Filmmaker โข Writer โข Director ๐ฌ
โ TCOL & DMP
BHS โ24 ; MSU โ28 Film & Television BFA
๐ฎ๐น๐บ๐ธโข ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
I like cameras and writing
The Jeweler ๐ BTS Days 1 & 2
Here are some Behind the Scenes of my short film โThe Jeweler.โ While filming is nowhere near being done, the past two shoots have been very fun and Iโm excited to kick the rest of filming into gear within the coming days.
Iโve also been enjoying playing the Jewelerโs wife and Iโm excited to return as her soon, but in a โdifferent light,โ so to speakโฆ The characters of the Jeweler and his wife are near and dear to my heart, and itโs been very satisfying to see these characters come to life after having created them in senior year of high school (last slide is an insert of me attempting to play the Jeweler two and a half years ago; and yes I was shooting at 7:30 in the morning on my iPhone, I was crazy back then).
I want to thank Gianna for agreeing last minute to act as the wifeโs mistress (youโre a real lifesaver!) and Max for giving me precious hours of his spring break to operate the camera, assistant direct, and be a part of production design. I want to also thank Giovanni for taking on the role of the Jeweler, but a more detailed thanks will come in another post.
This film has been kicking my ass a little bit, but Iโm enjoying the ride regardless. I canโt wait to show you all the finished product ๐
BTS photos taken by myself and @giovanni.dalesio
๐ฉธEllipses๐ฉธ โข Behind the Scenes ๐ฉท
Iโm finally getting around to posting BTS pictures from โEllipses,โ a film written and directed by Tarrae Hill, in which I had the opportunity to assistant direct and act. I had lots of fun! Thank you to the amazing cast and crew that helped bring this film to life, your time and talent are greatly appreciated and admired. I couldnโt tag everyone but yโall know who you are. Itโs always a pleasure to work with Tarrae and her bright mind. I canโt wait to see the full film ๐ฉท
BTS photos taken by myself and @ray._violett
๐ฅ ๐ผ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ข & ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ (CLASS CUT)
Edgar Allan Poeโs whereabouts leading up to his untimely death on October 7th, 1849 are unknown. One prominent theory that has circulated for nearly two centuries is that the poet was cooped.
Intro to Non-Scripted TV & Editing Project; Final Film
Edgar Allan Poe: Valentina B.
Elmira Royster Shelton: Tarrae H.
Narrator: Valentina B.
Directing, Writing, Editing: Valentina B.
Director of Photography: Tarrae H.
๐ฟ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ 175 ๐ข๐๐๐๐.
๐
#film #filmmaking #filmmaker #aspiringfilmmaker #filming #tv #filmandtv #filmandtelevision #movies #movie #moviemaker #writer #writing #screenwriter #screenwriting #filmmakersofinstagram #filmproduction #filmdirector #directing #director #college #montclairnj #studentfilm #studentfilmmaker #explore #explorepage #fyp #foryoupage #edgarallanpoe
๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
These are some screen captures from my final film โMystery & Mortem: The Death of Edgar Allan Poe,โ for my Intro to Non-Scripted TV & Editing class! These are, in my opinion, some of the best shots. A bit of a synopsis about the film:
This is a hybrid film/documentary that explores one of the prominent theories surrounding Edgar Allan Poeโs death: cooping, and Poeโs unknown whereabouts leading up to that fateful day on October 7th, 1849.
This topic was something I immediately jumped for when this project was assigned, as Edgar Allan Poe is the reason Iโm in film school in the first place (long story)โbut Iโm not so pleased with the quality of my work in this particular film. I love the composition, I think the shots are beautiful, and the message certainly gets acrossโฆbut I couldโve done better for the Master of the Macabre, seeing as Iโve devoted almost six years to researching him.
