Behind the Screen

Behind The Screen

May 2017

Feature Stories: Setting the Stage & Mood Lights, Camera, Acting

A Step in the Right Direction The Invisible Art

Contents 07 11

Setting the Stage &

Mood Top 6 DSLR Cameras

13 17 1

Lights, Camera, Action!

Guess That Movie Quote

19

Step in the Right Direction

23 25 27

10 Famous Film Spots: Austin Edition The 90’s in Ten Movies

The Invisible Art 2

MEET TH Ronnie Ashley is a student shares the mutual love of film with her group members. She enjoys to explore the behind the scenes and the production the movies require. She, herself, hopes to be in the film business, preferably as an actress. She currently resides in Austin, Texas and is a freshman student at LASA High School, where she occupies her time with friends, sports, theater, and music.

Cora Tien aspires to become a doctor and works toward her dream by volunteering at local hospitals. During her free time, she enjoys going to art museums and taking pictures of her friends. When she was 3 years old, she developed a passion for film after her first time in a movie theatre watching “Winnie the Pooh: A Heffalump Movie�. Her favorite directors include Baz Luhrmann, Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson.

3

HE TEAM Brooke Taylor is a Freshman at Lasa High School in North East Austin. Her interest in film blossomed at a young age due to her mother’s love of movies and cinema in general. She loves all Marvel and superhero movies, as well as classics like Roman Holiday and The Sound of Music. She enjoys the theatre as well, and has always had a passion for acting and music. She also wants to add that she hopes you enjoy this magazine!

Among many things, Asa’s hobbies include urban climbing, parkour, and photography.

He likes to take photos of city scapes and his friends. He has made and been featured in many parkour short films. His favorite actor is Tom Cruise, and he enjoys watching comedies such as “Superbad”. When he grows up he wants to become lawyer and hopes to attend University of Colorado, Boulder.

4

5

B Letter

from the

Editor

Ronnie Ashley

ehind the Screen dedicates it’s pages to the processes that go into film producion.

Through numourous interviews, effort, and research, each author writes about a specific part of the film making, in order to enlighten, educate, and entertain the readers. We spent many hours on this magazine, in hopes to produce something everyone can enjoy. Each of us has a passion for film and all things related. Thus, due to our similar love, this magazine was born. All that is left now is for you, the reader, to read our piece, and take from it what you can. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do, and gain something from this magazine. Whether it be from the quizes or thearticles themselves, we want you to find something that strikes your intewrest. Our love for film is poured into this magazine, and we hope you leave with a similar feeling.

Sincerely,

6

7

SETTING THE STAGE & MOOD How an art department sets the tone of films.

By Cora tien

A

film takes at least a year and a half to create, and only plays in theaters for an average of six months. To do make a movie, filmmakers put in thousands of hours with the hopes of fooling the audience into forgetting about their surroundings and becoming fully invested in the story.

In movies, the ultimate goal is to convey a message or feeling that is created by all aspects of the film. Whether happiness, joy or fear; the art departments in films have to decide the most important features to include in order to establish a tone for the audience. They do this with the use of color and lighting.

Ana Martinez is an experienced art department coordinator and has worked on ninteen films including “Varsity Blues”, “Miss Congeniality” and “All the Pretty Horses”.

“The goal isn’t that your light is coming from below but you look at how the audience is going to feel.”

“An art department coordinator is a very multilevel job,” says Martinez, “It’s like one of the first people into the movie. It was my job was to sort of be the facilitator for the property department, the construction department, the props department and I was the interface for any of those

8

departments needing to communicate.”

Although Ana Martinez did not study film in college, she understands the importance of establishing an emotion.

“At the beginning of a movie you read the script and um there are like so many angles to it, but for me what makes a good movie is the story and the emotional portions and how it makes me feel,” says Martinez.

When Frank Webster isn’t instructing English classes, he teaches Documentary Film, and Film Studies electives at Kealing Magnet Middle School in Austin, Texas.

Webster has volunteered for small films in his community and has studied film in college.

