"Certain things words just cannot describe...they must be seen and experienced"

THE question we all encounter at some point. 

How do I get inspired? How do I come up with something that is worthwhile? 

It's funny how sometimes we come up with stuff randomly. Like today, I was seating watching a random movie with my parents and wrote all this in my notes:

GIRL in beach makes toy with things found at beach --> location jetties rocks

story about relationship with father and first scene is her alone, father is a drug addict but they have healthy relationship so  its extra complicated, he hides addiction pretty well and is a good father but has that bad side. Mom out the picture. Talk about how family relationships are more complicated that they seem. Research dont want to undermine addict stories, or portray an unrealistic idealized version of it. THAT beach scene tho i can picture it perfectly. Came to me watching love jacked with parents. A SCENE like the about time scene when he goes back to have a final day with his dad. --> love those beach scenes SO MUCH inspired by them. Ocean drive? no not family enough.

Other, girl looks out window every day and notices something. Dont know what yet. A little day to day thing.

American beauty bag scene--> umbrella Starbucks. Something about life being so infinite. Maybe a short film all about little moments. Abstract? could work. Would be hard tho. Worth developing?

I've compiled quite a collection of random surges like these, but most of the time they don't amount to anything, because most of the time they make no sense. I'm not the best at putting my thoughts into words. 

So to fight this artistic block I was having, I went with some friends to ARTECHOUSE in Miami. It is an exhibition that combines art, science, and technology. WOW. I got incredibly inspired. It amazes me the incredible art people are able to make. This exhibition consisted of Infinity rooms, and projections with mirrors, that were truly out of this world. The entire experience was so immersive. Not to mention it is close to Ocean Drive, so the architecture nearby is incredible. There is no better way to look for inspiration than going out there with a camera and just shooting. I'm pretty happy with the results here are some of my favorites. 

I remembered how amazing it can feel to just go and do what you love with no limitations. It felt so good!!!It definitely got the ball rolling on my head, and seeing all these talented artists' work was even more inspiring. Not to mention my upper mega talented friends that also shot some amazing photos and vids.  I greatly enjoyed getting out there, and it is the best way to start this project. I just need to get my ideas together now and write it down!!! But I will definitely update on how I stimulate my brain into coming up with something! I sometimes dream my ideas so we will indeed see. 

More pics of me in my element :)

https://www.miami.artechouse.com/ 

What to do if you don't know what to do

IRONY is key here, since you try the opposite of what you want, to learn what you actually want. You try everything!

This year so far we have  done a documentary, and a trailer. Last year we did a music video, and the film opening.  We've come a long way indeed. #growth.

From Amalthea

to Túlipan sin agua

to Trinkets

to Tune

 All incredibly filling projects that have taught me and helped me grow so much. They have also taught me why I don't want to do them as my portfolio.  Let's take a ride through memory lane :)

It all started with the MUSIC VIDEO. Amalthea's Static Noise. One of the most fun projects ever. With Static Noise I learned the importance of storyboarding and having a plan B. We had storyboarded VERY roughly, but then it rained, and plans had to change rather quickly. The editing process was also a mess, and hello why didn't we shoot more b-roll???????? Matching the song with the shots was SO hard. And while I loved the vibe from our band, that we got to create, I realized that if the creative idea or the brand of the band or artist didn't match mine, or my vision, in the end is all about branding, and I wouldn't have full creative control. Not to mention I don't know any local bands. So even though I completely loved shooting one, and editing to the beats is my favorite thing, and the dreamy immersive, completely world transforming vibe of music videos amazes me, we ruled out the music video.

A little bit after we did the DOCUMENTARY. AH Trinkets. What a nice little wholesome project. This was the first time I didn't edit a whole project myself. It was nice collaborating with Sophie and mixing our editing skills, even though I only edited the intro. It was refreshing giving up some of the control I'm usually used to. Shooting this was SO  much fun, and incredibly interesting.  I shot Marco's interview, and once again used some BECON TV equipment that was SO nice. I loved shooting that interview mainly because I learned so much about a thing my friend was incredibly passionate about, that I wouldn't have before. The whole exploration and research and learning of a topic that comes from doing a documentary is my favorite part of documentaries.  I also had a pretty huge self realization moment when we were doing critics in class. As we were watching the docs, and listening to what others recommended for ours, it hit me that I wanted to do this forever. I realized I had stuff to say. I stopped seeing my work in a self deprecating way, and started seeing it as opportunities to grow. I started being proud of what I was making, and that was pretty big for me. Hello new major :). BUT besides all that, it was a no for the doc. I felt like the conventions were a little hard to challenge. Not that I don't like a challenge, but I wasn't connecting with the vibe and style of them. I admire the dedication of all of it, but given as what I like most about producing is the mise-en-scene, the sound, the art direction, and docs tend to be less about aesthetics, and more about content, it didn't feel like it was for me.

