THE FILMMAKERS' DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Installations

2007-12-07T20:26:00.000-05:00

The installation were great. My favorite thing about it was the freedom to do new things with film. All the groups exploited this freedom. It was cool and fun for me reciting poetry. I think that Angie was a great director and all the groups impressed me.It was also great seeing the projects from other classes. I think that it was really cool having a end of semester festival. I hope I will be invited next year. I wish the weather was just a little warmer but it was really not a big problem. I am sad that the class is over I really had fun and learned a lot. But I am equally happy and excited about next semester. I have a lot of really cool classes and plus I will be graduating. It is amazing how quickly the semesters go by, I really feel that I have learned a lot here at UNCW, refined my film taste, developed great network of fellow filmmakers, mastered the basics and fundamentals of film making -still have a lot to learn, but I know how to learn and what to learn now. Been a great semester we had an awesome class, I am really happy I took this class.

Blog on Blogging

2007-11-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

Before my Intro to Documentary Film last semester I did not know what a blog was. Now after 2 consecutive courses with Shannon Silva I am well introduced to the world of blog. I had always heard of blogs in reference to online political discussions but I have come to learn that blogs are much more. Blogs can take the form of political commentary, news, online diary, online discussion groups on any topic and much much more. There are travel blogs, photoblogs, fashion blogs, legal blogs, political blogs, artlogs, vlogs( video blogs) and splogs (bloggs used for spamming). The purpose of my 2 bloggs in class have been communicatioin with group members, professor and class. One of my blogs have also served as a platform for historians to debate the 1898 Race Riots/Coup de tat/Rebellion/Massacre.....the debate still lingers on my blog as to what the right term should be. My blogs have been used to publicize the films I am working on and whats going on in my life and to present my ideas and opions. I really enjoyed using one of my blogs to announce my Artistic manifesto- the "Micheaux Manifesto". Some bloggers have used blogging to attack political leaders such as Trent Lott in 2002, which gained a lot of attention. But bloogers have also been under fire too. One blogger in Egypt named Amir (no relation) was arrested for insulting the President of Egypt- Hosni Mubarak. Howard Dean and Wesley Clark set up blogs to voice their opposition to the Iraqi War. Some people have have been fired from their jobs for their blog postings. Soldiers in Iraq have set up Warblogs detailing their experiences in the war as they happen. Blogs offer new possibilities for news, mass media and marketing. During Hurricane Katrina local bloogers assimilated information that the major networks were neglecting. Brad Templeton proclaims that one of his blogs- http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/ created Aug 7 1987 is the oldest blog in the world. Though sometimes I am neglectful of my bloggs i am really proud of them especially this one and I intend to utilize this in the future as a way to present my opinions and experiences. I am also happy to have a platform to present my theories and philosophy on life and art. Well there is a lot of information on blogging and one could never cover it all in one blog or blog posting.
Peace
Amir

Full Frame

2007-11-27T09:16:00.000-05:00

In the mist of all the end of semester fury-exams, papers, projects, grad school applications etc.. I have been submitting Scarz to film fests. Most of the fest do not require a press kit but Full Frame does. I am finishing up the press kit today. From this experience I am learning a lot. First of all I see that I do not like this part of independent film making. But also that it is just as critical. It is important not always but sometimes for your film to be presented and exposed to the public. Film fest is the venue to accomplish this. Being an independent filmmaker you must be persistent to the end. A lot of us want to throw our hands up after the shoot or edit but that is not the finish line. Also we have to have confidence to release “our baby” to the public like a mother bird pushing its chicks out of the nest. The film finally has wings to fly on its own so we have to know when its time to “let go”. So finishing up the press kit for Full Frame has not been fun or exciting but it is worth it. I feel like I am doing my film justice by trying to give it exposure.

