Try to keep up

Last week was the first week in which Donna and Eric handed the class period over to us and told us to “Do with it what you will”--however in not quite those exact words. We were to work in our groups doing whatever it is that we need to get done. Here's what went down:

Sam (our director) and Tommy (our cameraman) were filming on a nearby mountain with a few people they gathered to serve as our actors in the film. This left myself, Katie, and Lynn to meet in the classroom and group together all the things we needed (the skull, cheese grater, clown make-up, and a guitar...you know, the usual) and then meet them on the mountain. After about 15 minutes, we were in the car driving towards the location. We called Tommy to get directions but he told us that they were leaving. All three of us, confused and frustrated since this was the first day we had been able to shoot (and the only day we would have) turned around to meet them somewhere close-by.
We met Sam, Tommy, and four guys (whom we do not know) at a gas station to regroup and see what the hell was going on. Tommy said that they had to drop the actors off at campus because they had prior commitments. We (the girls of the group), still confused about how we were to film with no actors if we drop them off, follow them back to campus.

When we arrive, we get out of the car to talk to Sam and Tommy. At this point, we’re all so frustrated and tense that we all begin to get very short with each other. After an awkward few minutes with us griping back and forth, and the actors sitting in the back seat of the car, the actors leave and we choose to meet back up on the other side of campus.

When we get there, we all decide to think of a different film idea since we do not have our actors or enough time to film our screenplay-ed idea. So, basically, we started over...again. After standing in the parking lot for about ten minutes talking quietly (and carefully--I think everyone was afraid to be the first to erupt the stress-volcano that was boiling inside each of us) we drive back to the dorm to reconvene in Sam's room. At this point in the night, I felt defeated. I was worried about finishing on time, having enough shots to edit, and the overall quality of the product. I think the same things were running through everyone else's minds too. We were all getting a little frantic…well except Tommy. He seemed relatively calm throughout, thank goodness.

[This next part is the kicker]

We talked for a little bit in Sam’s room before deciding to watch the footage they collected on the mountain. The camera is connected to the television and after finding the remote control, we begin the playback. It's silent. "Silent" as in there was no sound coming from the TV. The film was playing, and the cords were hooked up correctly, but there was NO SOUND. We tried not to the think the worst as we flipped switches, turned knobs, and adjusted settings on the camera in the hope of hearing something. Katie called her sister, who deduced that we had in fact, not recorded sound with the footage.

You can imagine our disappointment.

However, we didn't get angry. No sense in getting worked up when all you have to do is fix the problem and move on. We immediately began to brainstorm new ideas for our film. After about twenty minutes (and a few chucked ideas, including the proposed re-adoption of our very very first screenplay)we came up with a simple, yet funny (we believe anyway), idea in which we all had lots of personal experience.

We are going to film the process of making a student film. Specifically, we are going to film our experiences that night in class. I'm excited about our idea; I think it has lots of potential. Everyone in the group seems to be on board with the new idea and even a little excited. I'm just glad that we've all come to consensus on what is funny. After recapping the night's activities we all agreed that that particular three hours on a Thursday night was a little funny, if very irritating at times. If anything I was glad to see everyone leave in a little better mood then in which they came. I'm optimistic and ready to edit.

Now we just have to make sure that we record sound as well as film next time.