one too many candy corns...
Geek, Acting, Pitch
What a day! I got up at 8-ish then heading straight over to Joe's to start filming for his short! I actually had a part in it. I played a geeky comic book loving girl that gets hit on by a jerk but then saved by a cute geek. It's funny yet slightly embarrassing but it's all good. :)
After filming Joe's I headed straight back to the apartment to be in Maggie's film. I played a quirky hippie type girl that takes her goldfish with her wherever she goes. She meets a germaphobe in an elevator and they hit it off. It's cute, slightly embarrassing, but all good.
Acting is interesting...I think I like it. It's fun to do but then slightly painful to watch yourself on screen. I'm kind of learning a lot about myself though. Like I said ...it's interesting.
I have to pitch my next short film idea this coming Tuesday. I really really really want to do something about a little Asian girl that loves anime and dresses up like her favorite characters but gets made fun of at school but then stands up for herself in the end. Hahaha! I would love it! BUT this is my last shot for a film idea in class so I want to make sure it's one that I'll like and be able to do well.
I love you all! Thanks for reading! It's fun to know people get on here and check up on me!
p.s.- I made cupcakes!
Dream, Leaf-Blower, Pumpin Spice
I just woke up and instead of seeing the normal corner of my bedroom I saw the corner of my bedroom from home....very distinctly. Then that led to me half sleep/ half day-dream about what all would be going on at home at this exact moment. It included hearing my mom in the kitchen probably baking some goodies while she listens to her relaxing music, hearing my dad somewhere in the distance outside with the leaf-blower, because of course the whole yard is covered in crisp beautiful Fall leaves, and inside mom has a pumpkin spice candle burning probably next to a cute little pumpkin she got from Kirkland's...
That's what I woke up to....it was nice.
stuffed, oreos, name-tags
Ahh... sometimes, it just feels REALLY good to get completely stuffed. I haven't been able to go to the grocery store for about two weeks due to my intense filming schedule but since I'm done with that now (more about that in a minute) I had a chance to run to Ralphs (the Kroger equivalent out here). I got chat with my beloved sister-in-law and also buy so many wonderful goodies! Chicken, lettuce, spinach, feta cheese, hummus, black olives, salad dressing, pita bread, and oreos! :) I feel like I just ate about half of all that but it was completely worth it...
So! Now I'm at my apartment, typing, listening to ashley and emily's nashville playlist, smelling this great autumn apple candle, and all wrapped up in a blanket with the AC cranked up sort of pretending it's a chilly fall evening. My revere just got interrupted though by some extremely loud police car outside my window...ah... L.A...
My short film that I made! I showed it to my class on Tuesday. It went over fairly well. They said that they liked my style.. crazy pound pup you wanna ride well then hop in my truck...sorry... Jason Mraz tangent there. But seriously, they liked how colorful and happy everything was, which makes me laugh at myself that I'm that stereotypical but at the same time I love it! :) There were some issues with understanding my character's dramatic need and overall arch, but I see what they're talking about now and will hopefully make something better!
The Price is Right was not right....in fact we were cut off from the line by TWO people!!! ahhh!!! It's ok though, we're going to try again cause, heck! i'll be out here for the whole semester! AND I also sweet talked one of the workers there into giving us those big yellow name tags with our names written on them just for kicks and giggles. I think we did make it on TV though. It was a special episode they were filming today with like three guest contestants and we were waiting outside when they pulled up and their camera guy scanned the crowd so we like freaked out and I think he got us!
Well, I guess I'll go do some homework and start brainstorming for my next mpp story...
Also...
D. Ellen Kay
c/o LAFSC
5455 Wilshire Blvd. #1615
Los Angeles, CA 90036
c/o LAFSC
5455 Wilshire Blvd. #1615
Los Angeles, CA 90036
:)
Math, Candy, Nurse
Basically I have been in one constant delirious state due to lack of sleep. First my work week was full and falling into what I think is going to be a constant busy pace. Friday was nice because I got to get off work early (3:30 instead of 6:30). I thought I was going to be productive, but instead I designed a logo for "Candy". Which I suppose is productive, but just not what I was planning.
