May 30, 2010
Welcome.
This is the first month
of this blog.
I re-edited the first
six months of blogs due to bad language, angry content and brutal honesty.
I wouldn’t have changed
a word: personally, because I was academically taught to not be afraid of using
any word in any language – whether it’s profanity, or not, every word has a
time and place – it has to actually carry some type of communication in significance.
Nevertheless, I’ve
re-edited because I was greatly challenged in the month of October 2010 by a
lovely gathering of Lutheran women at a mission guild group considering world
events and humanitarian budgets.
I left, there, seriously
considering their lovely, peaceful and politically thoughtful demeanor as women,
they were elegant and I thought about what my father had said to me, “What kind
of person do you want to become?”
He woke me up with that
question in the same manner that these women had awoken me to my loveliness in
strength, character and confidence to go forth and leave the profanity out of
the writing.
I’ve been greatly
challenged and will uphold to my challenge until the day I die, if I can help
it. I know the difference between right-and-wrong and well; I’m getting too old
for teen angst. The older I get the more Scandinavian I’m becoming because I
can and will hold my tongue about many things and the things that I mean to
convey. Well, it’s right here in ink for you to read.
The meaning of my work
is to document aspects of culture that are marginalized, dismissed or
unimportant to mainstream media.
Using my unique
viewpoint of having studied and worked in the film industry, field and
academia; (having little knowledge of the predominant American culture
(although, I’m learning) my intention is to communicate a uniqueness and
importance of society that is often forgotten or denied media coverage,
broadcast and distribution. Although, that’s not my only consideration because
life is complex-enough as it is in each single day just to try to accomplish
one feature a year. Discipline. Need I say more?)
For example, “Da Family”
(2004-2005) tells a story of a Minneapolis rap artist whose humble beginnings
in Gary, Indiana included some strong, amazing matriarchs. Gary, Indiana,
African American women, now in their sixties, commented about rap music in
America and their dislike for objectification of women.
We filmed “Perspectives
on Steppin’” (2006-2007) in Chicago and learned about the history of a
traditional dance which derives from African American slavery. I wanted to do a
different type of film; one, about the slavery of African Americans and their
meaning of the arts for example dance, oral traditional story form and writing.
Nevertheless, the film that we ended up with was one about the attitude, dress,
dancing steps, and contemporary culture that derives as part of a social dance
scene.
Next, we produced a
short film “On the Screen” (2007) for the Minnesota Historical Society which
explored television, film and media beginning in WWII. We were so excited by
the insurmountable stock footage of the 50’s and 60’s, which inspired and lead
us to produce a feature length titled “What Were You Watching?” (2008-2009)
which illustrates the influence of television and media on the Baby
Boomers. Our interviews were conducted
in Boston, Missouri and Minnesota.
“The Process”
(2009-2010) held its world premiere on May 9, 2010, in Uptown, Minneapolis, MN;
This film uncovers the development and thought process of artists from four
different artistic mediums: music, fashion design, poetry and horse training.
It took six years to
complete this feature because much of our budget went into providing beer and
alcohol for others to feel comfortable through the process of being on camera.
Pity. But true. I wasted much of my life listening to intoxicated people, who
had to have a more than a few drinks in them, first. Otherwise, it was close to
impossible to get footage for this documentary. Life sucks, sometimes, but
still, one, forges ahead. I was forced to be on standby for most of those six
years. There was very little respect for my time, skill and knowledge. Rather
aggravating and pitiful. I hate this film with a passion and try not to watch
it no matter what.
We took six years to develop
film and cut this feature. We tried to submit this feature to one of the
largest National film festivals and it was not picked-up so we’ve decided to archive
it for the next fifty years in hopes that it will become more valuable to the
culture at large and if it doesn’t well, it can collect dust on some shelf as
most films do. We moved onto the next feature, only looking forward towards the
future and hoping that what-will-be-will-be.
----- -----
-----
May 18th,
2011
Welcome.
This is one full year of
this blog.
I met my writing goals.
For the next year I look
forward to working on content and editing with vigor. I’ve been challenged by Lutherans
not to use profane language in my writings so here we come – maturity.
