COMPLETED FILMS POSTED ONLINE

The documentary films created by the students have been posted online. In the navigation area near the SIDE of this page, please click on the links called "Documentary Films" -- there are several pages.

The links are on the side of this page. Here is the link to the first page.
First Page of Documentary Films

Some of these films were presented to the whole school at Presentation Days, June 2-4, 2010.

My Best Experience

I would say that my best experience would be the day that i took a laptop home to finish my gardening project. I say its the best experience because i felt a connecti0n with my work. i literally stayed in my room and looked over each clip I had and figured out what the order should be and arranged it. I felt at one with my work and it made me feel really good. When i finished completing my video i felt accomplished and it made me feel really good

New York trips

The first New York trip was very good. We went to battery park and filmed part of our music video there. We took shots of a railing and of the pier. It was awesome because I had never been there before. The second trip we took to New York was to 33rd street. This trip was pretty cool because we walked through Times Square and saw the new year ball and we went inside the toys R us they had there which was huge!

Experience

I've had a lot of fun in this class. I have learned a lot of new things from this class. I've learned how to cut different clips I have to the the specific length that I want and arrange them accordingly to the order i want. I also learned how to paste different clips over another clip and have that clip showing while the voice of the person from the other clip still plays on. Now that I've learned more about how to maneuver and work with the application iMovie HD, I have been able to complete my work faster and more efficiently.

Cooking Class documentary video

while in the making of this video, I was the sound guy. I had never been a sound guy before, but it was great to try out a different thing. The whole class took part in this video which made it better. While on set I felt like I was in a professional video shoot. This shoot actual gave way to many ideas that I used on my documentary video.

documentary video

The Documentary I did on the martial arts class was a really tough task to complete. I had many interviews to do, and I always had new ideas coming in, so that gave way to different versions of the same intro. I had worked a lot on this one project but in the end it all paid of. The project came out better than i had expected it to come out.

Digital Filmmaking - A Calling?

Point and shoot. That was my initial perception of what I thought this class would be about. I thought that this was something I could do that involved making funny videos if I didn't get the chance to be a part of Creative Process. But, during the first week of this class, my previous perceptions of filmmaking, which was new to me, moviemaking, and video-editing were all shifted; this class had opened up a new path in multimedia for me. Learning how to shoot movies instead of videos was and still is very exciting.

From learning new and different techniques and methods to understanding a set, a crew, and all of the technicalities that go along with filmmaking and directing, this class has inspired me to further continue and pursue a hobby in filmmaking. I didn't think I would delve into the technical aspect of filmmaking that I did, but I strive to excel and succeed in whatever venture or tasks that I partake in. So, understanding the concepts and movie language of filmmaking is just as and even all the more important as the content being filmed. Thinking that I was mainly going to be filmed in this class instead of filming took me by surprise at first, but looking back on my first experiences in the class I'm glad that we were able to add each of our own individual and unique touches on what we thought film should be. In a sense, this class served as my own creative process.

Drawing on inspiration from iconic cities such as New York City to the more locally accessible town of Hoboken and even to NJPAC located within walking distance of our school, there was always room for creativity. Besides learning many different aspects of filmmaking, this class has instilled in me a sense of creative pride, to be different and stand out among others. Adding my own touch and controlling the outcome of my own films, having that kind of control in a group project, can be creatively overwhelming, but I think that's necessary in this department of multimedia. When I watch videos or movies now, I consider how difficult certain scenes probably were to take and the amount of time and effort it took to make those scenes turn into films and movies. It is still surprisingly fresh and new and still very interesting.

Working with my group has been fun. For the most part, we all get along and are able to combine our own individual tastes to create films that we all like. There were times when I didn't agree with a certain style or method that was presented but being able to deal with others' views and opinions of how films should look and/or sound is something that all directors have to learn to deal with. All in all, this class has been and will continue to be the foundation of any potential further development in making filmmaking a hobby or even career. Being able to capture people on camera, performing or acting to entertain, and representing that on-screen to an audience is a rewarding experience to me. Becoming more proficient and building a unique skill-set in doing so is something that I definitely want to continue pursuing.

