I've watched a stunning new movie recently. Let me tell you all about it!

Hello, all and welcome back. Now I have been on a mission lately to watch critically acclaimed movies that I haven't seen yet. This week I picked Good Will Hunting the Matt Damon and Robin Williams movie that won Best Screenplay in 1998. Now this film is stunning from the compelling storyline to the beautiful shots I can see why this movie is so highly recommended. Now I will tell you a little bit more about why this film deserves every award it earned and more. But asI do with every movie review this will contain SPOILERS so be warned if you haven't seen this masterpiece yet I will be discussing parts of the story that may spoil it for you.

Let's start off with the story. The screenplay was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and they perfectly create a story that the audience can get behind. They write a compelling story line about a genius living in Boston who is put on the straight and narrow path after he picks a fight. The man is brilliant at everything, yet he is inexperienced in what life really has to offer. All that he knows he has learned from books and little has come from actual experience. Part of the agreement of this man to get out of jail and work at MIT is that he must see a phycologist. After the man, Will Hunting runs off multiple therapists the professor that recruited Will calls an old friend, Sean Maguire who is a phycologist. Sean and Will have a rough time in the beginning, but as the story progresses the two bond and Will becomes more open about his feelings with Sean. Will then meets Skylar a girl he falls head over heels for, however, he is forced to deal with emotions he is used to burying and he ends up losing Skylar because he

refuses to accept change in his life. He then falls into a downward spiral because of how worried he is that things will. It takes his best friend, played by Ben Affleck, telling him how lucky he is and Sean telling him that all of the hardships from his past are not his fault for Will to finally pull himself out of the slump and get his life together. He takes one of the jobs that he is offered and, at the last minute once his therapy sessions are up with Sean, leaves for California to chase down Skylar and try to win her back.

Overall the script is an exceptional one that tells the heartbreaking story of a genius that refuses to do better for himself. Damon and Affleck created compelling relatable characters and threw in comic relief when the movie needed it most, also more curse words than I can be bothered to count (Although I did read somewhere that the total number of choice words used in the film reached around 141). By creating character traits the audience can relate to and a story that makes the viewers question themselves, Good Will Hunting rightfully earned all of the awards they won and proved to me that the legendary status it has achieved is one that it justly deserves.

Of course, how could I talk about the excellent screenplay and not talk about my favorite scene in the entire movie, the scene where Will shows up the college student to defend his friend. Will's friend is being shown as an idiot so Will steps in and instantly begin to insult the others kids intelligence, or lack therefore of. He tells him he is wasting his money on an education that he could've gotten at any library. He then proceeds to make the student look stupid by disproving all of his theories about what happened and discuss the actual history around the Market Economy of the south prior to the
Revolutionary War (yes I memorized the fight topic I am a history buff, memorizing historical information is my forte). See image on the right if you don't remember what scene it was. Another reason it is one of my favorites is this is the first time we really see just how smart Will is and it gives us a hint as to what is in store for him.

Another aspect of the film that really stood out to me was the use, and absence in some cases, of music. In the beginning, we hear beautiful music almost the entire film. It fills the space that has yet to be filled with dialogue. It also uses music during the big fight scene to replace the sounds of the fight going on and make the emotion that much stronger. It also is apparent at the very end when Sean tells him "It's not your fault" until finally, Will gets the message. During this scene there is no background noise, no music as would appear in almost any other film with an emotional scene like that. That is what makes the scene as powerful as it is. The reason audiences shed a tear is they don't feel any separation that the music would give, instead they fell as though they are right in the middle of the therapy session along with Will and Sean.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this adventure on one of the most famous movies with me. See you guys later.

Let me catch you up on what I've been up to since school started!

Hello all, I am back with another blog post here to tell you all about the big project I've been working on recently! I know I've been really busy and this should give you a slight glimpse at what all I've been working on since my Senior year started.

So when the year started I knew I wanted to do something related to history and international policy this year, and it took me a while but I have decided that I will be writing, filming, and producing a mini-series on YouTube that will be called: 'Cold War Cold Hard Facts'. Now as you can probably guess the premise of this show is to take the complicated events of the Cold War and break them down into less complicated, easy to remember bites. I will also be talking about popular films that cover those time frames and other ways to learn more. Now each episode will have its own ideas and will cover a different time and different situations that happened during the Cold War. I am currently working on finishing the scripts, which has taken me some time to do because of all the research I am doing and the sheer number of episodes I am writing. In total, there should be about 11 but that number may get larger as I write and see how long each episode is.

