Yesterday, I came across some interesting books while spending time at a thrift store: the screenplay to ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘Marilyn: A Biography by Norman Mailer‘ (which has such amazing photographs), ‘Photography and Language‘ by San Francisco’s Camerawork Press (with photos from the 1930s-1970s) and the book mentioned in the title of this post, “What They Don’t Teach You at Film School.”
A friend passed along this really cool article written by the folks over at mental_floss.
During my undergrad years, I took a course in Perception and learned about technique called ‘eyetracking,’ where infrared cameras are used to track the movement of a viewer’s pupil as they look at something. In our case we examined photos, but as you’ll see with the following video, The Diem Project, has applied this technology to viewers looking at film.
Continue Reading →
Music can be an integral part in evoking emotions in film, but finding the right songs that fit your scenes can be a difficult task. Luckily for us, the musician, Moby, has created a website where you can check out his songs and use them free of charge in independent and not-for-profit film, videos, or shorts. If you are going to be using the music in a commercial video then you can apply for an easy license where money generated from the project will be donated to the humane society.
A friend sent me this wonderful, short biodoc on Scott Schuman, the man behind the fashion blog ‘The Satorialist.’
I’m very proud to announce that ‘About Her’ will be screening on October 9th at BUTCHVoices.LA in Los Angeles, CA.
Yesterday, About Her Films was showcased at the Independent Artist’s Week in the Fillmore District of San Francisco.
Continue Reading →
‘About Her‘ has been accepted to screen at the 8th Annual SGLFF. This makes the 3rd film festival that this short will be screened at (the first two being the Queer Women of Color Film Festival and Frameline34).
The film festival takes place from October 8th-14th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’ll be sure to post the event page as soon as it’s up.
I haven’t done an ‘Inspiration’ post in quite some time. As a matter of fact, this is only my second one. I created these ‘Inspiration’ posts to pay respect to artists, primarily filmmakers, that move and motivate me to be better at the art that I create.
Today, I have decided to showcase Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari – together better known as California is a place. I randomly stumbled upon their Scrapertown video while perusing through a group on Vimeo and fell in love. If the thumbnail of the above video didn’t grab your eye right away, the cinematography in the video, as well as the rest of their videos, most definitely will. Other than their amazing production skills and the depth of the stories that they document, what really engages me is the emotional feeling that I get while watching these shorts. You can tell that above anything, these two are doing what they love and are passionate about the stories they capture.
Check out the rest of their videos when you have the chance. Their latest titled, ‘Honey Pie,’ focuses on Matt McCullen and his creation, the Real Doll. If you haven’t heard of a Real Doll, you definitely need to check out the documentary called, ‘Guys and Dolls’ (which you can watch in its entirety here.)
Two weekends ago, my first short film, ‘About Her‘ made its world premiere at the QWOC Film Festival at the Brava Theater in San Francisco.
It was a beautiful and amazing experience – I’m still trying to digest and process the whole thing.
Having my film be selected as the first to screen was a honorable (and extremely nerve racking) position. I remember being really present with the audience’s reactions, wondering how these 400 pairs of eyes are interpreting my message, and, of course, wondering if they are enjoying my film. From the reaction at the end and the feedback I received after, I believe that it went over very well.
The Q&A was a challenge for me. Being really shy, public speaking is something that I’m geared for, or get excited about, especially when having to share personal experiences. I appreciated the questions that were asked, as they were thoughtful and heartfelt. The entire audience was very warm and supportive, but it’s just hard to shake the fact that you’re in front of so many people and the spotlight is on you. It helped so much to have my fellow filmmakers on stage along with me.
Last week, ‘About Her’ screened at Frameline, the longest running international LGBT film festival. The Q&A that followed was brief (very thankful for that) and I was invited to submit my film to MIX NYC, a queer experimental film festival in New York. It’s extremely humbling to have garnered such attention with my first film, especially since I wasn’t envisioning any of this happening. I’ll be submitting my film to a few more film festivals and hope to have my second short film, ’7 Days‘, completed before I start school in September. I’ll also be uploading the entire version of ‘About Her’ in the near future.
I want to thank everyone for their continued support and believing in me and my art. My passion and love, coupled with the support of my friends and peers, gives me everything I need to continue making films.
Round 2 in the festival circuit! ‘About Her‘ will be screening as a part of the ‘F**king Traditional Values’ program in Frameline34. If you happen to be in, or nearby San Francisco, come and check out the film, as well as other amazing films. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased here.
