Freestyle Showcase
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Introduction
Hello, my name is Ben Peterson and I am a senior at Mountain View High and Freestyle Academy. During my time at Freestyle, I have enjoyed developing skills in film, design, and writing, and I have particularly enjoyed learning the intricacies of cinematography and visual effects. Outside of Freestyle, I have also practiced these skills while working as an editor and videographer at First Focus Learning Systems and Cook Smarts, two Silicon Valley-based startups, along with some visual effects work on low budget feature films.
I have chosen to show my junior documentary project and senior narrative because I believe they represent the passions I have found working at Freestyle. Through working on my documentary I discovered how to blend a compelling story with visuals that effectively communicate that story to the audience. With my narrative, I learned how to manage larger and more complicated sets while still shooting what was needed, along with keeping in mind the visual effect requirements that would come into play later. Both of these projects taught me different skills that I would like to continue developing.
Beyond Freestyle, I hope to continue pursuing film. I am attending Emerson College in the Fall as a part of the Media Arts Production major with a focus on film production. I would like to continue using the skills I started learning at Freestyle to eventually work in either production or post-production in the film industry.
I would like to know how I can better incorporate my visuals into the story in order to make it more compelling. I would also like to know how I can improve on my overall film production skills, specifically when it comes to either the cinematography or visual effects. Finally, any comments you can give on what strengths and weaknesses you see in my work can give me a better idea of what I can improve on. Any feedback that comes from your more professional perspective is greatly appreciated!
If you have any other questions or comments, you can contact me at bcpeters100@gmail.com
First Project: Remnants
The relatively unknown bunker along the Devils Slide stretch of Highway One tells the story of a time past; a time when fear prevailed along the California Coast.
ARVE Error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal modeRemnants was a project my partner Owen Daniels and I worked on over the course of two months. While we initially chose the Devils Slide Bunker because of its visual appeal we ran into problems when it came to finding a compelling, human story behind the structure. Our documentary lessons helped out in this aspect because we had to learn how to take an already existing area or person and find a story within it. While it was difficult, Owen and I worked hard to find many people to interview that would not only give us information on the bunker but also a more human context to our subject.
Going into this project Owen and I knew the visuals would be the strongest aspect, so we spent a majority of our production time perfecting them. We drove over more to Half Moon Bay five times to both get footage and interview our subjects. Our research beforehand helped us to know what at each site was significant and needed filming, and our interviews further helped us find significant locations to shoot. This filming process taught me how to get a variety of shots that had their own unique feel that could then be matched to certain interview clips that matched that feel. The amount of time we spent shooting helped when we were editing by giving us a lot of different options of what we could show. While in the end the story could have been stronger, Remnants was a fun project to work on that taught my partner and I more about not only the overall film production process but the unique aspects of film that come with making a documentary.
Second Project: Voyage
An old man finds unexpected company while journeying to a land where a life-saving medicine is no longer necessary.
ARVE Error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal modeI made Voyage with my partner, Amanda Chan, and if I had to choose the most difficult project I’ve worked on at Freestyle, this would be it. Voyage combined not just the filmmaking skills we had learned over the past two years but also involved a new scale of organizing and coordination. We started Voyage by writing many drafts of our screenplay. in between each table read and critique session Amanda and I would edit and revise until after a couple of months we felt we had a strong screenplay we would be proud to shoot. The casting was a hard process not because of a lack of talent but also because those we wanted most were also the busiest. When we started shooting Amanda and I made a very detailed schedule that made sure each shoot was planned months in advance including times, locations, props, extras, and crew.
While most of our production ran smoothly, the pressure from all the planning was stressful and road bumps inevitably came up. Whether it was actors getting sick or mix-ups with filming permits, production had its own difficulties. In the end, however, it taught us how to adapt to unexpected situations.
As production was wrapping, Amanda and I began editing and working on the visual effects. Due to our timeframe, Amanda edited most of it while I did the effects. This was one of my favorite steps in the process, and while I had had some experience beforehand, I hadn’t yet worked on something of this scale. After almost a month, Amanda and I finally finished our final cut at 4 am the night before it was due. Through this process, Amanda and I learned how to adapt to different situations and commit whatever time was necessary to perfecting our cut.