Here it is! This isn't exactly the finished product yet. After getting it approved by my director we decided some dark purple tones would fit better in the orbs instea
d, but other than that he liked it! And I'm glad because I actually feel proud of it! :)
Saturday, there was no rest for the weary. I got up at 6:00 AFTER staying up till about 3:00 the night before (you do the math, cause I'll just pretend I am...ha ;) Anyways...so I got up at 6:00 so that I could skype with my family! They were all home in Sparta for Friday night, so I got up in time to have "breakfast" with them via video chat! It was good to see them all....except I got a little homesick seeing them all there without me. So, then I decided to use my depressed energy and do something productive! (my new favorite word) My friend Danielle and I went to the center to get in some early morning editing. I spent most of the day there, then helped a friend make his film for the rest of the evening. H
is story is about a guy that has a crush on a girl, and in order impress her he signs up for a blood drive she's volunteering at even though he has a horrible fear of blood and needles. So he goes and sees everything as if it were a horror film. That's where I come in! I played the creepy, scary, bloody nurse that takes his blood.
Don't worry Mom and Dad, I haven't gone off the deep end... it's just for class.
So, yeah! I had a lot of fun being creepy and scary. This makeup job I did landed me a spot as production designer for another classmate who is wanting to make a zombie film. It's weird being involved with so many horror movies. Doesn't seem very characteristic of myself. But it's actually really fun!
Friday, Saturday, SUNDAY! Today was nothing but sitting in the production lab editing. yup.
It was very PRODUCTIVE. I actually finished my film! Which is good because I basically won't have any other time to work on it before it's due on Tuesday....sigh...
Ok, seriously. I'm going to bed!
Skype, Right Price, Rocky
It's currently 6:33 a.m. here in not-so-sunny yet L.A. I have technically had less than three hours of sleep, more like a nap! But it was worth it since I got to skype with my entire family! They were all in Sparta for a night so we jumped on the opportunity for my brother to provide the technical assistance needed to get my family video chatting! It was good to see them...except sad because they were eating dad's pancakes without me!!! Yes, dad is doing better, he looked good and is obviously feeling spry enough to flip some flapjacks!
Even though, it's still ridiculously early for a Saturday morning, I think I may attempt to stay awake and be productive. I'm currently in the process of editing my video that I just filmed. I've already got the opening montage finished, which is about a minute, but I still have around 4 more minutes to complete. SO much work for just a few minutes! Insane!
Exciting news! I get to go to the Price is Right on Tuesday! Cool huh!?! My roomie got free tickets so the four of us are heading out to chill with Drew Carey! I don't know what I'll do if I get on. I'm so bad with numbers and guessing prices that I would almost prefer to not get up there and spare myself the embarrassment! It's still going to be fun to watch!
Things for "Candy" are going well. We're currently getting script revisions which is turning into more ghastly characters for me to create. I'm so excited! I really am. I should probably be a bit more terrified of what an enormous responsibility I have but instead I'm just pumped and feel even more motivated because of the challenge. (Insert me doing the Rocky while jogging in place).
For right now though, I am A: going to hunt down a sweater cause it's bleeping FREEZING in the living room right now! and B: going to make an incredibly large pot of coffee... mmm :)
Bedtime...
I stepped into the bath tub to wash my feet before bedtime (habit I picked up from Mom) but when I turned on the faucet the shower lever was still pulled up.....I got completely soaked....
the end.
Coffee, Minor, Kissing
Ah.... a day off.... how splendid! I'm sitting at our kitchen table with my roomie, Dana. We're the early birds of our room and we both love coffee! SO, each week I'll have Wednesdays and Thursdays off from my internship because of classes I have later in the afternoon. Technically the day isn't "off" but when I don't have to get up at 7:00, it feels pretty relieving.
