Hello all.
Today was a rough day.
1) I spent 20 minutes in the supermarket today looking for earplugs. While I was successful in finding the cheapest shaving cream and blades that I could (the electric shaver I brought with doesn't hold a charge from these European outlets), I was unable to find the ear plugs. After some mistakes in translation, I had people bring me cotton balls and q-tips... And then I gave up.
2) Why the ear plugs? Well, I am a light sleeper and my dad forgot to accomplish the single task I gave him (bringing me ear plugs from his work that I could bring to Europe). At first I thought I would be fine, but last night was the kicker: I volunteered to sleep in the living room last night on the futon (irony: the futon I slept on is THE EXACT SAME FUTON that I avoided sleeping on in my apartment in Minneapolis... And it is uncomfortable) because Michal was having a certain lady friend over... Which meant him and her staying up all night and talking/listening to music... I got 5 hours of sleep.
3) I got 5 hours of sleep.
4) I am getting frustrated with my script. Last night, Andy, Jenna, and I spent 2 hours in a pub talking about our movie. I am the screenwriter, and it's A LOT of pressure. The script has come a long way over the last few days, but it still has some problems and we are desperately trying to figure it out.
I also realized that I have a hard time writing happy endings for my screenplay... For some reason, every idea I come up with in my screenplay ends up with the main character dying. This was a depressing realization.
5) I did not get accepted as a Noble Peace Scholar... Which ruined my day. It has been a long time since I have wanted something so badly--I even gave up my McNair scholarship so that I would have the chance to study in Norway. Also, I figured out that the other applicants got to go in for interviews, while I was not even contacted for a phone call or skype conference (there is of course the likelyhood that I was not a strong enough candidate to even be considered for an interview, which would make me even more sad).
6) I have class in 12 minutes. See you later :)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Class
Howdy folks.
A lot has gone on in the last week.
This week I started my classes:
MONDAY
10:40-11:25 SCREENWRITING - My professor Pepi is one of the kindest old men I have met. He (like nearly every other prof here at FAMU), is pounding Aristotle's "Poetics" into our head. After taking this class for two days, I feel like I am attending FAMU at the perfect moment in my life and that becoming an English major was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has really helped my story telling abilities and has allowed me to develop useful critiques in the classroom.
12:20-1:55 CAMERA AND FILM - I actually haven't had this class yet... Pepi (the screenwriting prof) will teach us Screenwriting for 3 hours and 55 minutes instead for the first couple weeks.
3:40-6 GUEST FILMMAKER SERIOUS (OPTIONAL) - This is one of the many screenings that I will force myself to attend all semester. FAMU will bring in a different director every week to show a film, and then the director will talk about it and answer questions.
6:10-7:45 CINEMATOGRAPHY - The prof for this class is intimidating. He asks the most complex questions regarding light/color/cinematography and then gets slightly upset that nobody in the class knows the answer. After the first class, I felt somewhat angry that Augsburg did not prepare me for this class, so I will just have a lot more work to do in order to catch up.
TUESDAY
2:50-4:25 CZECH LANGUAGE - It's hard, but I'm learning.
4:30-6 CONSULTATION - Pepi (screenwriting prof) wants us to come in and talk to him at least every other week about our scripts and shooting specifics.
7:50-9:25 VISUAL THEORY 1 - The prof for this class is one of the most intimidating women I have ever met. Her #1 rule: "If your cell phone goes off in my class, I will kick you out." In this class, we will study the aesthetics of art, almost entirely regarding still photography. I have a feeling that this class will teach me A LOT about the framing/composition of my motion pictures and still photography.
WEDNESDAY
9:50-11:25 ACTING - I have already taken an acting class at Augsburg (and both classes are very heavy on the Stanislavski method), but this class is much more about acting in relation to the camera. Should be very helpful.
11:30-1:05 EDITING - A theory course (which is unfortunate, I need to catch up to many of the other students regarding my Final Cut skills... but then again, I can do that on my own time) where we will discuss basic montage theories.
2:50-5:15 DIRECTING - For the first few weeks, our directing class will be primarily about story telling. I pitched my script in this class on Wednesday and the prof absolutely tore it apart. I went from feeling very good about it, to wanting to completely change my idea... Fortunately, the script has changed a lot over the last couple days (for the better... I think), and I am willing to try another pitch this week. Hopefully he will have some positive comments to say...
6:10-7:45 SCRIPT ANALYSIS - The dean of FAMU teaches this course. On the very first day, he quoted James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and I knew that I would like this course. We will watch a different film every other week and then discuss it the next week. Once again, I think that it will be helpful for me and my storytelling.
7:50-9:25 VISUAL THEORY 2 - Same prof, but more advanced.