This project has been teaching me a lot about time management and how hard it is to write an entire miniseries by myself. It has also taught me a lot about the kind of preparation that goes into making any film production, especially what it is like to be the only one doing something. I have begun to plan how I will film the segment, don't worry that much is going to stay a secret I can't tell you all my tricks. I also have begun to work out editing schedules and when I want this project done by. I know it sounds really mundane,  but it is an important part of creating a video and especially this miniseries.

Now there is a big influence in why I decided to create this as my miniseries, my love for history and foreign policy. I am planning to go to college to major in International Studies and History and I've been wanting to create a project that gives me a chance to explore those fields through film and I think this project combines just that. I hope you all get a chance to see it once I have finished producing it, and I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I am enjoying writing it. See you all later!

Today I'll break down the story of Forrest Gump and why it's one of the best stories around!

Hello I am back from my summer break with one year left and a lot still to do. So here we go back into the movie madness that I live in. This week I am using the Beat the Cat theory. (check out the link on the words) I have broken down the plot of Forrest Gump into the separate components. I know this should be fairly obvious but there are SPOILERS ahead as I discuss major plot points of one of my favorite movies in the world. Without further ado lets get onto the important stuff!

The Opening Image: The extended shot of the feather floating down to the feet of Forrest Gump at a bus stop who then picks it up and places it inside of a Curious George book.

The Stated Theme: The theme is about a simple man who has lived through some of the most amazing events of the 20th century and sees them in different ways. He views each experience differently than most people who lived through the time and that is what makes his story so unique.

The Set-Up: Forrest is set up to be an odd character from the start. He doesn't understand what is and isn't socially acceptable (like speaking so those at a bus stop while they are reading a magazine) and he doesn't understand some of the things he talks about from his past.

The Catalyst: The catalyst of the story is that Forrest Gump is different. He is told this at both
the doctors office and at the school when he goes to enroll. This will cause many conflicts throughout the story and will also allow the character to change and grow.

The Debate: Forrest has a hard time making friends and he must escape the bullying. He then finds out that he has a passion for running and that it is both a means of escape and fun. He must decide how the rest of his life is gonna go, weather he is gonna let others run over him or weather he is gonna fight for himself.

When the story Breaks into Two: Forrest attends college at University of Alabama, Jenny his best friend goes to another all girls college. Forrest plays football in college and he experiences the integration of the college and other national events including meeting President Kennedy and being on the All-Star Football team.

The B Story: Forrest loves his best friend, Jenny, and is confused as to how he will pursue her. He goes to her college to see her and has an awkward encounter.

The Fun and Games: As Forrest graduates college he joins the army and is sent off to boot camp. On the bus he meets Bubba and the two become fast friends. They are sent off to basic together and they train side by side until they receive their orders for Vietnam.

The Midpoint: Forrest finds Jenny at a bar and tries to protect her, unknowingly ruining her job at the bar. As she goes to leave for the open road he tells her of the the deployment and she tells him to be safe.

The Bad Guys Close In: Forrest arrives in Vietnam with Bubba and the two are surprised by the stark
difference Vietnam holds to America. Forrest writes Jenny daily and they struggle through the different atmosphere in Vietnam. His unit is ambushed in Vietnam and stuck under heavy fire.

All is Lost: As Forrest and his unit tries to escape the heavy fire Forrest is separated from the unit and goes back to save people. He comes across many of his unit and rescues them, including his commander Lt. Dan. Forrest finds Bubba and escapes the forrest, however Bubba dies a few moments later.

Dark Knight of the Soul: Forrest and Lt. Dan try hard to catch shrimp but nothing comes up. They loose all hope that their shrimping business will be successful.

Break Into Three: A large storm sweeps in and they become the most successful shrimping company in the Nation. Forrest's mom dies, and he begins his three year long run to avoid his problems.

Finale: Forres is sent a letter from Jenny and he races off to meet her. Once he arrives he finds out he has a son, Little Forrest. Jenny tells Forrest that she is sick and the two are soon married.  They live happily until Jenny passes away and Forrest is left alone with his son.

