Don't you love it when.../Cohort Meeting

Don't you love it when you're going through your music collection and you find a song you never cared to listen to until months/years later only to find it being gold?



This song is "Shook" by Emancipator and was in the "Lightning in a Bottle" commercial in my previous post and I never knew I had this song until now. It uses vocal tracks from Mobb Deep and Icelandic band Sigur Ros, a combo that seems as weird as a maple bacon sundae, but is as good as it tastes.

This kind of music makes me feel like floating away.



The other day I was at my cohort meet for my Film Program and we went through the motions of how my next 4 semesters will be played out. By this time next year I should already be in production of my senior thesis project which has got me even more excited about being in the program.

I also found out that I was among the 48 accepted out of 130 applicants (a 36% acceptance rate). I can't help but stop being modest for once and bask in my pride.

Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone an amazing Easter. I can't wait to feast out!

I'm up for living like a homeless man for 3 days.

I was talking to my friend Patrick when he sent me a link to a music festival called "Lightning in a Bottle" which is going on Memorial Day weekend and I think I'm pretty much sold on going.



Time to start saving!

In other news, I've started up a demo reel which I'm going to use to appeal for editing in my film program. My friend Jay opted for me to appeal seeing as he is highly confident in me taking editing and has decided to talk to some of the department ups.

So far I've been just compiling works I'm proud of and finishing editing my DSLR project. I haven't had some time to work on it over the weekend because of my social life and work, but I'll get around to finishing it this week, i swear!

Oh god, this music festival video gets me excited!

A little after a Quarter Past Four.

Partake safely everyone! :D

Chantry Flats

Here's a couple of pictures from a hike I took with Jess and her Lab/Chow mix Annie over the weekend at Chantry Flats in Arcadia to Sturtevant Falls and Hermit Falls.

I haven't been hiking since August of last year and it feels good to head out again and take a breather from everything at home.

Move forward!

I've been accepted into Cal State University Northridge's Cinema and Television Arts Film Program with an emphasis as a sound engineer.

I was aiming to be an editor, but was selected to be under sound, but regardless I'm proud to be the part of the 50% who are accepted into the program. I can't wait to finally work again with a crew and be on set.

I'm looking at doing a lot of production and post production and it looks like I'll be installing Avid Pro Tools, but I'm still going to keep up with the editors and get Avid Studio.

I can't wait to take my production and theory classes. I've been waiting forever to unlock them, and I can't believe I didn't do this sooner.

My last years at CSUN will be all fun. I've finished a majority of my BS upper division classes and the rest of them will be composed of film and After Effects related classes, and maybe a design or television class.

I'm so thankful for all the people that helped me along the way. Without you guys being there to help stand in for shots, give advice, or just say some uplifting words I don't know if I could have pushed myself to keep going.

I love myself a good adventure. I'm excited to embark on this one.

Change

The world is changing. We're coming up on a point of mankind where our own evolution will be visible in our own lifetimes. Not in a physical sense, but an intellectual and spiritual one.

We're able to see mankind as a whole change. From the Agricultural Revolution, kings and queens to elected officials by the people, the Industrial Revolution, the Theory of Evolution, the dawn of Nuclear power, the first man into space, the Electronic age, the Internet, the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and the new millennium. We're at a point where the gap between changes are getting closer and closer.

I used to wonder about how my grandmother felt about the changes that she's seen her whole life. From living a simple life on a rice farm in the 1930's where telephones were a luxury to living in a world where people now live in organized blocks and street systems in a suburban community with a vast majority of people who possess electronic devices that are able to beam information to a satellite in orbit to track their exact position on Earth. We've become people obsessed with information and getting it as quickly as possible.

The world is changing and so are it's ideals. We're in an age where people no longer leave responsibilities and unanswerable questions in the hands of faith and religion but rather to science, logic, and to themselves. We're living in a world where God isn't being defined as the one portrayed in Christianity/Islam/Judaism or any other major religion for that matter, but through our own experiences in life, and we're one of the lucky generations and countries to actually be given a choice to believe in a God or not. At the same time, we're still discovering higher spiritual ideas even with the decline of religious belief in society.

