Saucing with Sil

 Hello there! As I make the final preparations and scheduling with actors for the shooting of the film opening, I find myself more beleaguered by work each day. So to take my mind off of things, I called up my friend Sil Gamboa, who is currently attending the University of Florida, if she would like to get dinner with me and to talk about AICE Media. As a former student of Cypress Bay, she had taken both the AS and A levels of this course, and so I figured talking with her about the class would grant me some insight and tricks of the trade to keep in mind while I work on my own project.

Me, Sil, and my friend Jaime, who
requested he not be pictured.

Meeting at Flannigan's:

After waiting a long period of time outside, we finally got a table and ordered. Initially we discussed colleges and such, and exchanged a few funny anecdotes. However, when the subject of the conversation turned to her time in AICE Media, we had a lengthy discussion about how she managed the workload, how she worked on her project, and some advice for an aspiring student of media communications.

Below are transcribed a few questions I asked her, and her responses. After each question I will include some commentary on each one.

The Interview:

Me: How did you come up with the concept for your project, and how effective would you say the storyboard for [the project] was at facilitating your shooting process?

Sil: "I thought about aesthetics that inspired me and decided that retrofuturism was cool, it was something I was getting into at the time. I did a very basic story board and honestly felt like I should have planned out the shots more because they were a bit boring."

Commentary:

Me: How did you cope with the media blogpost workload? Are there any blog topics you recall as being important to your work process?

Sil: "To be honest, I did not blog enough. I felt like figuring out the look really helped tie my project together and helped make it look intentional rather than a rush job."

Commentary: I asked this question because it was a worry of mine initially that I'd have trouble keeping up with the blog posts. I know that a couple of my friends have been struggling maintaining a schedule with blog posting and I figured that it was worth asking for advice if I ever do fall behind.

Me: How did you schedule shooting days with actors and other people involved? If you could go back and change the way you organized it, what would it be?

Sil: "Unfortunately, COVID ruined my plans for my AS project but for my A project I had one main actress and scheduled around her. I wouldn’t change much."

Commentary: While this offered some insight into how to work around some issues regarding shooting, I don't think this applies to my situation, since I'm working with a multitude of people and will have to make a schedule for myself and then make sure they adhere to it, since I can't just dedicate my time to one actor over everyone else involved in the production.

Me: Are there any camera techniques you used that were particularly tricky to work with? How would you recommend I fix problems involved with cameras?

Sil: "Tracking shots!!! Use a lower frame rate, I recommend 24 fps. Gives a more cinematic look and if you’re steady enough, it’ll get rid of shakiness for you."

Commentary: I'm actually really glad that I asked this question because it provided me with a fascinating tidbit of info that I wasn't aware of previously. The fps advice is useful to me, as it provides a direction to use when working with cameras, which is very helpful to me, a novice in the world of filming and producing. While I won't be using any tracking shots, I will include a dolly shot that would likely benefit from this 24 fps advice.

Me: Was the dialogue in the opening the same as it was written in your script? Was there any improvisation?

Sil: "Dialogue was exactly as scripted, surprisingly. However, improv could benefit your specific situation."

Commentary: This was essentially the answer I was expecting, but it was nice to have some affirmation that I wasn't bound to the script I wrote days ago. I was worried that the script might feel forced and inorganic, especially since it revolves around the vibe of two good friends hanging out, a relationship that is difficult to write convincingly. I will likely end up using the script as a sort of guideline rather than a strict instruction, in order for the two main actors to illustrate their own comradery and deliver the lines in a convincing manner.

Me: Is there any advice you have for me regarding the editing process? what application did you use?

Sil: "Start early. I had a very ambitious idea and did not dedicate enough time to the post production. I used the Adobe Creative Suite for my editing app."

Commentary: This is probably the aspect of this project that scares me the most. I have barely used editing applications in the past, and producing it all myself with no help from my more experienced editor friends will be difficult. That's why the sentiment of starting early haunts me, as it means that I'll already be faced with having to learn editing proficiently in a short span of time.

Me: Any final words of advice / tips I should keep in mind?

Sil: "Start now. Work ahead. 24 fps always!!"

        This dinner was very pleasant to have, not just because of the food, but also thanks to being able to converse and discuss a class that I enjoy with an experienced and talented person who knows what it's like to be in my position. We found ourselves agreeing on a lot of how each of our work process are efficient as well as providing me with many learning experiences thanks to her past enrollment in the course. A massive thank you to Sil, for agreeing to meet up with me and give me advice on how I'm approaching the project!