“The goal isn’t that your light is coming from below but you look at how the audience is going to feel. The light coming from below is used to make the scene feel sinister. Then when the person walks out of the theater, they remember the feeling of anxiety or fear,” says Webster. “The idea behind a lot of technique in film making is so that the audience is drawn into the story and the emotion space that a film creates.”

This same aspect can be applied to any portions of film from wardrobe to the angle of the camera.

Lighting from below a character can give a sinister appearance. - photo credit: pexels

9

According to Martinez, that before the movie is made, the production designer, art director, set

“if it’s a happy scene you might see light bright colours and textures and flowers and things that evoke joy and hope.” decorator, and property master read the script and have meetings with the director so they can all work together to set a tone of the movie.

Choices made by the art department are a very useful tool in setting and conveying a mood and emotion for the movie overall.

Martinez has worked on over 19 movies, but originally went to law school. - photo credit: Cora Tien

“Color is an excellent example. With spy kids the colours were bright and primary in the spy kids areas and then in the villains sets the colours were dark and the props were spiked and dangerous looking,” says Martinez. “If it’s a happy scene you might see light bright colours and textures and flowers and things that evoke joy and hope.”

All aspects of a movie are included for a reason.

The process is long and there are many struggles to make scenes just right so that the film is memorable.

Webster is a musician, a teacher, and has helped create many small films. - photo credit: F. Webster

10

Top 6 Introductory DSLRs With The Ability To Capture HD Video by: Asa Flores-Rascon

1. Nikon D3300 Tbe Nikon D3300 is the least epensive DSLR on our list, yet also in our opinion the most impressive performance to price wise. The D3300 comes in at $339.99 USD, which is quite affordable for a DSLR of its caliber. The D3300 produces 24.2 megapixel photos, features a helpful guide mode feature, can capture up to 5 stills per second, and of course captures beautiful 1080p HD video. It is a great choice for a new camera/ photograph enthusiast.

2. Canon EOS T6i The Canon EOS Rebel T6i brings similar features to the D3300 but with a few extra tricks up it’s sleeves. The T6i produces 24.2 megapixel stills as do many of the cameras in our lineup, this will be plenty of detail especially for the new photographer. The camera comes equipped with a articulating touchscreen display and WiFi connectivity. If you havea little extra cash and are looking for more than the minimum out of your first DSLR then the T6 is for you.

3. Canon EOS T6s The T6s is basically identical to the older T6i with performance and photo quality.

The Usability and ergonomics of the T6s easily best those of the T6i for very little extra cash. Again packing an excellent 24.2 megapixel sensor, articulating touchscreen, rear thumbwheel, and top plate LCD. For similar to identical photo quality and luxurious ergonomics the T6s is only slightly pricier than the T6i.

11

These are some of the most iconic introductory cameras of the day. They are all capable of stunning HD video and take beautiful stills. Detailed personalities of each camera are featured below with specs and plenty of information that will help you decide which DSLR is right for you.

4. Nikon D3400 The Nikon D3400 is incredibly similar to its older predecessor the D3300. They produce images of equal quality. The D4300 also comes equipped bluetooth connectivity so sharing images with your smart device has never been easier. If easy sharing of photo is a deal breaker for you then the D3400 is a great choice for you.

5. Canon EOS SL1 This DSLR is the cheapest on our list and one of the older models. This camera is small and powerful. It is a portable camera for the on the move photographer. If portability and compactness is important to you then this camera is a great choice for a first DSLR. Dont forget that this also the cheapest camera on the list.

6. Canon EOS T6 The T6 performs well for the price with an 18MP sensor and a crips 920K 3 inch viewing panel. The price is the 3rd lowest on the list. It has WiFi and NFC connectivity so sharing pictures to your mobile device and controlling the camera remotely is easier than ever. If your on a budget and want WiFi connectivity this is the DSLR for you.

12

Lights, camera, acting!