When we pierced the clouds and flew into what we hope would be the heavens we discovered there was nothing except the vastness that is space. We discovered a new frontier that no one could have ever imagined. Our curiosity for our existence plagues us, yet also motivates us to search for that meaning and to embark on the almost never ending journey to discover ourselves. We are well rooted and no longer nomads, but still, in a sense, searchers and journeymen; the irony that is the human race.

Morals are evolving. People are changing from warmongers to peace seekers. Chivalry is making a comeback and so is brotherhood. Love's definition grows longer with the decades and assistance to our fellow man is at an all time high. Ideas are becoming a collective, creativity and art are highly encouraged and concerns for the humanities and arts are on the rise.

The world is changing, almost to the point where you can see it unfold before your eyes.

People, we live in a beautiful time.

Navagio/Pogo

"Navagio Beach (Greek: Ναυάγιο), or the Shipwreck, is an isolated sandy cove on Zakynthos island and one of the most famous beaches in Greece. It is notable because it is home to the wreck of the alleged smuggler ship Panagiotis; thus, it is often referred to as 'Smugglers Cove'."

One day I'm going to book a flight to Greece and just lay there like a beached seal all day.



I was showing my friends that Pogo remix of "Alice in Wonderland" when I stumbled across more of his work.



Here's an "UP" remix I fell in love with just cause I recently watched it again.




And a "Mary Poppins" remix just for my nostalgia.

I just love how editing and sampling/remixing can bring something completely new from such classics. I'd really love to cut something up like this one day.

Yep

You know how in my blog description it says I'd post up things that inspire me?

Yep

Roughin' It.

So I lived like a homeless man for 2 days at Malibu..

Jess and I decided to travel to the coast for no real reason with no real destination. We just roughed it in the back of my car and found a campsite by the beach. It felt good to be away for even just a little bit.

Next time we're going to try to do this but with only 20 bucks :D

On a side note, I've just finished color correcting my Feb DSLR project and moving on to color grading and animating some titles in After Effects. 

Ponyo/Feb DSLR Project Update

I got to see Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" yesterday which he did in collaboration with Disney. I've been a fan of Miyazaki's work especially since I grew up watching "Totoro" on VHS before my double digit days.

This is one of those movies that make me feel nostalgic about adolescence and how everything can seem so magical from a child's point of view. I'm not a super big fan of a lot of Japanese animation today, but it's good to see that there is still some out there that are still being hand drawn.

To keep things brief, the story is about Miyazaki's vision of the much familiar "Little Mermaid" story. Like much of Miyazaki's work, there are a lot of mystical and magical tones to his films and "Ponyo" is no exception. The plot wasn't anything sophisticated or flashy, but that's what made the film so much easier to take in. Allowing me to not get too drowned out in the plot meant for a very relaxed viewing in which the visuals took the front stage to help tell the story of Miyazaki's vision of Ponyo's world.

The world in which Miyazaki fabricated to house this story is nothing less than breathtaking. Many of his films are located in some sort of countryside type terrain, usually involving forests or a rural town. In "Ponyo", we get to see his perspective of the sea which I think is one of his best yet. I have this weird affinity for water and just love the way he portrayed a small port town and his use of speckled light hitting the ocean floor underneath. I can go on and on about how visually amazing this film is, but I highly suggest to check it out for yourself.

As for other news, I'm currently on Spring Break and couldn't be more thankful to have a week to myself. I'm happy to say I've finished cutting the February DSLR Project I've been working on and I'm about to move on to color correcting.

I should be able to finish everything up by this week but I don't plan to post it up until sometime later. I'm currently trying to save some money so I can buy a Vimeo Plus account so I can upload it in HD and so I can upload files bigger than 500 mb's. Hopefully that will be sometime soon!

