P-Star

Surfing through netflix documentaries and I come up upon one about a nine year old aspired rap artist. A friend of mine in film class had already told me about the film so I decided to check it out. Not even 5 minutes into the film I realized that it was exactly what I expected and more. The story is very touching, Priscilla "P-Star" Diaz is a nine year old girl from Brooklyn. Her and her older sister survived a lot of tragedy in there younger/infant lives. Their mother was a drug addict that ending up wandering away from her family, at that time their father was incarcerated but he made it his mission to retrieve his girls as soon as he got out, which he did. Being a convict, finding work is hard so the family depends on the money P-Star receives from little performances booked by their father.
The film was recorded in a cinema verte style, meaning the person behind the camera never showed themselves to the audience. The entire focus was on the story, I personally like this style of documentary because it allows the story to tell itself without the artist narrating it. This style especially complimented this documentary because it made Priscilla's story more personal to the audience. Watching how much her family depended on her to make money and provide their needs. The conditions they stayed in were unfit for a family with two young girls. The film tells a very vivid story from beginning to end. As a film maker I believe that this is a great film to watch and take notes from

Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company is called "40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks" has produced over 35 films since 1983. Many of his films were created to show light on political issues. The discrimination people face in different situations and even the dynamics in a family living in poverty. The truth inside the storytelling is what attracts me to Spike Lee as a film director. In films like "Do The Right Thing", he uses a lot of color saturation to draw attention to the characters emotions or feeling in that particular scene. There is always a reoccurring theme in his films and in this particular one he uses heat. Heat somehow had the power over the characters emotions and reactions in the film. Making everything bright and somehow giving the visual of unbearable heat. In other films like "She's Gotta Have It", he uses black and white very delicately to tell the story of a women who's a fool for love. When using black and white the visuals have to be really strong and he did that well. Not only do I admire his editing but I enjoy his choice of bringing in the same actors/actresses to play different characters. For example, his sister Joie Lee appears in multiple films created by Spike Lee, as well as Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Roger Guenveur Smith and several others. I've chosen Spike Lee as my director because I am a big fan of his work and I would love to use some of his techniques in my own filmmaking. His compelling stories and usage of colors really bring his films to light.

Film Review

http://vimeo.com/groups/robotfilmfest/videos/15731659

I watched a animated short from the robot film festival. the short was called Playing In the Light by Court. The short is amazing and the usage of light is very impressing. I personally love cartoons and I would love to create an animated film one day. The boy and his robot doesn't speak a word the whole film but it is clear what the story is. The robot goes "dead" because the light in his headx goes out, you can tell that this must happen often because the boy simply walks to something that resembles a refrigerator and picks out a new one, but this new one is the last one. So he replaces the light in the robot and they go out on an adventure to collect more. The music choice in this short was perfect, and very upbeat. Once again, the way the light was incorporated gave a very imaginative feel to the film. I definitely reccomend checking it out.

So, this has to be one of my favorite movies of all time. I think it's absolutely brilliant , and I'm 100% comfortable with scary movies. This movie draws my attention because it deals with the myths and beliefs of some residents in south Louisiana, where I have very close ties to. The cast inthis movie was perfectly selected and the concept ran straight through. The power struggle between Kate Hudson's character (Caroline Ellis) and Gena Rowlands' character (Violet Devereaux) was compelling and drew in focus. Unlike other "mystery" type films, this movie was unpredictable because of the super natural aspect of it. Using super natural activities that are closer to the audiences reality other that ghosts and demons. This is what one living person can do to another if they "believe"

Skeleton Key

Journal Three

The entry made on May 10, 1905 talks about time being "sticky". I think of it as being stuck in time; reluctant to let go. Some people can relive a moment in their life over and over again. This entry reminds me of a hoarder and how they hold on to everything. For the fear of forgetting or moving on people hold on to the past. People can get stuck in some point of their lives and never get free. Somethings haunt people for the rest of their lives.
A drunk driving accident almost always end with the drunken driver being alive to tell the story, and although it may have been an accident that was out of their hands the pain of what they did would always haunt them. A mother who aborts it's child is always reminded of it no matter how long ago it was. Being stuck in time is just like living as if you were invisible because nothing can be changed. Everything has to go exactly the way it did or the future would be misguided. The writer says, "For a life in the past cannot be shared with the present". The loss of a loved one can keep someone stuck in memories because they never got to express their last words. People allow the past to weigh heavy on their hearts. Life continues to go on, time continues to go on, moments are replaced every second. Time forgets and people don't and that's what causes them to become trapped in the past.

Journal 2

In the journal entry of May 8, 1905 the speaker is talking about the end of the world. The specific date is the 26th of September in 1907. This entry shows how people act because of the knowledge that they have of time. In reality we don't know how much time we have on Earth so we live at a constant rate. Instead, these people know everything, to the very last second of how long they will die so they begin to change their actions. Things that were held back is  now coming forward, and people reveal their feeling toward each other. People are nicer to each other and live in harmony for the coming of the end of the world. Schools close because educating children for the future is no longer necessary. Parents value every moment they spend with their children and let them do as they please. Businesses are gaining money that holds no value because soon money will no longer matter. As the date gets closer the people grow closer. This entry alone shows why humans can't determine the future. If the future could be studied to the very last second people would do everything in their power to live the best way they can without any regrets, but that's not life. Life is all about decisions and living until its your time to go. People should live as if their life will end everyday because time doesn't determine the end, people do. This entry makes me think about if everyone actually did know the day and time of their death. Many things would be done differently just like in the story. I would make sure all my loved ones knew how I felt about them and make it clear that I'll always be with them. I would smile more and find joy in life. Ignore all the bad times and try to find more things to smile at. In the world we live in, letting people know when it's their time would give us too much power. Many people would live in fear, many would live in regret, and the rest will live in the moment. I think it's better to not know what comes next, even though the death of loved ones hurt us, too much knowlege would hurt us more.

Journal One

In the book Einstein's Dreams written by Alan Lightman, the thoughts of a genius is revealed. The book is a collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905 as he is creating theory of time. It is a fictional story.The first few entries it explains a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. It explores different dimensions and possibilities of how things can turn out. How time has the ability to constantly repeat itself and give you a chance to constantly relive a moment in time. It goes into the depts of how a person who is from the future can come to the past and live as if they are not there because of fear of changing what may happen in the future. The tiniest little adjustment to something in the past can change something forever which causes some people to live in fear. This book not only describes the depts and complexity of time, it also shows the same characteristics in different kind of human beings and human reactions. Every claim was backed up with a real life situation between people who were dealing with something in reality, time was just included. From the seven journal entries that I read in the book it is obvious that Einstein's Dreams is a good read. It makes you think about the possibilities of life.