Reflect

The writing process is quite the hurdle in filmmaking.  As far as my foundations of story class goes, it has not been easy to distinguish the different principles we studied.  For the most part, they all seem lumped together.  It would have been much more successful if lectures we also available online after class to read and review.  When it comes to our group projects we have been working on, I feel that we have made quite a bit of progress.  What I found most useful I suppose would be learning about the hero’s journey.  The hero’s journey is what our group focused on making right.  As much as we made progress and produced a story my criticism is that I feel that our story is unoriginal and feel like it has been done over and again.  I think there could have been ways for us to make it our own but that didn’t happen due to another criticism.  I truly believe we didn’t work together enough.  First, I think more time should have been allotted in class to work things out as a group, but also we didn’t meet enough outside of class.  This became difficult because of course we all have multiple classes we are taking as well as jobs and other activities.  Unfortunately, most of our finished work was done as pairs and groups of three and via email and our Facebook page.

            One of the main revisions I would like to see going forward is to change our story up a bit in order to make it a little more original, unique and our own.  I also think that names of our characters need to change because they are a little clichéd.   Overall, I don’t think there is very much more I can express without just harping.  The principles’ we have learned have also felt very little and lumped together to me because I took Short Script I before taking this class which feels like they should definitely be reversed.  

SHANE BOTWIN

Tri-Dimensional Character Bone Structure. 

Shane from Weeds on Showtime.

Physiology

1.     Sex – Male

2.     Age  - Ages throughout series 10 – 18

3.     Height and Weight – Shorter than average currently 5’7’’ and average weight.

4.     Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, and light skin.

5.     Posture – Straight

6.     Appearance – clean, bright-eyed,

7.     Defects – Asthma

8.     Heredity – Mother’s hair and eyes

Sociology

1.     Class – Middle-upper California suburbia as a child. Then his family struggled and moved throughout series.  They briefly lived in upper class Mexico, traveled to Canada and lived out of a hotel, and were part of the working class in Denmark.  Lastly lived in an apartment in New York City before finally settling in a middle-class home in Connecticut.

2.     Occupation – Briefly held a job as a marionette in Copenhagen, Denmark.

3.     Education – Public school for elementary and middle. Self-taught after Middle school.

4.     Home Life – Lives with Mother, Nancy. Father died of a heart attack. Nancy has bad habit of spending all her time and energy on making business and money affairs.  Her mental development on Shane has been negative and neglectful.  She is good-hearted but has forgotten who she is as a mother.  Shane is not married.

5.     Religion – Jewish on his father’s side.

6.     Race – White

7.     Place in Community – Made fun of throughout elementary school.  Played soccer and was in Tae Kwon Do as a child.  In middle school he stuck up for himself more and became very independent and reclusive.  As he aged he tried influencing the family and being the responsible adult, but was usually still pushed to the side by the family.

8.     Political Affiliations – None.

9.     Amusements, hobbies – He is very tech. savvy, and into constructing things.

Psychology

1.     Sex life and moral standards – You really see his character grow and develop throughout his adolescence.  His uncle taught him about masturbation, masturbated to a nude photo of his mother, and lost his virginity to two gothic girls in middle school, which he received a yeast infection from.  As much as he love’s his mother, not in sexual way, Shane’s morals never developed properly thus making him immoral.  He lies endlessly, cheats, murdered someone, the list goes on and on.

2.     Personal Premise, ambition – He has driven to help his mother because he realizes all her struggle ultimately has been for him and his brothers.  He has little ambition, but is interested in law enforcement.

3.     Frustrations, Chief Disappointments – He is always over looked by his Nancy who always goes to his older brother.  Having no proper father figure.  He is very intelligent but is always pushed off as being a kid.

4.     Temperament – unbalanced.  Angry at many times.

5.     Attitude Toward Life – A no-one trying to find his place.

6.     Complexes – obsessed with getting his mother’s attention and approval.  At one point as a child he ignores everyone around him and talks to his father who isn’t there.

