Life & Death and all the space in between
12.07.2011
Atelier
In freezing temperatures with a light chilly wind, I walked briskly down a busy avenue in Paris. I wanted to get to see the Louvre before it rained and it was already starting to sprinkle. Bundled up to my nose with the scarf my Tita made for me (1 of like 10 :D!) I could still enjoy the sights of all the buildings and fashion stores in the vacinty. By this part of the day both of my cameras were running on the last ounces of batter juice. I had just seen the monument where BLANK was burried. A very patriotic and pretty in-Francean-blue park. Check the pics out here.
After quickly snapping some pics at the park monument I continued the walk and it was the word Atelier surrounded by colorful shapes and designs of all types of abstract that drew my eye. The word just struck a chord like I have heard of that before, like I knew exactly what it was and I knew I had to ask what this place was. Had you asked my concisous mind in that moment I would of said Atelier is like an attic but filled with cool stuff. That's just what my instinct said. This place had a tunnel like entry, a tiny hall with a welcoming booth at the front and very busy walls, filled with art, design paintings memos, grafiti looking scribbles, flyers and all sorts of signs. I wasn't even sure where to begin to interpret, I don't speak French, however by this point in my trip I had found that if I read most of it I can gather what it is reffering to since after all I know Spanish very well and they both derrive from Latin. You'd be surprised how many French words are used in modern day America.
I ask the young Asian lady what this place is, in very broken and misunderstood english she said, gallery, I said, "Art Gallery? Free? How much?"
she said go upstairs...
from the entry upstairs looked a bit creepy, not well lit and tons of art plastered painted and collaged to all the walls, ceilings, floors, staircase and hand rails. I hesitated to go upstairs because as I passed her counter I felt a heave presence over my head kind of pushing down, but I examined the space and dismissed it as it very well could've been the dimensions of the space. It was about the size of a small dinning area but with a spiral cement and wood staircase right in the middle spiraling upward caving into a narrow tunnel... and so my clastrophobia kicked in.
An insecurity made me think of Henzle and Grettel... It looked curiously tempting, the door person was welcoming and pushy for me to enter, but it looked dark, I dont speak the language, it looked like I was standing at the only feasiable exit, and up until now the French had not been very warm to me.
But it looked amazing and fun, and that little fear that peaked in for a few seconds was dismissed at sight of such cool looking view and art surrounding me.. why not check it out? Two other solo individuals walked in and took their first step up the winding adventure so I followed up the stair case.
I walked into the first level and saw what appeared to be an art work space or very collagey raw in decor gallery, so reminecent of the attics where I used to take art lessons and create my art as a child. paint splattered on wooden floor, scraps here and there, pieces of wooden frames but with works properly hung in good lighting. This was a workshop seudo gallery exhibit.
Each floor in this tiny space hosted about 3-5 artist all sharing an open and winding space of about 7x15 feet give or take depending on their layout. They had paintings on the floor on tables on the walls stacked up, overlaying, haning from ceiling and every inch of walls and even corners. Every floor and every room and section was different. This was the coolest thing I've ever experienced. It was filled with emotions, feelings, color, patterns, textures, stories, expressions, perspectives, styles, and it was just amazing to walk through each of their levels and voyeristacally take this all in.
It was definately an inspiration and it opened my eyes to how I should continue practicing more forms of art. I love this and I hate that I have abandonded painting, collaging, scultpture etc. I felt that it is not suffice to just watch and admire art, I felt that I too wanted to contribute what is in my inagination and play with tools and textiles and gadgets and brushes and wet paint and bright and dark contrasts.
I wanted to get to talk to the artists that were there working, but ahhh the language barrier, so far at each story none spoke english but they did indicate that on the top floor there was an "American Woman" hehe. Score! I just hope this American Woman was a friendly conversational artist, otherwise I was screwed and wouldn't ever really find out more about this dynamic place.
Is it a gallery? Is it a social art experiment? Is it a workspace, a school, an institution, a club? How do you join, and do you have to be selected? Do you pay for a space or are they invites, do they rotate.
It felt like these artists had really made the space their comfy work home area.