Goals, thoughts and
ideas, 2011: Side Note: We’ve been filming for three years now (2009-2012) a
film about food and values.
We call this film the “food
doco” and have since the first day it was conceived because it’s yet untitled
until the last minute before it has to go through the lengthy and expensive
process of getting mastered. We – self-title our features – we’re a tiny operation,
why not take the liberty?
The food doco is
literally in pieces like a jig-saw puzzle it requires careful edit logs and a
non-linear sequencing in a timeline narrative. This will take much time and
we’re in no hurry. We’re hoping to premiere (2012) somewhere in the Western
hemisphere.
Spring 2012 we head
south to the Mexican border and Central America to film species of flowers.
We’ll be taping B-roll
and lots of it.
A-roll, interviews will
follow at a later date. We’ll set up the interviews and answer any questions,
considerations and scheduling, logistics, time and energy that need to be taken
care of for the success of these interviews.
I don’t spend months
with people anymore in getting to know them rather I’ve turned a corner where
I’ll research knowledgeable people in their fields and workers with experience
- so I’ve taken the helm, finally after many years of being produced by someone
else.
I’ve taken my creative
process a new direction of my own to be more time efficient, direct and focused
about the films that I want to make instead of a producer handing over a
project year after year (another blog for another day).
Yes, I’ve at times let
people run my career and at times it has come to a complete halt in disastrous
ways so I’ve learned early on to breathe. “You can do anything you want in life
– you’re that smart.” My Father expressed and I believed him.
As I’m maturing in my
line of work I depend heavily on the internet and digital media. As a sixteen
year old I didn’t imagine that I would run a company, successfully, at the palm
of my hand.
I believe that any one
can make a decent filmmaker. I do. The world is changing and reality TV brought
us smaller and more light-weight compact gear. Anyone can make a film at
anytime even with their cell phones – so, hopefully the appreciation in the
arts is that people are communicating more openly and across the world than
ever in the history of humanity. Incredible. How amazing.
We’re hoping to premiere
(2012) somewhere in the Western hemisphere because that is a film festival
prerequisite for submission from a United States film circuit and even if we’re
not picked-up in one film festival, wow!
We’re thinking of
Premiering in Missouri, Duluth, Minneapolis, Chile, Haiti, Costa Rica, Panama,
Vancouver, Nova Scotia, Nicaragua, Patagonia, North Pole, Argentina, Colombia,
and Ecuador, Belize, Guatemala and Venezuela.
We’re always looking to
the future and trusting in the elegance of history in relationship to people we
have proven ourselves to be mindful, thoughtful and responsible as any human
can ever be. Cheers to that! I raise a moment of silence to any code of honor
that takes into consideration the well-being of an overall-lasting contribution
in an overall group dynamic rather than self-fulfillment and disregard in many
aspects of culture.
Hilarious! We started
out making films because we wanted to make films that we wanted to watch and
share with our friends. As a contribution to the world – we’re not creating for
today but to our future to pass on information about our time in history.
Personally, I like
informational films, documentaries and media. I don’t seek out
personal-narratives or depressing content because I can’t stomach it all too
well.
I studied the power of
communications as an intricate system to convey something on each frame so it
seems that everything we watch does affect us and for that reason alone, I’m
very picky about what I watch – although I can “go there” with an excellent
idea, concept and function in meaning.
I don’t need to watch
fancy technologically made graphics, text and CG to understand that there is
value in a storyline. My favorite era for fiction film is the decade of the ninety-seventies
for the simplicity in grain film, color, lights and sound. The storylines for
the most part hold significant tales that I’ll not be able to begin to convey
through documentary film because cinema is so grandiose in its genre, alone -
in this day in age. I love to watch a film bigger than life but my reality is
one of hard work, discipline and honing a cinematic skill every day. It’s a
career and not a hobby.
I write as a hobby and I
make films for a living.
So, I’m maturing as I get
older and I believe in doing so. What else is there to do?
We figure, that even if
we’re not recognized in some type of Western hemisphere film circuit that at least
we’ll make a contribution to the world by making a feature a year as well as getting
in amazing travel, food and meet with amazing people doing amazing things from
the northern tip of the North Pole to the very southern tip of Antarctica.