7.     Introvert

8.     Abilities – Tech savvy, very street smart.

9.     Qualities – Independent, intelligent, mentally strong, supportive, straight-forward, generous, loyal, brave.

10.  I.Q. – Very high

Character Arc

On the website Elements of Cinema, character arc is defined as "the notion that characters must evolve, grow, learn, or change as the plot unfolds. The audience in general expects a character to finish the movie in a higher position than that in which he started."  Christopher Vogler asserts that all stories must have this element in order for it to be compelling.  I completely with agree with this statement.  In every story the main character has some kind of flaws that are inhibiting them from attaining what they desire.  The flaws direct the character to evolve and develop throughout the story.  The "...character develop(ment) from condition A to condition Z through a series of steps," (Vogler, 33) is the character arc.

A character arc also does not need to be on just the protagonist, it could be presented through other characters in the story which means that a character arc is still necessary.  Vogler uses an example from Beverly Hills Cop.  The main character is fully developed at the beginning of the story and has little or no change by the stories end.  However, the change happens to his friends in the story. (Vogler, 37)

The character arc does not have a specific formula so it can be either a positive one or a negative one.  An up-hill arc is the most common and is usually the happy-ending in most stories.  The guys wins the girl, the lost gets found, someone gets wealthier, etc.  Good defeats evil.  For example in Erin Brockovich, Julia Robert’s character goes from jobless and a single-mother to having a successful job and boyfriend.  In the beginning viewers see her as trashy and not serious about herself.  The conclusion shows her as a very serious, well kept, and professional woman.  However in a down-hill  character arc the outcome is usually the sad, dark and or serious ending.  These characters almost develop backwards.  In the movie Seven, Brad Pitt’s character is very jump-the-gun and acts on instinct without thinking things over.  His character develops in the film very little and if anything he becomes more and more careless.  In the end his flaws are what gets the best of him and he is thus defeated by the antagonist.

Based on Vogler’s breakdown of the character arc, it could be argued that the character arc is another representation of the hero’s journey.  Vogler presents a side-by-side 12-step character arc that mimics the 12 steps of the hero’s journey.  He does the same thing with breaking it down into acts and as a repeating cycle much like the ones seen for the hero’s journey.  This representation of a character arc makes it seem necessary in every story because ultimately it is the story. 

Black Bean Soup Vs. Smoothie

So, for the last two weeks we partook in listening to oral stories told in 3 minutes or less.  There were a lot of good ones as well as a few that could use some improvement.  We listened to adventurous tales, good times, and upsetting moments.  Some of the stories were straight up reminiscent memories, a few were more elaborated and applied more story effort rather than just a memory.  There were so many stories that I personally enjoyed listening to.  When the class was told our blog post was going to be based on one of the stories, the first one that came to mind for me was Logan Ryan's story about his adventure in trying black bean soup for the first time at Panera Bread.

Honestly, at first I couldn't think of why this story stood out to me.  After thinking about it for a little bit I realized that there is connection with the audience or relate-ability.  First off, almost everyone has had Panera at one time or another.  Secondly, we have all wanted something we consider to be our "regular" and then change our mind, and immediately regret it.  Next, I realized what made me remember Logan's story so well was because of it's humor and how it made everyone laugh, yet it was such a simple story.

I really can see this being a short film, so short in fact that I think it can be successfully laid out in about a minute, almost commercial-like.  One thing Logan might need to find a way of developing for the screen is how his character loves smoothies so much.  I suppose this could be simply done as a "thoughtful" voiceover.  Another aspect that needs to be fleshed out better is that his character and his friend regularly go out for lunch and that this is just another day getting lunch and that his smoothie is his regular order.  If we try to apply the hero's journey, I wasn't clear about who the villain was... was it himself, the employee who suggested the black bean soup, or the soup itself.  Personally I think it was his own character for deciding to ask the employee what they think he may want to try.

As I stated before I think this story would make a great commercial kind of short.  It is short, funny, and memorable.  P.s. I love the black bean soup unlike Logan. As a side note, he mentioned how little his baguette was and how it was done in basically two bites, I just wanted to say you can ask them for more bread.  ;-)

Regretful

Regret... affliction, dissatisfaction, demur, bitterness, remorse, self-condemnation, sorrow, anguish, nostalgia.


According to Merriam-Webster, regret is to mourn the loss or death of, miss very much, or be very sorry for.  Often times we do little things that we regret in the short term and wish we would have do something else different or perhaps better.  Many people are taught not to regret the past and this is true because it can make you live in the past and torment you for not having done whatever the regret may be.