As I arrived to the last floor I heard the Beatles blasting from a radio, I could tell it was an older sound system the speakers quality was different than the average mechanisim we hear now at days. I thought, "ha! thius French artists is into the Beatles" and I felt a familiarity when I heard the tunes I recognized.
Turned the corner walked in, greeted in French and she greeted me too, I asked if she spoke English and she said yes, I said great! Are you American?
Her name was BLANK and she greeted with an energetic smile. Lenon was playing and she noted that she lived in Dallas/Ft Worth when Lennon died.
Lennon's death came up 3 times during this trip. I had never really internalized how that had an impact in many artistic and revolutionary minded people across the globe.
She had been living in Paris for a few years now and explained how this is a community building.
It had started with a small group of artists just taking over an abandonded building and making it their workspace. They didnt pay taxes or had legally permission to be there but it picked up lots of people started gathering and visiting and gew in popularity. The city eventually got involved and took it away from them, forcing them to rent or buy the space. It is now a nonprofit type of facility that provides workshop space for artists and allows visiting hours open to the public free of charge X amount of times a week. Obviously if it were open all the time some of these exhibitional artists would probably get too interrupted and distracted from their creations and creative flow.
This was the coolest thing I had seen. This is the kind of shit I wanted to experience in this modern cosmopolitan foreign land!! This made my day, it beat the Louvre and Pompideu. This was real and more relevant to me, today. Not to say I didn't appreceate and admire the others. This little place took my mind exploring ideas and concepts of new ventures I hope to pursue soon.
I highly recommend to check out this place while in Paris if you're an admirer of art, human behavior, if you're into creative entrepenuer, social entreperenuer, non profit for the arts, art trends.
Bravo! Props to them for keeping this alive! Thanks for the awesome experience!
59 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
After Squat
www.59rivoli.org
After quickly snapping some pics at the park monument I continued the walk and it was the word Atelier surrounded by colorful shapes and designs of all types of abstract that drew my eye. The word just struck a chord like I have heard of that before, like I knew exactly what it was and I knew I had to ask what this place was. Had you asked my concisous mind in that moment I would of said Atelier is like an attic but filled with cool stuff. That's just what my instinct said. This place had a tunnel like entry, a tiny hall with a welcoming booth at the front and very busy walls, filled with art, design paintings memos, grafiti looking scribbles, flyers and all sorts of signs. I wasn't even sure where to begin to interpret, I don't speak French, however by this point in my trip I had found that if I read most of it I can gather what it is reffering to since after all I know Spanish very well and they both derrive from Latin. You'd be surprised how many French words are used in modern day America.
I ask the young Asian lady what this place is, in very broken and misunderstood english she said, gallery, I said, "Art Gallery? Free? How much?"
she said go upstairs...
from the entry upstairs looked a bit creepy, not well lit and tons of art plastered painted and collaged to all the walls, ceilings, floors, staircase and hand rails. I hesitated to go upstairs because as I passed her counter I felt a heave presence over my head kind of pushing down, but I examined the space and dismissed it as it very well could've been the dimensions of the space. It was about the size of a small dinning area but with a spiral cement and wood staircase right in the middle spiraling upward caving into a narrow tunnel... and so my clastrophobia kicked in.
An insecurity made me think of Henzle and Grettel... It looked curiously tempting, the door person was welcoming and pushy for me to enter, but it looked dark, I dont speak the language, it looked like I was standing at the only feasiable exit, and up until now the French had not been very warm to me.
But it looked amazing and fun, and that little fear that peaked in for a few seconds was dismissed at sight of such cool looking view and art surrounding me.. why not check it out? Two other solo individuals walked in and took their first step up the winding adventure so I followed up the stair case.
I walked into the first level and saw what appeared to be an art work space or very collagey raw in decor gallery, so reminecent of the attics where I used to take art lessons and create my art as a child. paint splattered on wooden floor, scraps here and there, pieces of wooden frames but with works properly hung in good lighting. This was a workshop seudo gallery exhibit.
