LINE! (Production Blog)

 Dearest reader, 

Today was all about memorizing my lines. We officially have a filming date set for tomorrow after school! After all the chaos it feels so so good to have secured a filming date and have it be so soon. Originally this weekend was too conflicted to film, but plans changed for my vacation so I am able to work on the project. We are meeting at one of my teammates house after school. 

The sudden schedule change, while positive, is stressful. One luxury of a distant far off filming date was not rushing to get my lines memorized. I know from AICE drama that memorizing lines can be difficult even an as a straight A student. Line memorization requires reliance on other people saying their lines first. If someone misses their line it throws off the mental que for me to say my line. 

To fix this issue in a live performance, you would just memorize more of the lines leading up to yours. You could also try to practice improv to help the scene along. However, in a film we need all the lines to be said so that we can execute the tone we are looking to achieve. In a longer piece, a slipped up line might not be so devastating. In this project however, with only two minutes maximum, it means a whole reshoot. 

While memorizing my lines, I used an altered version of the Feynman technique. Richard Feynman, a renowned physicist said that it is best to study in three parts. First you study the material on your own, this might mean practice problems or rereading notes. Then, you pretend to explain the topic to another a person which reveals any flaws present in your logic. The third step is to study those misunderstandings. For memorizing lines, I used this strategy by reading my lines silently, then practicing them aloud and any lines I could not remember without looking at the paper I went back and restudied.