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.

AKA: Welcome to The Mafia

I've you haven't noticed by now I've done a lot of mob related films since I started Que The Lights.

There was my early (very early) work for the my fraternity. Afterwards, I shot a mob themed video for Que-Delta week at The University of Alabama. Now, I'm coming back to tested territory and I wanted to make sure I utilized my past knowledge to make a video far in tune with my growth as a filmmaker. now The Theta Sigma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is looking to bring the mafia back.

The AKAs wanted a Citizen Kane/Strangelove film noir look for their video. It would be reminiscent of the old black and white detective films where lights and shadows played an integral part in setting the mood. For this venture I enlisted the help of my editor, Douglas D. 

For this explanation I'm mainly focusing on the shots seen starting from 00:50 or the Round Table Scene.

This video was shot using a 3 camera set up. We used a Canon 5D MK II along with an Arri Lighting Kit ,six C-Stands, and six silk flags. 

For the master shot we set up a 650 Arri to the front right shooting towards the table (mainly on the girls in all white on the left). Next, we set up the 300 Arri to light on the left of the frame shooting towards the girls in all black. I wanted to illuminate the all white dresses (giving a more pristine look), while leaving the darker dresses to somewhat blend in with the darkness behind them. Finally, we took the 150 Arri and set it in the foreground to lightly backlight the girls in all black. Finally, to block off all of the extra light (turning all of these lights on would completely overexpose even the darkest room) we set up silks on the 650 and 300. We left the 150 bare.  We then took a lamp and set it right behind the head woman at the table to give her a backlight and illumination. We wanted to emphasize her importance as "The Don" of the table. 

For the singles (close up shots of each person) we set the camera on a pile of magazines (I know, very professional) so we could strong close up without moving the table out of the scene. For each single we took the 150 Arri light and positioned it towards the actor to better illuminate her face during her single. 

For the medium shots where we focused solely on each side of the table we kept the lighting identical to the master shot save repositioning the lights to better illuminate that side of the table for a moment. 

We shot this all in one night. It took around 4 hours, but I consider that very expedient because of the amount of preparation we took testing preparing each light set up. Of course, the master shot took the longest to get right. Once we had that together, everything went smoothly from there. 

So, if you'd ever like to ask me a question about lighting or cameras in general feel free to contact me. 

I hope this quick behind the scenes post gave you some insight on how to light a proper Black & White scene. 

Also, be sure to check out my latest feature on website, I Am The Nu Black. I recently wrote a post entitle Journey of a Student Filmmaker detailing my time as a filmmaker and my decisions on graduate school for film school. Click the banner below to check it. 

We Are The Brothers Que Pt.II -Graduation Pix

Last post I gave you a glimpse into greek culture regarding some of the more known rituals involved with graduating members of my fraternity.

Along with video, I took pictures to test out the new lens I picked up, the Canon 50mm f/1.4.

I had major problems navigating around packs of people or capturing full panorama type pictures, but the results were nonetheless fantastic.

To check out more photos from graduation click HERE.

The Toy Ball

Consider this post the sister post to Stand in the Schoolhouse Door. For the Toy Ball I not only created the Tribute video but I also took photos for the event along with fellow photographer Kevyn Bryant. 

Check out his website HERE. Here are a few of my selected favorites from the night, 

To check out more photos click HERE.

Block Party

Each year The University of Alabama hosts a Bloc Party featuring the Black Greek Culture found within the confines of the campus.

Each Greek organization introduces themselves through their particular style of hop, stroll, strut, etc...

The even not only gives insight into the stylistic intentions of each frat/sorority but gives freshmen their first glimpse into what could be their future (quite possibly).

Class Is In Session

Recently, school has started back up for the kids at The University of Alabama. For some that indicates the rumblings of new beginnings.

Kids begin their ascension towards their career goals or their downward spiral into mediocrity where the social habits of laziness leave them prey to the horrors of a shitty GPA. Either way, people will come and go. For now, everyone starts off with looks of appreciated optimism.

One of the more interesting events at the university is Black Power hour (from the time of 12pm to 2:00) where Black students congregate within the Ferguson Center (the central hub for UA students). On the first day of school the freshmen walk in with their ideals of "best dressed." The older denizens of the campus either steer clear of this charade or indulge in their seniority.

This is especially true for the Frats & Sororities. My frat felt the populace of UA (black, white, & polka dot -It's all inclusive) should have a glimpse into what is in store.

The day had a slew of interesting pix as well.

This should be an interesting year.

---Xay B.