Each floor in this tiny space hosted about 3-5 artist all sharing an open and winding space of about 7x15 feet give or take depending on their layout. They had paintings on the floor on tables on the walls stacked up, overlaying, haning from ceiling and every inch of walls and even corners. Every floor and every room and section was different. This was the coolest thing I've ever experienced. It was filled with emotions, feelings, color, patterns, textures, stories, expressions, perspectives, styles, and it was just amazing to walk through each of their levels and voyeristacally take this all in.
It was definately an inspiration and it opened my eyes to how I should continue practicing more forms of art. I love this and I hate that I have abandonded painting, collaging, scultpture etc. I felt that it is not suffice to just watch and admire art, I felt that I too wanted to contribute what is in my inagination and play with tools and textiles and gadgets and brushes and wet paint and bright and dark contrasts.
I wanted to get to talk to the artists that were there working, but ahhh the language barrier, so far at each story none spoke english but they did indicate that on the top floor there was an "American Woman" hehe. Score! I just hope this American Woman was a friendly conversational artist, otherwise I was screwed and wouldn't ever really find out more about this dynamic place.
Is it a gallery? Is it a social art experiment? Is it a workspace, a school, an institution, a club? How do you join, and do you have to be selected? Do you pay for a space or are they invites, do they rotate.
It felt like these artists had really made the space their comfy work home area.
As I arrived to the last floor I heard the Beatles blasting from a radio, I could tell it was an older sound system the speakers quality was different than the average mechanisim we hear now at days. I thought, "ha! thius French artists is into the Beatles" and I felt a familiarity when I heard the tunes I recognized.
Turned the corner walked in, greeted in French and she greeted me too, I asked if she spoke English and she said yes, I said great! Are you American?
Her name was BLANK and she greeted with an energetic smile. Lenon was playing and she noted that she lived in Dallas/Ft Worth when Lennon died.
Lennon's death came up 3 times during this trip. I had never really internalized how that had an impact in many artistic and revolutionary minded people across the globe.
She had been living in Paris for a few years now and explained how this is a community building.
It had started with a small group of artists just taking over an abandonded building and making it their workspace. They didnt pay taxes or had legally permission to be there but it picked up lots of people started gathering and visiting and gew in popularity. The city eventually got involved and took it away from them, forcing them to rent or buy the space. It is now a nonprofit type of facility that provides workshop space for artists and allows visiting hours open to the public free of charge X amount of times a week. Obviously if it were open all the time some of these exhibitional artists would probably get too interrupted and distracted from their creations and creative flow.
This was the coolest thing I had seen. This is the kind of shit I wanted to experience in this modern cosmopolitan foreign land!! This made my day, it beat the Louvre and Pompideu. This was real and more relevant to me, today. Not to say I didn't appreceate and admire the others. This little place took my mind exploring ideas and concepts of new ventures I hope to pursue soon.
I highly recommend to check out this place while in Paris if you're an admirer of art, human behavior, if you're into creative entrepenuer, social entreperenuer, non profit for the arts, art trends.
Bravo! Props to them for keeping this alive! Thanks for the awesome experience!
59 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
After Squat
www.59rivoli.org
12.03.2011
Light Luz Lens Lau
Today I got to have some lens fun experimenting w fixed lighting and a sweet lens with one of my good friends Eddie, Adnan.I love photography and today's little unofficial photo session really made me crave my own dslr.
What made it a little more cool was the spontaneity of it all and we were at UNT which is where we met nearly 7 years ago as we were both studying our passion, film media.
I was mostly the subject & contributing ideas here & there.. I don't blame him that cam & glass are his babies.
8.16.2011
QUINCE, production notes
This short film was shot in about 4-5 days. It tells the story of a young 14 year old Mexican American girl about to face her "quinceanera" party and the trials and troubles that happen with friendship leading up to the party which force her to learn a new reality as she grows into a new teenage phase.