I will post what I submitted as my final, and I may also post a video of me dissecting it and what I could have done better, because I think itโs crucial for artists to examine their work and learn from it. Although Iโm not pleased with the initial outcome, I think I ought to show my mistakes and the product of โbiting off more than you can chew,โ because I was on a severe time-crunch and had literally driven myself insane over the production for this film. Nonetheless, Iโm going to make a directorโs cut of this film (reshoot some things, clean up the editing) because I think this piece deserves a shinier spotlight, and the focus of my personal research (Poe) deserves better artistic quality.
Regardless, my professor really liked it! At first he was unsure of how I was going to execute the re-enactments, but after seeing them he was very pleased, which Iโm proud of. Iโd like to thank my trusty cinematographer, Tarrae, for exercising her acute camerawork skills, in garnering the quality of these re-enactments.
I hope you enjoy these screen captures nonetheless! I really did have fun shooting this filmโฆeven if I was in a full three-piece suit, cape, and fake mustache (layers of eyeshadow, powder, and eyeliner) on an 80ยฐ dayโฆ
๐
๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
These are some screen captures from my final film for my Filmmaking I class. The film is titled โThe Screenwriterโ and itโs about a disgruntled screenwriter who feels restricted by the creative limitations of the film industry.
Quite a final film to submit to my industry-professional professor, huh? But when I pitched the film in class, he liked the idea and said I was โpreaching to the choir,โ so thatโs good I guess! We screened the films yesterday without criticism on a ginormous screen in a presentation hall. Iโm curious as to what my professor would say in terms of criticism for this film, so Iโll contact him and ask. I love criticism.
The film is supposed to be rather mundane. Itโs just an instance in the everyday life of this screenwriter, except in this particular instance, the screenwriter gets a little too overwhelmed by the creative restrictions of the film industry, and she reacts. I used long takes in this film to show how mundane this instance is, even the reaction at the end, because itโs such a normal and common reaction to what screenwriters and other creatives in the film industry deal with. (This film is clearly a comment on what creative restriction does to people and how itโs not good, by the way ๐)
Iโll be posting the full film soon, but I hope you like these screen captures! This film is 100% the opposite of what โTollโ is. I wanted to do something a little more modern in terms of story, visuals, and dialogue (we were allowed to have dialogue in this film). Be on the lookout for the full film!
๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐
What is this sound? Where is it coming from? What is that in the trees? Who else is here with me? Am I alone? What is this sound? Where is it coming from?
Filmmaking I Project;
Directing, Acting, & Editing - Valentina B.
Director of Photography - Tarrae H.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
๐งก
๐ท๏ธ #film #filmmaking #filmmaker #aspiringfilmmaker #filming #tv #filmandtv #filmandtelevision #movies #movie #moviemaker #writer #writing #screenwriter #screenwriting #filmmakersofinstagram #filmstudio #filmproduction #filmdirector #director #directing #college #montclairnj #studentfilm #acting #collegestudent #explore #explorepage #fyp #foryoupage
๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
These are some screen captures from my first student film โToll.โ I wanted to share these ones specifically because I think they capture the mood of the film the best: dark, chilly, isolated, and macabre. My professor also liked these shots the most when we screened my film in class, so extra bragging points I guess? I want to share a little bit about my film before I post the whole thing:
โTollโ was heavily inspired in part by Edgar Allan Poeโs 1849 posthumous poem โThe Bells,โ and the bells that ring on the hour, every hour at Montclair State University. I oftentime hear these bells when Iโm walking across campus, and although they are unfortunately produced from an electric carillon, the sound still resonates within me long after the scheduled chimes play. To me these bells (and any bells of a similar nature) remind me of a distant timeโa dark, grim, melancholy time when death surrounded people from every which way, and seemed inescapable and untimely.
As for Edgar Allan Poeโs part in this, his poetry and his legacy have inspired me in every branch of my creativity. If it werenโt for him, I wouldnโt be a film student right now (thatโs another story for another day). His poem โThe Bellsโ was one of the first Iโd ever read, and while the repetition of โthe bellsโ was cheesy to me at first, I realized why he did it. The repetition of sound is incredibly important in the poem, as it is in my film when the church bells start to toll uncontrollably. The poem ends with the description of funeral bells. Oftentimes bells represent death, and I wanted to explore that symbolism in my film as Poe did in his poem.