Imagine, a world premiere
in Eskimo country or in a hut in Mayan jungle? Think about it, “It’s funnier
than ____” to me.
\
You’re always free to
live and create as you, best, see fit. You’re not measured by your successes,
but by your will of character to overcome what others’ ideal of success can
only mean to them.
I can’t imagine anything
more successful than a world premiere in a different country somewhere over the
Western hemisphere in the next twenty years. Ha! Chiste! Broma. Joke. Joke.
Hilarious…I’ve got to make a specific budget for that. (Broma; but – no,
really. That’s a dream come true.)
On a more serious note
for Spring 2012, we’ve been conceptualizing and storyboarding a film about
immigration.
We’ve taken a great deal
of interest near the Mexican border and how and what-is-it that immigration has
to offer of its finest to America?
The demographics in
America are changing and we must adapt to the strong tide, wind and
temperature. We’ve discussed racism, legal avenues and prejudice with many wise
people on both sides of the border. Immigration is a topic of concern to our Nation
and we’ll not be able to deny the many strengths and weaknesses that we must
face as we communicate about this subject matter. We’d like to premiere
somewhere over the Western hemisphere in (2013). Mexico would be sweet. Sweet.
Imagine it, because we can.
Our style of documentary
film is very straight forward, in which the interviewee is the authority on the
subject matter. My job as a documentary filmmaker is to find the main thematic
purpose through commonalities which come through while editing each film.
Our working process is
structured differently in the winter and summer seasons. We spend our winters editing
a film that will be premiered that following season (hopefully, if we don’t
fall back on productions schedule) if we’re not running behind, while beginning
pre-production on our next feature with research, scheduling interviews,
getting personal releases signed and contacting the many people involved in the
production.
When spring hits, we go
into production mode and spend time on location with the interviewees, meeting
and filming their A and B Roll. Our work is either very isolating or very
social depending on which developmental phase of the films we’re working on.
Each project is scheduled one full year ahead of its actual production then
seriously its vegan apple pie for us and we like apple pie.
On-line distribution
follows up to a year after production is completed.
I didn’t want to deal
with DVD distribution. There’s enough waste in the world. I didn’t want to take
care of inventory accounting for on-line uploads so I left it up to a
corporation to handle it.
I’m okay with the
decisions that I’ve begun to make in the last year alone. I’ve become a better
storyteller and filmmaker. It takes practice but more so I’ve becoming a better
communicator as a producer and what else is there?
My East Coast
grandmother with her New England impeccable manners and consideration for
people taught me to always be gracious even when I’m hungry, cranky and my feet
hurt at the end of a long day from wearing high heels. I rather run barefoot
through the woods than getting stuck behind a cubicle so this new technology is
making it easier for me to be and work without being owned by a place, people
or time. Discipline.
I think about Mr. Walt
Disney, (the man) everyday and how he had doors literally slammed in his face
by major studios and sometimes when I can’t find my way through creative
problem solving solutions I think to myself; ‘Ayee, Mr. Walt Disney, what would
you do if you were in my situation?’ I breathe, because I think he would’ve
breathed and I also think, ‘if Mr. Walt Disney made films then I, too, have the
skills just as much as any other. I can dream a good dream, can’t I? I work for
it.
I’m writing so that you
can understand a structure in organization to filmmaking.
It’s all very simple.
Anybody can be a
filmmaker.
Anybody, now days
especially with the technology that’s available.
It’s developing the
artistry that takes patience, time and energy like anything else worth doing
unless you’re a poser and there are many.
Frankly, I’ve just
started maturing two features ago when I realized I was a horrible non-linear
editor and now I hand off each film like a baton to a professional editor to cut.
The films are low-budget, professional and well-crafted now that they’re no
longer in my hands to edit.
Again, realizing those
strengths and weaknesses is everything.
I’ll probably not cut
another feature for as long as I live, if I don’t have to because I’m pretty
bad at it.
“Never, say never” my
grandmother used to say to me.
Pura Vida,
Gabriela