The 546 director selection process is completely talent based. Of the 12 teams of director, producer and writers that pitch, 3 are chosen to make their movies. The story is what makes these teams stand a part from the rest.
But there are a few factors that make your talents look better...
1. You took the class already
Me: I took 546 2 semesters ago as a sound person on Crushing Violet. I made good relationships in that class and did a damn good job (if I don't say so myself). I actually pitched as a producer on a project as well (we didn't get it). So I've been a part of that class in a few different roles.
By taking the class, you know the process and you know the faculty. It's like going through boot camp before getting the opportunity to be in charge.
2. You're a girl
Me: I'm a girl. No, they don't pick a girl JUST to pick a girl, but they usually want one. Everyone wants to support the next Kathryn Bigelow. Last semester, they actually didn't choose a female director. This proved that it's based on the project, not the gender of the director. But in semesters past, there's usually 1 female director among the 3 directors chosen.
3. You have a different story
Me: I pitched a super hero comedy. The semester before us (the one with all the male directors) was made up of really intense dramas. We all knew the professors wanted a comedy in the room. They needed a reason to smile!
Finally
I felt that all of these factors were working in my favor. But they were also working to help the 11 other directors competing against me. So I did not relax for a minute!
What NOT to say...
I did have one producer say something to me that I think is worth repeating.
In meeting with this gentleman, I asked "Why do you want to produce Volcano Girl with me?" His response: "Because you're a girl, and a girl usually gets through. So you'll probably win."
Interview over.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
546 Part 2: The Week of Film Student Speed Dating
After Monday's meet and greet with all of the possible directors, producers and writers, it was time to team up for the big pitch in 2 weeks - the pitch that would decide who gets to make their project.
Let me back up --
The goal of this whole 546 process is to get the opportunity to make your movie with 100% school resources and faculty guidance. The school gives you $7,000 to make your movie and you work to raise the rest to reach a maximum of $12,000 budget (give or take a few $100). Then you crew up with other students to create an entire production team made up of a director, 2 producers, 1 assistant director, 2 director of photography, 2 editors, 2 sound designers and 2 production designers. All of you are officially in the "546 class" and working on 1 of 3 movies produced in the class.
And let's get back to it --
Before I pitched "Volcano Girl," I had to make sure there was no other script that I felt strongly about. Usually these scripts need a lot of work to make them perfect. The writers, for the most part, know they must work with the director to re-write these scripts; which is another reason why I definitely wanted to work with Josh. We were friends. We had a good shorthand. I knew it would be a good working relationship.
This is where the "speed dating" part comes in. I sat at a table and scheduled a meeting every hour on the hour - taking a break after about 4 meetings to run and get food. The Coffee Bean in our building LOVES 546 speed dating week. They get even more business because "everyone meets for coffee to discuss 546." It's true. SO MUCH COFFEE!!!
I met with a few writers and just kept thinking "ugh, this isn't as cool as Volcano Girl." ha! I decided on Tuesday that I wanted Volcano Girl. Luckily Josh decided he wanted me too.
Choosing the script first did scare off some of the producers. Some of the producers wanted to find their director and THEN find their script. Other producers genuinely liked other scripts better. It didn't scare off Stephen Gibler, though! Once I pitched my goals for Volcano Girl, he knew he wanted to be a part of the project. There was no doubt about it! I still had other meetings, so I could not commit to him just yet.
Signing the agreement
The deadline for deciding your team was 12noon on Friday (1 week after the shortlist came out...keep in mind!).
Wednesday night is actually when most teams commit to each other, so they can then start preparing their pitch. Wednesday night just so happened to be my DGA event (read about it here). I refused to have any meetings after 4pm that day -- so I could fully enjoy the event. I scheduled meetings for Thursday. This meant I risked losing Stephen to another crew. And I almost did. Another crew asked him to produce for them, and he said he was holding out for Volcano Girl.
I realized I needed to snag him at about midnight after the DGA event. I called -- hoping he'd be awake or get the call first thing in the morning. Nothing. I went to sleep...a little freaked out that I had waited too long.
I received a text message from him at 6am saying "I'm in."
I had to tell my other meetings that I had decided on a producer. They were bummed but understood.
Woohoo! I had my team!!
We signed our agreement on Thursday.
It was really happening...