Portfolio - Written Portion.

I've been stuck working on my school's Film Portfolio and I just finished submitting it yesterday. Here's the short answer questions they asked me.

1) In the area of literature, name your favorite writer or book. Write a few sentences defending your choice.

In the field of Literature I have grown respect for the writer Hunter S. Thompson for his style of “gonzo” journalism, which puts the reporter themselves into the very stories they cover. His blunt language and gusto personality makes for a very engaging read as you can feel his characters bleed towards you from the page. His reoccurring themes in his novels of rebellion, rejection of the law, drug abuse, the fall of the American dream, and politics help bring out an understanding of the major changes the United States have went through in the past half century from such major historical events as the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s and of the acid/hippie wave of the 70’s. I’m also quite interested in his choice of the theme of the death of the American Dream because it shares similarities with one of my favorite novels “The Great Gatsby” in which F. Scott Fitzgerald discusses the dying of the dream and America’s decadent lifestyles.

2) In the area of fine arts, name your favorite artist or work. Write a few sentences defending your choice.

An artist of significance to me is Leonid Afremov. His paintings of city streets and rainy days bring such a mellow yet nostalgic feeling of similar cold nights in my life. His choice of vivid colors and their mirroring distorted images on the wet glossy concrete pavements give his paintings an almost dream like value. His paintings are definitely an inspiration to me bringing out a calm and creative collective.

3) In your opinion, what is the most important historical event of the 20th Century and why?

The most important historical event of 20th century to me is the collective events of World War II. This war was the starting domino that lead to a series of important changes in the world such as the US becoming a world super power, a flourish of new creativity in the art world, and the significant change of human culture in the decades to come. The tragedies of the war opened up the minds of many and even cracked open the repressed thoughts of humanity leading to a burst of many philosophical movements such as Existentialism.

4) What is your favorite movie? In a few sentences state why this film appeals to you.

I have a list of favorite movies of all time, but a current leader is the film “Akira” directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. This movie was ground breaking in its new techniques in animation and for its status as one of the flagships films to bringing animation from Japan to North American audiences. The film discusses the future of youth culture, the human psyche, and the resulting consequences of a post third World War. Subtle yet deep themes like these add a rich viewing experience to this film both visually and mentally. Lastly, this film is also a good role model of what a loose adaptation should be in the movie world. It’s keeping of its main themes, characters and events, and fitting them into the medium of film from graphic novel is quite the feat to accomplish without butchering the story or ruining characters. The film adaptation brings a fresh perspective in its movie format and can even carry on its own sometimes receiving more praise than its original graphic novel counterpart.

5) Would someone who knows you well say that you work best as an individual or in a group setting? Discuss.

From past experiences I have proven to work well in groups. I have worked creatively with a collective of students back when I was in high school to go to Plains, Georgia, hometown of former President Jimmy Carter, to shoot and edit a student documentary on the life of the former politician and his rise from a small town farm boy to Presidency. During our stay there I have followed the orders of my director and fellow team members and even stepped in to help navigate the team in the technical fields I excelled in such as camera work and editing. When it comes to accomplishing a project like this, it was essential we had a fluid team full of specialists and your few jack-of-all-trades. Everyone was able to execute their role in an excellent manner and it allowed me to better understand the workflow and character of the team. This allowed me to flow better as a part of the bigger machine that was the production, which without them, would make such a task impossible to work on alone.

6) You arrive at a warehouse location an hour before crew and trucks arrive and the building is padlocked. What do you do?

If I were to arrive and hour early before a scheduled day of shooting I would first reassure that I have whatever equipment or materials I am responsible of bringing. Second, I would try to see if I am able to help in any way possible before the crew and trucks arrive and give my supervisor a call to see if I am able to be put to use since I am on location early.

7) Your best friend wants to DP on your film and you don’t think they’re the best candidate. What would you do? How would you handle the situation?

