Filming, Finally

The more I think about my personal history and the projects I've done with a camera, no matter the quality, I realize I've generally flown pretty solo. When I was little, my cousin and I made Calvin and Hobbes reenactments, but I was the one always manning the camcorder and organizing the Hi-8 tapes. When I started doing news, I started with video packages. Stand ups, interviews, b-roll - all by my lonesome. Even now at my internship helping to make promo videos and doing the Student of the Week videos for DSU's Facebook page, I've done it all myself.
So even now, I've taken it upon none other than myself to do my capstone. Also, I'd like to note that I asked for help but no one could ever work out their schedules to help me during the hours I would've needed an extra hand. But honestly, I think I was fine. I set up, I shot, I asked questions for interviews, I broke everything down. And I had fun doing it. I would like to work more in a crew though. I feel like a bigger group project would be beneficial to work with.
Anyway, I filmed yesterday and today, doing an individual interview as well as one with a whole family. I also shot some b-roll at the teens class today that Hanna goes to. This weekend I'd like to go through and start picking everything apart, and decide whether or not I need anything more. I might want some shots of Hanna's mom, Jana, working out as well, just for b-roll for when she talks about her and her husband getting their start in CrossFit.

Once I begin the editing process I'll update with how long I think this will end up being. I want to be completely done editing by the 22 of April, that way I have a day to get some feedback on it from other film friends to see if I should make any changes somewhere, then have it completely done by the 24.

Hanna's Story

I'm really excited to get started on filming this.
I spoke with a member of CrossFit Dixie last week, Jana, one of the people recommended to me to do a profile video on. She talked to me about her daughter, Hanna, and how Hanna has downs syndrome, and how it's affected their family, but mostly how CrossFit has had huge effect on Hanna and her life.
Hanna goes to the teen CrossFit classes several times a week and loves it. I want to tell her and her family's story about how anyone can be a CrossFitter, no matter their physical disabilities, and how activity like this can be potentially strengthening in more ways than one.

I'm sorting out my schedule now to decide on shooting dates for interviews with the family, Hanna, and the different coaches who have had the pleasure of working with her in classes at the gym. I think I'll start out easy, by just going to her classes and shooting candid footage of her at class, and also go hang out with her family to see how they all interact together. Both Jana and her husband have been avid CrossFitters for about 4 years now, so I'd also like to get a few simple shots of them working out. Depending on when I can get cameras for that, I can probably start with those less scripted shots next week.

Planning - First 3 profile videos

I've been in contact with Brock, who runs most of the online and social media content for CrossFit Dixie. We've put together a list of three people so far to do these videos on.
A fifth grade teacher and mom of three kids, the owner of Rigatti's pizza, and an interior designer.
I say the first three because I may or may not carry these over after I graduate and continue with a bigger series, but these three are going to be my series for capstone.

"Potential" - new CrossFit video for my look book

This is a great example of why I'm a fan of the videos CrossFit can potentially make. I'll link a couple of others at the end of this from several years ago that initially sparked my interest in these little productions. The hope here is that people see it as empowering and inspirational, as it was to me when I first watched all of these. 

These next ones are also very much focused on gender and how women can (and need to) empower each other and see beauty in our strengths, no matter what they are. My original idea for a capstone was based off of these videos when I first watched them about two years ago. I wanted to make a short documentary on the women of CrossFit, and even though that's been done to some extent in these shorter videos that CrossFit has made, I think there is still plenty to be explored considering the subject of any gender issues in fitness, in general, as well as a lot of individual stories that are super interesting to me.

Official Capstone Project - Finally.

Literally years ago when I found out I had to do a capstone for my senior project I had visions of doing this great sports documentary on CrossFit women. I was going to travel from box to box down the west coast and interview and film incredible women who have built both physical and mental strength due to this innovative sport and and ideology, and it was going to be awesome.

What I didn't envision was the 16 other credits I would be taking, or the time I would have to dedicate myself to the National Guard and ROTC, or the fact that I didn't even have the equipment available to me to travel the west coast with. So I didn't do it. I forgot, to be honest. Other ideas crept into my mind - write a short film and produce it, get rid of the first short film and write another, make a music video. All great ideas, ideally, but I'm stuck in the unfortunate situation of having to graduate this semester and not having the time or other means to accomplish any of those things.

So I'm compromising. I've retracted back to a CrossFit idea; I've talked with the owner of CrossFit Dixie and his media business partner and I'm going to make several small profile documentary style videos on members of our gym. These people will be stand outs - not necessarily of the elite of our gym, but the regular, everyday people who do CrossFit. The real, normal CrossFitters who nobody really sees behind the glamour of the sport. A mom who's been going to the gym since 2009; a businessman who works out everyday after work; the newlywed who never worked out a day in his life until he decided to make a change and began CrossFitting only months ago. These are the CrossFitters of today and always, and I plan on helping to tell their stories.