The Inside Take

By Brooke Taylor

13

While acting may be one art form, there are quite different variations, which include stage, which is depicted in the photo, and film acting.

Photo by Pexels.com.

Y

ou see them on screen. You see them fighting villains, falling in love, and providing a comedic relief. You see them on the red carpet and winning golden awards. But is their job really as glamorous as it seems?

A movie is not a movie without actors.

Actors are what brings the stories to life, what makes the film stand out or be pushed into the shadows of an ever evolving and competitive industry. If there are bad actors, viewers start noticing the smaller errors more, and the entire production goes down.

When choosing a person for a certain character, casting directors have to be precise and true to the story whenever their making their decisions. Then it is up to the actors to bring their characters to life and give them a voice. This may seem like an easy process, however there are little bits and mechanisms that the audience is blind to. It can be a very stressful and time consuming operation. But in the end, when they get to see their artwork, everything slides into place.

It all starts with the auditions. When showing up for an audition, actors typically need a resume, colored headshots, and a reel, which is two-three minute clip of them performing.

They are then sent to an audition

room where they perform. “There’s hours and hours of seeing people, sometimes a hundred a day,” says producer and casting director Nancy Mancini, who is based in Los Angeles. Mancini has cast for numerous public service announcements, commercials, and music videos, including Usher.

Casting directors and producers usually have to go through multiple actors a day in order to cast just one role.

During an audition, Mancini says she looks for, “Confidence. I look for ease. I look for strength and the character they are portraying.”

They are not the only ones who feel the weight either. Auditioning is hard on actors as well. Elizabeth Trieu, a local Austin actor who was featured in movies such as “#Slaughterhouse” and “Don’t Ask Me Why”, described her first audition as, “Terrifying. It was so nerve-wracking and I had to be like perfect.” It’s no one wonder they feel this way either. Acting is a cutthroat business, and actors often have to deal with rejection.

The need for perfection and validity is not an uncommon emotion.

But then they get the call, and the camera starts rolling.

14

Photo of Actress Elizabeth Trieu, a local austin actress, who has been in a mulititude of theater productions and films, most recently #Slaughterhouse. Photo provided by Elizabeth Trieu.

15

“You have to be super vulnerable because the camera sees everything that your face is doing. So you can’t lie.”

Depending on the kind of production, actors are typically on set for five to seven days, with over 12 hour workdays, with various set locations.

“When they’re rolling, you have like one moment a camera’s right in face and you do like the same take like five times. And then, you have to be super vulnerable because the camera sees everything that your face is doing. So you can’t lie. And half the time you don’t know what the camera sees,” says Trieu. When you’re doing a scene, Trieu says the most important thing is knowing your character and your lines, and trusting yourself as an artist. She says if you believe yourself, the audience will believe you as well.

Casting director John Williams, director of the Casting Station in central-east Austin, voices his opinion on this business.

“It’s a lot of work,” he says, “It’s a creative industry, and at the end of the day it’s about craftsmanship, it’s about hard work, it’s about being responsible and that you’re helping others and you’re problem solving for something.”

All in all, acting is an art form, and there are scores of different pieces that people do not know about, that could either make or break a film. Every person, every scene, every shot, and every character is part of an assembly line that comes together to create something beautiful.

At the end of the day, it is all about the passion and the story that comes from each part.

A piece of advice Trieu offers to younger readers is to, “Speak for those who have no voice, stay true to your essence, and trust your gut.”

16

1) a 2) c 3) c 4) b 5) a 6) b 7) a 8) c

IE V O E M s?

e H movi T r u S UES u know yo

G

How

o do y l l we

“Nobody puts baby in a corner.”

“Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn't mean they can’t be saved,”

A) X-Men: Days of Future Past B) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

C) Winnie The Pooh “Plus it’s not a purse, it’s called a satchel.”

A) The Devil Wears Prada B) The A-Team C) The Hangover

A) Daddy Day Care B) Clueless C) Dirty Dancing “What am I allergic to?”

“Pine nuts, and the full spectrum of human emotion.”

