On the Way to School

On the way to school is a feature length documentary that chronicles the journey to school for children from four very different countries. I decided to watch this film as a suggestion from a friend who knew I was interested in documentaries. Before I knew it I found myself completely absorbed into the story of these various children. The film was shot and edited in the style of cinema verite, where the camera floats around as if it wasn't even there.
In my opinion this is the truest form of documentary filmmaking. Interviews make people conscious of the fact that they are being filmed and in many cases takes away from the "reality" of the situation. Cinema verite truly captures life at its essence, with no planned lines or designed lighting. Everything happens as is and it is up to the filmmaker to operate on his own two feet to decide what to do. Editing becomes the driving force in telling the story. On the way to school weaves the narratives between the children together and although they are thousands of miles apart, it seems as though they are traveling as one collective.
This is one of the most important films I believe I have watched in a long time. Education is something that many of us in the United States and other first world countries take for granted. The idea of even struggling to get to school is rarely a thought in any of our minds. We grew up with the big yellow school bus picking us up on street corners or some, even more privileged, were taken right from their own driveways. To see the literal struggle that many go through everyday, just to get an education is inspiring and humbling.
This is what I hope to one day do with film. As we wrapped our first weekend of shooting down in Virginia my partner Eric and I are more driven more than ever to help others with film. I don't know where life will take me but all I can hope to do is inspire and hopefully improve the lives of others with film. On the Way to School is currently streaming on Netflix I encourage everyone to watch and try and put themselves in the shoes of these children, if only for the hour the film runs.

Spoken Word- Suli Breaks

So before I for get to do my blog I'm going to finish the one that I never got to submit. Why? Because  I am running out of shows to talk about especially since the season has ended for most of them. But, I thought I'd take a go at what I like to do in my spare time, whenever the time may be. Since I personally like to write poetry and music I thought this was worth writing about. Spoken Word--- is a great way for individuals to express themselves and explore their identity.

This is a spoken word piece that speaks it all ....
Suli Break presents ....

I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate||Spoken Word

It speaks truth. ... It asks questions I ask myself these questions going through high school. It speaks on society and ability.

Suli Breaks discusses many poems based on Education and self-worth...
They are powerful and filled with debatable concepts.
And in many ways he challenges society to think outside the box.

Suli Breaks... Why I Hate School but Love Education

Education is the Key ...

He speaks that Education is the Key... Not School

Common Sense 

Inspiring one's mind

"It does a fool no good to spend money on an education" 

-George Bush

These are the things that students go through in a school year. 

We say to ourselves "I pay all this money for school and .... "

We always expect the most 

But we shouldn't have to worry about these situations 

But there is more than one way to be educated.. 

 

THE 4 RULES OF STUDENT FILMMAKING

As our projects come to end, I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon my experience as a student filmmaker. These rules are essential for anyone starting their career as a filmmaker, but I hope they can also be helpful for those who have already established themselves in the industry. These rules, if followed perfectly, can result in a very high quality film. 

1. Know your job

        It's one of the basics but it's also one of the most important. There are many different positions on a film set and it's essential that everyone knows what their responsibility is. Filmmaking is not the combination of one or two elements but the cumulation of several people's knowledge and skill. Dialogue, performance, lighting, audio, continuity– these are just a few of the many components controlled by one or more people on a film set. If even one of these components is lacking, it can ruin a film. The given number of people on a set can range anywhere from 4 to 400, but it's essential that everyone knows how to do their job perfectly as well as where they lie in the hierarchy of decision making.

2. Prepare for everything to go wrong

        It's a natural law of filmmaking– what can go wrong will go wrong. Seriously. Some of my first times shooting in the field were a complete disaster. Camera batteries were MIA, the talent wouldn't show up, SD card's couldn't format correctly, we had no AA batteries for the Zoom mic... the number of things that can go wrong on a film set are infinite, a fact that is reinforced every time I go on to a film set. There's no way to completely cover yourself, but there are ways to prepare yourself for the future when things go array.

Double check everything. Make sure you have the most important things you need to bring to the set and then bring everything else you might not need. These things can vary depending on what your job is, but even having the most basic household items like tape, markers, and jar openers can save a film. 

Bring extras. If you're in the audio department for example, you should have extra batteries, XLR cords, headphones, and extension cords. If something goes wrong in your department it's on you and it's up to you to cover yourself. This rule can only be learned though experience so grab every opportunity you have to work on a film. 

3. Focus on the story

       Making a film look and sound awesome will not make an awesome film. When you're looking to direct a quality film you are not making it for yourself or your close filmmaking friends, but an expansive audience. An audience that doesn't care how hard it was to work with the actors or light a tiny bookstore. The audience only requires that what they're watching will compel them with a certain emotion and that they can walk away amazed by what they saw. Before creating a film, plan all of the technical things as perfectly as you can, and then step away from it all and make sure the story you are telling makes sense. Not only makes sense, but draws your audience in and keeps them there until the credits finish rolling. 

4. Have Fun

      Come on guys... we have one of the coolest jobs. We're storytellers. To create a powerful film can be thrilling, empowering, and hopefully rewarding. Things can get very stressful on set though, and it's important to remember why you're there. When you know that all your bases are covered and you're skillfully prepared, making films can be an extremely fun and engaging job. It's not an easy process by any means, but if you have good people to work with you're guaranteed to have a fun time doing it. 

A quality film is like a gourmet sandwich... Crafted by several high-quality ingredients.

The Glory of Gilmore Girls

Lately, I have been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls. My roommate has all the DVD sets and I spent all of Thanksgiving break watching them. I am really impressed with the quality of the show. It seems that there is way more than the usual 50 pages of material for an hour long show. The dialogue is so quick I might guess there are more like 70 or 80 pages of script squashed into that time slot. Not only is it fast, but its witty and intelligent...I would say about 30 references to pop culture that no one person could ever understand in one sitting. It's brilliant, I love it.

After watching so much, though I notice funny things every once in a while. They were filming a conversation scene between two characters sitting at a table. The angle of the medium shot of the man in the scene was taken very obviously without the other actor there - in reality her shoulder and most of her back would have been in the shot. It was actually really weird for me to watch and I couldn't wait for the scene to be over! Now that I saw that it is going to bother me through the 4 seasons I have left!

There are a lot of things like this I notice whenever I am watching TV or movies. I love it, actually. Watching things and going crazy because I can't fix it! I learn so much at school and it is really fun to catch it out in the real world. Very exciting stuff!

Movies on Education

I'm planning on visiting my old high school over the break to help out with some stuff and when I went to their front page, they were advertising two movie screenings at the school for students (which I've never heard of at my high school before). Although they screen on days I won't be there I was wondering if anyone has heard of these titles: Race to Nowhere / 2 Million Minutes. The first is a documentary about the pressures of the school system on students, teachers, and parents, while the latter is about how students spend their time in school. At least, that is what their descriptions say.

What is creepy is that it seems we just had a discussion along these lines in class today. You don't have any connections in Vermont, do you Arturo?