While I am a firm believer in not regretting the past I feel like everyone has something that hits the back of there mind from time to time when a situation that involves their regret pops up.  I reason that everything happens for a reason and the decisions you make build who you are and your present character.  Sometimes when someone regrets something it can be as minor as regretting and embarrassing statement in front of some friends or not going to lunch with a colleague.  Regret can also be much more definitive and life altering such as regretting not having protective sex or having an affair with a friends significant other.


As stated before, I try to live life with no regrets, however the is one irritation that gets me from time to time.  Now, I am only 22 years old so I can't say that I have lived an extraordinary life full of experiences and goals.  Anyways, from about the age of 10 or 11 up to the age of 18 I had my heart set on being a marine mammal specialist or veterinarian.  Specifically I wanted to work with orca whales in anyway I could.  Whether it be behind the scenes, as a trainer, or veterinarian I wanted to work with this animal in particular.  I was so drawn to them.  I had a passion for animals and studying them.  As a kid I was always reading and learning about animals so this outlook made sense.  Throughout all four years of high school, seven out of eight semesters I was committed to an animal science and veterinarian program.


Growing up my family went to SeaWorld a lot throughout my elementary and middle school years.  This is where my fascination began.  However, these visits subsided around 9th or 10th grade and even though I stayed involved animal science and orca whale studies I picked up another interest in visual arts.  I succeeded particularly well and enjoyed art during high school as well.  When it came time to go to college I went in as undeclared.  I took a couple art classes and declared my major in Art.  Since then I have taken it down to a minor and changed my major to another form of art, film.


The regret kicked within the last year.  My girlfriend and I got season passes to SeaWorld.  Before getting passes, I had been to the marine park only once since my early high school years.  Now though living in the same city as the park I am able to frequent it much more and every time we go there is that reflection in my mind that is irritating every time and sometimes almost a gut-wrenching feeling.


Life goes on.  I always tell myself maybe I will get a chance to involve my new interests with past interests and do something with with the both of them.  

Insight

Throughout a decent amount of my life thus far I have been a little overweight or chubby to say the least. It has always been a little bothersome, perhaps uncomfortable. I know now that I did not eat healthy whenever I wasn't home and was not into any physical activity. Just over two years ago my best friend decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle. Vegans are people who do not consume animal products or byproducts for food or material needs. My friend lost a lot of weight and became much healthier. So, I decided I would attempt to take a stab at it as well. It was a slow transition of cutting out more and more animal products over time. Finally, I was completely vegan and could state it. From then on I have had so many comments and questions about my choice and many times in a negative manner. They would even come from friends and family.

"Why?"

"How do you get your protein? What about all the other nutrients from animals?"

"Animals are for humans to eat, are they not?"

"You are missing out on life."

"What do you eat, lettuce?"

"If we stopped eating meat, the world would be overrun by animals."

This list is inexhaustible with more remarks about PETA, canine teeth, preachiness, and concern about plants. Hearing all of these comments started to irritate me. I briefly went vegetarian for a while and even ate meat off and on at certain places and occasions. I didn't understand why the lifestyle was mocked and poked fun at.

Then it hit me. I noticed that I thought the same things when my friend went vegan. I wasn't as critical about it as many people can be, but I did have some of the same thoughts and questions. I was uneducated and began to realize that many of the people around me are the same way about the subject of veganism.

From there, I went on to research all that I could about the lifestyle. I have watched various film clips, read a massive amount online and a few selections from books and magazines. Since then I have been trying to find ways of educating people about it without being preachy, if someone genuinely is curious I will let them in on hows, whys, and whats they want to know. In any case there are still individuals who don't care and just ask taunting questions which in that case they receive a similar answer. I have also tried applying it to art and as a blog. I am trying to find more and more ways to help people better understand the lifestyle as I continue my own search and discovery.

I thought that being a little overweight was difficult and embarrassing to deal with. I never thought that a diet that is healthy and makes someone happy could bring any kind of difficulties. Regardless, I have learned to not let anyone question what you believe in, until you know the truth and to just do what you want and some will follow while there will always be those who push away.