Music Video Edit

2007-11-26T23:29:00.000-05:00

I learned alot about the film process in the Music viedo project. The group did alot of pre- planning. More pre planning then I have ever done. The shoot went really smothly and the editing went even more easy. Michael and I edited the visuals in about 1 hour and half. That is the fastes I have ever edited a project. Granted that our edit may not be completly done -perhaps the other groups memeber will see theings that need to be worked on but so far Michael and I are very sastifeid and pleased. We really "shot for the edit". In the editing both at bear hall we both quickly saw tht there was very little we could really do with the footage except what we had planned to do. Our hands were tied however it was very easy to piece the film together like the big puzzle pieces that preschooler play with. We edited the peice together it looks good and we both are proud of it...hopefully the rest of the group will be too. I am excited to see what ideas the rest of the group will have to add to the project too. I have not seen it since and am wondering what cool ideas everyone else has contributed so far. I have learned that when you shot for the edit it cuts editing time in half actully a lot more. However it does limit you a lot. When you do more random improve shooting you have more to work with but a big head ache on decieding what to keep and not use. I am excited to see our music video wed.

America Freedom to Facism

2007-10-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

I saw a film on Google video called America Freedom to Fascism. The film is a documentary about the Federal income tax. I heard about this film while listening to a very conservative radio talk show. I deciced to watch the film .The filmnmaker Aaron Russo has leaked the film through Google, youtube and his own website. He is more interested in exposure then dvd sales. He seems to be on a crusade to educate American citizens about federal income tax and the IRS. At first I was thinking the film would be a very onesided ultra conservative attempt by the filthy rich to evade paying taxes. But is was not. The film did have an agenda but it was bipartisan. I learned a lot from the film. I like the way the tax laws, Constitution and IRS code was presented simple to understand and quite intriguing. Typically a film about the IRS would seem to be quite boring. After seeing the film I now feel like a "quasi expert" on tax law. I now know that the Constitution forbids a "direct tax" that is not "appropriated", even cooler I know what that means. I learned a lot of other interesting facts , like the federal government was maintained and funded without income tax from 1776 until 1913 (the majority of it's history). I learned that none of our tax dollars fund the government services such as military, highway construction and so on. All of the federal income tax is consumed by the intrest of the national debt, and paid to none other then ...the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is not "federal" but a privately owned company, owned by bankers. I like how the filmmaker was able to maintain my attention on such a boring topic and make the information attainable by the layman. I also like his distribution method.

Self Portrait

2007-10-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

Working on my self portrait has been an interesting and fun experience. I knew what I wanted from my portrait but I did not exactly achieve it. My original plan has grown into something different and I think in ways it is better. The film project was very "organic" and kinda evolved into its own entity. Doing the project was kinda like painting a picture. The canvas spoke to me more than I spoke to the canvas. My role was to pay close attention to what needed to be said, done, shown, and to do it. The film kinda created it's self, I just assisted. As I observed which direction the film was taking it's self the project morphed into what it wanted to be. My final draft is different from my brainstorming and storyboard. And I have a lot of really great footage that did not make it into the final. I used two of my younger brother as actors to play the role as me at different stages but only one made it into the final. When I am drawing I look at my paper and the lines and the paper tells me where and how to connect contours and create shadows. It is like the creation speaks to me and tell me what to do. This is the best way I can explain what happen during this film project. The film spoke to me.

Light Journal Shadows are special

2007-10-03T11:07:00.000-04:00

In my car in the evening the light diffuses through my tinted sunroof. Light enter from four more direction the front back and side windows. There is no round steering wheel shadow. The shadows in my car look like puzzle pieces randomly places throughout the car. The Christmas tree air freshener hanging form my rear view mirror creates a shadow on the dash board. Shadows are found on some surfaces while others are bright reflecting light. The floor is totally dark. I do not think that the light reaches that deep inside. My balled up jacket in the back sit reflects light and create shadows at certain angles and creases. My books are flat and the way they are laying they create perfect surfaces for light to bounce off. Ok so I just got a really deep philosophical revelation. As I look into my car searching for the difference in the light, shadows, light angles, reflection of light and surfaces I realize something. Film is the manipulation of light and sound. Light and sound is all around. My looking into my card observing the light is like looking at a film in some strange way. There is a connection. When I move and replace items in my car to see the reaction of the light and shadow it is similar to filmmaking. This is really deep but I understand it makes sense to me. It is hard to articulate but film is going on all around us all the time. Maybe not always deliberately but the same idea and concept is there. I once heard that cave mean would stare at fire at night captivated as we are to day staring at TV sets flickering light. I am even fascinated staring at flames of fire dance. The movement of light, the casting of shadows, the bending and reflecting going on all around us giving us stimuli. This is film… Ok now I have another profound Buddha moment. Shadow are special. Shadows are special because they are like our souls. Like an alter ego they reflect us. As a reflection of us they are in a way connected to us. They are us.

