How to Succeed in Filming [and Love] without Really Trying

On Friday April 17th, Miranda asked me, Chess, and Justinj to film the Stager's Spring Production of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. This tells the story of rising business during the 60's. John Herron stars as a young man, Finch, who was able to rise in the world of business... without trying. It also features Dina Castner who tries to win Finch's heart, Don Manzo as the boss who oversaw Finch succeeding without trying, Kevin James as the book who taught Finch how to succeed without trying, among many others. I was really nervous when filming because I was one of the close-up side cameras and the tripod was being annoying and jumping too much, ruining many shots. But Miranda had four cameras set up to hopefully eliminate that problem. The show was really funny. My favorite scene had to be Coffee Break and my favorite continous joke had to be the Old Ivy Chant, close in second to "I knit too!!". The lighting, set, and props looked amazing. The cast was well prepared and the show looked very professional. Like Chess said in her blog, it was hard not to laugh out loud since we had the camera because the show was so funny!

Filming this show was hard. Due to my busy schedule (alwayslate!), it was my first time seeing the play so it was hard to know who I should follow, who was going to speak next, who was just standing there the entire scene and did not need a closeup, etc. Also, I did not know how Justin or Francesca had their shots set up so I was afraid to get a closeup that would be useless because the other two have better shots than I did. Just to make matters worse (for filming, at least), the stage had two levels and the tripod did not cooperate so whenever I would try to switch between the two levels, the camera jumped way too much, ruining the shot for at least three seconds. However, despite all these difficulties I did enjoy filming it. One of my dream jobs would be to film concerts or shows, but it would be easier if I had a smoother tripod and someone in a control room who sees all four camera and instructs us on which shots would be good for editing. But I think between the four camera, one that had the wide shot of the stage, one medium shot from the back of the audience, and two close up ones, one on each side, Miranda will be able to pull out good shots.

Now, onto the best part of the whole night. Before the show, Dina told us that Pat was going to propose to Miranda. I was so excited for her, and that just made me more nervous during the show because I didn't want to mess it up. So, the show went well, then when it was over, well, here's the video!



At least Miranda's going to have a lot of good footage to remember the night! (I believe at least seven cameras were filming...)

So, the night overall was great. The show was amazing and the ending was spectacular. I wonder what the Fall Production's going to be, and if it's going to top this one...

I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)

So I wrote the first draft of my English paper, and I decided that I was going to focus on juxtapositioning government propaganda commercials on drug use to movies that show drugs for what they actually are, like Requiem for a Dream. Here's my draft, I thought it was blog-worthy:

Throughout the 20^th Century, American culture developed through use of drugs, from the era of 60’s Woodstock Nation use of marijuana and hallucinogens to the Disco Era of cocaine use to the 80’s dependence on crack to the 90’s era of combating the drug use to the 2000’s rise in prescription drug use. Since then, there have been various sources of media that present drug use and drug addicts, or use propaganda to turn people away from drug use. Many people feel that popular icons, such as Cheech and Chong or music artists portray drug use in a positive light without mention of the negative effects, while there are many movies that show drug use in their true light. Mass media may have helped misrepresent drugs, but mass media has also been responsible for turning people away from drugs and their negative outcomes.

Propaganda has been around for centuries, and was prominent in combating drug use. Propaganda existed mostly in commercial form, targeting at youth audiences in order to get them away from the influence of drugs. Most of these commercials turn out to be failures. According to Drug Policy Central: “Yet another story involved a man who smoked marijuana, tried to shoot his wife, killed his grandmother instead, and then killed himself. These stories, and many others, make up the early, "classic" period of propaganda, while the "modern" period, characterized as it is by the multimillion dollar advertising budgets of today, consists of many more insidious myths (e.g., the gateway myth, the potency myth, the supporting terrorism myth, the dope-fixing sporting events myth, the drugs cause crime myth, and the unsafe schools myth, to name a few). “ They present drugs in a superficial way or give the audience a greater curiosity to try the drug and see what kind of effect the drug actually has. These government-produced commercials have been prominent for decades, and each attempt is not as effective as the last. They rely on scaring the audiences, saying that “Drugs make you kill people” or “Drugs support terrorism” while those facts are not true. According to Students for Sensible Drug Policy: “While it is important to educate young people about the effects of drugs and drug abuse, these ads are an abysmal failure. Young people want to know the truth about the effects of drugs and their real risks. But when we see ads that obviously exaggerate and stretch reality for political purposes, we are offended and turned off to anything credible the government may have to say.”

However, there are many movies that show the use of drugs and the consequences without the fluff. The best example would be the depiction of the novel Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby, Jr. The movie was released in 2000 and depicts four individuals who succumb to the power of drugs while trying to achieve their individual dreams. This movie does the opposite of glorifying drugs—it shows how messed up one’s life could be when one uses: one lost an arm from needle use, one was imprisoned, one went through electroshock therapy and has brain damage, and one had to do unimaginable acts to get her fix. Most reviewers agree that this movie depicts drug use in a bizarre fashion, but as opposed to the superficial propaganda, this movie’s portrayal of the consequences still seems real, and it most likely happens to addicts everywhere. According to a review by Jason Berardinelli: “Requiem for a Dream certainly isn't the first recent motion picture to offer an unpleasant picture of what happens when an individual becomes hooked on drugs, but its quadruple character study is unsparing. This is in large part because of the brilliant final fifteen minutes, which is a tour de force of direction and editing. Employing hundreds of cuts, Aronofsky careens back and forth between his four main players, showing their increasingly dire circumstances and allowing those to escalate to a brutal climax. This is easily the most startling and memorable extended sequence in any film this year, and, for raw power, it exceeds any scene I can recall from other films about addiction. Don't be fooled by the passively poetic title; there's nothing serene or restful about this motion picture. Requiem for a Dream gets under your skin and stays there.”

