Stay Faithful

As I sit here and continue to watch the coverage of the "Colorado Massacare", I can't help but feel my stomach turn and heart tighten with disgust at this unspeakably cowardice act.  I feel helpless, as I'm sure so many others do too and especially the ones who faced this experience first hand.  It just makes me wonder.  It makes me wonder how twisted in the head someone must be to lose touch with reality and take another person's life without remorse.  It makes me wonder how someone can legally purchase the amount of guns and ammunition this low-life purchased, and no one blink an eye with suspicion.  But yet, people still believe gun control shouldn't be an issue??  I have no hesitation in saying that I have conservative political views, but it does not take a PHD political scientist to realize there is something wrong with what happened here.  If I wanted to buy a gun tomorrow, I would be more than thankful for my right to do so, but I would also hope if I planned to buy another gun two weeks from now that someone would have the guts to question Why?

It makes me sick to think that as Americans we are able to enjoy our freedom from authoritarian regime, but yet we have to be fearful of our own peers.  Residing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, this has struck a chord with me that normally doesn't happen.  But just Monday night, the same senseless act of pathetic violence occurred two miles from my house.  It makes me sick to feel that I have to look over my shoulder now when I'm in public.  People all over this world live in fear day-to-day because of extremists militant groups in their nation state, but in America (the land of the Free) our main fear is fear of ourselves.  It's sad.

This post is just a blog of thoughts racing through my head, but I hope anyone who reads it can relate in some form or fashion.  I pray that one day (and I know that day will come) that we will not have to live with the inhumane who roam this world today like the Colorado gunman.  He will face what is certain to come, but until that day I can only say God Bless you all.

Fresh Start

I'm going to try and start blogging again.  This will mainly be film and visual related, and a good reason is to try and keep up with the class I'm helping out with as a TA.  312 Advanced Videography.  I took this class in the fall of 2010 with little to no experience compared to what I have now so it should be fun doing it all over again.  Here's to a fresh blog start . . .

10 Things I love to do:

1.)  Spend time with Family and Friends

Sister and Girlfriend

2.)  Create Videos

My Vimeo Account






3.)  Take Pictures

My Flickr Account

4.)  Edit 

with Final Cut, After Effects, Photoshop, Avid (soon hopefully)

5.)  Browse and read film related articles

IMDb  NoFilmSchool  DPS (Digital Photography School) IndieWire.com  B&H Gear Page

6.)  Attempt to be healthy

7.)  Explore the Outdoors

8.)  Travel

Intrepid Travel

9.)  Watch Movies

10.)  BE CREATIVE

New test post. TA'ing for the Summer Advanced Videography class. Check out this quick trailer edit I did recently for an online contest at Imported from Gotham City.

Pursuit of Hapiness

Just wanted to explain my title for a minute.  I was surfing through music videos and saw Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Hapiness" video for the first time in a long time, and I realized how well my newer title sums up my blog.  This song brings up a lot memories from this past summer in LA and I feel like it's suiting for what everyone around us wants.  We're all on the Pursuit of Hapiness.  I really like Kid Cudi as an artist and his videos are pretty sick too.  I have to say I like this video more than the other "Pursuit of Hapiness ft. MGMT" on Youtube.

Last Thoughts

I actually touched on a few things about the semester in my artist statement, but I wanted to elaborate a little more.  This has been a great learning and growing experience.  I just wish I had been able to take this class sooner so I could've been using what I know now for the past year.  Two things definitely stand out when I think about this class.  The first is what Cordell said earlier today and I have to agree completely.  Cheesy it maybe, but it's true that the relationships I've made this semester have been awesome and I'm glad that I'm able to interact with people who love to do what I want to do.  It's nice not feeling like a stranger anymore when I walk into my Tcf classes.  I definitely remember the first day and thinking "Damn, I don't really know anyone".  Now, it's great to be able to have people to turn to and film with whenever I want.  The second aspect I think about are the technical skills I've learned.  Even though my skills are still pretty amateur, they are greatly enhanced from when I started the class.  Like I mentioned earlier today, the PD-150 was the only camera I had used (besides the little panasonics from CMF).  I definitely want to have more hands on work with cameras and hopefully that will be soon to come.  I just hope this all doesn't go away once I graduate soon.  Thanks for a great semester and Farewell 312ers.

My REEL

Artist Statement

This semester has expanded my vision as a filmmaker.  I didn’t realize I was capable of all the things that I’ve been able to do the past few months.   I said in the beginning that I was anxious to learn about all the new things we were going to cover, and in the end they have definitely paid off.  I’m glad that I’ve been able to come into my own with filmmaking.   Before this semester, I had never really thought much about what my visual style would be.  I didn’t even know what all went into the process of making a film such as true cinematography.   Now, I have a better understanding for what storytelling is all about and how I can go about portraying that through my work.

When I think of my favorite films, they all seem to have similar qualities.   As for now I have been taking inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s style of films.  Granted, my favorite film is The Boondock Saints, written and directed by Troy Duffy, but even this film is a lot like Tarantino’s.  These films are definitely a lot of action and sort of a “gangster” type of feel, but I believe they’re a little more than that.

These films are really built around the characters within them.  When I make my films, I like to get in touch with my characters’ point of view.   Keeping things personal is a must for me, and I believe it makes the audience more willing to watch. Characters are something Tarantino is well known for.  His seemingly pointless, yet relatable dialogue is key.  I tend to be a perfectionist with many things, but I also like to keep things simple.  If I can frame a shot with little variations then I’ll go for it.  

These two production courses have really opened up a lot for me.  I really enjoy filmmaking and I hope to continue with it. The crazy thing is that I have a lot more to learn and experience as I go forth with my filmmaking journey.