Goals

     My goals in terms of filmmaking are to become either a director, editor or writer for film and possibly television. As of yet, I haven’t nailed down which one I would prefer because I enjoy each one of those aspects of the filmmaking process. I enjoy being in charge and taking something that someone else has written or created and bringing it to fruition and ensuring that their vision of what’s on the page matches what will be seen on screen. I enjoy editing because you take hours and hours of footage and sift through take after take to make something wonderful. Editing is like putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle, you see the individual pieces and have an idea of what the final product will look like, but you have to go on a journey to get there. My final option in terms of filmmaking is to possible become a writer. I enjoy writing and have always been good at it, though I really didn’t like it as much until I got to college. I write poetry and short stories now and would enjoy writing screenplays for a living. A writer is the first one to create an idea or is tasked with developing the overall storyline/plot of a film. When writing the sky is the limit to what you create or imagine, though it can become stressful when you don’t where to go next in a story it’s still a creative process that I enjoy.


     In terms of this class, I am more interested in learning and developing methods of framing a shot. If a shot is framed poorly, it takes away from the final product. I want to be able to visualize what I want to convey and then capture that image the best way possible on film. I also want to learn how to use different cameras so that upon graduation I can show that I’m proficient in using different types of equipment.

Inspiration

The above images not only provoke inspiration or motivation to me artistically but they bring back various emotions that I’ve felt when I was looking for a career path. Certain images remind me of the burden that others had to bear so that I can be where I am today.

The first image of the rusting car reminds me that though our physical bodies don’t rust, we age just the same. Life is too short to delay doing what I enjoy doing. If I wholeheartedly enjoy filming or editing, I should make every effort to either film or edit or learn about either one every day.

The second image is of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a centuries old sculpture. The sculpture inspires me for two reasons. The first is that the sculpture is still beautiful even though the head is missing. As artists and people in general we place so much emphasis on the face that we forget that the body holds as much beauty and importance as the face does. The second point of emphasis is the sculpture’s clothing is sweeping as if it’s moving forward, as if it’s frozen in time but still in motion. And like this sculpture, film is an art form of beauty in motion.

The third image is of the hands from the movie poster, Jungle Fever, being in an interracial relationship and living in the south isn’t always easy, and images like this stick out to me because it shows that people of different races cannot only coexist and work together, but love one another as well.

This leads to my fourth image of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, two figures of the civil rights movement. Heritage is important in all that I do; I feel that all individuals should take pride in their heritage and ancestry not only from an educational standpoint but from an overall admiration of achievement that people of many different races can coexist in one place. I wouldn’t even be able to attend the University of Alabama had it not been for the work of Rev. King and other prominent civil rights figures.

The last image is perhaps my favorite; it’s of a monk in Vietnam who is burning himself in protest. This man was willing to give his life for his beliefs and as artists we must do the same, but not to the extent of death. Give your all to every shot, every frame, every film project because if you’ve put your soul on the film the audience will see it too.

My Top 10

My top 10 of anything is a hard list for me to do. I'm torn between doing a Top 10 List of my favorite movies, rappers, jazz artists, or albums of all time. I guess I'll do my top 10 Favorite Albums of all time. If you look at my list, you'll notice I have a very eclectic taste in music and love many different genres. So here it goes:

10. Wicked: Original Broadway Cast Recording

9. Spring Awakening: Original Broadway Cast Recording

8. 19 - Adele

7. Thriller - Michael Jackson

6. Rhythm of Love - Anita Baker

5. The Black Album - Jay-Z

4. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis

3. A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay

2. The College Dropout - Kanye West

1. Innervisions - Stevie Wonder