I had a lot of fun making this film. While it definitely stressed me out to the nines and exhausted me beyond belief, Iโm at peace with the final product. After my professorโs criticism (which I might break down in a different post), I see what my mistakes are. It can always be better, but I canโt worry myself with trying to make it so right now. Full film to come soon ๐งก
(And special thanks to my Director of Photography, Tarrae, for getting these insane shots ๐ซถ Sorry I drove you crazy on the tracks..)
๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
Yesterday I finally finished editing my first student film. While Iโve already done some projects for my Filmmaking I class, this one is what I consider to be the first *real* project. I wanted to share some behind the scenes pictures from the shoot on Monday 11/4. I had a lot of fun directing and acting in my film, and Iโm so grateful to my Director of Photography Tarrae for lending their time to help me shoot this.
The shoot was about six hours long for two minutes and forty-five seconds worth of film, but the time we spent out on the tracks was worth itโat least I hope it is. I had been monitoring the weather for days leading up to the shoot, and it was pretty much a game time decision for when exactly we were going to shoot since the weather all throughout October and the beginning of November has been exceptionally strange.
The editing altogether took about seventeen hours, which may seem like a lot for two minutes and forty-five seconds worth of film, and it is, in my opinion, but there was so much to look through and so many choices to make in post production. We werenโt given a lot of time with this film so I had to make do with what I had.
Iโll be posting screen captures from my film either later today or tomorrow, and following that I will post the actual film. For now have some BTS ๐งก
๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!
Our professor had us tell a story in 20 to 25 photos, which was slightly difficult since there is only so much you can tell with a limited amount of photos compared to video. The actual finished project will be posted tomorrow, but for now here are some of my favorite shots (not in sequential order) from the project, as well as a small blurb I wrote when brainstorming the story.
โโ The story is about a frustrated writer who cannot come up with anything. No matter how much he tries to write something, it just doesnโt turn out good. We can tell that he is troubled in some way, or that he is plagued by something (potentially a death or just because that is his natural state of being). He writes in the dark, the only dim light illuminating his page being that of a few candles about his desk. He is a rather put-together gentleman with slicked back hair and a neat tie, but we can tell how stressed and frustrated he is just by the slight imperfections in his appearance. His hair, although slicked back, has some curly pieces flying in all directions. His vest, although pressed to his body, is buttoned in a strange way. His eyes, although unwavering from the page on which he writes, are dark and sunken upon his face. The stress is very visible. No matter what, he cannot write the perfect piece and that bothers him. He is trapped in his stress. It is very cramped. โโ
The story didnโt necessarily follow this exactly, but hey, it happens ๐คทโโ๏ธ I had a lot of fun shooting this project, maybe Iโll do something like it again in the future for fun ๐ค
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ!
My name is Valentina (she/they) and welcome to my Instagram account where Iโll be documenting my journey as a writer, aspiring filmmaker, and college student! Iโve been writing for a long time now but I just recently started college with a major in Film & Television and I wanted to create a more serious outlet for my current/future works/projects. With this account I aim to:
-Document my film/college journey
-Talk about/develop my current/future works and projects
-Learn and share film tips I gather along the way
-Open doors to opportunities in the film industry
-Connect with people into film!
I have written multiple things over the span of the past five years, but the most significant and most meaningful projects I have right now are โDear Mr. Poeโ and โThe Council of Literature,โ stories of which I hope to turn into a movie and a TV show respectively. I created โDear Mr. Poeโ in November of 2019 and โThe Council of Literatureโ in October of 2020. I consider both of these stories my ultimate goal in my creative endeavors and the works that mean the most to me and that I hold closest to my heart. Youโll hear me talk about these two a lot.
Aside from DMP and TCOL, genres I like to write include gothic, horror, mystery, realistic fiction, and historical fiction! You will see these genres present in some of my smaller works/projects.
Hereโs to beginning a new chapter of my life and documenting it along the way! I canโt wait to see what film has in store for me.
๐ฅ
