BLOG QUESTION ADV: FUTURE JOBS

What will the work world of the near future look like? What are the societal challenges that will come up in the coming machine age? How will this change how we look for employment?

In the future, there will be fewer jobs filled by humans, and more filled by droids or artificial intelligence. While there are some benefits, such as  a greater abundance of consumer goods at a cheaper price, there are also challenges that come along with it.

 One challenge we'll face is economic inequality. The median income of the average middle class person is decreasing, which in turn increases the gap between the wealthy. If you were to take a college educated, white-collar worker and compare them to an average blue collar worker now, you would see that people that fit into the blue-collar line of work are less likely to hold a full time job due to automation joining the industry. Even their personal life is affected by this such as the longevity of their marriages.

This significantly changes how we look for employment, as more blue-collar jobs are being filled in by automation. This doesn't necessarily mean that there will always be a huge gap between the wealthy and the poor, as humans will adapt to this new machine age and find a way to use machines for our benefits. We've already started this by implementing technology inside of the school system, deeply impacting our education. If we continue to use technology for beneficial reasons that support humans instead of replacing them, the machine age won't necessarily be a horrible time.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: PROFESSIONALISM

Overall, how do each of these characteristics of professionalism apply to filmmaking? How do they apply to your daily work in this class? Please select three characteristics to give real-life examples of how you can work toward improving them in this class.

These characteristics make you stand out to employers/bosses, which is essential to filmmaking because you want to climb the ladder and achieve a part in essential crew. These apply to our class because we practice professionalism everyday, particularly the no phone rule, dress code, and staying organized skills. Three characteristics that I believe I can improve on this year are owning up to my mistakes, having good poise, and dressing for success. I can owe up to my mistakes by apologizing to group members and actively working on becoming better if I ever make a mistake or don't deliver what I promised, I can maintain my poise by remembering to stay professional and not letting my feelings get ahead of me, and I can dress for success by following school dress code and even bringing extra clothes to change into.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: TIPS FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Considering how you behaved last year, select 3 of these leadership qualities that you are weak in. How can you positively develop these leadership qualities going forward this year? How could improving these aspects of your leadership make you a better class leader and filmmaker?
Please write a complete paragraph on each of the three characteristics, along with an introduction paragraph.

Looking back on my behavior from last year, I'd say that the three characteristics that I need to work on are my self-confidence, assertiveness, and extroversion. Last year, I doubted my capabilities since I didn't have much experience in film, and I lacked confidence in the beginning (and a little towards the end) when I started to take on bigger roles in my groups.

To work on my self-confidence, I can start by looking back on what I know, making sure that I'm confident in those roles, and knowing that it's okay to make mistakes as I'm still learning myself. I think I was too harsh on myself for making mistakes, so I have to come to terms with being okay with that, and acknowledge that mistakes are actually necessary for growth.

To work on my assertiveness, I have to first build my self-confidence, as it'll give me the courage to speak up. Since I now have more experience in film, I know a little about what works for certain groups and what doesn't. I think I lack this skill in larger group settings especially, so I need to understand that my opinions matter and should be considered just as much as anyone else's.

Lastly, to work on my extroversion, I just need to get myself out there and interact with more people, because it really just takes a lot of exposure and practice. There are some days where I feel more extroverted than others, so I need to try and channel this energy into my everyday life, and especially when I'm leading groups.

I believe that all these skills will help me be a better leader because I need to be someone approachable, and a person that someone can look up to, especially if I'm going to be leading a group. In the film industry, being a leader will also get you noticed by higher-ups, and promoted up the ladder.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: PRODUCTION ASSISTANT'S HANDBOOK

What are the key responsibilities of a production assistant on a film set, and how do these tasks contribute to the overall success of a production? Reflect on how you would approach the role of a production assistant, including any challenges you might anticipate and how you would overcome them.

Some key responsibilities of a production assistant on set include fetching items for the crew or even cast (such as water or snacks), passing out batteries for walkies, and even being the connection between different departments. You're also responsible for doing "runs", which is fetching things off of set, usually in a production car. The tasks PA's are given may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of a production, but they truly keep the production running and organized. It's important for crew to stay hydrated and fed, walkie talkies are vital for communication on set, and someone needs to keep the different departments connected somehow. Runs are also really important as essential crew members can't just leave set in the middle of a production, and items need to be transferred to set by someone. If I were given a production assistant role, I would try to stay busy as much as possible, rotate my jobs throughout the production to get a feel for the different departments, and maybe even try to make connections with other PA's or crew (if approached). If I were ever faced with a challenge, for example, not being comfortable enough to drive a certain vehicle or being told to do something dangerous, I would try to speak up for myself and ask for a different task. I would try to find the department head or whoever is in charge of me, and see if I'm needed elsewhere.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: MOVIE SET SAFETY

After reading the article on film set safety, what do you think are the biggest reasons accidents still happen on movie sets today? Choose one example from the article (like long work hours, lack of safety rules, or low budgets) and explain how you think the film industry could fix this problem. How can you relate this problem to all of your experiences in the beginning class last year?