A) How to Loose a Guy in Ten Days

B) The Proposal C) Into the Woods “Some men aren’t looking for something logical, some men just want to watch the world burn,”

A) The Dark Knight Rises B) Casino Royale C) Captain America: The First 5

17

Avenger

18

Photo taken at San Francisco Indyfest 7, February 2008 By: Eric Hunt

19

STEP

in the Right Direction

By: Asa Flores-Rascon

And what it is like to be in charge

In Austin, Texas, a city most well known for its abundance of live music, there is a film industry waiting to be explored with many up and coming directors, writers, producers, and cinematographers. Everyone watches movies.

The film industry has been very successful for decades.

For such a large sector of work and recreation most people don’t fully understand what goes into making a film.

Making a film is an extremely complicated and time consuming process. Many different departments and groups work together to create a film, Jeff Nichols, a director, and Drew Xanatholopous, a cinematographer and director, an employee at the Austin Film Society, portray some aspects and parts of how a film is created.

Everyone gets into the film industry in a different way, many go to film school and others reach out to employers to get a foot into the door of the film industry.

Many get degrees in other fields but still end up working in the film industry, “I moved to the bay area right after that and started emailing and calling up filmmakers that were working there based on recommendations and stuff, I started emailing them asking them if they would let me intern for them.”, said Xanatholopous on how he started out in the film industry.

On the opposite side of the spectrum Jeff Nichols said, “I started off by going to film school, North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. That really showed me the mechanics and process of making films. It also introduced me to a group of like-minded people that continue to help me make films today.”

Many who work in the film industry experience difficulty landing their first job due to the competitiveness of the industry. Xanatholopous commented, “ It was actually the filmmaker Left Flank he was alive in san francisco and I was ready to give up and just move and leave San Francisco, I’d been there for like three months and hadn’t gotten any responses from anybody and the last minute Left threw me an email saying why don’t you come on by.”

Xanatholopous then told me about how he was asked to sleeve cds for hours. This is an example of the type of opportunities in the film industry are sparse. Xanatholopous said that he was happy to do such a simple task because any opportunity is quite valuable.

Besides the film industry being very competitive; high paying, many of people who make it up are in the business for more than money, “Ultimately, I enjoy the process of experiencing an emotion or feeling, trying to express that feeling on paper in the script and on set in production, and then sit in a theater and have the audience experience the same emotion that inspired me in the first place. It’s extremely gratifying, and it pays really well.”,

said Nichols when asked why he stayed in the film industry.

Xanatholopous said something similar, “I think it sorta lets you dip into so many different aspects of life and people and stories and its alwasy different always varies.” Making a film is an extremely extensive process that requires the cooperation of many departments and groups of employees. As a director one must deal with many or even all of these departments.

-”There are many departments that work together to make a film - especially ones that are active in pre-production and production. Pre-production involves producers to help orchestrate preparation prior to being on set. This involves casting, wardrobe, art direction, camera, sound, lighting, transportation, location scouting, etc. Not to many of these working departments interact with post-production. This is where sound engineering, score, editing, and many other post departments come into play. In terms of what is hardest/easiest to interact with, I would say that’s dependent on a lot of things. Producers tend to bring on crew that the director or perhaps the director of photography have worked with before because they’ve established a good working relationship, but this isn’t always the case. It’s all very subjective to many circumstances.”

“As I said before, every department is integral, but what I tell my crew before every film is that all of us are there working for the actors. The actors are the ones out on the ledge. We are asking them to show up in a completely fake environment (fake clothes, fake sets, fake everything) and do something in front of a camera that feels intimate and honest. It’s a very difficult thing to pull off, and I think everyone that works on a film needs to remember that they are there in service of that honesty.”

Through emotional inspirations ideas of films are forged. The use of priceless technology enables us to capture those emotions and stories and share them with the world. The film has played a huge part in human culture since its creation, the technology used to create said films have changed but the reasons why remain the same.