Let me back up --
The goal of this whole 546 process is to get the opportunity to make your movie with 100% school resources and faculty guidance. The school gives you $7,000 to make your movie and you work to raise the rest to reach a maximum of $12,000 budget (give or take a few $100). Then you crew up with other students to create an entire production team made up of a director, 2 producers, 1 assistant director, 2 director of photography, 2 editors, 2 sound designers and 2 production designers. All of you are officially in the "546 class" and working on 1 of 3 movies produced in the class.
And let's get back to it --
Before I pitched "Volcano Girl," I had to make sure there was no other script that I felt strongly about. Usually these scripts need a lot of work to make them perfect. The writers, for the most part, know they must work with the director to re-write these scripts; which is another reason why I definitely wanted to work with Josh. We were friends. We had a good shorthand. I knew it would be a good working relationship.
This is where the "speed dating" part comes in. I sat at a table and scheduled a meeting every hour on the hour - taking a break after about 4 meetings to run and get food. The Coffee Bean in our building LOVES 546 speed dating week. They get even more business because "everyone meets for coffee to discuss 546." It's true. SO MUCH COFFEE!!!
I met with a few writers and just kept thinking "ugh, this isn't as cool as Volcano Girl." ha! I decided on Tuesday that I wanted Volcano Girl. Luckily Josh decided he wanted me too.
Choosing the script first did scare off some of the producers. Some of the producers wanted to find their director and THEN find their script. Other producers genuinely liked other scripts better. It didn't scare off Stephen Gibler, though! Once I pitched my goals for Volcano Girl, he knew he wanted to be a part of the project. There was no doubt about it! I still had other meetings, so I could not commit to him just yet.
Signing the agreement
The deadline for deciding your team was 12noon on Friday (1 week after the shortlist came out...keep in mind!).
Wednesday night is actually when most teams commit to each other, so they can then start preparing their pitch. Wednesday night just so happened to be my DGA event (read about it here). I refused to have any meetings after 4pm that day -- so I could fully enjoy the event. I scheduled meetings for Thursday. This meant I risked losing Stephen to another crew. And I almost did. Another crew asked him to produce for them, and he said he was holding out for Volcano Girl.
I realized I needed to snag him at about midnight after the DGA event. I called -- hoping he'd be awake or get the call first thing in the morning. Nothing. I went to sleep...a little freaked out that I had waited too long.
I received a text message from him at 6am saying "I'm in."
I had to tell my other meetings that I had decided on a producer. They were bummed but understood.
Woohoo! I had my team!!
We signed our agreement on Thursday.
It was really happening...
The Directors Guild Award
Once I got into my car and sat in the driver's seat, I stared at my award - now in its box lying next to the flower my mom gave me. It was at that moment that I realized "this is so much bigger than me."
The award in the passenger's seat.
The Ceremony = Cocktails
I arrived at 6:30pm on the dot for the cocktails portion of the ceremony. I had one sip of beer and that was all I could do - I was not about to drink before an event like this. I also had the fear of "spinach dangling from my teeth," so I barely ate.
We all took photos prior to entering the auditorium. The USC Cinema School was highly represented at the evening's ceremony. Two winners and one Jury winner came from the Trojans. Fight on!
Me and my favorite Production Assistant, Rusty Beaman. We first met on "Friday Night Fright," and I've forced him to come to every set of mine since!
Mary Lou Belli, middle, presented me and Amy Adrion our awards for the Women's Category. Amy was the runner up by 1 point! We slapped a serious high-five at our accomplishment. AND Why did they decide to use the photo where I'm flipping my head back? What was I doing??
Carolyn Corbett, my trio member in 508 for "Friday Night Fright." She was the producer, sound recordist and editor. So, yes, she was invested in the project! Read about the making of the film here.
The award in the passenger's seat.
DGA = Directors Guild of America (Steven Spielberg is a member...)
I received a DGA award in the Woman's category for my short film "Friday Night Fright." Check out the trailer here. It was a Minority and Women Student Film competition. Here are past winners.
The Ceremony = Cocktails
I arrived at 6:30pm on the dot for the cocktails portion of the ceremony. I had one sip of beer and that was all I could do - I was not about to drink before an event like this. I also had the fear of "spinach dangling from my teeth," so I barely ate.
We all took photos prior to entering the auditorium. The USC Cinema School was highly represented at the evening's ceremony. Two winners and one Jury winner came from the Trojans. Fight on!
Dipesh Jain (Jury Award Winner in the Asian American category), me (winner in Women Category), and Ryan Coogler (Winner in African American category). All colleagues of mine at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Me and my favorite Production Assistant, Rusty Beaman. We first met on "Friday Night Fright," and I've forced him to come to every set of mine since!