SBP Benedict's Dinner - Film by F. Bondoa

Omar: music video

The music video was a good experience, I got to see a different side of New York and even though it was really hot, we still managed to have a good time. The best part about the trip was the stair case we videotaped: we all took turns walking down a staircase and it came pretty cool. We also took a lot of other shots that we, at first, thought weren't going to be used but in the end turned out to be pretty good shots.

Omar: Hoboken video

Hoboken was one of my craziest experiences during this project. Our story was about two kids that stole something but by doing so they ended up doing something good. The chase scene during the video was so much fun. Turns out everyone did a chase scene as well. It was funny to see how most of us had the same ideas. I guess great minds think alike.

Omar: MLK video

Doing the MLK video, I thought that most of the shots were going to be outside. Instead, most of our shots were interior shots. Either way our video came out really good. We had many different ideas that gave way to our video being a success. Our MLK video had many different angles that were sometimes done spontaneously but this gave it that edge that really made our video good.

Greg: On Mike Figgis

During the past 3 weeks, we have been doing a number of things. We have learned about how to properly make films digitally and about the entire process. We've also learned how to edit and trim the videos we shoot. We have even taken some trips to different locations to shoot even better videos. We have also been learning about digital filmmaking in a different way. We have been reading Mike Figgis' book on digital filmmaking. It has given a lot of insight on how to treat the equipment we're given, how to maintain our workspace. One thing that I learned from reading this book was that it doesn't matter what kind of camera you may have. It all depends on the filmmaker to make a good film.

Marion: Perspective of Filming and Adventure

Last week was pretty good in terms of working. We started to film more of our documentaries, and I went over to talk to the cooking class about filming their class. We were making a video for their class, and I was the producer for it. I had to talk to Ms. Tuorto about the menu they were using and the students that were cooking. As I walking into the kitchen, they were already preparing to cook, and we were setting up for the shoot. It was amazing to watch this shoot, all the angles that the camera guys were getting were perfect, and the food looked and smelled good.
Our latest trip to New York, needless to say was awesome. When we got off the train at the World Trade Center Station, I was alway in a good mood for the day. while walking through the street to get to Battery Park, I was just taking in the sights of this city, the buildings and the crowd. We got to the park and it was crowded with people having fun and relaxing. The first shot that was taken was close ups and full shots of the Statue of Liberty. Next, we took shots of the people walking, point of view shots, canted shots, and also extreme close ups of my eyes. Then we took shots of this fountain, and got footage of Tokz getting caught in the spray of it.
After that, we left the park to go to the South Sea Seaport, which we cut through Wall Street. This was a long walk, but it was enjoyable. There was this large reflective statue near an artificial waterfall. we took a lot footage here, very "abstract" footage. Then we arrived at the Seaport; it was amazing! There was a variety of stores, sights, and people. There was even a street performer in the middle of the courtyard. After this we had to leave, and while we were walking back to the train station, we ran into the famous New York traffic; but still made it back on time. That day was truly memorable.
This week, we are doing final edits on our videos, and documentaries. The class is filled with tension and sweat. The A.C. in the room wasn't working and the weather is starting to get hot. While working on our individual projects, we gain one more project; make a music video for the composers class. This meant that we have to go to New York again; I was extremely happy about this. We went to Midtown to film, and we got some amazing shots. We went to Fifth Avenue, 39th Street, and Times Square; to be more specific, Toys 'R' Us. We (this included Tokz, Nduka, Ira, Brandon, and Fritz) had a lot of fun there, got some great shots, and talked to people. This day was the best last trip for this class that could possibly have been planned.
These being the last days of the class, I'm starting to get a little sentimental about graduating and I'm so glad that this was my last class. I learned a lot about filming and editing, the different shots that can be taken, gained a lot more patience in waiting for things to upload, not losing your cool when shots are lost or filmed over, or when shots don't work out as smoothly as you want it to. This was an amazing class, and I will miss it.

Anthony: hoboken

The hoboken trip was a great experience. I think it was the best production my team has made. We have had a great time filming. I always thought that filming was a easy thing to do, but it's actually harder than it looks. To have to produce a film and act in it is very difficult. Having to remember the script is so nerve racking. Also the worst thing that can happen to you while trying to film is someone telling you that you're not able to film there. But besides all the difficulty, I actually had a great time.