“The actors are the ones out on the ledge. We are asking them to show up in a completely fake environment (fake clothes, fake sets, fake everything) and do something in front of a camera that feels intimate and honest.”

20

Head cinematographer for Land Rover sets up equipment By: Landrovermena

“Ultimately, I enjoy the process of experiencing an emotion or feeling, trying to express that feeling on paper in the script and on set in production, and then sit in a theater and have the audience experience the same emotion that inspired me in the first place. It’s extremely gratifying, and it pays really well.”

-Jeff Nichols 21

Cinematographer films for movie in the plains of Yemen

22

10 Famous Film Spot Austin Edition

This is the destination of the original farmhouse in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” the 1974 thriller coincidently filmed in Round Rock, Texas.

This is the site of the delicious Top Notch Hamburgers, which was featured in “Dazed and Confused.”

This is the Cortez’s family home, featured at the beginning of the children’s movie, “Spy Kids.”

This is the spot of Bedicheck High School, which doubled as Robert E. Lee High School in “Dazed and Confused.”

23

The 1999 comedy “Office Space”, starring Jennifer Aniston and Ron Linvingston was, partially filmed right here in south central Austin.

Ever wonder where some of your favortie movies were filmed? Some may be a lot closer than you think! This is a compiled list of some of the most famous movies and film locations: Austin Edition.

This is the location of the Yeagar’s farmhouse, filmed in “Transformers Age of Extinction”, the sequel to “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”

This is the location of the Manor Water tower, which Leonardio Dicaprio scales while filming “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”

Here on the map is the location of Troublemaker Studios, in which the movie “Sin City: A Dame to Kill for” was shot in.

Down on the bustling street of South Congress, you come across the Texas School for the Deaf, which is the location of Herrington High School in “The Faculty.”

While not a movie, we can’t forget to mention the popular TV series “Friday Night Lights,” which had various Austin film locations, including the Panther Football Field House.

24

THE By: Cora Tien

90’S IN 10 FILMS

These ten movies are classics that were produced in the 90s. The genres ranges from horor, comedy, tragedy and action. Films like “Pretty Woman” and “Shakespeare in Love” are arguably the movies that started the careers for their lead actresses. Whether they were or were not nominated for an Oscar, these movies had a great impact to the current film industry.

1989

Images provided by Maurina Rara, Global Panorama, Chris Drumm, Jim Trottier, Sarah Ackerman and Flickr from the creative commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

25

PRETTY WOMAN

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

ALADDIN

SCHINDLERS LIST

FOREST GUMP

IMPOSSIBLE

TITANIC

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

FIGHT CLUB

2000

JUMANJI

MISSION

26

E

“Editing you just kinda get to be alone in a room and just have fun and play.�

- Erica Silverman

27

Photo by: Ronnie Ashley

The Invisible Art A look into the post-production world By: Ronnie Ashley

E

diting is the invisible art. The better the work, the less one notices it at all. Editing is under appreciated, yet is one of the most essential parts of film production. It requires skill, creativity, and incredible intuition. Without it, the viewer would be left with a mess of confusing mistakes, and a jumbled up, incohesive story line.

Editing is the process of taking the collection of footage, and making a story; turning hours upon hours of footage and into a masterpiece. Through the guidance of directors producers, a confusing mess of shots transform into a vision of beauty.

This however, is more complex than it seems.

“Simply put, editing is the process of choosing from all the footage available what goes into a film and what doesn’t,” Renny McCauley, cinematographer and editor in Austin, Texas, said.

It requires a skilled eye to select what footage to keep and what to cut. This might not even be the ideal take, but what blends most seamlessly with the rest. Each editor goes about it a different way, possibly because of the film itself or maybe a director’s preference.

“When I blink, it’s a shift in my thoughts, when I am shifting thoughts or getting bored, I cut,” said director and editor in Austin, Erica Silverman.

The purpose of the editor is to take the mess of film and turn the concept into a reality. The vision, however, may not come from a single person. It depends on the project, the director, producer, and the editor.

