in terms of costumes. We found tux pants for Kit Kat Boys, and set up a "shop" for Kit Kat Girls. The shop, "Kels and Linds Boutique", was set up in the girls dressing room. There is a rack of dresses, coats/ sweaters, shirts, pants, and tights. Each girl from the Kit Kat Club is going to enter the shop and pick and choose one item from each rack they would like for their costume. Linds and I were really excited about our poster design and were eager to show it to Michael and Terry. The problem was we used an image that has been copyrighted in our design and were basically told to go back and start from scratch. Though heart breaking on the positive side re-designing the poster will give Linds and I more hours for our 15 hour requirement. Later in the day we had rehearsal. We filmed the building of the spiral stair case, and parts of rehearsal. We were pretty busy today. Thank god for Terry giving us a planner or we would never remember all the things we have to do everyday.

#3 Blog

2008-05-07T21:56:00.003-04:00

Today Lindsay and I couldn't start working till after my Papa's funeral. Around 1 we arrived at play practice and began video taping. After taping and working for three hours at rehearsal we headed over to Brenda's office to finish up loading film off the camera and onto the computer. In all it took longer than we thought. It took four hours to load all the tapes except the tape we filmed today. We also worked for an hour tonight on designing the poster for Cabaret. We googled Cabaret posters for ideas and than created our own poster by mixing and matching what we found. After loading all our film on the computer we rewound all the tapes and organized them. We numbered them in sequence and took notes on what was recorded on each tape. Lindsey and I have also been taking a lot of pictures for this women named Kim Hurlbutt which she uses for the Proctor Arts page.

Blog Number 2

2008-05-06T22:07:00.002-04:00

Today was busy. Linds and I woke up early to go to New London Elementary school to meet Joan and pick up her pick up truck. From there we headed over to Proctor for our chamber choir class and afterwards we drove up to the theater and loaded in a trellis that we took back to Joan Saunder's house. We had to back roads to warner because the trellis hung out of the truck and we did not want to get pulled over by the cops. On the way we took bumpy dirt roads and some of the trellis broke off. When we arrived at her house we attempted to put the trellis back together but it didn't work. We headed back to proctor and went to play practice. For the first half hour of play practice I video taped the dance class learning a new section of a dance. Then after rehearsal we had a meeting with Joan and Terry to plan out the rest of the weeks activities. We got a planner and made schedules for each day. At night we loaded more video off the camera and onto the computer. In all it was a productive day.

Number One Post

2008-05-05T20:41:00.002-04:00

I am doing my senior project with Lindsay Webster. Together we are making a documentary about the process of making a musical. We film audition to opening nights, every aspect that the audience sees and does not see. Our goal is to open the eyes of the public to the hard work that goes into putting on a production. We have both decided we do not want our movie to be all work, however, another goal is to show how much fun the process of musical making is.
Today Lindsay and I offically started our senior project, even though we have been taping and planning our movie for several weeks now. Our goal for our senior project is to create a movie that will show how a musical is made from audition to opening night. On Sunday night, Lindsay and I created a rough layout of our movie and made a list of what else we needed to tape . Today we got to school early, to have a meeting with Michele Koenig and learn how to blog. Afterwards we went down to the tech department to load our film onto a computer. We soon realized this process would take longer than planned. To load a hour of film onto the iMovie, a mac program for making movies, we needed to sit there for an hour and watch it be played off the camera and onto the computer. After spending two and half hours in the tech lab loading film from the camera to the computer, we headed over to the theater. In the theater we unloaded costumes from Terry's car and organize the dressing room. We then had to go to Choir and rehearsal . We had play rehearsal from 3:15 to 5 and then 6 15 to 7 15 before heading home. Throughout the day we had several conversations with Joan Saunders in which we planned hours in which we could work with her during the week. Because we are on a shorter senior project we only need fifteen hours with Joan, but because she has a day job as a teacher at the New London school system and we have nigh rehearsals finding time together is difficult. Some solutions we talked about was Lindsay and I coming into her school and teaching the children acting games, and working at the school so many hours a week. Tomorrow we have planned a meeting with Terry Stoecker and Joan Saunders to make schedules for Lindsay and me to complete daily.