THURSDAY
2-3:35 SOUND - Should be awesome. I think that sound is EXTREMELY important in movies and I think that this class will be very beneficial.
3:40-5:15 SCREENWRITING - Same prof, same stuff.
7-8:35 SCRIPT ANALYSIS 2 - Same prof, but more advanced. Different movies (focusing primarily on New Hollywood: Harold and Maude, Midnight Cowboy, Annie Hall). The only thing that I am slightly disappointed about is the fact that I have seen about 7 of the 10 movies that we are watching for my script analysis class. It will be interesting to learn about them though.
And then on Friday = NO CLASS!!!
Overall, I have realized that this semester will be INTENSE. Unless I calculated incorrectly, I have 21 hours and 20 minutes of class per week (at Augsburg, I would only have 12 hours of class per week)... That's a lot of class. And then, throw in my consultation sessions and a couple film screenings every week... On top of the basic class stuff, I also have to come up with a script and create a final 7-10 minute 16mm color film at the end of the semester... It's a lot of pressure. Wish me luck.
A lot has gone on in the last week.
This week I started my classes:
MONDAY
10:40-11:25 SCREENWRITING - My professor Pepi is one of the kindest old men I have met. He (like nearly every other prof here at FAMU), is pounding Aristotle's "Poetics" into our head. After taking this class for two days, I feel like I am attending FAMU at the perfect moment in my life and that becoming an English major was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has really helped my story telling abilities and has allowed me to develop useful critiques in the classroom.
12:20-1:55 CAMERA AND FILM - I actually haven't had this class yet... Pepi (the screenwriting prof) will teach us Screenwriting for 3 hours and 55 minutes instead for the first couple weeks.
3:40-6 GUEST FILMMAKER SERIOUS (OPTIONAL) - This is one of the many screenings that I will force myself to attend all semester. FAMU will bring in a different director every week to show a film, and then the director will talk about it and answer questions.
6:10-7:45 CINEMATOGRAPHY - The prof for this class is intimidating. He asks the most complex questions regarding light/color/cinematography and then gets slightly upset that nobody in the class knows the answer. After the first class, I felt somewhat angry that Augsburg did not prepare me for this class, so I will just have a lot more work to do in order to catch up.
TUESDAY
2:50-4:25 CZECH LANGUAGE - It's hard, but I'm learning.
4:30-6 CONSULTATION - Pepi (screenwriting prof) wants us to come in and talk to him at least every other week about our scripts and shooting specifics.
7:50-9:25 VISUAL THEORY 1 - The prof for this class is one of the most intimidating women I have ever met. Her #1 rule: "If your cell phone goes off in my class, I will kick you out." In this class, we will study the aesthetics of art, almost entirely regarding still photography. I have a feeling that this class will teach me A LOT about the framing/composition of my motion pictures and still photography.
WEDNESDAY
9:50-11:25 ACTING - I have already taken an acting class at Augsburg (and both classes are very heavy on the Stanislavski method), but this class is much more about acting in relation to the camera. Should be very helpful.
11:30-1:05 EDITING - A theory course (which is unfortunate, I need to catch up to many of the other students regarding my Final Cut skills... but then again, I can do that on my own time) where we will discuss basic montage theories.
2:50-5:15 DIRECTING - For the first few weeks, our directing class will be primarily about story telling. I pitched my script in this class on Wednesday and the prof absolutely tore it apart. I went from feeling very good about it, to wanting to completely change my idea... Fortunately, the script has changed a lot over the last couple days (for the better... I think), and I am willing to try another pitch this week. Hopefully he will have some positive comments to say...
6:10-7:45 SCRIPT ANALYSIS - The dean of FAMU teaches this course. On the very first day, he quoted James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and I knew that I would like this course. We will watch a different film every other week and then discuss it the next week. Once again, I think that it will be helpful for me and my storytelling.
7:50-9:25 VISUAL THEORY 2 - Same prof, but more advanced.
THURSDAY
2-3:35 SOUND - Should be awesome. I think that sound is EXTREMELY important in movies and I think that this class will be very beneficial.
3:40-5:15 SCREENWRITING - Same prof, same stuff.
7-8:35 SCRIPT ANALYSIS 2 - Same prof, but more advanced. Different movies (focusing primarily on New Hollywood: Harold and Maude, Midnight Cowboy, Annie Hall). The only thing that I am slightly disappointed about is the fact that I have seen about 7 of the 10 movies that we are watching for my script analysis class. It will be interesting to learn about them though.
And then on Friday = NO CLASS!!!
Overall, I have realized that this semester will be INTENSE. Unless I calculated incorrectly, I have 21 hours and 20 minutes of class per week (at Augsburg, I would only have 12 hours of class per week)... That's a lot of class. And then, throw in my consultation sessions and a couple film screenings every week... On top of the basic class stuff, I also have to come up with a script and create a final 7-10 minute 16mm color film at the end of the semester... It's a lot of pressure. Wish me luck.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Jay's awesome video
Hello peeps.