“Some directors have a very clear idea of what they want,” said McCauley, “ and I am hired more as a craftsman to make that vision come to life. Other directors ask for more help in structuring their films from beginning to end... In the

end, films are rarely a singular vision of one person, but instead a team effort in which each person contributes a certain expertise to the finished product.”

Whether it is the editor’s idea or the director’s, everything in the film brings that vision to life. Every part is added or left in the film for a reason. It all has a purpose.

“When I decide to put something into a film, I ask myself: “Does this advance the story? Does this advance the character? Does this advance the underlying meaning of the film?” McCauley said.

Knowing what works and what does not is not easily trainable. There is a level of discernment that a good editor will need to have. This demands a creative spirit of the editor.

“Being a good editor involves an amount of intuition, like knowing we’re trying to imagine what people watching are gonna feel right,” Justine Spinoza, an Austin camera operator and editor, said.

All good editors are aware of this.

Even for those with years of experience, choosing footage still presents a struggle. There is still the question of if that is the best fit possible. There is always the potential for a risk to turn sour and the vision to get blurred by the attempt.

“You know your own vision,” said Silverman, “you may try risks and do what you think works and if it works, it works.”

Another barrier for the editor is sadly an unavoidable one.

Everyone watching is different and thus will perceive it differently. No person’s had the same experiences. This presents the need to edit for general audiences. This is why many sad movies have a similar style. What works, works. It is such an obstacle, that many have to just edit

28

E for what works for them but not necessarily the audience.

“Every person who watches it is going to have a different feeling from it, so what’s perfect for one person, might evoke no emotion from another person,” said Spinoza.

Now, even though they hold on of the most important

positions possible, their contribution is often dwindled often guilty of overlooking the huge role the editor plays in the process of putting in on their screen.

“How many of your favorite films can we think of who edited it,” said Spinoza.

While, yes, the editor faces constant under-recognition, they are not completely ignored. The others in film production understand the importance of everyone in the process, especially the editors.

“I get a lot of credit from directors who understand what I’ve contributed to the film,” said McCauley, “I get less credit from audiences.”

Even though the recognition for their work often is minute, an editor has an abundance of power, often unknown by the audience. It is mainly their responsibility to bring the vision to life, to make the audience feel. The timing of the cuts, the effects, are all geared towards making the audience feel what they should when they should.

“I think that they have a lot of power, more power than the audience thinks or realize” said Spinoza With every editor, come a different approach to editing.

Choices such as timing and angles used can be indeed dependent on the editor themself.

“I know Tarantino used the same editor for all of his film... you can tell a difference between his older stuff in his newer stuff as that is the director either,” said Spinoza, “It’s definitely a style that shifted and Stephanie the creative input she had you could feel it you could see it and all of his films.”

A style is personal, it stems from the personal experiences and preferences of the editor editing. What evoked the most emotion from one editor, may not from another.

“You can tell a lot about the person by the way they edit,” Silverman agrees.

There are undeniable qualities that need to be possessed in order for the film to have its best outcome. Qualities that distinguish the average editor from a great one.

“Patience and strong technical ability, plus creativity,” said Spinoza.

However, it is more than just what someone can do on the computer. Editing is about a feeling. It is about the intuition that is necessary for knowing what will work and how to make it work.

“I think what makes a good editor is timing and rhythm,” Silverman said, “If it doesn’t feel jarring and you can’t really tell that they edited it, then you’re doing it right.”

Editing is more important than most people realize. It makes the entire film possible, and each truly good editor has intuition, creativity, skill, and unmistakable power.

“Not everyone has rhythm; not everyone can dance; not everyone can edit.”

29

- Erica Silverman

“CALIFORNIA” MUSIC VIDEO PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE EDITOR ERICA SILVERMAN

A MUSIC VIDEO FOR ARTIST OUTOFPLACE PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAMERA OPERATOR JUSTINE SPINOZA

“EGO” FILM PHOTO PROVIDED BY ERICA SILVERMAN

30

Behind the Screen