I'd like to focus on how the stories are told and make sure it's done effectively, but my main goal here is to get really nice shots and edit these appropriately, not exactly mimicking the style of how CrossFit media does their videos, but still kind of have a feel from that. Since I watched my first video about CrossFit back in early 2013 I've wanted to make those videos for myself, and I'm not really sure why I lost sight of that.


As far as look books go, I've been watching the editing style of Gordon Ramsay's "The F Word," and like the quick cuts while still keeping the visual overall intact. I was told to watch "Top Gear" as well, so I imagine that will give me some more editing and shot ideas. I've watched more CrossFit videos than you could imagine over the last few years, but I'll be watching their newest documentary, "Fittest on Earth," this week as well. I've heard good things about it but I'd like to also try and watch it with a non-CrossFit biased eye.

My next steps are building a list of people to do these profile videos on, contacting and setting up times with them to shoot some footage, whether it be an interview or them working out at the gym, someone else going input about them and their progress, whatever. I'd like to have at least three of them completely shot by April 1, giving me time to do the proper post-production. I'd like to have at least one of them done completely by that date as well. I could see this carrying on past the three videos and making several of these for the gym, mostly just to build up my portfolio.

Screenwriting class: Building one story from so many options

It's a new semester, which means new classes and new ways to have a creative outlet to layout the stories I'm constantly thinking about.


Since I last wrote here I've come up with two new ideas, though they are similarly related. I've decided to forgo the short story and just jump right into a screenplay, since I am taking that class now and reading "Screenplay" by Syd Field, which I'm genuinely enjoying.
Here's a little bit of a synopsis of what I have so far.

Two main characters, Craig and Miles. Craig is a laid back, happy-go-lucky drug dealer with no real ambition. Miles has arguably too much ambition, but for the wrong reasons, and is constantly overwhelmed by society’s expectations of him.

The two meet randomly while Miles is in the middle of a family issue. Miles’ younger brother, Travis, pawned a family heirloom, an antique book, several weeks earlier that Miles went to collect, but had been bought in the pawn shop already. Craig is the buyer, but only Craig knows that, and he’s also aware of who Miles is, however Miles is completely unaware of the entire situation. He only knows his brother pawned it and that it’s gone.

Craig knows Travis as his dealer, and Travis owes Craig money, which is why Craig bought the book in the first place. Craig, even though he’s laid back and easy going, wants to see if he can somehow get what he is owed through Miles, by some sort of exchange for the heirloom. However, Craig decides to pretend to befriend Miles and “help” him find the book. He then finds out it is worth a lot more than he paid for it, but is conflicted internally because it has non-monetary worth to Miles, and Craig is an inherently good person despite his greed.

Miles ends up trusting Craig too much, too fast, because he is caught in this bind and is accepting of Craig’s help without question, and is also in need of a friend at the time.

Plot point one is when Craig decides to not tell Miles he has the book and to lie to him. They then search for the book.

Plot point two is when Miles finds out who Craig is and realizes what he is doing, but does not initially tell him right away.

As far as further research goes I think I need to watch some movies and read some screenplays, specifically Wes Anderson screenplays. I envision that almost awkward, dry and witty humor, yet often very real feeling drama. At the same time I really want good dialogue scenes to take place, so I think I'm going to read some Tarantino scripts, too.

I'll do a bit of research behind each character, but not so much that that's all I focus on for weeks.

That's it for now, I'm sure I'll keep updated often.

Capstone story update

I was watching The Twilight Zone and I watched an episode about how death was personified and appeared to a man who was supposed to die of natural causes, but because the man refused and didn't feel it was time for him to pass, Death moved on to another person to kill on order to meet his quota, so to speak.

I really liked that idea, of death personified. So I started writing a story more time appropriate and relatable to college age people. I think it could make a really interesting/fun dark comedy/thriller.
Another thing: I've continued to have ideas for it for the last week, something that hasn't happened with my other stories. I usually hit a plateu, but I think I can form this well enough to actually finish and really make a decent short story, to then be written into a screenplay for a short film.

I've linked it here:


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SchcbjUkAU6rh2fwnCrkOH2dt9e2blpdOT2-rSYaiMY/edit?usp=drive_web

I plan on continuing writing it, hopefully finishing by July. Although I'll be gone all of June, so maybe finished by August.