HIFF-32 That's A Wrap!

The 32^nd annual Hawaii International Film Festival was an interesting experience for me.  This was the first film festival I have ever attended, and I had the unique opportunity of playing reporter for any part of the event I wanted.  I had an official press pass that granted access to any and all of the films as well as press events and seminars.  Due to a constricted schedule I was not able to watch as many movies as I would have liked, however, I did see two great films and attended two Creative Lab seminars.

The first movie I watched was Starlet (2012), a New American Filmmakers movie by Sean Baker starring Dree Hemingway.  This movie depicted an inside view of the life of an adult film actress who befriends an elderly woman, and cinematographer Radium Cheung was there for post-screening Q&A with the audience.  The movie contains some graphic sexual content that dampens potential for distribution, and Cheung mentioned story degradation as the reason for not cutting the scenes.  Personally, I disagree because I believe it’s possible that these parts could be re-done in a way that would not degrade the story and would allow for greater distribution opportunities.  

The second movie was Fresh Meat (2012) from New Zealand Director Danny Mulheron.  This comedy/horror tells a story about a group of criminals who find themselves inside the house of a family of cannibals.  Danny Mulheron attended the screening and handed out autographed movie posters after the show.  I happened to receive the last available poster that day.

I did not find the Creative Lab seminars to be as entertaining as the films, but there was plenty of good information going around.  Speakers at the Digital Media Technologies Summit talked about cross-continent collaboration on cinematic projects, amazing advancements in screen resolution and virtual reality among other things, and panelists at the New Media Academy put out there some key advice: “Be really good at what you do.”

Overall I enjoyed the HIFF experience and look forward to being more involved next year.  I don’t know if I’ll have any of my own work to submit, but maybe eventually. 

Skankin First Date

I dare say this may be my best work so far as video producer...Thank you to my boy Hec D, and my girlfriend Dez, great job!

New Media Academy ??

Digital Media Technologies Summit

Fresh Meat (2012)

From New Zealand director Danny Mulheron comes Fresh Meat (2012) a hilarious story about a group of criminals who unwittingly find themselves inside the house of a family of cannibals who happen to be Maori. 

Seeming to be quite the funny guy himself, Mulheron answers a question from a member of the audience:

What's going on in your mind normally?

What? There's nothing wrong with this family, just look at your typical dysfunctional family! (laughing)

Coming to a theater near you, see IMDB for more.

Starlet (2012)

  Co-written and directed by Sean Baker, Starlet (2012) portrays the unlikely friendship between a 21-year old adult film star named Jane (played by Dree Hemingway; great-granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway) and an elderly woman named Sadie (Besedka Johnson).  Jane discovers a substantial sum of money in a thermos purchased from Sadie's yard sale and then tries to determine whether or not to return the money.  Jane's sidekick chihuahua named Starlet provides companionship throughout.

   Cinematographer Radium Cheung from New York City was present for post-screening discussion and to answer any questions from the audience.  Cheung mentioned his preference for naturalistic lighting, and also admitted that this unrated film would have a greater potential for distribution if some of the scenes were cut, but that this was highly unlikely due to the story  degradation that would occur.

  

  You might not be able to watch this film at your favorite theater, but look for it soon on Video on Demand.

For more info see Starlet's IMDB profile.

Continuing Time-Lapse Experiments (Honolulu)

This is a continuation of my time-lapse photography experimenting.
Sun setting over a period of two hours, windy conditions, continuing to learn the effects of f-stop, shutter speed, white balance, and ISO combinations.

Maoli Art Pedagogy

MAP

I went to the opening reception of the Maoli Art Pedagogy exhibition at the Hawaii Pacific University art gallery last week and ended up learning a few things.

I learned that Maoli, or Kanaka Maoli, means to refer to the native people of the Hawaiian Islands.

I learned that Pedagogy comes from a Greek word that means "to lead the child," and is used here to refer to the process of teaching and learning.

And I learned that in order to better facilitate the reporting of a story a person is well-advised to make sure they are adequately prepared beforehand.  Next time I will have a story line to follow before I go to ask interview questions and collect footage.  This will reduce the use of backwards script-writing, and hopefully produce better content.

I also started learning how to use green-screen and wire-frame techniques in Final Cut Pro.



Video Credits:
Producer, Director, Writer, Editor: John Marsh
Asst. Producer, Asst. Director: Charles Yago
Reporter: Shannell Sarme
Anchor: Kourtney Kaopuiki