My buddy Jay made an awesome video of the night we went to Charles Bridge and the pub. Check it out:
My buddy Jay made an awesome video of the night we went to Charles Bridge and the pub. Check it out:
01/31/11 - Charles Bridge (Night) from Jay Harris Gard on Vimeo.
Friday, February 4, 2011
zombie zombie
Yo folks.
I have been busy.
Tonight I'm going to see the band "Zombie Zombie." Frano (one of the Czech students) has been talking about it forever, so all of us Americans are going to go out together. From what I've heard, it's mostly techno-esque music played to crazy music videos and animation... Supposedly, they reuse old horror movie theme music with horror movie footage as well... I will let you know. There are a very large amount of people in the FAMU program this year who are seriously interested in animation, and they are all very excited.
Here's a taste:
I also went to the grocery store for the second time today... By now, I have learned all the basic Czech words for milk/cheese/eggs/bread/etc, but it is very hard to go to the grocery store and find EXACTLY what you're looking for. For example, there are a million different types of milk... I know what the Czech word for milk is, but how do I know that I'm not buying whole milk or other crazy stuff? Or how do I know what kind of cheese or meat I am buying?
It gets quite difficult (yet, admittedly, quite exciting at the same time... like some kind of weird challenge). Like I mentioned earlier, my tactic is to find the youngest people I can (hopefully a gorgeous woman), and then ask them if they speak English (Mluvite anglicky?) Usually I get pretty lucky and someone points me in the right direction.
Today however, we had to go out on a scavenger hunt at a flee market... I found a VERY cool Czech mug that I was thinking about buying, but the SECOND my finger even graced the mug, a man came and yelled at me... Like,really yelled. I couldn't even think of the word for "I'm sorry" (prominte), so I just slowly walked away as he continued to give me an angry stare...
Also at the flee market, we had to find a krizkova hadanka... Eventually after asking many people, we found out that it was a crossword puzzle. Soooo, my roommate John walked up to the nearest newspaper-looking-store that we could find and asked for a crossword puzzle. However, he was completely unaware (while I almost died from laughing) that he had wondered in to a "specialty store" that sold only pornography... They obviously did not have a crossword puzzle.
Well I'm off to the concert. Have a good night.
P.S. Tonight I find out if I will be awarded the Peace Scholar Scholarship to study in Norway for 6 weeks (for free)... I am crossing my fingers. I probably won't find out until midnight-ish tonight, but when I do find out, there will be a party (or a very sad boy).
I have been busy.
Tonight I'm going to see the band "Zombie Zombie." Frano (one of the Czech students) has been talking about it forever, so all of us Americans are going to go out together. From what I've heard, it's mostly techno-esque music played to crazy music videos and animation... Supposedly, they reuse old horror movie theme music with horror movie footage as well... I will let you know. There are a very large amount of people in the FAMU program this year who are seriously interested in animation, and they are all very excited.
Here's a taste:
I also went to the grocery store for the second time today... By now, I have learned all the basic Czech words for milk/cheese/eggs/bread/etc, but it is very hard to go to the grocery store and find EXACTLY what you're looking for. For example, there are a million different types of milk... I know what the Czech word for milk is, but how do I know that I'm not buying whole milk or other crazy stuff? Or how do I know what kind of cheese or meat I am buying?
It gets quite difficult (yet, admittedly, quite exciting at the same time... like some kind of weird challenge). Like I mentioned earlier, my tactic is to find the youngest people I can (hopefully a gorgeous woman), and then ask them if they speak English (Mluvite anglicky?) Usually I get pretty lucky and someone points me in the right direction.
Today however, we had to go out on a scavenger hunt at a flee market... I found a VERY cool Czech mug that I was thinking about buying, but the SECOND my finger even graced the mug, a man came and yelled at me... Like,really yelled. I couldn't even think of the word for "I'm sorry" (prominte), so I just slowly walked away as he continued to give me an angry stare...
Also at the flee market, we had to find a krizkova hadanka... Eventually after asking many people, we found out that it was a crossword puzzle. Soooo, my roommate John walked up to the nearest newspaper-looking-store that we could find and asked for a crossword puzzle. However, he was completely unaware (while I almost died from laughing) that he had wondered in to a "specialty store" that sold only pornography... They obviously did not have a crossword puzzle.
Well I'm off to the concert. Have a good night.
P.S. Tonight I find out if I will be awarded the Peace Scholar Scholarship to study in Norway for 6 weeks (for free)... I am crossing my fingers. I probably won't find out until midnight-ish tonight, but when I do find out, there will be a party (or a very sad boy).
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