Final Image- Forrest's Son, Little Forrest, enters onto the school bus in the same fashion as Forrest did years earlier. Forrest sits on the tree stump and the feather floats from his feet up into the sky and away from them ending the movie.




Well I hope you found that informative and enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will always recommend this movie as it combines two of my favorite things: History and Film. Tom Hanks is an amazing actor who portrays this character perfectly and keeps the story interesting. Eric Roth wrote a story that will be remembered forever as making a Historic movie that is loved by all! I'll be back soon, but until then I'll leave you with an infamous, yet applicable quote from Forrest Gump. "Life is like a box of Chocolates, You never know what you're gonna get."

The BIG ideas behind all stories.. Let's learn about the four ideas each good story needs!

So I'm back with another article I read. This one is a little bit more relatable to my film studies and my focus in writing. I have linked the article here for you to look at either before or after reading my review and synopsis. Now this article is based off of this one amazing video by Darious Britt. This article then takes the main points that Darious makes and puts them into an easily understandable form. The article breaks down the four main components of a good story- the conflict, stakes, sympathetic characters, and transformation.

It starts off with Conflict. Darious tells us that conflict is important for many reasons. Any conflict in a story can so us the true character behind a person and their friends. It can also show us how the character would act. Whatever it does for a story, conflict opens the plot up to the audience and helps us to relate to the events that follow.

Another important component is the stakes that the protagonist is against. If there is nothing to fight for, than there is no point to the quest the main character must go on, or the stakes they must fight. Without risk there is not reward, and this is true in every story. Take Romeo and Juliet for example, if there was no fighting between the two families, than there would be no risk to the love affair and the story would be boring compared to the classic.

Next up is the sympathetic characters. These are crucial. These are what make the conflict and the stakes all worth it. If an audience can relate to a character, then they feel something for that character and they want them to overcome the conflict and beat all odds. This is what makes us fall in love with Rose and Jack and want for them to fight their way out of the Titanic. Well kind of. If you are like me, then you despise the Titanic for being a cheesy romance movie with predictable, at best, plot lines and actions. But that is beside the point. We see relatable (ish) character traits and by the end we are rooting for their love to prevail over the difficulty of surviving the ill-fated ship. This is all because those character evoke our sympathy through relatable traits and a love triangle even messier than the ocean it takes place in.

Finally we have the Transformation. And no I am not talking about the Transformers where the character morphs into another being. I am talking about the change emotionally and sometimes physically that the character goes through that makes him into the person we see at the end. This kind of transformation is one that what makes us see the humanity in the character. Lets take Iron Man for example. I know an action movie, but still a great example of character transformation. Anyway at the beginning of the movie we see Tony, a womanizer who doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he makes enough money to fund his lavish lifestyle. He is then kidnapped by the terrorist group who wants more of his weapons. After being forced to place an electromagnet in his chest to save his life he realizes what damage he really did to many lives he changes his ways and shuts down his arms program, much to the anger of his coworkers and business. We see Tony go from an uncaring jerk who steps on everyone to get to the top, to a man who risks his own life to right the wrongs of his mistakes and try to protect the world. This is an example of character transformation, and a very good one at that. By changing his character he becomes a loveable man that sees the wrong he commits and tries to fix it.

Overall this article over the componants of a good story is a great one. It helps us to see the true things we love about films and provides an understanding of the complexity that goes into each story. Overall I would recommend taking a read at this article and watching the video that it goes with it is very interesting and insightful. I will be seeing all you guys next year for my last year of e-comm and I will take along with me on the experience. Thanks for reading and I will talk with y'all later.

Well Lets look at one of my old videos and the slightly better remake I did!

So this blog is a throwback to last year when yours truly was an awkward sophomore (not that I'm any different now honestly just the grown up version) I made a video called Cutting Carrots in which I used the six-shot system to show a story. Now lets fast forward to a few weeks ago and I decided to remake that video for a class project. Now I first had to decide the story I would show in this video and I came up with the idea to make a video about my writing process.

I then looked at my old video and found what kind of shots I had done the first time around that I wanted to replicate. I then storyboarded out the video for shooting that weekend. After I finished the storyboard I set up my filming space. I cleared off all the spaces that would be visible in the shots and made my room look how I thought it would in the video. I then set up a big Ott light in the middle of my room and pointed it at the ceiling in order to light the entire room evenly. Finally it was time to shoot the video and I pulled my mom in to help with some of the harder shots. We filmed the entire video in one day and I spent a couple of hours the next day editing. I still had a little bit to do and once I had identified the song I finalized my edit and turned it in.

