Intro
The Zenith Project is the pinnacle of everything Freestyle has taught us. The ultimate film project, and the culmination of the last 2 years. We had the chance to create something truly original fueled by nothing but pure passion and drive.
For my Zenith, I looked into my film catalog, and realized there was something missing. I had made the horror thriller I had always wanted, I had made the music video, I had even done the James Bond influences gambling film. However the one thing I had not even dipped my toes into was a real action sequence. A true fight scene. I have always loved fight scenes and I was particularly influenced by Matthew Vaughn’s work on Kingsman and Kick-Ass.
The Fight scene was a challenge for me because I had never done it. The way the camera moves, the variation, the pacing, and the excitement of a fight scene was entirely foreign at the time. I was able to accomplish this feat as successfully as I did due to the help of my group. Although we all worked on our own projects, the film “Mind’s Eye” was the vessel for these projects. The graphic blood effects and intense choreography would not have been nearly as complete if it were not for the help of Uch, Sky, and Hector.
Behind The Scenes
Pre Production: Script/Planning for Mind’s Eye
Post Production: Adobe Premiere Pro interface while editing Mind’s Eye
Final Production “Mind’s Eye”
Reflection
Audio Recording of Following Text:
For my Zenith, my only goal was to create a fun and intense fight scene. I have always been a huge fan of some of Mathew Vaughn’s work, such as Kingsman and Kickass, and recently did a director presentation on him. Rewatching these movies made me really pay attention to the detail and techniques he uses in his fight scenes, and gave me a deep appreciation for them. After watching these movies for my directors presentation, I went back and watched the fight scenes much more closely, and even watched some video essays breaking down the fights.
For the Zenith Sky Hector Uch and I decided to do something a little different. We decided that we all wanted to do different projects that focus in different areas, while still working on the same film. We were very successful in doing so as all of the smaller projects came together very nicely to create the final film, titled Mind’s Eye. Essentially, all of our ideas meshed perfectly, making all of our smaller projects feel much bigger and better than they would have felt without the other aspects.
Not only did I expand upon my creative skills and created something very original and unique, but I also explored new technology, using things like the gimbal for the first time to accomplish the feeling I wanted. I was exposed to new ways of filming and had to learn in the moment how to make it work. Going forward, I will use my knowledge of camera movement and kinetic filmmaking to create films that feel alive and energetic.
I believe that I truly accomplished everything I set out to do. I ignited my passion by creating a film like none else I had done before, and did so very successfully, in a number of ways. I elevated my skills by using new technology, and getting new and unique shots that would have been impossible to get beforehand. I also used new editing techniques that I had never considered, giving the film a much different feeling to anything I have done prior. I think this film succeeded the most in what I was going for, as my other projects have been good, this one turned out almost exactly how I wanted it to.
If I could do it over again, the only thing I would change is the amount of shoot days, and had I been given more time, I would have been able to make something even larger and more inventive.
The last thing I would like to say is that no matter how amazing a scene out of a film is, or how impossible it looks to create, the people that made it are only human like you. In other words you have the capability to make any type of film or artwork if you learn the skills necessary to do so.
Reflection Recording Album Art