We had an excellent casting call, tapping in to some amazing young talent from all over the DFW area. The Sooze Johnson agency was extremely friendly and helpful in sourcing some actors. This film was intended for portfolio demo reel work for actors and crew and possibly festival circuit. The preproduction lasted about 3 months of planning and casting calls and location scouts. Several scenes take place in a coffee shop where the teens meet up to hang out- similar to that of a Friends or Seinfeild episode but more hipster, kids down the street from their home. I found a treasure for this one, not only were the aesthetics of the coffee shop great, they had high ceilings only a few windows, and super friendly service, the Opening Bell Coffee located at the first floor of the Lamar Lofts.
Directed by Andrea Legaspy, Produced by Laura Lilia Torres, camera by Daniel Hernandez & Maximo Contreras, casting by Laura Lilia Torres, a Creative Click Media Production.
We had an excellent casting call, tapping in to some amazing young talent from all over the DFW area. The Sooze Johnson agency was extremely friendly and helpful in sourcing some actors. This film was intended for portfolio demo reel work for actors and crew and possibly festival circuit. The preproduction lasted about 3 months of planning and casting calls and location scouts. Several scenes take place in a coffee shop where the teens meet up to hang out- similar to that of a Friends or Seinfeild episode but more hipster, kids down the street from their home. I found a treasure for this one, not only were the aesthetics of the coffee shop great, they had high ceilings only a few windows, and super friendly service, the Opening Bell Coffee located at the first floor of the Lamar Lofts.
Directed by Andrea Legaspy, Produced by Laura Lilia Torres, camera by Daniel Hernandez & Maximo Contreras, casting by Laura Lilia Torres, a Creative Click Media Production.
1.27.2011
Deep Ellum Arts Fest & Laura Lilia, since 06
The first time I experienced the Arts Fest was by complete coincidence. I was living in Denton at the time and I took a Sunday afternoon to drive around down town Dallas hoping to kindle adventure. ADVENTURE was exactly what I came across that sunny Sunday afternoon in 2006. I was driving down main and as I was approaching deep ellum I noticed the road was closed. Baffled, I decided to park the car near by and scope out the scene.
The next year I replied to a post in search of video interviewers for a local arts fest. I applied, drove to Dallas for my job interview and landed the gig! Lo and behold the festival that I would be covering was the Deep Ellum Arts Fest. This was the year I truly learned more about the fest, their purpose, history and the community. It was an exciting time, 2007 to be a part of this fest! There were bands like Spoonfed Tribe, Joint Method and Forever the Sickest Kids. There were bands on the verge of signing into a career boom and bands looking to further connect their ties with DFW. There were bands looking to perform an all around artistic set to bring their audience to higher consciousness and others just ecstatic to be a part of the festival. It was also the year it snowed on Easter Weekend!
For part of the project, I was able to bring on board the entire film crew and gear. I scheduled about 7 of my fellow film student classmates from different parts of DFW for shifts to man the technical aspects of the production. I served as coordinator, liason, reporter, camera girl, and make shift gaffer for all 3 main days of the festival. I drove back and forth each day to my home in Denton to make this happen. It was a fun experience. It was a project that provided 7 of us aspiring film and television professionals a chance to live it for reals. The rush of lining up interviews with artists and dealing with their managers, and setting up our rigs for the interview space was exhilarating and let’s not deny it, a bit stressful too. There were about 4 other women also conducting interviews, because all together we have about 20 some bands to cover in just 3 days.
As a very unfair result, we never got to see the compilements of the footage we shot. I forgive, I know things happen and sometimes editing work can be overwhelming- I know, I’ve been there. But I also believe it’s better late than never. And the bands most importantly, were looking forward to the coverage we produced.
I know that one day those tapes will come up and surface some how. And oh how embarrassing, my first year of being a reporter… you’ll see mistakes, and awkward moments since after all we never had the chance to edit any of it.
I learned so much from this collaboration and it left me feeling proud of what I could accomplish and bring together. In this case I busted my butt for the company that hired me, but it made me realize the value of my network, talent, ability and will. I pulled through on my end. I got it done. We learned so much and have since improved our skills and traits, and I would totally do it all over again for a fest anytime. Afterall, now, I have the formula down. ;)
10.21.2010
Seeing art & beauty, my HD camera, photography today & David Lowery's inspiring message featured on IFC Icons
"Art is everywhere, except it has to pass
through a creative mind." - Louise Nevelson
Saw that quote in an ad at the train station today. It made me think of how I am grateful for that gift that I have, to see art & beauty in nearly everything.