Mary Lou Belli, middle, presented me and Amy Adrion our awards for the Women's Category. Amy was the runner up by 1 point! We slapped a serious high-five at our accomplishment. AND Why did they decide to use the photo where I'm flipping my head back? What was I doing??
Carolyn Corbett, my trio member in 508 for "Friday Night Fright." She was the producer, sound recordist and editor. So, yes, she was invested in the project! Read about the making of the film here.
Erika Rankin, the star of "FNF," Carolyn Corbett, me, and Rusty Beaman. It's amazing how we are still celebrating this film one year later!
The Ceremony = The Presentations
At this point, I was well aware that I would actually have to get on stage for a "thank you" speech. This was not brought to our attention prior to the event, so I spent the first hour of the ceremony thinking of what I was going to say!
We watched one-minute clips from the Runner-Up's films. Then we watched the Asian American category winner's film and his speech. Then the Latin American category and his speech.
Now it was my turn. I had seen "Friday Night Fright" MANY times, but I was still so incredibly nervous!
After it screened, Gene Reynolds went onto the stage and said, "50 years ago, a woman could not yell 'action.'" I matured a little in hearing that statement. I do question that statement because my mentor, Joan Darling, was certainly yelling action 50 years ago!! It does get you thinking, though, about where we really are in our journey to become equal parts in this industry.
Then they announced Mary Lou Belli, the Woman's Category presenter. She is a well known director among television, including "Sister, Sister." -- ROGER!!!!--
She gave me the award and scholarship check, and it was time for my "thank you" speech.
Do you see the pretty piece of glass that says "Director's Guild of America?"
Saying "hi mom!" My mom couldn't attend the event, so I said hi to her through the video camera. I think at least one person is required to say that at every awards ceremony... She did have my cousin bring me a flower and say it's from her!
With Gene Reynolds. He said my movie was so scary that it turned his hair gray. He also knew my directing mentor, Joan Darling. He called her Little Joni! They worked on MASH together.
The podium, my award, and me! This is around the point in the night when I realized I did not want to let go of that award.
Trying to sneak my award into the group photo. Dipesh was too tall!!
The group photo -- expect it in DGA Newsletters near you!
With some Twilight Zone fans -- Once they heard "Friday Night Fright" was inspired by The Twilight Zone, they had to come and see it! The event was actually open to the DGA members and this woman was a part of the DGA Women's Steering Committee. She told me they discussed "Friday Night Fright" at the meeting the night before...cool!
I began the speech with a "funny story." I wrote "Friday Night Fright" after watching "True Lies" with friends. We all yelled at Arnold, and I thought "What if Arnold yelled back?" That got a bit of a laugh. Then I went on to speak on the support of the DGA and the support of my cast and crew. I ended with "Wow...DGA...Cool!" and a big smile! Everyone laughed - I think they knew exactly how I felt.
So Much Bigger Than Me
Which brings me to my original statement -- how this whole ceremony was so much bigger than me.
In the weeks prior to the event, I received mixed responses to the award. "Oh...you got it because you're a woman?" "Why aren't there white male awards?" And all I could think was "Give it back!!" Give me back my award! Don't take it away from me by belittling its meaning!
Sitting in that auditorium, receiving congratulations from women who pioneered their own way in this industry, just blew me away. I can't describe it. I had their support. Support of my peers, my future colleagues.
I say "this is so much bigger than me" because while I may feel down when someone says "oh...you got it because you're a woman," other women are proud of me and pick me up. Women I don't even know. We protect each other. They gave me this award to encourage me, inspire me. It's now my turn to take that support and run with it. Women need other women as role models.
In my application for the DGA award, I mentioned how little role models there are for women in this industry, especially the comedy and thriller genres, and if I could inspire one woman to become a filmmaker -- to not be afraid -- then I've done my job.
The Ceremony = The Presentations
At this point, I was well aware that I would actually have to get on stage for a "thank you" speech. This was not brought to our attention prior to the event, so I spent the first hour of the ceremony thinking of what I was going to say!
We watched one-minute clips from the Runner-Up's films. Then we watched the Asian American category winner's film and his speech. Then the Latin American category and his speech.
Now it was my turn. I had seen "Friday Night Fright" MANY times, but I was still so incredibly nervous!