Brandon: 5-26-2010/New York

How can i explain my experience in New York? It was a really good trip. I finally went to the new cafe in Times Square. It wasn't as crowded as it usually is, but for a day where most people are working, or in school. It was packed. I didn't fully understand the significance, and the seriousness of the bike lane until i was yelled at. I was told after she yelled at me that it was as serious as a car lane if not more serious. Hence the loud green pavement on the lane.

We recorded alot of things while walking in New York. We went into the large Toys R' Us with the Ferris Wheel. And we recorded a normal day in the toy store. Some guy was showing off a new style of hackysack in the shape of a square. He gave some of us the hackysacks meanwhile he was doing tricks with his cellphone. It was interesting to see that this simple game has turned itself into a fulltime hobby.

We recorded one of us playing Dance Dance Revolution, also called DDR. It was kind of fun to be recording something interesting for once. We recorded some point of view shots aswell as some walking shots near an entrance to a subway. I ate at some overpriced pizza joint near manhattan mall. I ordered two sicilian slices and a bottle of soda for like 10 bucks. We only had a half an hour to eat and i was pretty desperate for food. On our way back to the rendezvous point, we looked around in the mall for 30 minutes before heading to the path train. Overall i think this trip to New York was a fun experience.

Greg: Digital Filmmaking

During the past couple of weeks, I've enjoyed all of my experiences in this course. I chose this course at first to just hang out and play around. I never expected to learn as much as I have and accomplish as much as I have in the past couple of weeks. I've thoroughly learned how to shoot, edit, trim and create videos of a decent quality. The best video we shot, in my opinion, was the music video we shot in New York. It was pretty fun and we got a great deal of work accomplished. I enjoyed going on the trips that allowed us to make even better films. This course was very interesting and beneficial for me and has even inspired me to think about pursuing this in college.

Devon: Little Hoboken

This was most the most fun so far in this filming class, I helped to write the ending part of the script for our king pin movie in Hoboken. The story line was creative and I was an actor for the first time. It turns out I'm not a bad actor, the movie came out really "almost legit like". The techniques used for the movie were a series of camera angles that I learned a few days prior to the filming, we had the help of Dr. Lansang, who helped keep everyone focused. Near the water the wind made the air cold, so much that it was almost a struggle to get a line out at some points, but it gave me some insight into what really good actors have to adapt to when acting parts in various locations.
I am proud to say that I did all the editing for this movie. I came in and stayed for 2 hours after we got back from filming and took the laptop at home to get some more done. Since this is part of what I want to major in when in college I was really excited to get a head start, getting my feet wet so I won't drown when I get there. I started messing around with the different clips, putting each part where it belongs and it's addicting (to me) because I don't really notice the time when editing. The slow motion and the fast forward effects are what i find the most useful when dealing with these movies so far. The lightning effect is awesome, I just want a situation in which I can actually use it.
In this video the basic story line is, some shady organized crime people make a drop off to someone. Later, the man with the money runs into someone in a rush for a business presentation. Now if you haven't guessed it already there was a mix up between the two people's bags, and the story takes off from there. I'm going to post the video somewhere else, probably youtube.com if you are interested in checking out the uncut version.

Greg: NYC Trip

Last week we took a trip to New York city to shoot some videos for a music video. It was a very cool and interesting experience. It was funny to watch how many of my classmates had never ridden on the Path train. They made looked so confused when they got their tickets from the machine and it was really entertaining to watch.On our way to Southstreet Seaport we walked past some very useful images that we decided to use in our videos. We saw an acrobatic troupe perform, a contortionist perform, walked through a mall. We also went to Midtown and got some great shots there as well. We took some videos while in Macy's and H&M. I enjoyed walking around New York and being around the masses of people. Overall, the trip went well and we got a good amount of work done and enjoyed ourselves.