(we're not doing this chronologically for a reason so trust me for a second <3)

The most recent, the TRAILER. Oh how I loved the trailer. Mixing everything I love. A little bit of montage, music, storylines, everything about it is I believe everything I like doing. So why didn't I chose it? It was just to recent. I was actually proud of how I went about doing this one. I actually outlined, storyboard, chose the soundtrack, and stuck to the schedule. I edited with time, but again struggled with sound, cause when do I not :/. However, I didn't have control of the story since we used short stories done by the creative writing students., And I got to say I LOVED it. It gave me a chance to focus in so many more things in a more detailed way.  Having just done it though, I wasn't to eager to jump right on the trailer wagon again.

And now the one you know all about. The FILM OPENING. Yes, that is not an option for the A level portfolio project, but I had to include it because it played a big part in my decision. I learned what not to do, and trust me I can go on and on about how my film opening could've been slightly better, but that is not the point. I learned that no matter how much you plan, sometimes you have to improvise. It taught me that I want to tell the full story. With the full liberty of my stylistic choices, my storyline, and a story I can tell from beginning to end. From all the projects this will be the first one I will actually do completely by myself. Yes, I no longer have a partner. However, this is exciting! This will be completely and fully mine! I'm as equally terrified as I am excited.

So there it is, that is why I chose to do a short-film by myself.

st!

"Dog gives birth to green puppy named Hulk"

AN inspiring random moment. I have been thinking about the impact media has on us. What we think, who we are, what we do. We recently researched and studied collective identity in class. I did a case study on the collective identity of drug addicts, specifically opium users. It is astounding to see how the way media portrays a certain group, how it represents it, can mediate how an entire group is seen.
We also did case studies on different postmodernist theorist, and how they interpret the era. To think that the media does not completely control society is naive. Yes, it is an interchangeable relationship. Society is reflected in media, represented, and media shapes what society thinks. The chicken or the egg dilemma. After studying all the ways media dictates what we think and do, I thought it was curious to see a title for an article like "Dog gives birth to green puppy named Hulk". I, like probably many others, clicked on it because that's what the click bait's for right? Anyway the story was predictably not true and mediocre. The dog was literally green because of poop.
This made me realize I don't want that for my short film. But all of these research has also shown me that even when you think your'e innovative and unique, it can always be tied back to something that has been made before, because hello ~pastiche~ and how can we be unique? The amount of over saturation present today is so incredible, that we have been exposed to so much, we have access to so much. How can my art not be mediocre? How can I make it stand out? How can it be more than a dog filled with poop named Hulk? But I was seeing everything from the wrong angle. It is simple feel good, cute stories like the puppy Hulk that people consume the most. In a world filled with bad news, sometimes it is necessary to reach that escape, that feel good, nonsensical cute story. It doesn't have to be a super complex story for it to be good. Not that the puppy story was any kind of life changing, but it made me appreciate the little stories. It weirdly inspired me. 

This class has changed me so much. I feel like I've grown as an artist incredibly. My peers are so talented, and they inspire me every day. We love wholesome creative friendships. I'm so excited for this project. It is going to be the first time I have no safety net. I'll be doing everything entirely by myself. It feels so big. Kind of unattainable. But I'm determined to do the best I can. Give it my all.

It's funny how I've had so many ideas this year, I even storyboarded some, but now that i actually need one I don't like any. But, I decided I want to focus in a simple little story for the short film. I am interested in a day to day life event, seen in an extremely detailed way. I don't know if that makes sense I'm still developing it.  Tomorrow I'm going to Artechouse, and a comic book store, and a record store. I'm going to take my camera, and shooting a little. Hopefully, I get inspired.

st!





https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/17/us/green-puppy-hulk-north-carolina-trnd/index.html