In 2006, a collaborative 16mm film I directed that same year as the assignment I mentioned, starring Giovanni Cruz.
Photog or Motion, I want to capture the
beauty & art in motion and piece it together eloquently to e x p a n d your mind.
It makes me sad that my current HD video camera is down and my point & shoot photo cam is out of sight. So many times in the last 15 days I’ve had the urge to just go shoot. Hopefully I can get it repaired or upgraded soon.
In 2009, the first project I shot with my current Sony HD camera was a music montage for Brendell, aka Brenda Villareal, a very talented local singer. My camera is shown on a stead cam shoulder rig - obviously fits me too big, but I made it work.
Sometimes I feel photography has gone from a craft to a mass produced saturated candy. I feel its harder to filter through skilled and talented framing.
On a positive note:
Watching this video from a dfw filmmaker is inspiring. It is aesthetically cool and moving to watch as a filmmaker. It reminds me a lot of the reasons for which I want to succeed in film. Enjoy a message from a brilliant filmmaker featured on IFC, David Lowery.
http://www.ifc.com/icons/david-lowery.php
10.18.2010
Big Tex Knows Fried Beer - or Does He?
The Highlight of My Texas State Fair Experience 2010
This year I went all out at the State Fair... well, within my means ;) Tired out the rides, checked out the exhibits, watched the parade, found a nome, and pumpkin brains, and ate a few enticing fried foods - off course!!!
The worst/ best experience of trying food at the fair was
"THE WORLD FAMOUS FRIED BEER."
Behold, fried beer. Shiner to be exact.
Off course if it's fried it had to be Texan.
The experience of biting in to the ravioli like piece of friedness was truly an unexpected one. When you think of beer you think of ice cold crisp type of flavor, but this was nothing close to refreshing. It was a hot, steamy, gooey, syrupy gush of a-far-resemblance of beer goo that squeezed out of the salty ravioli. All in all it was not as tasty as I imagined. I rank it a 2 out of 5. Disappointing, but my face was priceless. Unfortunately the reaction wasn't captured in photograph. But I'll leave that up to you to imagine, or up to you to experience for your self.
Until Next Year Big Tex State Fair of Texas!
Thanks for the fun memories!
8.09.2010
More to Vitamins, You Should Know
One thing is for sure, our body needs them, but many of us aren't putting a strategy into it and may not be getting the adequate combo. There are some cases of over doing it with vitamins (the article elaborates) so always make sure you're doing what's best for your particular needs. Vitamins essential, but must be done right to see results.
Anyway I thought it was a good quick read! Cheers to good health! :)
http://www.everydayhealth.com/fda/fortify-your-knowledge-about-vitamins.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHealthyLiving_20100809
Anyway I thought it was a good quick read! Cheers to good health! :)
http://www.everydayhealth.com/fda/fortify-your-knowledge-about-vitamins.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHealthyLiving_20100809
3.30.2010
Viral: Erykah Badu's WINDOW SEAT, filmmaker & marketing perspective notes
THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN BY FLICKR USER MRVPHOTO DURING THE REDBULL SOUNDCLASH I ATTENDED LAST FALL IN DALLAS TX-- WHICH WAS AN AMAZING MUSICAL EVENT FEATURING SHINY TOY GUNS, THE CANNABINOIDS AND ERYKAH BADU.
Erykah Badu's video Window Seat is currently a hot topic of web (and hyper local) discussion. As of 3-30-10 (8:27p) On yahoo an article/blog note on the video and album release has 600+ comments, on twitter she has 114,231 followers and currently in 3,276 lists. Her facebook fan page has listed 181,418 fans.
