Sky Pirate Cove

I completely realize it's been over a week now since I posted to the TV Meme, or made a post at all really. So here's a brief catchup for posterity's sake!

While it may not be a paying job, I am working on a "low budget" feature length film. That's in quotations because really, it's a student film being made for the MFA program at UCF but according to SAG rules it's a low budget feature. Which is pretty neat actually. Think about how awesome that's going to look on my resume!

Well, to people who don't know any better. I'm certain industry professionals will glance over it and immediately dismiss it as something not awesome of me to have done.

Personally, I could care less if a would-be resume reader wouldn't be impressed, because damnit, I'm having a blast! My original intention was to be the quiet PA in the back listening and learning everything I could. That laster for approximately two Art Department meetings. At that point I was quickly realizing I knew a bit more than any of the other Pa's and couldn't resist offering ideas, or stepping in to help. Because, really, you do not hammer a nail like that, and you do not sit/stand/walk/cut wood near a freshly painted wet flat. Logic people. But that's sounding too harsh. The whole group is a blast to work with and no one is stepping on anyone else's toes. They were all just doing what I originally intended, being quiet in the back, and looked for someone to tell them what to do.

Long, too many details to bother with time later: I am officially the Prop Master in the credits, as well as Production Designer Assistant, and Construction Adviser. :D

Hindsight forever being perfect: What the ballz was I thinking going into Digital Media for Computer Animation/Visual Language??! I mean, really. I was incredibly stupid to follow that path. Everyone has a "talent" or "set of skills" and mine has always clearly been in the line of theatre production.

I grew up with my dad in construction. I was Tech Director and Student Owner of the theatre in high school. This is in my blood! I have a really great film professor mentor by the name of Lisa Cook, who told me she firmly believes: "No one chooses film. It chooses you." She admitted that sounded cheesy, but I can confirm it's 100% true. This job isn't for everyone as it requires a shit ton of labor and more importantly patience. For any department.

Film has definitely chosen me, as I completely feel like I'm in love or something. I can't wait to get down to the tiny sound stage and work with that crew on this crazy ass script that will forever haunt me as being the one pointed to and asked: "Is that a porno?"

If only I were joking.

Having finished the first day of shooting yesterday (1 of 14), I can see how there's a great story in there. Somewhere. I'm still having a bit of a hard time getting past the production company being called "Orgasmatronic Studios" but that's UCF students for you. At least I can work on this with a straight face. I've had countless conversations now about semen, penises, and orgasms. Oh, yes.

The whole movie is going to be interesting, and it will be a ton of fun to watch the film and look at the sets and know where every nail, brush stroke, or amount of faith and prayers were used to hold them up.

The movie: Bad Pixels

It's the beginning of a huge step in the awesome direction for my life. Now, if I could just get a damn film job that pays me to do what I love, I'll feel as if I've actually succeeded at this tricky life thing.

Not only did I make it to my yoga class somewhat on time, I didn't get a parking ticket either! :D

I still haven't bought one, and I'm kinda considering just foregoing it all together. I'm getting great exorcise from biking everywhere. Plus, I really don't want to spend 40 dollars ... hmm. Altogether a good start to the day. A good start to the week.

(We'll see how positive I am when I get back from class around 9:30-10p tonight!)

I managed to get some variety in my diet for this morning's breakfast: Oatmeal! That's right. Something else besides just coffee. I was very proud of myself. Now I have a whole hour+ to get some cleaning done before I need to bike to work. Also, Dadius left a huge bundle of oak tree limbs to throw away. I'm thinking about sifting through them to see if I can use anything for whatever creative purpose I can come up with. What can I say...if I were a hobo I'd be running the block. I'm that much of a pack-rat ;)

So my mind pretty much needed a vacation after CoE. I'm still settling my *exact* viewpoint on it. It's tough being a film student and a hardcore fan of a show. However, my film classes this semester are turning into therapy lol! I'm 100% serious about this too.

It's been just about a full month since classes started and I've managed to (somewhat) stick to my schedule I designed. I had a bit of a hiccup because of Labor Day throwing my week out of order on top of getting a bad sinus infection that knocked me out of the running for a few days. But! I'm back on track this week.

I've started biking to campus now. 1) Because I am trying to be a green-thinker 2) Because I really need the exorcise 3) Because I'm too flat-ass broke to buy a parking decal for campus. It works out well for me. I save money and get healthy all at the same time. I have no excuses to be lazy, I can make it to campus in 20 mins by biking.

So! Classes I am taking: Yoga, American Film Artist, Images of Women in Film, Film History, and Writing for T.V. and Film. Yup, that's 5. I love this semester though. Yoga is such a great thing to have first thing on Monday mornings (7:30a! @_@) and I am really learning a lot about my body and how much it's changed since high school. I used to be able to handstands and other postures that I am failing at now in class. It's nice to know I've retained most of my balance though, it's the muscles that have left me. American Film Artist is a fun class to end Mondays. We're studying 4 different directors this semester and are currently on Fosse! I also got to watch Chinatown again, which for me is love. Jack Nicholson was a handsome man in his day. On Tuesdays it's Images of Women in Film. Ula Stoeckle is my professor. She's from Germany and has directed many great movies of her own so she has TONS of information to pass on to the class. I really love her. She's a riot too! She's not afraid to say what she thinks and honestly wants us to tell her our opinions. Great teacher. Which brings me to Film History. My teacher is a European Ben Stine. He is a good prof, really he is, but I think he's missing the mark when it comes to what he's teaching us for 'Film History' ... if I didn't already have a grasp on the history of my chosen profession I wouldn't have a clue what this man is telling me. He shows us films with no clear idea of why they are important or progressive to the time line of motion pictures. He's making it into a Theory and Critique class (which he actually teaches as well....) I hope I pass with my paper that is worth the ENTIRETY of my grade!! Urgh.

My last class of the week deserves its own paragraph from the rest of the babble. Writing for Film and T.V. is my favorite class I have ever taken at UCF. My teacher, Peg O'Keefe is a nutcase. I love her. She makes the 3 hours we have to get through fly by and get this: I actually am learning useful things! No, really. I am. Unheard of until now at UCF, but really, she's making me learn important skills. Story, characters, just general writing and thinking are all being looked at and *taught*! Which ties me back to what I first said in this post. This class is therapy to me after CoE. It's honestly helping me figure out what I hated, loved and all that to really understand my reaction (and understand other's opinions) to it. We talked about Egri's "Moral Dilemma" yesterday. This single handedly gave me an epiphony about what was wrong with CoE. It wasn't Torchwood. I won't babble about this now, and I know people have already come to this conclusion while the show was airing, but to me, it finally hit me. To the basics of storytelling and characterization, CoE wasn't Torchwood. It used the characters and sets (*rolleyes*) but the base of the show wasn't Torchwood. So my class...we're working on our own film scripts as a overall semester project and final grade. It's our own stories and characters with our own writing that will hopefully turn into something I can show off if people ask for a sample of my work. Not that I'm dreaming of being a writer or anything. I'm just a sucker for creating stories and living with the characters.

Ignoring my stress-levels about how much money I owe, etc, etc, life is great this semester. Dadius is visiting tomorrow to go tailgating and beer tasting with me all day, ending with the UCF football game at night. I've missed him and me time. It's really needed. HE really needs it. I am so much more organized too! I have an organizer and everything! There are sticky notes with lists of crap I have to do. STICKY NOTES!! Oh god... I'm really growing up aren't I?

...

(I heard that whispered 'about time' from somewhere :P )