Summertime Grind: Success is Hard Work

August 26th is the official kickoff date for the beginning of the semester at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. I haven't been lulling away my summer though. Every day represents a new opportunity, so I'd like to share a few of my summer projects before the school year begins.

During the summer I learned about a film competition known as Looking At Democracy. The competition focused on finding creative media pieces which strengthened American democracy. I decided to submit my documentary, Portrait of the Storm: Tuscaloosa, AL, to the competition. I won the title of Emerging Artist in the competition.

This came with a $5000 dollar prize. You can also watch the submission by follow this LINK.

  

During the jury decisions of Looking At Democracy I came across another competition called The New York Television Festival A&E Unscripted Development Pipeline. Filmmakers pitched their reality television show to A&E Television Network for a chance to be produced. I pitched following the lives of black greeks on their prospective campuses. The title simple, The Black Greek. A month later I was chosen as one of twenty-five semi-finalist. You can check out the video I made during undergrad that was the inspiration.

Semi-finalists will also participate in the NYTVF pitch as an Official Artist in the 2013 New York Television Festival this upcoming October. So I'll be in New York a year after choosing to attend USC instead of NYU for my graduate film studies. If my pitch goes becomes top 5 I'll receive 20k to make the pilot. 

I also participated in writing competitions over the summer, though decisions haven't been made for most. I sent in a short script to Slamdance's Writing Competition. The first critique sent back to me was well received. This is a competition I'm not expecting to win, but I need to participate in. Writing is a crucial piece of my development as an artist. The best way to hone this craft is writing as much as possible, then allowing your work to be read.

First Critique Sent from Slamdance

I sent in a feature treatment, lookbook, and short script to Break Media's Prototype Competition. Eight chosen filmmakers will receive 20k to make a 5 - 10 minute short film based on their treatment/short script. One filmmaker will be given a deal to make their short into a feature. It's a long shot, but I'm more than willing to give it a chance!

Finally, I was a semi-finalist for a smaller writing competition sponsored by Dreaming Tree Productions. If I had won I would've received a 1k budget, use of a Red Epic Package, 1 Ton Grip and Lighting Equipment, and free editing and color grading of the film. This would've been an amazing win, but I wasn't chosen. Still, the feedback and collaboration with the production company left me with a very polished short comedy script I'll shoot in the future. 

The majority of the post has been geared towards non-production work, but I have been on the ground running. I decided to take the summer off and focus on honing my cinematography skills. This brought a large amount of pressure off my shoulders to direct anything in a small amount of time, freed me to work more on writing, and made me available to work on colleagues' projects. 

Working as DP and Steadicam Operator on set. 

Lighting the scene for a Kickstarter Video

I worked as The Director of Photography on a sets over the summer, and finally got the chance to steadicam operate again. These are a few of the many endeavors I dived into over the summer. I'm finishing my internship with Spiritclips, Hallmark's film production branch and I'll start with Panavision in early September. I'm working towards a dream, and I'll do whatever it takes to succeed.

New York, New York

New York, New York!

I made it back from The Big Apple last Thursday and I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences I've had in a very long time. I've lived in a few places: Mississippi, Alabama, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles. I've also been able to leave out of country to Belize as well as France for The Cannes Film Festival.

Still, my trip to New York went beyond my expectations. I can honestly say I loved it, even for the small amount of time I was out there. As I stated in my last post, New York University asked me to come out for an interview for their graduate film program. They told me a phone or skype interview would suffice if I couldn't make the trip, but I wanted them to understand how serious I am about this opportunity.

I ended up speaking to the faculty and administrators that helped me raise the money to go to Hollywood for the CampusMovieFest finale. They once again helped me gain the amount necessary for my plane ticket and hotel. Everything was set!

The interview was very interesting. I spoke with the Dean of the program and two current professors. They didn't focus on the technical stills I have. Instead, they focused on my ability to create a story, my background as a African-American from the south, and what kind of stories I wanted to craft. They even put me on the spot, and made me come with an impromptu scene for a feature length film based on my experiences in New York. Overall, the interview wasn't a grill session. They were genuinely interested in my character, the person who I am.

After the interview, I had a day and a half to scour the city and figure out whether I could see myself living there. In this case, I decided against bringing my cameras with me. It would've been an extra bag on the flight, and I didn't want to stand out as a tourist. The last part was negated as I furiously took snapshots with my Iphone to cover my experience.

I'm not going to inundate you with a thousand pictures, but I actually sifted through them and found a few I really like.

To check out the rest of photos check out my FLICKR. Also, be sure to follow me on twitter @QueTheLights

New York University & BadStick

So I'm in New York at the moment. Awesome!

Tomorrow I'll be interviewing for a position in New York University's film program. Everything has been coming to fruition. USC admitted me for Spring 2013. UCLA called me back for their second step which is sending them your online portfolio (out of the five schools I applied to they are the only one who asks for an application with no visual attachments, only your personal narrative and ideas). I'm still waiting to hear back from The American Film Institute and Columbia University.

I talk about this a lot, but it's good to know the dreams I spoke of when I first started this site are the ones I'm living now. I feel like I'm cementing a future for myself, rather than allowing life to ease past me. I hold to a simple mantra; I want to live, not exist.

This wouldn't be an appropriate Que The Lights post if I didn't speak about a project I've finished as well. I'd like to introduce you to BadStick, a band running the bars around Tuscaloosa. I was approached by their drummer, Colin White, to shoot a promo video for them.

For most productions I'll link up with my usual crew, but everyone was busy so I decided to give a few of my students a try at shooting. This semester, I'm working as a T.A. (Teacher's Assistant) in our department's advanced videography class. I informed the class that anyone interested in getting hands-on experience with DSLRs are welcome to work with me. Two students got on board.

They did a great job. I stayed on the ground with the Canon 5D shooting a constant wide-shot while I allowed them to free-lance across the stage with a Canon T2i. 

It's pretty dope to be a teacher.