Day: July 20, 2018

Pitch: Art film that highlights the relationship between music, diverse cultures, and a sense of community.

As I watched the film “Streetwise”, I was beyond shocked to see teens so involved in drugs, stealing, and prostitution. Though it was disturbing, it sheds light on an important subject and helps serve as a catalyst for conversation and movement regarding the topic. I feel the film is most successful because of how intimate it feels, which is a feeling evoked by the relationship the subjects have with the person behind the camera. The camera almost feels like an invisible pair of eyes: revealing painful details about the subjects and capturing their genuine actions. These “invisible eyes” help emphasize the reality of their heartbreaking situations, but had there been no trust between the kids and the filmmaker, audiences would’ve never witnessed their most intimate struggles. I believe the filmmakers gained their trust by making them feel seen and respected; they did not judge the teens featured and they focused on the kids, who are usually ignored.

(Will continue…)

Pitch: An art film that highlights how skin tone and individual fashion choices help people embrace their culture.
Concept/story: nonlinear concept revealing how one’s choices in presentation reflect a certain culture.
Goal: Demonstrate how different people embrace their skin and how they accessorize their person in accordance to their culture and sense of individuality. Audience should end up with new perspectives of the role skin tone plays in not only embracing one’s culture, but their personal identity.
Intended length: 1 minute
Who/What/Where/When/How:
1. Where: stairwell by cafeteria provides ample space and lighting + gives us the opportunity to approach subjects
2. Who: we will select specific individuals (diverse) on their way to or from the cafeteria who are willing to participate
3. When: weekday afternoons, when students are most likely to be in cafeteria
4. How: use of two cameras/ two angles at once (Canon 7d, Canon 5d). Will need to rent out tripods and lighting equipment.
References: A-Z of hair, “Flava” by Princess Nokia
These videos feature empowering shots of subjects that feel vulnerable and intimate. Our film will not feature a spoken narrative as both of these videos do through audio and text.
5. Roles: Bebe will focus on post-production, while Izzy and Ximena work on renting equipment and filming.
6. Audio: Our video will feature instrumental music that will occasionally synchronize with the images.