A DAY OF EVENTS

Today we went to the Czech production studio: Barrandov Studios as well as the Kratky Film Studio for animation. We started by going into the color correctionists studio were the super 16 film that we had shot in the workshop was being collaborated to middle gray and transferred to digital. It actually came out looking pretty good. I think we get a copy at the end along with a copy of the film that we make. After we went up to the film developing lab which was really cool and interesting. It smells like a dark room and there are all these huge metal boxes that the chemicals get pumped through and the film travels on by being moved along by huge spools. I found a trash bin filled with test strips and was going to take one for my journal, but when our professor, Michael, saw that I had it he took and and said: "good idea I will bring this to class." Then we went to the Panavision building and walked around looking at equipment. We met up with this fantastic old man named Rudolf who used to run the animation department at FAMU (where I am attending classes now) so he could bring us to KRÁTKÝ FILM studio (it is part of the Barrandov studio as well) to watch some Czech short animation and meet a lady who makes puppets. There were some really great shorts including Words, Words, Words by Michaela Pavlatova that was nominated for an Oscar in 1992, a puppet animation adaptation of Stagecoach, I cannot seem to find it, and Jan Svankmajer's Darkness/Light/Darkness: After meeting with the puppet maker and walking through a animation set, I had a strong desire to learn more about doing animation, as well as a desire to make puppets. I found myself wondering how hard it would be to become an apprentice and learn the ways of puppet animation. I really like animation in general, they often make for great short films, and its a way to make things that is very hands on. It is something I will be looking into. After we went to my favorite place in Prague so far: Vyšehrad. It is a giant park overlooking the city with a castle, church and graveyard. All the graves have plants growing from them or are covered in ivy and vines, which I like, and the park is quiet and big with trees and smells like flowers. Plus it has an amazing view. It is a wonderful retreat and I spied a couple in a grove of trees on a blanket near the ruins that overlook the city and immediately wanted to be on their blanket. I also got to love on a very nice dog despite it not understanding me, only Czech. After we had to go back to Studio FAMU to go over screenplay ideas again. Kristy and I are doing a short about a little boy who has just moved to Prague. He is not thrilled about the move and is a quiet kid who isn't adjusting easily. On his way to school he passes under a tree that a little girl his age sits in. She calls for him to come up and he ignores her. Finally a few days later, after passing her in the tree everyday and ignoring her, she is really trying to get his attention and falls out of the tree. He is forced to deal with her so he helps her back into the tree and goes up to sit with her. Then they both say relatively the same thing, but he says it in English and she says it in Czech and they don't understand each other but they are content and sitting in a tree over looking the city. I imagine shots through leaves among other lovely things. So we'll see how that works out. We still need to name the little boy and find actors... which may require going through an agency... but we have a Czech producing student that will be helping us produce it that we meet on Tuesday. Tomorrow is location scouting though I think we have decided to use Vyšehrad for our location. Tonight we are going to Cross Club again I think... the place I went to the first night I was here. And I think I am getting my septum pierced sometime this weekend. It is a lot less expensive here then when K and I looked into it. So there is that. I miss you all.