Movies and various other sources of media have an effect on people and the way they think and react to situations. The government tried to use that to portray drug use as extremely dangerous while just making it seem superficial. Movies have had a stronger appeal to the Anti-Drug War because they use the art of visual storytelling to show that drug use only leads to negative consequences.

Requiem for a Dream

So, for my final English paper I had no idea what I wanted to write about, and then I realized that after I knew I wanted to write about films, why not make the research paper about my favorite film of all time, Requiem for a Dream? The paper is going to focus on four films, Spun, Blow, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Requiem for a Dream and I think it's going to turn out really good.

Requiem for a Dream came out in 2000, based of the book by Hubert Selby, Jr. I had always heard about the movie but was warned to never see it because it was "really fucked up". But I eventually saw it and loved it. Saying that it was amazing is an understatement. The acting was phenomenal, the writing and direction was unique and really drew the viewer to understand what the characters were going through. Then, when I found out that it was based off the book it turned out to be just as amazing. One of the best books I ever read and I always try to sell it. It's not written like traditional books, with paragraphs or dialogue quotes and the author literally writes the way the character speaks, but I've read it twice and plan on reading it again soon.



Spun came out in 2002 by an independent film company. This movie follows speed freaks for three days and what they do to get drugs and how it affects them. Another brilliantly done movie, with great direction and quick shots to show how speed freaks act and see things.



Blow came out in 2001 and depicts the life of George Jung and how he became the man behind the American coke market in the 70's. It shows how he grew up, got involved with drugs, how he realized that he could exploit it, and the consequences that came with it. The real George Jung is still in prison, and I read that Johnny Depp interviewed with him in order to prepare for the role; he did an amazing job.



Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was based off the book by Hunter S. Thompson, which depicts his three-day excursion to Las Vegas while on any drug or substance that you could name and his search for the American Dream. Johnny Depp did an amazing job bringing the brilliant book to life.

Home Movies

When I was like, 10 years old, I was flipping through channels and stopped on Cartoon Network and saw a cartoon with squiggly-lined animation and awkward dialogue, but I watched a few episodes even though I didn't really understand the jokes. I watched the show again like three years later when it was on Adult Swim, and it has quickly become my favorite show.

Home Movies depicts an eight year old boy, Brendon, who has an interest and a talent for making his own movies. He directs, writes, edits, produces, and acts in his movies with his two friends, Jason and Melissa. The show also follows his recently divorced mother and Brendon's soccer coach, John McGuirk. Each episode features a movie made by Brendon and the activities that an eight year old would go through, like failing history or fighting a bully or having to sleep over some annoying brat's house. But the show also includes more in-depth topics to appeal to an older audience like heart attacks and gaining weight and having to go through forced therapy.

I find the show hilarious. The concept was created by Brendon Small in 1999 and was featured on UPN first in "Squigglevision" to a lukewarm audience, but then Cartoon Network's Adult Swim picked it up and ran for another three years. The show gained popularity of a cult fanbase over the years as the episodes developed. The show was different because the concept was unique, but the way the story unfolds is unique also. The actors rely on a technique called "Retroscripting", or another term for improvisation. It sometimes gives the show a slower pace and relies on dry humor, but there were plenty of fans that found that entertaining, myself included. This show was one of the sources that inspired me to get in the field of film, and I only wish I had more time to make as many movies as Brendon has.

The show has been cancelled after four seasons and fifty-two episodes. The series finale was perfect and wrapped up the show very well. It will always be a favorite of mine and I continue to watch the DVD's. Check out an episode. But here's some of my favorite clips that I think you'll enjoy.

Click here for a fan created site that has a lot of useful information on the show.

Season 1, Rabies:
Brendon watches the neighbor's cat and the cat runs away and gets rabies. He obviously did a really good job.

Season 1, It Was Supposed to Be Funny
Brendon and his mother go to a drive-thru and Brendon insists on getting his own fries.

Season 1, Law and Boarder
Brendon has to appeal his case and McGuirk stands in as his lawyer.

Season 2, The Party
Jason will not admit that he has a problem.

Season 2, Hiatus:
Brendon offers to roadie for his friend's band, but does more harm than help.

Season 2, Hiatus:
This clip shows McGuirk and Lynch going to Mexico with a bit of role reversal on who gets trashed.

Season 2, History:
This clip shows that Brendon is failing history and needs tutoring, but he is already getting tutored.

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Season 2, History
This clip shows the reason why Brendon is failing history.

Season 3, Shore Leave
This clip shows that Melissa is being forced to go to a girl's meeting much to the coach's dismay.