After it screened, Gene Reynolds went onto the stage and said, "50 years ago, a woman could not yell 'action.'" I matured a little in hearing that statement. I do question that statement because my mentor, Joan Darling, was certainly yelling action 50 years ago!! It does get you thinking, though, about where we really are in our journey to become equal parts in this industry.
Then they announced Mary Lou Belli, the Woman's Category presenter. She is a well known director among television, including "Sister, Sister." -- ROGER!!!!--
She gave me the award and scholarship check, and it was time for my "thank you" speech.
Do you see the pretty piece of glass that says "Director's Guild of America?"
Saying "hi mom!" My mom couldn't attend the event, so I said hi to her through the video camera. I think at least one person is required to say that at every awards ceremony... She did have my cousin bring me a flower and say it's from her!
With Gene Reynolds. He said my movie was so scary that it turned his hair gray. He also knew my directing mentor, Joan Darling. He called her Little Joni! They worked on MASH together.
The podium, my award, and me! This is around the point in the night when I realized I did not want to let go of that award.
Trying to sneak my award into the group photo. Dipesh was too tall!!
With some Twilight Zone fans -- Once they heard "Friday Night Fright" was inspired by The Twilight Zone, they had to come and see it! The event was actually open to the DGA members and this woman was a part of the DGA Women's Steering Committee. She told me they discussed "Friday Night Fright" at the meeting the night before...cool!
The Speech
I began the speech with a "funny story." I wrote "Friday Night Fright" after watching "True Lies" with friends. We all yelled at Arnold, and I thought "What if Arnold yelled back?" That got a bit of a laugh. Then I went on to speak on the support of the DGA and the support of my cast and crew. I ended with "Wow...DGA...Cool!" and a big smile! Everyone laughed - I think they knew exactly how I felt.
So Much Bigger Than Me
Which brings me to my original statement -- how this whole ceremony was so much bigger than me.
In the weeks prior to the event, I received mixed responses to the award. "Oh...you got it because you're a woman?" "Why aren't there white male awards?" And all I could think was "Give it back!!" Give me back my award! Don't take it away from me by belittling its meaning!
Sitting in that auditorium, receiving congratulations from women who pioneered their own way in this industry, just blew me away. I can't describe it. I had their support. Support of my peers, my future colleagues.
I say "this is so much bigger than me" because while I may feel down when someone says "oh...you got it because you're a woman," other women are proud of me and pick me up. Women I don't even know. We protect each other. They gave me this award to encourage me, inspire me. It's now my turn to take that support and run with it. Women need other women as role models.
In my application for the DGA award, I mentioned how little role models there are for women in this industry, especially the comedy and thriller genres, and if I could inspire one woman to become a filmmaker -- to not be afraid -- then I've done my job.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
546 Part 1: Ugh...Why do you keep saying "546??"
546
"What does that mean?"
"Why do you keep talking in numbers?"
"Is it some weird USC Mafia code?" Answer: YES
546 is an advanced production class that involves an initial competition for the opportunity to direct -- and I was a finalist to direct.
The first round
Over 50 students apply to direct. We are required to give 10 copies of our directing reel and 10 resumes -- all presented very meticulously so professors can watch them without problems. We are even told how to properly tape the DVDs shut, if we decide to do so. If we do one bit of it wrong, then we're disqualified.
Over 100 scripts are submitted and about 25 producers submit.
The Short List
The short list - the finalists - comes out on a Friday evening at 5pm. For us it was Nov 5th.
I sat in a seminar with all of my colleagues as we waited for that email to be sent out -- the email listing the finalists. I was on my email the entire time - barely paying attention to the speaker. Sorry speaker... I just kept refreshing my email...again... and again.
Then it was sent and you could see everyone in the room whispering to one another and pointing at their phones. Some turned around to congratulate, some were totally bummed, unfortunately.
I was sitting next to my friend, Josh Eiserike, who wrote "Volcano Girl" that made it on the short list of scripts. I high-fived my other friend, Josh Tate, who was also on the director's "short list" with me. He would be my competition in the coming week, but at that moment we could celebrate!
Then it was time to read the 35 scripts - 12 pages each. We had the whole weekend to read in preparation for a meet and greet on Monday. I was producing Marty Go's advanced directing project so it wasn't the most ideal situation to be in when you need to read 420 pages...
I got through most of them but pretty much knew I wanted "Volcano Girl."
The Meet and Greet
More like film student speed dating...
