Week 8 Photo Challenge: You as a Professional

Here is a photo of myself on set working as a Production sound mixer. This is me as a professional. As my chosen career I am not asking someone to entrust me with tons of money. I am asking someone to trust me on set, dressed comfortable and properly to endure 12+ hour long days and nights, equipped to capture the best sound as possible on location, and ready with my game face on! This particular day, I boomed a 12 hour shoot from 6am to 6pm. The heat was excruciating this day and all we had was a cheap AC wall unit in one of the cheap motel rooms available (we were filming in the parking lot) for five minutes break when it looked like someone was about to pass out. It was better than nothing but yes, seriously some cast members almost fainted outside during scenes. I was super glad I had sunblock with me that day.

Week 8 EOC: The Producer’s Most Important Role

Depending on what field or market, the role of a producer varies per job. There are producer positions in all aspects of the Audio/Visual Media Industry: Film, Television, Gaming, and Advertising. But in general, I think the role of a producer is extremely important even if their position lies just below an Executive Producer (I think due to financial involvement). They have a huge involvement in the start-up of a project. They may not be involved with writing screenplays, but normally they are the ones who go above and beyond to get all of the necessary paperwork together and done to get the project started, or even search for the right writer to write the screenplay for that particular concept or idea in order for it to get started. So besides behind-the-scenes pre-production duties, Producers also sometimes get involved with production to make sure everything is going along right to make sure the project is completed within proper due time. So overall, a Producer is holds a lot of importance to every project as they are the ones who make sure a project begins and ends properly.

Week 7 Photo Challenge: Screenplay Cover

This is a screenplay cover to my first personal project I have been considering shooting. For a long time, I have been interested in documentaries. I felt that they each held a purpose and that was to inform someone and anyone. Just that one person can make a difference. So for some time I've been brainstorming on what ideas I could shoot a documentary on and I thought back to my home community to see if there was anything or anyone that didn't have a voice that I could help bring out. Many ideas came to mind, but one in particular stood out, especially because it was such a controversial topic. Even I was against it. But I tried to think of it from both sides now that I would be directing a film about it and saw many stand points that I didn't even think about before that made so much sense. I kind of put a hold on it until I was done with school, but it recently was brought up on national headlines so I know I needed to react fast. The title of the screenplay is "Coffee Anyone?" It highlights the underground world of Asian Coffee Shops and what goes on behind those black tinted windows.

Week 7 EOC: Keeping It Real

Having clients come to a professional facility can do nothing but enhance and improve your clients experience with your business. I found a local facility/office close to my residence called the Watermark Executive Suites, located at 5940 S. Rainbow Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89118. I actually have met a client here in the past for a small-scale project. When I arrived at the location, I was blown away to think he either worked here or had an office, and was able to bring in a group of individuals that was going to work on a non-related project side project (that he was funding) on a Saturday afternoon. So when I saw the ad, I immediately thought that being able to give that same feeling to a prospective client of mine, I find would be nothing but favorable to me. After researching what they had available and at what cost, I found more reasons to choose it. The offices started at a low, affordable $500 per month. Along with each office suite comes with a License to Hang (I know that the State of Nevada requires this for most businesses), mail receiving and forwarding, call answering and screening, training rooms (that seat up to 20), and a small conference room! They even offer Virtual Offices for a fraction of a price. But all of these services including a 120-600 sq ft room for a minimum of $500 is worth the rent and more than I could ask for. I believe what you put in is what you get out, and for your business, your main source of income, I am willing to invest what I need.

                                   

Week 6 Photo Challenge: Special Effects

Here is a screenshot of a recent project I worked on for a client, cleaning up audio for a theatrical trailer for an independent film. The trailer was about two and a half minutes and I was requested to complete the work within 24 hours (as well as do any touch-ups the employer requested after reviewing the completed project). The screenshot is taken of a Pro Tools (9.0) session, which is my main go-to software I use for majority of my audio work. Within the session, I am doing what more than half of my projects require, which is dialogue clean-up (also what is about 80% of films itself). But because the shots used, had not been cleaned and completed by the sound department, to get a good finished product for the client I had to clean up the original location audio that came synced with the video. I cleaned up the audio with standard techniques and methods often used for vocal or dialogue clean-up; which included some noise reduction, and EQ-ing techniques (shown in the screenshot) to help filter and bring out nuances within the vocals. After cleaning up about two and half minutes worth of straight dialogue, I was able to get to the fun stuff which was sound designing the trailer: enhancing the sounds of gun shots, and adding cinematic mood triggers such as low-rumbling booms. Overall, it was a great project for me to display an array of skill sets I have to offer to the industry!

Week 6 EOC: How do I see my role starting in the Industry?

There are many options on how I will take my first step into the Industry, and I plan on taking them all. As of today, I am trying to make an impact on the local creative community by doing a lot of good work, paid or not-paid. It's hard to demand money as a student with no real prior experience so if working for free is what I need to get some "real" experience, that's what I'll do and what I have done in the past and currently. But I currently feel through those many projects I have worked on and completed, I have grown and improved on a technical level as well as being a creative individual in this specific field. So with my experience and knowledge (and eagerness to still learn and work), I hope to take my first professional step into the industry as an entry-level assistant to my goal position (sound designer, sound editor, or video game composer). I would like this to be my starting point professionally in hopes that I'm guided and led in the right direction by a potential colleague or mentor in regards to my career. I feel I still have so much to learn and I would be doing myself a dis-service if I tried to learn it all on my own. So I hope within the next year or so, I will be able to call myself an assistant sound designer / sound editor for a stable and growing company in tv/film/interactive media.

Week 4 Photo Challenge: Movie Poster "The Pandress & The Butcher: The First Meating"

Here is a poster I quickly made from a stillframe of a short film I did for the last 48 Hour Film Festival event here in Las Vegas. It was done through after effects with some quick titles and nice fonts (which I believe make or break whatever image you are making that involves titles!) and some color layers to change up the original stillframe.

This poster is for a short film called “The Pandress & The Butcher: The First Meating.” The short was a comedy based off of the topics we drew for the 48 Hour Film Festival contest. The genre given was Superheroes, added with the specific line everyone had to use as well as the pair of chopsticks as the used film prop. So we decided to just have fun with it and our writers came up with an extremely ridiculous comedy. I even had doubts when I first read the script until production began and it all just started falling hilariously together. Although we did not make it onto the big screen, I was really happy to be part of this team’s 48 hour experience because on top of it being a great group of people who are really dedicated to what they are doing, we had an amazing cast of talent that was so gung-ho for this ridiculous script!