George: Filmaking Experiences

Our second trip was to Hoboken in Jersey city. We took the train from Penn station to Hoboken and it was my first train ride. The project was to create your own script and compare with the other people's script. My group was Chris S, Anthony J, Tony D, and Omar B. We chose Chris' script. So we went to go to Hoboken to film Chris' script. We had a lot of footage and my group worked diligently. So we had finished early. After we were finished we went to have lunch the left.
Our third trip was at seaport New York. Our assignment was to film cut aways for a music video. The music was assigned to us and had to be creative. Seaport was really hot but was a good sight. We walked around and stopped at parks to shoot our cutaways. Or group was the same people with the NJPAC and the Hoboken trip. Our group, I feel, was the best group because, as Dr. Lansang said " You can have fun without being funny." That's exactly what we did. We had fun by filming but didn't have to act like clowns.
Our last trip was to midtown New York which was the most crowded part of New York. The assignment was also to shoot cutaways for a music video. For transportation we used the train for every trip instead of NJPAC because it wasn't far to walk. We didn't get a lot of footage but still did some work. It was a good experience that I wouldn't forget. We had some creative ideas that we shot. It was a long walk but it was worth the walk because it was really fun. My group was the same and again they worked well and didn't have any problems. While we were finishing up our work we went into the biggest toys r us that I have seen. This whole class was a great learning experience and I wouldn't forget about it.
The book we are reading is a easy book to read, well for me it is because it gave me the amateur vision of film making. Mr. Figgis tells you all you need to know about film making. He is a professional director and helped me to understand some of the basics of film making. The book was written to help people understand the basics and how to become a better Filmmaker.

Devon: MLK Vid

This video was the first video that my first group and I did. Before hand we went over various topics that are important in basic film making, strategically, financially, and time conservatively. The main topics that I learned were: Respect your camera and do your work with a serious attitude, and DO NOT SHOOT SEQUENTIALLY. I am learning an abundance of techniques through a combination of Mike Figgis and Dr. Lansang.
This first video was a test run for me and through it I learned specific areas that, from then on I would have to work on in future recordings; the first would be my organization skills, after recording parts of the video I was not able to locate nor recall which tapes the footage was on, you can't upload if you can't find it. The next problem was the unsteadiness of my hands, though in the rest of the videos filmed it wasn't so much a problem, I didn't realize so many things can affect the camera's steadiness.
I honestly didn't really find the MLK video very exciting to film, but it was a start. No disrespect at all to Martin Luther King has done, but I personally, am interested in more story-lined, dramatic, plot like videos. The fact that I wasn't so in depth with the content of the film was probably for the better because it allowed me to focus more on the techniques of the camera's basic use. Things such as recording, getting good sound quality, switching different locations, and even remembering to forward the tape back to the end of the last footage before recording again (a mistake i made and learned from the hard way).
Though I filmed a lot for this video the real credit for the editing goes to Tyrone S, the next few videos of the class I did the solo editing.

Leo C: My Digital Filmmaking Experience

When I chose digital filmmaking as my spring phase project, i thought it was going to be easy and something I could sleep through. I even made clownish videos because i thought of this project as a joke. But after the first week, I realized i was totally wrong. This class required a lot of work. It's no joke and not like any other project. But it's still worth it because you learn a lot to work and edit videos in ways you thought you would never be able to do.
In our first video about Martin Luther King Jr, we walked down to NJPAC to do some filming. It was interesting to see all the different ways you could take a shot and how different things make your video look worse or better. The story line was not necessarily interesting, but editing it was fun. And then adding music into it was cool. It was fun to see that at the end of the day, what i thought did not look good, turned out very nicely because of all the editing that my team was able to do.
Our next story line was going to be fun because now, we needed to make up our own story and act it out. We made a story about a mafia scene. The script, i thought, was well put together. We went to Hoboken, NJ to film it. Noticing all the different places and different ways we could of shot was cool. The shots were nicely taken and put together. Although we are not finished with it, the video itself is coming out very well. Adding music and all the different effects are fun to play around with. I hope it comes out good.
Our next project to film a documentary film about a Spring Phase project was different because now we are all working alone. I chose Down Town Clowns. I figured that shooting cutaways was going to be easy, which it was. But doing the interview was not easy because thinking of questions was not easy and making sure the microphone was not in the video and making sure the sound was good. It took me two days to edit the film. It was not easy because i wanted to make sure it was perfect. It was a little short, but with all the editing skills i learned, it came out very good, to me.
Thinking now of the class, it was not bad choosing it. I learned a lot of things on ways videos can look differently and all the different editing skills that could done to a video, just to make it look good. I also realized why it takes years to finish a film. it took me two-three days to finish a three minute video.

