Speed Ramp Tutorial, thank you.

 

Ronin SC Tricks

 Cannot wait to try At 3:40 the Orbit. I found others interesting like the Upright Barrel Roll at 8:35

Ronin Sc

 It's very difficult to balance this. I read on a filmmaker forum a girl said "I couldn't balance mine, so I just sold it." I did balance it, the key is patience and minuscule movement.

Hues Celebrity Gifting Event & the Benefits of Experience

 

Several years ago I had the opportunity to film a gifting event for the Hues Company. The Harris sisters were inspiring to film for, just the way they made things happen and created solidarity with minority owned businesses. The event was quite lively, and I was thankful I had enough experience in filming to realize that the background chatter could not be cleaned up, no matter how skilled you are at Protools.

Sometimes videography situations arise where your only choice is to say "Cut!" And inform your client - "You have two choices, keep filming, but I can tell you now all the background noise is going to make it seem amateur.  Or you can make an announcement for people to please whisper for the next 10 minutes."

October Sky (1999)

     I have a habit of watching movies 5 times in one year, October Sky is definitely one of them. In film school, while taking advanced screenwriting class many times my professor would talk about the importance of motivation with characters. October Sky is a prime example of motivation.

  Most humans do not want to spend their adult lives in a mine, slowly inching towards black lung disease, also hearing stories of coworkers dying from accidents that are bound to happen in a mine, like it’s a given someone will die. Most of my favorite films are low budget indie or European art films, but I think this one is in my top 10. A good story where you really want to see the underdog win. Not every movie fits this criteria, but this one does -A Long Line is a Captivating Character with a Mighty or Moving Motivation going after a Grand Goal while facing Outstanding Obstacles. 

One of the interesting things I learned about storytelling and the relationship of cinematography is how the story is shaped through camera work and how long the camera stays on a certain character. October Sky showed an evolved finess when it came to cinematography and the character Valintine Carmina.

It's really important to define the dynamics of Coalwood, which we don't know much about, to have the protagonist's older brother have a chance to get to go to college. It’s another way the movie illustrates to the audience how limited the options are for highschool boys. Only ones with football scholarships are able to attend college.

The scene where Homer dares to sit with Quintin in the cafeteria is equally funny and stupid, as in I can't believe how shallow and stupid I was in Highschool. It's very relatable though. 

The challenges Homer faces while trying to perfect his rocket, like finding a welder makes him more likable, just that he won't give up and refuses to accept his fate as a miserable coal miner. His acceptance of the social outcast Quintin is also so important to make him more likable. Homer's attachment to Werner Van Braun is adorable.  It's almost as if every time a new challenge arises for Homer, it makes him more likable and I want him to win more.

   Many times arguments have so much information about the story in October Sky, like before they go to Snakeroot and they argue about how horrible coal mining is, how it's turned Roy Lee's step dad into a massive alcoholic who is violent. And how O’del's dad died in a mining accident. And when the Principal Turner was arguing with Miss Riley about how a “lucky one will get out on a football scholarship, the rest go work in the mine." Miss Riley replies,"How about I believe in the unlucky ones, or I'll go out of my mind."

    Much of the entertainment comes from everything they have to do to get the rocket to fly, and so many components go into that. The montage of trial and error with unsuccessful rockets makes me want them to succeed more, it also shows how hard they worked to get it done, but with skillful editing it wasn't too redundant or amateur, which I have seen. 

Roy Lee has a lot sass, and not that I ever think domestic violence is a good or acceptable thing, but it fits his character that he endures violence from his step dad.

When the rocket boys are falsely accused and have to abandon their rocket building completely, it's a low point, and I feel for them, but Homer then has the perfect motivation to continue. Miss Riley basically tells Homer her life would not be in vain if she could have seen the Rocket Boys go to college and not end up miserable in the mine. What's is also a very potent motivation is Miss Riley dying young from Hodgkin's disease.

Strike talk as a b story, helps build the tension of the story and give a slight bit more suspense, making the audience wonder how Homer will overcome this challenge. 

It was very heartfelt that Homes looked at Ike Bikosky’s worker coin before he won, also 

Illustrating symbolically his motivation - not to die in an accident in the mine.

Ideally I would like to read every book when I like the movie version, I listened to the audio book, of Rocket Boys, it was pretty interesting. it was a long time ago though.

Chef (2014) 'He's Not Getting To Me!!!!'

 Chef is one of my top 10 movies, maybe even my top 5. It's a movie that touches on 

very timeless and universal themes. A middle age man, who is a chef at glamorous high

end restaurant. But critical events which are intertwined with being a 

well known chef make him absolutely miserable. I think these themes are played out

time and time again in people's career. They work for years at attaining 

glamorous high paying job only to find misery and an unfulfilled life. 

At it's core Chef masterfully address a timeless issue. 

Jon Favreau's humor is so refined and refreshing from the Jim Carrey over acting.

 He creates humor from a lot of intense humiliation, most of which would be a nightmare 

for the average person, for instance the food critique's review. It 

was scathing and would make most people want to crawl under a stone. But what's worse 

is it going viral on twitter without him knowing and his coworkers see it well before he

 does. Again, if I read this in someone diary as a first hand account it would be 

traumatizing to someone's core, but Favreau manages to create one of the best, hilarious 

movies I've ever seen from this narrative. What makes it even more hilarious and potent is

 his son reading all the criticism out loud. 

I love the b story and how it's equally as heartfelt, the story between Chef Carl

 and his son Percy. I love the character development which give a really strong enhancement

 to how Chef Carl experiences a transformative way of living his life.

One of my favorite scenes, or montages rather is when Chef Carl is not able to cook 

his new menu and then Ramsey Michel comes back for the second round, but Carl cooks his new menu 

at his home. This movie is very authentic.

    So now the whole scathing review mushroom clouds into a full blown meltdown-temper tantrum

by Carl that's seen by the entire nation.  "You're not getting to me!!!"

The monologue with Molly pointing out that Carl is miserable is crucial.

The whole vibe of this movie is humiliating events that would put someone in a bad mood for a 

month or relapse. Another golden scene which fits this is when Carl has to talk to his ex-wife 

ex-husband Marvin who has massive issues and enjoys degrading people to their face.   

       At the core of this film is autonomy when it comes to your passion or dream job. That is

universal, timeless and powerful. It also speaks to someone on a deep level. 

When Carl gains autonomy back, it conveys that the moral of the story is that status does not

give you happiness or fulfillment, it's a extremely powerful story, done right it's so

authentic and heartfelt. What adds a ton is how it coincides with Carl healing his

relationship with his kid. I love Percy's vine video at the end and how is shapes Carl. 🫶🏾

Master Classs -Werner Herzog

 This year I plan to take Master Class again.

Woman In Gold (2015)

A Long line is a Captivating Character with a Mighty or Moving Motivation going after a Grand Goal while facing Outstanding Obstacles.

My friend who has written for PBS, cartoon shows in the past sent me the above sentence. It's his 

construct for writing stories. Woman In Gold is a beautiful example of this. One part of the film I think is particularly powerful was when Maria wins in Austria the right to own the painting, but realizes it doesn't heal how she had to leave her parents to save her own life and live in America. It made the movie so profound and extremely moving. 

There is a whole lot of fade outs in this trailer 😬