I'd say that exhaustion is one of the most common causes of accidents on movie sets today. Long work hours and little to no breaks often cause people to let their guard down, leading to more long-term injuries and negligence. One example that the article brings up is the physical tax standing up all day has on your body. Some people develop health problems, as they constantly have to move and get little rest.  One solution to this problem is to make sure every set gives people their mandated breaks, especially those who are "below-the-line", since they're usually doing a lot of the physical work. Another solution is to not go overboard with overtime, and if possible, give an extra break for the extra hours added. 

BLOG QUESTION ADV: ADV GOAL SETTING

What are your 3 filmmaking goals for the 2025-2026 school year? Don't simply copy everything this creator says. Really look down and decide what specific goals you want to set for yourself. Look back at your goals that you set in last years class. Did you achieve them? Why or why not? How can you make steps to achieve these goals? Where will you need to look to gather help or resources? Please write a complete paragraph on each of three goals, along with an introduction paragraph.

    Some things I really want to do this year is submit my films to more festivals, create more personal projects outside of class, and learn more editing programs like Davinci resolve and after effects to improve my skills in color-grading and graphics, and learn how to light. Last year, I wanted to try out every role in class (and thankfully I did), so now I want to hone my skills in the roles I'm more interested in (cinematography and editing). 

    One thing I can do to achieve my first and and second goal is to get involved in more projects, especially outside of class. I can try to do this by maintaining my contacts with people from last year, and maybe try seeking opportunities with new people by networking. If I want to create more personal films, I'll probably have to write, direct, or produce my own work, so I should also start building a team that I'd want to do that with as well.

    Another step I can take to achieve my goal of becoming more proficient in editing is by practicing more in my free time. Even if I'm not editing an actual project, I could pick up my hobby of editing that I used to have freshmen year and try to learn different tools on after effects and Davinci resolve. I think watching motion graphics/color grading tutorials on youtube would help a lot with that, since most of my skill on AE was learned from those.

    Lastly, to get more involved in the lighting aspect of film-making, I can participate more in labs and try to pass more skills tests for lighting. Watching the skills videos, videos about lighting theory, and movies that are known for its unique lighting style (like noirs), are all things I can do early on to prepare myself for the lighting unit.

BLOG QUESTION BEG/ADV: REVISITING YEAR GOALS

Look back at your goals for the Fall and Spring Semester blog posts. Were you able to achieve your goals? Why or why not? What could you have done differently? Looking back at them, what could you have done to focus more on your goals in the course?

In the beginning of the year, my three goals were:

1. I want to try every "job" or "role", whether that be editing, filming, acting, etc. at least once.

2. I want to find my specialty in film production
3. I want to contribute to the idea or script of a video and help my vision come to life.

I managed to accomplish all of these goals throughout this year. I believe my specialty is editing, but I also have an interest in cinematography which I want to improve on next year. If I could go back in time, I would try to do as many skills as I can to build up my technical skills, and I would try to do more personal projects to build up my portfolio. Regardless, I don't regret taking this class or the opportunities it gave me.

BLOG QUESTION: FILM FESTIVAL REFLECTION

Reflect on your experience of the film festival. What was it like to see your or your classmates' work on the big screen before a live audience? How did this make you feel? How could you improve in the future? What would you do differently?

My film festival experience was great! It was really nice seeing films I haven't seen before such as the iron guns and the film noir. Iron gun code red was really funny and hearing the audience laugh out loud felt really awarding. I was also very grateful to have 4 of my projects shown at the festival. In the future, I want to create more comedic films because it was really cool to see how the audience reacted to jokes and I think comedy is a universal genre that connects audiences together.

BLOG QUESTION: COMIC BOOK HEAVEN

What kind of mood do the filmmakers convey in this short? What are 3 techniques that you noticed that help convey the mood of the film?

The filmmakers are trying to convey a nostalgic and reflective mood. Some techniques they use are man-on-the-street styled interviews, they use a lot of close-ups of the comics and establishing shots of the store to support the information being told by the interviewee. They rely heavily on the story to communicate the mood of the documentary, while the visuals help support it.

BLOG QUESTION: TERRANCE DOCUMENTARY

What are 3 techniques that it uses that you learned about in the documentary? How does the documentary use them effectively? Are there any techniques it uses that weren't in the keynote?

The documentary is shot in a cinematic way that tells the story of the subject. It uses dynamic camera movements and angles. The music emphasizes the sadness behind the backstory of the subject. When the story turns more positive, the music and visuals match the mood by showing how the subject finds community and help. The documentary relies heavily on the mood/theme to communicate the message at the end of how important mental health awareness and help is for our youth.

BLOG QUESTION: IF I DIE ON MARS DOCUMENTARY

What are 3 techniques that it uses that you learned about in the documentary? How does the documentary use them effectively? Are there any techniques it uses that weren't in the keynote?

Some documentary techniques that are used in the documentary are talking-head styled interviews, inter-cutting between b-roll that follows the daily schedule of the astronauts, their family/home life, and also b-roll that supports the topic of the documentary (space, American flag, etc.). The documentary uses this affectively to keep the audience engaged, and to have them sympathize with the stories of the contributors. I'm not sure if this fits into any categories in the key-note, but the b-roll at the end is staged, montage and dream-like, and filmed at sunset which gives a nice concluding ending to the documentary as it is being wrapped up.