Saahir: Hoboken

During our trip to Hoboken, I got to be a main character in our film. I was excited that we got to apply the knowledge we gained the week before. We were able to use a variety of locations during our shoot and this helped improve the quality of our film. We were able to use an outdoor cafe, a remote alleyway, and different spots in the waterfront part. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my group while we took in the sights of Hoboken. They made the workload seem lighter and made my day one to remember.

Saahir: On Mike Figgis

In Mike Figgis book, Digital Filmmaking, he points out that as filmmakers, no matter how much our equipment cost, we should treat it as if it was very expensive. People tend to keep expensive things in good condition and they tend to care for it a lot. Figgis wants us to understand no matter how low your budget is, you can still make quality film. In his book he also tells us how everyone’s job behind the camera is essential. Having a location manager, sound man/woman, and lighting person helps build a quality film. Without them you will just have an amateur film, not that there is nothing wrong with amateur videos, but in this class we are looking for quality videos.

Antonio: Film Making Experiences

My experience in digital film making was one to remember, it was a great experience because I was able to see every side of the film making process. I was able to be the director, the light or sound guy, or an actor. I prefer to be the director because I like to give my ideas out for the actors to perform. I like when I can watch what I directed and and get credited for my work. Each of our movies were filmed in a different location throughout NJ and NYC.
For our first movie we used the famous speech done by Martin Luther King Jr, I Have A Dream.
For this movie we went to NJPAC and had some fun, but when it came to the filming it was serious business. Christian S directed us, and the outcome for the movie was pretty good. We used different transitions to get a good effect and dubbed some parts of the film for better sound Everyone did their part, and the movie seemed inspiring.
The next movie we did was in Hoboken. It was based on two kids who steal a bag from someone, thinking they did something wrong they try to avoid the police from catching them when actually they did something good. The movie was one of our most successful ones. We used different angles for the chase scenes to get a good effect. I was one of the actors, the movie was a great success.
The next week we went to NYC and we tried to make a music video. It was kinda hard at first to find a good ground work, but we eventually found something out. We tilted the camera to get some cool footage and also filmed on the train. We made that experience fun and also was a great as far as getting the work done. Everyone did their parts and it was a good day.
To finish, I am working on my Bridges and Transistors project. I plan for that to be a great success as well, I used the skills I learned for interviews and incorporated it into my video as well. This class has been a great experience and I learned a lot.

Saahir: About the course

To some, filming is a hobby, something that’s just done for fun. To others, it's a part of their life and it pays for their bills. I happen to fall in neither category because I’m taking Filming as a class. Throughout the month of class, we learned different filming techniques, how to take care of our equipment, how to use imovie, to edit and import our videos onto imovie. We were also required to read Digital Filmmaking, by author/director Mike Figgis, which was to enhance our filming. To make the class more exciting we went on film trips to locations, such as Military Park, Hoboken, and NYC. On the trips we were required to record skits, which were either given to us or created by someone in our group.

Saahir: Military Park

At Military Park we were to film our MLK skits. For this project there were four main characters, each of us had to repeat a line from Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, I have a Dream. Besides the obnoxious people walking through the park, we were able to film our clips successfully. What made the filming process a little difficult was that we had to decide whether we wanted to shoot close up shots or medium shoot. After deciding where we wanted to shoot our film, we still had to choose, how we wanted to shoot our actors. We decided to go with a close up shot because our viewers will be able to grasp our actor’s emotions. It will show how serious the actors were about their roles.

Saahir: Hoboken

The trip to Hoboken was one of our best trips. That day I took the Path for the second time of my life, feel in love with the beautiful city, and my very first screenplay was used to make a video. Catching the Path made me realize, that I’m like an alien from a foreign country. For starters, it was a struggle for me to get a ticket, and then it got worse when I tried to put the ticket through the ticket machine and it would not let me on the other side. Yes, it was kind of embarrassing, but we all learn something new everyday. It felt good finally getting out of Newark because we were in a much safer and clean environment. The people of Hoboken were very nice and stayed out of the way of our filming. It felt good seeing my first screenplay come to life. We all contributed ideas on where we would shoot and how it should come out. Unfortunately, we only used one technique of filming. But, we were still satisfied with what was produced.