The video begins with the titles, "Inspired by Kim & Matt," with an old 60's voiceover recording and when the announcer says "jam packed with spectators waiting their chance to see the president" out walks Badu from an antique car. Lead to believe it takes place in that era by the style of blurred low quality look lenses, it all brings you back to modern times as they reveal a modern day vehicle near the parking meter and Badu's purple hoodie. This video is a continuos shot all the way through 5:35mins. I'm a fan of long takes and I truly liked the clever use of framing to the pacing of Badu's actions. The moment this video continues in slow motion and she takes off her sunglasses, I knew where it was going- as far as the action on screen. She would then proceed to removing each clothing item, etc. The first time I watched the video, I immediately skipped through to the end to see if it actually had something different about it. I already liked the song, but the filmmaker in me wanted to see the story told through the video. The video ended with such a powerful image that I decided to sit through the entire clip.
Although I had seen the same concept before about slow mo- removing clothing in a busy street, this one has a much better take on it. The lyrics, music and statement. I wonder if & what kind of steadcam they used, and how many people where behind the camera since in some instances the passerbys seemed to not even care or mind for all the action.
"Quick to assassinate what they do not understand"
I find irony with that line at the end of the video and with the reaction quotes from several people the Dallas Morning News chose to interview and publish- among them president of the Downtown Dallas organization and a civic volunteer.
I posted this on my facebook 3pmish
So far these reactions:
Orlando: likes this.
Rene: loved it...not to mention the album is well worth the purchase......i can just imagine the reactions of people getting onto 35E that day and i'm surprised their were no wrecks lol.......
4 hours ago ·
James: wow
3 hours ago ·
Robert: Yeah saw that this morning.. interesting. I like this one too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_bM0bN6xQ4
3 hours ago ·
FROM A MARKETING STAND POINT: This was genius! Released first exclusively on her site, then "leaked" and reposted all over keeping it fresh and in the buzz days before her album release. Went extremely viral, got people talking, people visiting the site and trying to find out more about the symbolism behind it- on only day 3. It has already spurred out tons of conversation, from all types of stand points and about all themes. Web Videography at its best. Powerful, effective, and thought provoking. I LIKE! :)
I am wondering why her video is not on VEVO, and I'm very curious to see how many hits are on the "official video" online are. Her video is currently available to watch on her site and on several other youtube user's channels.
This is a great example of why I believe in web videography.
Creative Click Motions' specialty is web videography. We know how to best portray your message strategically and creatively using the power of web videography. For more info please visit our site www.creativeclickmotions.com.
~~~GRACIAS~~~
Thank You Erykah Badu for making this happen. Let's evolve!
What did you think?
3.28.2010
MANGUS! film production
MANGUS! was a one of a kind production to work on. Directed by Ash Christian a Texas native now based out of NYC & LA, the film is about a young boy named Mangus who’s only goal is to play the lead Jesus role in the school musical play, “Jesus Christ Spectacular.” See full synopsis on the film’s official site.
PHOTOS BY KATRINA,HOLLIN LANGE and WYNONA.
The production phase ran 14 days, and I was the script supervisor. It was a cool experience for me because it was an independent film produced and brought to life by people who care for independent filmmaking, and more so, TEXAS Independent filmmaking. Now off course, just like in any job and any film set not everyone was in that mind set, but it was nice to work with like minded people. I had the pleasure to meet some amazing people, and hope to be able to collab with them again in the near future! :) As script supervisor I had to be in touch with several departments to follow up with continuity and such and by not participating in such a stressful role (as usual), I was able to perceive the entire production as it reaffirmed where my calling in production is. I’m a leader, there’s no way around it, I’m a creative problem solver – there’s no stopping that and I have so much creativity that not expressing it through film can be asphyxiating—I must direct.
Not to say that MANGUS! wasn’t a creative film. It totally is! I really liked the writing, and one liners, the scenarios he wrote in and the witty overconfident yet quirky style of the main character, played so well – I must add- by Ryan Boggus. The look of it was extremely cool and fitting to the story, Lyn Moncrief, Director of Photography, has a great work style, so friendly and extremely bright. Just a bad ass. I truly look forward to watching Lyn’s next work.
This is going to be a pretty fun film, follow up on it people! Ash has his own blog too. Check out updates on the progress.