If my best friend was to DP a film with me and wasn’t performing up to the standards of the team, I would tell him/her in a proper and professional manner that their skills in the production should be put to use somewhere else to increase the efficiency of the team. I would explain that a different workflow of a much more experienced or comfortable DP would help benefit the team more and that my friend’s assistance is still essential to the production, just not in the form of a DP.

8) Your best friend is your editor and is not doing a good job – not putting in the hours, not taking full responsibility. What would you do? How would you handle the situation? 

If my best friend was assigned as my team’s editor and wasn’t putting in the time or work I would first tell him/her of their poor performance as an editor, who’s job is heavily relied upon in the postproduction period as an important part of the completion of the project. I would then give them an ultimatum to improve or be relieved of their duty as editor. If his/her performance continues to suffer then I would have to agree in finding an editor who better suits our needs for the production. I would then tell my friend that my decision wasn’t anything based on a personal matter and that when it comes to the completion of a project that I have to be unbiased despite social relationships.

9) You are the producer of a senior project and one of the group members is argumentative during meetings and creates tension in the group. Privately, group members complain to you about this person – some feel threatened by this person’s behavior. The group needs this person’s financial contribution to make the film. What would you do? How would you handle the situation?

If approached as a producer about a problem regarding an uncooperative team member who’s financial contribution is a vital part of the completion of the film, I would have to console the disgruntled team member in reminding him that a film is a collaborative project and that he cannot accomplish anything without us, and we without him. I would then attempt to make compromises that still reach reasonable grounds between the needs of the group and the argumentative individual and respect each member’s creative input despite disagreements.

10) What primary skill area did you choose? What are your personal strengths that make you a good candidate for this skill area? Describe. 

The primary skill area I have chosen is editing. I have been editing projects in high school from the curious days of Windows Movie Maker, to the intermediate user interface of Sony Vegas, and now to the high end systems of Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects. I have worked as a collaborative from countless projects, always giving in my creative output and respecting others. I am able to operate and function within a team, and deliver material on time when needed. I have put in countless hours in different variations of editing from color correcting, compositing, and of course general cutting. Even on days when editors are not vital, such as preproduction and production, I still try to find myself useful in helping the team be it from working the slate to being a grip. I have never found myself to be an on camera personality, but found my niche behind the camera making the talent look good.

11) Do you have any entertainment industry background or related work experience? Describe.

I have worked freelance projects with Capitol/EMI records on several occasions editing promotional videos for artists such as Katy Perry. I worked editing kinetic typographies for artists and their upcoming singles on After Effects for full-length songs and within a window of completion in 2 weeks. I have also helped edit an introduction for a web series for a media correspondent from EMI Records who I have collaborated with from the creative community of Vimeo. To this day, I still work freelance editing with the projects I can and within my availability due to my hectic school/work schedule.

12) Outside of school, what group or individual activities do you participate in on a regular basis? Are you accomplished in any creative areas, e.g., music, art, writing?

Outside of school, I like to dabble and teach myself more in the art of design, motion graphics, and typography. I like to keep myself preoccupied by learning new aspects of After Effects and doing small video projects here and there with my digital SLR, my Canon T2I. Practicing with a DSLR with video allows me to get a better understanding of how the much more sophisticated cameras work with things such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. They also allow me to get hands on experience for practicing different variations of depth of field, lighting, focusing, and other aspects of cameras.

13) List and briefly describe your career goals.

My career goals aren’t too much to ask for. All I look forward to are editing projects that I find interesting and compelling which will make me much more devoted to the job. I would like to have under my belt a few feature length editing jobs, and even specialize in compositing or special effects for a postproduction house. I just want to find a company that can take me in, challenge me creatively, and provide me enough time and money to live comfortably. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” is a quote by Confucius which I stand by and which I believe holds true.