Open your eyes and "SEE"

2007-10-03T10:12:00.000-04:00

Sitting under a crowd of trees in the evening I notice that all that I suspected and more. I thought there would be interesting shadows and there was. I anticipated shadows of branches and limbs. And I did see this, however the positioning of the sun and the angle of the light dwarfed and distorted the shadows. The shadows were longer and slimmer then they should have been, or at least what I would expect. Even my on shadow was much longer than I really am. The shadows were also quite diffused, no sharp or definite contour lines. The shadows were very blurred. This was a slight surprise for me. Well more of a remaindered than a surprise. Sometimes we take for granted that light and shadow is simply a “black and white” reality. No, there is a middle ground. I remembered what I had learned and practice when I sketch. In drawing the important thing is to really “see”. The better you can “see” things as they are they better you can draw them. When we open our eyes and swallow down the images as they are we can regurgitate an exact replica on our canvas. But we have to first forbid all preconceived notions about what we are seeing and just “SEE”. Light angles and shadows are what give a drawing life and a realness feel. I am reminded all these things as I sit under the tree. So I look- deeply. I notice that when the wind blows the shadows move. I look deeply and it is hard to determine if I am seeing a rock, leaf or a shadow. The blowing wind gives me clues. Some shadows are darker than other shadows. I notice shadows on top of other shadows. This is weird how is that possible??? I notice shadows on the trees and the trees create more shadows. The light reflects and bounces off the trees creating different angles forming the effect of shading of the shadows and shadows on top of each other. Very interestingly I notice that the leaves are like little mirrors reflecting light. At certain angles the leaves are bright and shining. It is like a thousand pieces of broken glass glittering reflecting light and different angles then “faded out” becoming dull and dark with the slightest tilt of my head. Leaves are actually great reflectors of light. I would have not imagined that before. In filmmaking it is important to “SEE”, see with the eyes not the mind. The mind tells you lies and creates feeling and sensation. The eyes see. The eyes are cameras, with no preconceived beliefs or expectations. The eyes have no agenda, desires or fears. When we look and just observed we can recreate what the mind wants to believe. My mind did not think that leaves reflected light but my eyes observed it. My mind did not expect lazy shadows lounging on other shadows. If I would have attempted to artificially create a drawing or film a scene of the shadows under a tree I would have failed. I would have created sharp contour lines and dark shadows. Now I know that there is a variety in the shading of shadows. Shadows sometimes are blurred and distorted. The eyes see things as they are, the mind sees things as it believes.

Sound Journal

2007-09-04T19:04:00.000-04:00

Entry #1
A very loud speedy and constant bird song is heard. It is as constant as a ticking clock. High pitched a bit squeaky. In some strange way I hear an echo like the bird can echo its own sound. The sound is similar to a whistle and a ring. It is some what piercing if you pay attention and listen closely. I hear a sudden stop or pause and then another that last for a while. I contemplate has the bird accomplished it goal? Has it grown tiered of singing? has it found a mate? Then I notice it again. But I do not hear it when it starts. it is as if I can not hear it when it starts like the sound moves to quickly for my ears to catch it. It is as if I can not comprehend it. The bird sings but I do not ear the first note. It is like if some one speaks and you do not start listening until id sentence. The first few words are missed. The bird is sneaky. My own thoughts are louder than the bird so i do not hear it until I direct my mind to acknowledge it.