My family had a little scare the other day...my dad had minor heart attack. He's had a major heart attack before and was actually in Peru when it happened. The doctors put in a stent after that but this time it just got clogged again. He was rushed to surgery and they put in another and now he's fine. I got to talk to him that night and really did sound good. It was just scary, esp. since I was at my internship all day and didn't check my phone for a while, so when I did I had missed calls and texts from my family saying "Minor Emergency." (haha...when I was telling my dad this on the phone he feigned indignation and was like, "MINOR!? Which one of you said Minor?!") I knew then he really was fine. Just pray for him though, he's going through some other medical stuff too.
CHANGE of TONE...
Last night was my first acting class! I had to prepare a two minute dialogue from any movie and then deliver it in front of my class and a camera, which we then re-watched later on. I completely bombed my lines, which I really did have memorized, but my nerves got the best of me... I hate nerves. I hate being nervous. What's the point, it just makes you and everyone watching you feel awkward. It's going to be an intense class. They're not just showing up tricks of the trade but how to actually BE a character and in order to do that you have to know who YOU are. There's going to be a lot of self discovery, but I'm excited about it. I think it's going to be therapeutic and very very interesting.
p.s.- Maggie, Bethany, and myself are the only girls out of our class of like 20. That's fine except for the fact that on our application for the class we had to say whether or not we would be comfortable with romantic scenes (aka kissing), Maggie and I answered it thinking like of in the long run...like if we made it as real actors....so we said yes. After last night though we found out that there may actually be some...ahem...."close scenes" with people from our class AND that Bethany said "no" on her application meaning Maggie and I are apparently going to have to make out with the ENTIRE CLASS!!! oh dear... I'm not looking for THAT much self-discovery!
Piece of Cake
Directing takes a lot out of you! I did discover, though, that directing is not for me. I had kind of been considering directing as a direction to head towards, but after today I think I see it's not for me. I have found, however, another route that looks ten times more promising and interesting....production design!
Production designers are responsible for creating the world that the characters will inhabit, which can include setting, props, costumes, make up....everything! I really like it though!
This past week my entire class (52 of us) were divided into 5 groups where everyone has an individual job and we create a team much like a real production crew including director, producers, director of photography, etc. SO! Guess what job I was assigned.... production design!
Not only were we assigned our jobs and groups but also what scripts we would be working on this entire semester until our big premiere in December. Our script is called "Candy" and it was written by one of my new friends Jeremy Navarro (the doctor that I was putting make up on up there). It's a sweet scary horror story involving children, werewolves, creepy santas, and all sorts of jacked up fairy tale characters gone bad. I really like it. And I have to create all of it.
Insane, yet really exciting. So! You'll probably hear me talk quite a bit about this project, "Candy", as the semester progresses.
Dancing with Hot Dogs
Contrary to what the title of this blog would have you believe, we didn't really dance with hot dogs, but I did have a hot dog thrown at my car tonight. yup. This kamikaze man walking his dog started darting across the street so I didn't know if I should slam on the brakes or just slow my path and calmly give him plenty of space as I curve in front of him. I chose the latter and apparently he didn't like that so he chucked his hot dog at my car! Like I really wanted to hit him and his dog! psh! Oh well.
Other funny things happened tonight, but I'm getting too tired to tell them. Especially since I need to get up early tomorrow and
start production for my first short film that I'm directing! woo hoo and oh dear... mixed emotions.
We'll see!
Labor Day and Internship
As you all know, yesterday was Labor Day, and for the first time I believe in my life I'm actually going to a school that recognizes it as a holiday and gave us the day off! It was great!
My friends, Maggie, Danielle, and Penny, loaded up and drove to Malibu for a day at the beach! The sand was hot, the water was cold, and the breeze was just right. The waves were perfect too until they swiped my most beloved sunglasses off my head! I was even holding onto them and I felt them slip through my fingers... I was so sad. Oh well...
Today, however, was my first day at my internship! I am at Film Roman which is part of Starz Media. It's a small animation company that has produced shows like King of the Hill and the Simpsons. I get to be around a lot of artists and watch them work while I mainly sort through and organize all the archives of original works. I'll be pretty busy, but it's going to be neat stuff to be around!
I better go. I'm going with a group tonight to the midnight showing of "9". I haven't heard anything about this film and have no clue what it's about, but I'm going. SO, it should be interesting!