Now I like the concept of the video and I loved the story I planned out, but when it came to execution I was really disappointed in myself. I knew that filming myself would prove to be hard in many ways, but I thought that I would have enough skills to at least get some of the easier shots of myself done. when I looked back on my footage I realized that I was either out of focus, or the shot was poorly framed. I then asked my mom to help and after many struggles with focus I got the video shot and done.

I have linked the original video from Sophomore year here, and the one from a few weeks ago here. If any one is curious click on them to watch them, but I personally have some major problems with each video. I think that I could've done better and maybe later I will get another chance to do that, but right now I am gonna stop talking about it and work to improve my skills. I will talk to you guys later with a happier post I hope.

I read this super cool article, Now lets talk about it.

As some of you may know or have figured out I absolutely love Action-Adventure movies. I know it might seem odd that a film student likes the go fast and typically not cinematic Action-Adventure, but that is just me. I have loved action and adventure in all forms of media since I was a little kid, and when I was around 12 my dad introduced me into the wonderful world of Mission Impossible. I fell in love instantly with the run and go of the whole story as well as the death defying stunts they pulled. I soon had watched all four, and yes in my fanatic and deep knowledge the second movie is the worst one and it should not be watched for anyone who thinks they should. Anyway back to the topic at hand.

One element that all of those movies have in common is Masks. In each of the Mission Impossible movies someone uses some kind of advanced mask to impersonate another character. I know you were probably expecting me to say something like Tom Cruise or excellent action shots and fight scenes, but that is not what I am here to talk about. I was looking at No Film School when I came across an interesting article about an After Effect tutorial to create an effect of a person taking off a mask to reveal a different face.

Now I investigated and after a throughly interesting video, it was just a montage of all the times they used the masks in the first three Mission Impossible movies, I read on into the article and found a link to a video made by Freddie Wong and the Rocket Jump Film School. I have linked the video here and I think for those of you with a lot of experience in After Effects this video will be very helpful and cool, but for those of you who haven't really used the program this video will be tricky. It does provide a useful explanation of how to create this effect, but it uses advanced techniques that I am not familiar with in my limited experience.

Now the article itself is short, but it is interesting and I found it very informative. I will like it here for any who want to read the article and watch the video. I will admit that this is not the usual article for a film student, but I feel it relates to my passion in Action-Adventure and includes an interesting tutorial for those who are curious. I promise that I will be back to my normal blogging and talking about some of the cool stuff I've been up to and what not, but for now I will leave you with this interesting article and video and the knowledge of my Action-Adventure fascination.

Lets talk about writing. I have some tips and tricks to tell you all about this week

 So as some of you who read this may or may not know I am a writer. That is I enjoy writing in my (minuscule) free time. Now I have picked up a few ticks through writing and the (often weird) research I have done for said writing. So I figured that I would share some of those random tips with you readers.

1. Figure out what your end game is before you get really far into the story. This sounds crazy, but I have found if you know where you want to end it makes it easier to begin. This also keeps the story on a line and the audience focused.
2. Don't complicate everything. Complications make a good story, but everything being complex can really easily confuse readers. 
3. Getting stuck is ok don't stress about it. Here are some tips for how to get over that hill. Kill a character, Write how something could go horribly wrong, Write in another Point of View, Skip to the next scene you want to write, or write the very end.
4. Don't delete what you write. You may hate it now but you could use it later for a set up or even a spin-off. 
5. Just write. Don't think or plan out an intricate plot, but write what comes to your head. This gets all the random thoughts out and can even make an excellent story that you weren't expecting.
6. Spelling is important. I'm serious spelling and proper grammar makes every story easier to read. It will turn a reader away if you don't use the proper your or spell your as ur.  
7. Sound mature, no one wants to read something that sounds like it was written by a 7 year old who had just gotten their first computer and wanted to express themselves.
8. Write what comes to mind. Then go back a little bit later and make edits. It is easier to revise something great than to try and replicate something you deleted because you felt it didn't work.  

So that is my short and sweet list of things I thought you would find interesting and possibly helpful for writing. If you have any ideas of stuff to add let me know and I will see you next time.