Michelle Morte

Author: imichellemorte

  • Learning Experiences

    Learning Experiences

    For the past month or so I have been given the opportunity to intern on two shoots, both of which I was able to shadow and learn quite a bit from Production Coordinators. One was a feature and the other was for a digital series.

    It was through the feature and digital series that I learned two new possible roles that I could really get into and be really good at, Unit Production Manager and/or Production Coordinator. Both of these roles really feed into my meticulous side and strange love for paperwork and organizing. For those of you who don’t know, both roles deal with the logistical side of production. So it’s dealing with vendors, locations, time cards, etc. etc. etc. Pretty much how to make a feature with the time and budget allocated to you. Fun right? (side note: there is no sarcasm intended at all with that last statement)

    It was also through these projects that I learned how much more challenging it is to create a feature and a web series because of all the other elements that are added into it. Shorts compared to these are definitely a cake walk.

    It is true what they say about the more shoots that you do the more you learn and the more experience you gain. You can’t truly go into this business knowing exactly what it is you’ll be doing in the role you signed up for. But then again, where is the fun in repetition right?

    More to come soon!

  • Reflecting on “Reflections”

    Reflecting on “Reflections”

    Screen Shot 2016-03-08 at 2.21.31 PMIt’s been a little over a year since I first made this short film but I’m still proud of it nonetheless. Mostly because it is my baby. This is the first film that I ever produced and became the project that put me towards the path of what I love to do.

    Let me give you a little background to this story….

    When I originally wrote this, I wrote it as a short story because I was “taking a break” from studying. I was in Panera looking around the dining area when I saw this old man looking somberly into his coffee. And as I looked at him I began to question why? What happened to him to make him look so melancholy. And that was when I started to write about the possible why’s….

    After a little positive feedback on the story itself and an experience on a set that I will never forget, I thought to myself, “You know what, if they  can do it, I can do it too.” So I read up on how to produce indie films. I bought and read as many books and articles as I could. And then I started development and pre production for the project.

    The story itself is about a woman reflecting on her current predicament in her life at that moment. Originally I thought about doing about four actresses who look the same, but then I was advised that maybe going for the same actress for all four roles and a double for a couple of interaction scenes would be the better course of action. And that was exactly what I had done.

    As I wrote the short story and the script for this I knew that I had wanted to shoot this in black and white. Not because shooting in black and white means the audience is going to start paying more attention to the story rather than the details on the screen. Not that one, I hadn’t learned that in film school yet. It was mainly because I knew shooting this in black and white was going to look so much more aesthetically pleasing.

     

    As with most projects, there will always be little mishaps. Original plan A location fell through. Not being able to find a stand in that looks like the main actress. Those are just a couple of examples of what had happened before we began initial photography. And when we did begin to shoot, time was not in our favor. Not to mention the fact that we were filming after hours. But I had a supportive cast and crew behind me so it made getting through that weekend not only extremely efficient and productive but mostly very fun.

    I will forever be grateful to those who helped me and supported me all throughout the project as well as my pursuit of a film career. And just being overall patient with me too. I could read so many books about producing and still know so little about this foreign field. Yet with so much self doubt and uncertainty haunting my thoughts, I still felt like this was what I wanted to do. This was where I belonged.