Chris: My Experience with Digital Film making

When I first entered this class, I didn't know what to expect. Our first lesson included handouts, instruction manuals, and a little bit of lecturing. I was in shock, I didn't know that a thick manual would be needed in this class. We were also given a book to read, which was also a surprise for me. I thought this class would be a little bit easier, but I was to quick to judge. Throughout the course, things got difficult and challenging, but we as a class were able to overcome them.
Our first film included a segment on the speech by Martin Luther King Jr, I have a Dream, which turned out to be pretty good. We learned different techniques on how to take shots,angles and close-ups. Within this film, we took our first trip to NJPAC in Newark. It was a fun experience, and we took a couple shots there which helped complete our film. With this project, we first learned how to edit clips and arrange them in sequence.
Our second film involved a movie in Hoboken, New Jersey. Our movie was about two kids that stole a bag with contents that were important to the police, in the end the police found the kids with it and took it, which ended up being a good situation for the kids because they returned something valuable to the police. Shooting in Hoboken was definitely a great experience because its a beautiful town with great scenery. I would shoot there again in a heartbeat.
Our third trip was to the area around the World Trade Center, New York. We had to shoot a music video, which was a bit difficult for us because it included taking a lot of difficult and random shots. We walked around for a while, which was a good experience for me because I've never traveled that section of New York before. This music video involves dancing around different locations in New York and still shots that are edited to come out in sequence. Definitely a trip to remember for the year.
Overall, I had a great time with Digital Film making. From working constantly for hours, to going on exiting trips, I would say that Digital Film making has made an impact on my life. It has taught me that hard works takes time, but it pays off. I have learned many new things, such as learning how to use a camera in different ways, editing movies and also directing them. If I had to take Digital Film making as a course in any part of my life, I wouldn't have to think twice about it.

nduka: trip to new york

Going to New York was a really fun experience. Even though i didn't like the fact that we walked so much, i really had a lot of fun on the trip. we got to go to many beautiful areas that gave us really good footages of the different shots to take in film. We went to downtown Manhattan and took different shots for our music video. The only down part of this trip was when we went to go eat. The food was extremely expensive so i only got cookies and cream ice cream on a cone. Another cool thing i got to see was a man who could put himself into a tiny box. It was really shocking and cool at the same time. Overall i had fun going to New York.

nduka: trip to hoboken

Since I had a little more experience on how to take good videos, I felt more confident when we went on our trip to Hoboken. This time i wasn't the one behind the camera, but i was in the shot and was an actor in the film. Even though we had to work hard that day, we all had fun doing the work. At the end of the day we were all pleased with the footage we got and were all tired. I was happy with all the experiences i got from this trip to Hoboken.

Greg: NJPAC

During our first week of filming, we took a trip downtown to New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). During this trip I learned a great deal about different types of lighting and ways it effects a video. I also realized how different locations improved the quality of the video. My group and I worked well and got a lot of work done. On the trip we got great shots, got all our work done and had a great time making the film.

George: MLK Movie

Martin Dr. Luther King Jr. created a very famous speech, which our class has filmed in groups. The experience was fun and wasn't what I expected. My group members were Chris S, Tony D, Anthony J, Omar B, and Fritz B. The members were focused the whole time and didn't get off target. We created ideas and talked about them. Chris was a good director and had good ideas. I contributed by saying lines, and giving ideas. My group was not hard to work with and made the project move quicker and easier. This was an experience that was new to me because I never was in a filmmaking class.