And after much deliberation, I've decided to do my 1 pager on my 19th Birthday "Trip" in San Francisco back in '09. The prompt was to recall a life changing moment in my life that helped form who I am today. 


            The room was blanketed with a red light that emitted from a lamp in the corner. As I laid on the floor, immobilized and staring at the ceiling, I wasn’t too sure what I’d gotten myself into. My friends were slowly slouching to the ground, spewing out words I couldn’t clearly understand. I replied back with a vomit of incoherent speech. I felt like an animal, uncivilized and incapable of communicating.

            I’ve experimented with psychedelics before and have had phenomenal experiences, but this time I couldn’t help but keep yelling, “Are these bad mushrooms?!” Bizarre events transpired throughout the night; sounds of crying, the room breathing, that red light taunting us, broken glass, and cursing the nothingness. Homesickness set in. I was over 370 miles away from home, my 19th birthday only five hours away. I continued to look at the ceiling. It began to slowly creep to a rise. What was I doing at this apartment in the Tenderloin of San Francisco? I started to become scared, frightened even. Horrible thoughts plagued my psyche. My stomach was battered by a twisting and unsettling motion but I felt it unnecessary to vomit.

            Exactly a year ago, I was in San Francisco celebrating my 18th birthday. Back then I was in a childlike state of euphoria, trekking through the city with my friends, excited for our years to come in our journey through college. Back then I held my head up high with the ambition to major and excel in what I love to do: film. That night my friends and I all promised we’d continue to pursue what we love to do and support each other in the bright futures we all aspired for. All of us freshmen, so strong, young, and vibrant, were full of dreams and hopes.

            All those thoughts from exactly one year ago spun through my mind. What transpired from then to now wasn’t at all what we had expected. People left, dropped out of college, gave up on their dreams, did poorly in school, fell into depression or spiraled into drugs. I myself was guilty of neglecting my academic career and nurturing a deplorable level of sobriety. This wasn’t what our adventure through college was supposed to be.

            I came to San Francisco to relive what happened 1 year ago from that day and instead found myself at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. What happened to me? What happened to the young man with such high spirits and excitement for the future? Why did I stay undecided instead of declaring my major? Where did it all go wrong? Between the cigarette butts on the carpet and the scattered stained bed sheets, I found myself. I suddenly came to the realization that I had lost the youth I once was. I had strayed far from the morals and dreams that I had set for myself. And what about my parents? This couldn’t be what they wanted for me after their years of struggling to reach the United States from the Philippines. Questions kept pummeling my mind throughout the night until I finally escaped to my sleep.

            Despite my plans to stay in the city for 2 more days binging in celebration of my birthday, I packed up and left the next morning. The 6 hour drive home was silent as my friends and I reflected on the monsters we became in the moments before the sun rose. We all felt as if we had just battled the demons we kept in hiding for so long and had finally come to terms with ourselves. As I drove down the Grapevine, I felt myself getting back on track. That night will forever traumatize me, but I was grateful to receive such a rude awakening as my first step. It’s similar to that feeling of your foot’s first plunge into the burning sands of a beach, but with each step you adjust to the pain and travel closer to that beautiful deep blue.

            After that weekend ended I went to school Monday morning, straight into the Cinema and Television Arts Office and finally declared my major in film for Pre-CTVA. I walked out of that office knowing that I was going to continue to pursue my aspirations with the utmost passion and fervor and have never slipped back into the terrible habits that kept me away from my dreams for so long.


Thanks everyone for helping me finish up the portfolio. Thanks to Jay helping me formulate answers and giving me guidelines for making the portfolio, Jess for helping me with the one pager and moral support, and Miguel, Ross, and Erwin for helping me do the Photo Essay/Visual Aspect of the portfolio. (I'll be sure to upload this on a future post)


I couldn't have gotten through it without you guys, or even muster up the courage to finally do so.


Now let's just hope I'll be hearing good news by April 28.
I know I'll be hearing good news by April 28.