John Williams and Justin Timberlake
Tonight was the big John Williams concert, which was of course, AMAZING!!! It was totally on my list of things to do before I die (to see him in concert) and I actually did! He gave three encore performances Yoda's Theme, Star Wars opening theme, and then E.T. all after an amazing concert before.
So, as my friends and I are giddily walking down the hill around the back of the stadium, we're passing all of these cars waiting to pull out, I'm walking right next to one, look at the driver and think to myself "wow, he's really good looking, he looks sorta like Justin Timberlake." I double take, LOCK EYES with the man, then proceed to freak out because it is indeed Justin Timberlake...staring at me! Ok, not staring, but locking eyes for a good 2 seconds! THEN I see on the passenger side none other than his girl Jessica Biel! I couldn't believe it! I tell my friend. She freaks out. Then the paparazzi hears us and starts going crazy around their car! HA! oops. Sorry JT and JB.
John Williams and Justin Timberlake all in one night! Unbelievable....
Gay as a Goose
Gay as a goose... that's how one man I met on the street yesterday referred to himself. It was interesting, and I ended up giving in $5.00. I've never given out money like that before. I'm still not sure if it was a scam or not.... either way, it was a convincing performance and he deserved the tip.
Also...I am officially an intern at the Film Roman Animation Studios. woot woot! I went in for an interview this morning, it went splendidly, they told me on the spot that they would love to have me, and I replied right on the spot that I would love to join them! So I did! I get to be in close contact with 2-D animation artists that have worked on shows such as King of the Hill and the Simpsons. (Maybe I'll ask one of them to Simpsonize me!)
Basically I just felt really good about it and it sounded exactly like what I was wanting to investigate. Plus the lady I'll be working with seems really neat and laid back. She said it's a lot of work but it's all really fun!
I'm also starting pre-production on one of my first independent short films. I have a feeling it's going to turn out a little rough... but we'll see!
p.s.- I'm about to wet myself because I'm so excited about tomorrow night!!! (john williams in concert...remember?) I drove by the Hollywood Bowl today, which is where he'll be performing, and I got honked at twice because I was so distracted. haha oops!
I should be asleep right now, but mom told me to update this more often, so...here's for you ma!
Ellen
Interviews
Today was a big day.
I had my first L.A. interview. True it was only with one of the staff members that helps us decide which places to apply for, but still, it was an interview. I felt good about it! I'll be applying at two places. One is called Film Roman. They work in 2D animation on shows like King of the Hill and the Simpsons. Not that I'm a huge fan of either but still it would be neat to see how things are done. The second, though, is at Dreamworks in the graphic design consumer
product department. It's not dealing with film as much as I would like, but it's got whole lot more opportunities for progressing within the company. I actually already heard back from Dreamworks (which is weird now that I have DREAMWORKS in my cell phone haha) Then later on in the afternoon I had another interview.... funny story time.
SO...When I first got here we were already given two assignments: create a character description, and turn in a reel of previous works. Both of which I did. "My reel", called The Closies dvd, consisted solely of my disney videos simply because that was all I had and I needed to turn in SOMETHING. So, after I turned in my reel I asked my roomies later what their reels were like. They all said they didn't turn one in since we didn't have to. My respone: "WHAT!?! we didn't have to!?!" "No they're only if you want to be considered for a director's spot". I'm stunned and embarrassed. I go to class the next day and ask my teacher "So...those reels...you haven't watched them yet have you?" he replies, "Oh the Closies, we loved the Closies" i'm turning red. Another teacher pipes in "Yeah! When I saw you come into class I was like there's the Closie girl!" redder. I then explain how I didn't realize we didn't have to turn in a reel, so my teacher told to come into his office. He was like, "So you really didn't know?" me, "Yeah, I thought we had to!" he says, "Well are you interested at all in directing, cause they're really good and we were going to ask you back for the second cut for the interview." I was shocked/embarrassed/in disbelief. It was great. That was why I had another interview this evening. It went well too! I really won't be surprised if I don't get one of the five spots available, but it's still neat I made it this far!
I'll let you know how everything pans out...
OH! 11:11 make a wish!
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