Tyrone: About Making Films

In our first week in this filmmaking class I didn't really learn too much being that I had prior experience with cameras and editing. I did however learn different angles and ways to increase the sound coming on camera especially when we went to NJPAC for our field trip. I was the camera man and I had to overcome the roar of the city i.e the cars, buses, and people just walking around. When we finished our recording at NJPAC I felt pretty great about what I had recorded. Everything came out good.
Something else I learned so far in this course was when we were in class. Most of the times when you are recording it is best to have a crew for the lighting & sound. When I learned this I knew that all of the films that I would begin to make would be much better. Another lesson I got was from Dr. Lansang. I learned about all of the different angles, equipment, and objects to keep the camera steady. This class is very helpful.
Another trip we went on was to Hoboken. When we went there first of all it was freezing but that wasn't the main issue. There were a lot of helicopters flying over the area that we were in so it was hard to get good sound especially with no microphone. We had to constantly stop and restart our filming. We had to take so many takes that we almost didn't finish everything. In the end we did finish and our short film about Facebook Gone Bad came out great.
We also went to New York. New York was great especially for filming, we were there to film a music video and with all of the scenes and people walking made a great setting for a video. When we filmed it seemed as if we were looking around for something and the video should come out awesome. The only problem with our video was that even though we had a tripod i chose not to use it and the film was fairly shaky. That is a problem that can easily be avoided next time and will ultimately make the film much better.
So far this course has proved to be fairly simple besides the huge amounts of work at one time. I am staying on top of most of my editing and filming and i really enjoy what I'm doing. I can see myself doing this as a career, so I'll continue to try my best for positive work in this class.

Rob: Filmmaking Spring Phase Project '10

For the past four weeks I have learned about how to be a good filmmaker and what makes a good filmmaker is not the camera, but the person behind the camera. It's all about how you are willing to go the extra mile so that you can have a good film. Filmmaking is not just about shooting something and making sure you get it on camera, but it is also about editing. For example if you have something on film and you do not want it there then you have edited by cutting it. We edited our films on iMovie which I have become familiar with over the past few weeks.

One person who has also taught us about filmmaking is Mike Figgis. He is the author of the book called "Digital Filmmaking". I took notes on how to be a better filmmaker by reading his book and also learning about the different camera movements. It does not take a genius for someone to be a filmmaker, but it takes preparation and willingness to spend a lot of time on filming. One thing I could take away from this whole experience is that you can always learn something new even if you don't notice it.

Rob: Filmmaking: NYC/Seaport

The trip to New York city and the Seaport was the most fun and relaxing day. During that week we learned about different camera shots such as undershots, extreme close ups, overhead, pyramid, establishing shots, and etc. While we were New York we had to demonstrate those different types of shots and we had to film it. Once we were done for the day we went to the Seaport where we ate and walked on the boardwalk. I remember just staring at the water and watching the people on cruises go by as I just soaked it all in because it was a beautiful day.

Rob: Filmmaking: Hoboken Trip

Hoboken was the second location we visited to film a movie. This time Dr. Lansang made us think on our own and you use our creative minds to come up with a movie. That day went by very fast, but we did get our movie done despite the fact that in some areas in Hoboken we were not allowed to film. After we had finished filming our movie and we had time to spare before we all had to meet up again, my group and I were just amazed at how beautiful the park was. The Hoboken trip was something to remember.

Fritz: Monday May 10

Digital Filmmaking is a challenging but rewarding class. After one week as a filmmaker, I have come in contact with many terminologies about the art of filming, whether it’s Wide Shots, Medium Close Ups, Close Ups, or Cutaways. I was able to shoot and take part in the shooting of our footage for our film “I Have A Dream.” After that, I helped out in the editing process of our short movie. I was instructed about some intricacies on how to improve the lighting of a shot or picture by using an object that can either add or block light. I now know that it’s very difficult to act and even harder to write a script for a movie. It intrigued me that it is not always the best written scripts that are chosen to be performed, it's usually the ones that are most do-able that are chosen.

Fritz: May 19, 20, 21

On Wednesday morning, I spent the time editing my backpacking film like trimming particular clips. That afternoon, I interviewed Mr. Gallo and uploaded the video when I returned to class. The whole interview came great. On Thursday May 20, we went to Battery Park in New York City. My group and I shot some footage of our music video near South Street Seaport. Then we shot the rest of the music video at the Wall Street area. It was a fun trip. On Friday May 21, I spent the majority if not the whole day editing Mr. Gallo’s interview and putting my backpacking documentary together.

Frtiz: Tuesday May 18

On Tuesday May 18, we went to Leahy House’s kitchen to film “Real Men Can Cook,” the cooking class, at work. It was exciting to see them cooking all different kinds of dishes. First I was the cameraman and the favorite shot I took the whole day was them putting the dish in the microwave. Then I was the audio or sound guy carry the microphone wherever the cameraman at the time would go. The whole time with the cooking class was a great experience.