We all get into one room on a Monday afternoon. All of the writers, directors and producers. We get up, introduce ourselves and then the directors show their reels. I, of course, showed "Friday Night Fright." My big pitch is that I like to blend genres -- specifically horror & comedy.
Once the reels are over, the professors say "and Go!" and we run into the hall and talk to everyone. My goal was to finalize which script I wanted to pitch with and then which producer would best suit the project. Some directors work the opposite way. They find their producer and then decide on a script. I knew I wanted Josh and Volcano Girl; and I knew we were going to make fire. I needed to find a producer who was willing to do it -- willing to make fire.
After the meet and greet, I left with about 20 people's contact info who wanted to meet to talk script ideas or producing. The meet and greet lasted for almost 3 hours. I showed up about an hour late to my producing class because of it, but my professor said it was fine!
I went home that night and prepared for the week of meetings to come!
"What does that mean?"
"Why do you keep talking in numbers?"
"Is it some weird USC Mafia code?" Answer: YES
546 is an advanced production class that involves an initial competition for the opportunity to direct -- and I was a finalist to direct.
The first round
Over 50 students apply to direct. We are required to give 10 copies of our directing reel and 10 resumes -- all presented very meticulously so professors can watch them without problems. We are even told how to properly tape the DVDs shut, if we decide to do so. If we do one bit of it wrong, then we're disqualified.
Over 100 scripts are submitted and about 25 producers submit.
The Short List
The short list - the finalists - comes out on a Friday evening at 5pm. For us it was Nov 5th.
I sat in a seminar with all of my colleagues as we waited for that email to be sent out -- the email listing the finalists. I was on my email the entire time - barely paying attention to the speaker. Sorry speaker... I just kept refreshing my email...again... and again.
Then it was sent and you could see everyone in the room whispering to one another and pointing at their phones. Some turned around to congratulate, some were totally bummed, unfortunately.
I was sitting next to my friend, Josh Eiserike, who wrote "Volcano Girl" that made it on the short list of scripts. I high-fived my other friend, Josh Tate, who was also on the director's "short list" with me. He would be my competition in the coming week, but at that moment we could celebrate!
Then it was time to read the 35 scripts - 12 pages each. We had the whole weekend to read in preparation for a meet and greet on Monday. I was producing Marty Go's advanced directing project so it wasn't the most ideal situation to be in when you need to read 420 pages...
I got through most of them but pretty much knew I wanted "Volcano Girl."
The Meet and Greet
More like film student speed dating...
We all get into one room on a Monday afternoon. All of the writers, directors and producers. We get up, introduce ourselves and then the directors show their reels. I, of course, showed "Friday Night Fright." My big pitch is that I like to blend genres -- specifically horror & comedy.
Once the reels are over, the professors say "and Go!" and we run into the hall and talk to everyone. My goal was to finalize which script I wanted to pitch with and then which producer would best suit the project. Some directors work the opposite way. They find their producer and then decide on a script. I knew I wanted Josh and Volcano Girl; and I knew we were going to make fire. I needed to find a producer who was willing to do it -- willing to make fire.
After the meet and greet, I left with about 20 people's contact info who wanted to meet to talk script ideas or producing. The meet and greet lasted for almost 3 hours. I showed up about an hour late to my producing class because of it, but my professor said it was fine!
I went home that night and prepared for the week of meetings to come!
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Vote for EPIC FIRESTORM
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
I got rejected from Sprint...and Michael Bay
Here is a video that I made for the Sprint competition: Epic Video Contest! ...judged by Michael Bay. Too bad I was rejected.
"Rejected," you say? The video doesn't seem that bad...panties are weird...but still cool. Well, let's start from the beginning...
About 3 weeks ago, an email reached the USC student body announcing this Sprint competition. An email thread with the subject "EXPLOSIONS" circled among my group of friends and I took it seriously. I came up with this panty idea and ran with it. I asked my roommate, Brigitte, to be the director of photography. I asked a friend to find all of the sexiest actresses she could find and I asked a lot of my colleagues to volunteer their time for the shoot.
Filming the Epic Movie
On October 19th, we all came together to film. Brigitte pulled in a lot of favors to get enough lighting to make this epic music video-like hallway scene. I pulled in favors to get different sized tripods (so the camera can be lower). I then went to Target and bought 5 different colors of panties to see which three would look best on camera. They were $20 all together...not too expensive...but definitely an expense! I bought snacks for the crew and that totaled the whole production to be $40.
Behind the scenes of "Epic Girl Time."
The bathroom doubled as the make-up room...of course!