Entry #2

The humming sound of the air condiction?....refregiration?.....some type of ?......machinery? Vibrating metal, similar to a bell but more of the "sustain" and none of the "crash". I hear the movement of water?....air?....gas?...fluid?..through pipes. I hear shaking and trembling of lose parts. Nuts bolts and metal cling and clang together. This hum is constant kind of like the bird's song. But it reminds me more of a humming Buddhist monk meditating. The hum is like a person meditating or a machine meditating. But machines don't meditate...... do they? This is kind of spooky now. It is as if there is some type of ever present entity making noises. It sang through the bird now it hums through the refrigerator. It is like a constant back up noise or sound track to life. A sound track I over look. It seems like there is always some noise there to be heard, only if I would listen. It is really scary thing to think about. It is as if there is a sound raping our ears..forcing itself into our heads. We have grown so accustomed to it that we do not even notice it. We overlook it. Or maybe it is not a rapist but an ideal lover unrequited she constantly proclaims her love sing her sounds. I have neglected and ignored all this time.

Entry #3

Third try same thing. I sit by a pond listening to the sound of water. Strikingly it is not only very meditative but it sounds like a meditative person humming. It is a very swift and constant sound. It seems like it will never end. It reminds me a a journey, life and movement. It is similar to the bird and the sounds of metals clanging together. This sound is like a constant crash. I hear a brief pause noticeable only be a am listening so closely. It is not really a relaxing sound that you would expect from nature. It is really a very violent crashing sound. But some how it is relaxing.

The Micheaux Manifesto

2007-08-26T11:49:00.000-04:00

My personal manifesto as a filmmaker is named in honor of Oscar Micheaux because he exemplifies my intentions as a filmmaker. As he I have also and intend to continue to have artistic, political and financial independence from the decadent, materialistic, and "anti-art" rule of the racist and sexist Hollywood system. I am a filmmaker, I specify the word filmmaker because I make and I intend to continue to make "films" not "movies". Another reason I specifically choose to use the word filmmaker and not director is because the term "director" implies an authoritative figure. I see film as an collaborative art form and I see the art form too lucid to have rigid boundaries of roles set for a director, producer, cinematographer, editor, music director or screen writer. I intend to transcend these imaginary boundaries and be involved in all aspects of film making throughout my life. I see these different roles complimentary and for me the lines dividing the roles have blurred and meshed together. My desire is to make films with a crew of friends not co-workers or colleagues. As a group of friends we share responsibilities and work side by side to achieve a group vision, as opposed to an hierarchical military like dictatorship. Just as I wish for myself independence as a filmmaker I wish for my fellow filmmakers freedom. Therefore I intend to make film not as a employee nor employer but as a team member. I am opposed to the employee/employer relationship and refuse to be on either side of that reality. I want to be involved in films that I "believe in", projects that I see as valuable, inspiring, challenging and fun. I believe that the process is as important as the product. I believe that the entire journey from conception to delivery should be a valued experience and no stage in the process should be perceived as any more or any less important. Further I believe that the energy and vibes of the filmmakers will be infused and reflected in the final product. If filmmakers passionately believe in and enjoy the project the film will be a success regardless of all else. Film making is an art and we have much to learn not only from the film but the process as well. The act of making the film should be approached with care and consideration. I believe that film making is the greatest art form and noblest profession. I want to create original films with unique topics and plots, utilizing creative filming techniques, I want to create film that is provocative, thought provoking and revolutionary, I want every aspect of my films to be innovative and offering new options to society. I want to create films that stimulate the audience and I believe that the process should equally stimulate the filmmakers and society. The history, challenges and techniques of Oscar Micheaux's are just as inspiring as his films. I intend to follow his footsteps, honoring his example.

I intend to create art in the form of film
To work on projects that I "believe in"
To value, learn and enjoy the process
To work with individuals that I "believe in"
To not limit myself with titles or roles
To be politically, socially and ethically conscious
To neither be oppressed nor oppressing of others
To never sell out

I intend to make Films not Movies!

Films Vs Movies

What is The Difference between a Film and a Movie???

A "Film" is made for artistic, political or educational purposes

A "Movie" is made primarily to make money while sometimes being entertaining