Fritz: Monday May 17

On Monday May 17 I took the next step in my documentary film. For the assignment I had to choose a central figure or a student in backpacking to document. So I went to the upper field and caught up with Jose Santamaria, a Commander in Mr. Gallo’s company. I asked him who is the best student to film in his company and he directed me to Miguel Alves. I went up to Miguel and told him the situation at hand. Miguel immediately accepted and I pre-interviewed him and told him I will be back in the afternoon to conduct the interview. Next I ran to Jose and also told that I would be interviewing about Miguel and he also accepted. Just like with Miguel, I pre-interviewed Jose and told I’ll be back to do the real interview. When the afternoon rolled around, I went to the lower field and interviewed Miguel and then Jose with the help of Brandon Rodriguez as my cameraman. The interviews went well. As I was leaving I met with Mr. Gallo and asked him if I could interview him about Miguel and he accepted. I told some of the questions that I would be asking. We agreed that the interview should take place on Wednesday. I rushed back to class to upload the interviews and hoped that the video specifically, the sound, came out great. Guess what? The whole interviews looked good and the sound was exceptionally crisp. After that I stayed to edit the Benedict’s Dinner video.

Fritz: Friday May 13, filming the backpacking project

The next day I knew I had to get started on my documentary of the trail. So I decided that I must begin shooting cutaways shots of the backpacking students doing team building activities. I was a little nervous and excited on how good I would be operating a camera I had never used before. After minute or two passed, I got into a rhythm and begin firing cutaways left and right. When I finished I went back to class to upload the video and I was shocked and ecstatic to see how good my cutaways came out.

Frtiz: Benedict's Dinner May 13

This past week and a half was probably the busiest part of Spring Phase so far. First on Thursday May 13 I covered the annual Benedict’s Dinner. I interviewed some of the most important people in the Benedict’s community. I spoke to Didier Jean-Baptiste, a vital person in the Development office. Then I spent some time with Chairman of the Board of Trustees William Connolly Jr. The title tells you everything you need to know. Later I interviewed the stars of the dinner or should I say the honorees; Kenneth F. Boehl H’97, Barbara Bell Coleman, Hon. Claude M. Coleman, J.S.C., Robert J. DiQuollo’65. It was fascinating to discover what attracted them to Benedict’s. It was just a great night.

Rob: Filmmaking First Shoot : I have a dream

The first shoot of my filmmaking experience was very interesting. We started off going to different locations such as various areas on St. Benedict's Prep property and also military park in Newark. The filming of our "I have a dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspirational and it was a success. One of the things I remember from that day was when we were in military park and people were walking by while we were filming the speech, I seen people actually smiling when they heard the words of Dr. King's speech coming from the mouths of teenagers who go to a school in a urban environment. It made me feel good about myself and I knew that I was doing something positive.

Mike: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Video

The first video we produced was based on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have A Dream" speech. We filmed in two spots: at St. Benedict's Prep and in the city of Newark, specifically around the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). We had four students in our group, and one by one, we would each say a line from his speech. It was the first thing we filmed, so it helped us gain experience with the basics and fundamentals of a digital camera. It was the first thing we ever edited on iMovie HD, so it gave us a better understanding on how to edit clips. The MLK video was the first step of this class for becoming better in digital filmmaking.

nduka: trip to military park

when i started digital i thought it would be a walk in the park, but i came to see that it was harder than it seemed. i had to learn the different types of shots that i needed to use in my movies. even though it was hard at first, when i got to know the different shots and techniques to filming a good movie, it became a little easier to do. the trip to downtown newark was really fun and helped me get a vision on places where i should film, where i shouldn't film, and also at which angles i should film. the trip was very fun and we completed our 'i have a dream' film.

Team Blog at Framing the Light

Today, we signed up to blog at blogspot. Keep watch for more info.

SBP 2010 Benedict's Dinner - May 13, 2010

Report filed by Fritz Bondoa and Jose Santamaria.

National Honor Society Induction at SBP

Video coverage of the National Honor Society Induction ceremony at St. Benedict's Prep. The video was prepared by F. Bondoa (UD-2 student [Junior])



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