The Griffith Observatory is raised high above LA, so we ran around and gaped at the miles of sprawl below us. From it, one can clearly see the white block letters outlining the most recognized word in the world, “Hollywood”. The notorious sign rests on the hillside above everything else, branding the geography as the land of opportunity, fame and stardom but also of flops, failures and falsehood. It stands as a metal monument to the U.S. movie industry and maybe as marker for the start of our careers.

The truth is, sometimes it feels like a gravestone commemorating all the filmmakers and talent that came before us.  Maybe Hollywood is dying.  People seem to be scrambling at the liquidating industry beneath their feet. High quality cameras and equipment are more accessible now that ever before in the history of filmmaking. Youtube stars have become more valuable to productions than famous names of past films. Content is put straight online without any gatekeepers to prevent the world from viewing it with one easy click. Hollywood may not truly die, but things are definitely changing and they are changing fast. Our generation is in a whole new wave of access and technology. To be honest, I feel like the change in the industry is on my side.

Taking the Hollywood block has opened my eyes. We always joke that CC can be a bubble because school can be so detached from the real world. However, this class has popped the bubble just enough to make me realize that college is the perfect opportunity to take huge risks, and then push even further. We are in a moment of our lives where if we reach out and fail, we will end up exactly where we are.  I’ve never seen all the sides to the bubble. It’s an environment where we can push boundaries and fail. The further in life we get, the more limitations and things to actually lose we will acquire (good or bad). Right now we have everything to gain and nothing to loose.

It is incredible to be here in LA actually experiencing  the industry first hand. There are aspects of culture that cannot be read but must be experienced. I feel like I have a much greater understanding of film as a medium of communication.  I am excited to play with it and use my understanding of the industry to try to create deeper truths that pertain to my own path and career.  Thank you Clay and Dylan for this wonderful opportunity and experience that will alter the course of my life.  As Steve Jobs once said, “the dots connect in hindsight,” but I can already feel the change in me.

I have always secretly obsessed over music and scores in films, and today made my Monday one of my favorites. This morning we met with the accomplished composer Guy Moon at his beautiful house in the Valley. He is widely known for his work scoring The Fairly Odd Parents, but he has also worked on numerous other cartoons and films throughout his career. When we arrived, Guy toured us around his personal sound studio that he built next to his house. Everyone there welcomed us with warm smiles and hellos as we poked our heads into new rooms and stared in awe at the equipment and the employees working there. He then took us into his personal office, which was surrounded with computer screens and speakers pointing towards a center chair. He proceeded to show us the mysterious process of composing a score.

He works closely with directors and producers, and depending on the person, he usually receives notes about what they generally want. One producer humorously sends audio of himself singing over the soundless picture to help Guy get the general sense of what he is going for. Guy then quickly constructs a melody to match the tone and action of the characters, and polishes it off with instruments on top.

Creating sound for cartoons seems incredibly difficult. Characters switch moods within the blink of an eye and Guy needs to shift the tone quickly back and forth to help the story flow. To show us the power of a soundtrack, he showed us a film without background music. Sound is so important! Seeing the film without a score was drastically different, and made me realize how undervalued it is. The score is usually buried behind the busy motion picture, dialogue, and even sound effects, and if done well, it blends right in unnoticed. However, sound hits our emotional strings and plays the audience right into the emotional content of the film. A scary moment can be made horrifying, a happy moment becomes thrilling and inspiring, or an action scene makes us sit on the edges of our seats chewing our fingernails. It expands what is happening in the picture and is truly an incredible craft.

Seeing behind the scenes was amazing insight to how many different kinds of artists this industry supports. Everyone associates being a director with filmmaking. But there is so much more that meets the eye. Costume designers, cinematographers, writers, composers, makeup artists, wranglers, stunt doubles, PAs…etc. The list goes on forever.

The beauty of it all is that everyone is dependent on everyone. Yes, being the PA is maybe a little less impressive than being an Assistant Director, but the PA’s job is just as crucial to making sure the film gets done. Making a film is a true team effort and everyone depends on everyone else to pull through for the pieces to come together at the end. People are dedicated to the final product of the film, and if that means one day they step outside of their job to get coffee for everyone else, they will happily and readily do so.

Sometimes it’s hard not to get lost in the rat race that seems to tint the air around studios and offices. However, at the end of the day everyone is here because of his or her love for film or passions that pertain to film. It’s amazing to see people doing what they love. The artists here inspire me. From successful and well-established artists and businessmen like Guy Moon, to my friends sitting in the van seat next to me, everyone is here to pursue their passions, and I am inspired by their ambition and aspirations.