Hello!!
And...can I just say...it was kind of fun directing the panty drop. I mean, how often can you tell an actress "drop the panty slower?" I do realize an entire industry of filmmakers have made millions on this one "direction," but I will not be one of them...
Hello!!Editing
So then the editing began. We filmed about 30 minutes of footage and I had to cut it down to 30 seconds. I started editing while on set of a friend's music video. I edited during breaks from class. I edited while sitting in bed after a long day of work/class. I found those 1/2 hour segments here and there to edit. Then the "errors" happened. Files would not import properly and I had to restart my entire computer. That happened about 7 times. Then the drive would randomly eject itself...that was another computer restart.
On a side note, I'm using the DGA Scholarship money to buy a new computer for Avid and ProTools. One day I'll be able to afford ProTools...but at least I'll have something to put it on!!
Composer
Then came the composer! Once I had an almost final edit, I contacted my friend Phil from UNC-Chapel Hill and asked him to make some sexy/epic beats for this short film. He created about 5 different versions incorporating various notes, and that's the music you hear today! He worked incredibly hard mixing the music and re-mixing.
Final Cuts
As hard as I tried and as often as I re-cut, I couldn't get our original gag to work. It just wasn't funny. The woman at the end was supposed to hear her phone ring after sitting on the toilet, pick it up and say "it's happening." It just was not playing right! It may have been a time issue or a performance issue...but I genuinely think it was a sound issue. I could not get the line to sound as if it was coming from inside the bathroom. It just felt out of place.
I recut the short so the music stopped as they exited the hallway - as if it was all in their head. But then the bathroom sounded too dead. So then I cut back in a phone ring and my own voice saying "uh hello?" That was actually working for me...until I screened it for friends on Halloween. They didn't get it. They didn't get why the music stopped.
Long story short, I made the phone ring seem as though it was the music they were also dancing to...sorry to Phil for making his music seem like a ring tone...it's definitely better than that!!
That worked for me, and I posted the film. The film was due Nov 1st and I posted Oct 31st at 8pm. VERY last minute...but I thought I was VERY done!! I thought I actually met the deadline!
The Rejection
At about 2 in the morning...remember this was Halloween...I went back onto the Sprint Contest YouTube page and no video submissions were showing up. I read in the comments section that people were receiving emails when their video had been entered into the contest. I never received one. So I re-uploaded the video. It bounced back, saying the video was too long (it didn't bounce back the first time I uploaded that video!) So I made it shorter. Titled it "Epic Girl Time" once again and waited for an email. Nothing. So I fell asleep.
At 7am (we had registration for classes at 7am), I checked my email once again. Nothing. I fell back to sleep. At 8am I woke up for work. Saw two emails. Both of my uploads were rejected with the following email:
Thank you for submitting your Epic Mini Movie. Unfortunately, your video is out of the running. This doesn't mean we didn't like it; in many cases, it means that your video included a logo, song or product that we don't have permission to use. Feel free to submit another Epic Mini Movie at sprint.com/epic — just be sure to check the guidelines. Good luck.
—Your friends at Sprint
Okay...so I thought "oh crap, maybe they think I stole the music?"
I had to work at 9am that day, so while I ran to help students edit in ProTools, I too did my own editing. I confiscated a recording stage to record Sprint ringtones off my phone in order to put those in as the music. I started editing those in, when a friend of mine watched it and said "I bet it's the posters." Crap. So I found every Avid tech working on campus to help me figure out how to blur the posters. Granted, I learned a new skill, but wow it took forever!!
I blurred...and blurred...and blurred some more. I even changed the edit so the blurring wouldn't be needed as much. Yes, this little short film has about 30 different versions!!
Finally I was done. At about 12noon I went to post the film on YouTube. The "submit" area no longer worked. In fact, nothing on the website was working. Every link took me back to the homepage. I was in Firefox, so I thought "maybe it's a Firefox issue?" So I opened up Safari and there were no "submit" buttons on their YouTube page at all...explain this to me??
I tried to submit on both pages with no avail. I had missed the competition.
The Aftermath
After mourning my loss for about 20 minutes...mourning the time, stress and $40 I spent...I looked on the bright side - with the help of my mom and friends - "This looks good on my reel. And I can blog about it."
So read up. Tell me what you think. Was this totally lame or what??
Below is the original file I uploaded for the competition. Tell me...are you REALLY looking at the posters behind their heads? I mean...really?
Lesson LEARNED.
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