Week 1 Post

Bio:

Hello, my name is J’aime. I am student at UNCW, and returner to the Visions Staff. I am currently a senior film studies major, and digital arts minor. I am extremely interested in character computer animation and hope to develop this passion into a career. I aspire to one-day work for a company like Pixar, ILM, or DreamWorks, but also adore the work put out by Blur Studios. This is my second year working as the web manager for Visions, and I look forward to being a digital link from our awesome staff to the many young filmmakers around the world.

What I Hope to Learn This Year:

First and foremost, this year I will learn how to lead and mentor effectively. My assistant, Shawn, has not had a lot of experience building and managing websites, so I must make sure to keep organized and clear with expectations in order to prepare him for my December departure. Beyond that I would simply like to enhance my knowledge on website interactivity and design. Last year I learned all the basics for web design, implementing only HTML and CSS. This year I plan to incorporate coded transitions and actions with JavaScript and jQuery.

Response to Week 1 Readings:

I found the reading about the history of festivals to b extremely interesting. I thought it was also very relevant to our situation. One of the most relatable things I read in the article was about the wide range of quality that festivals see in their submissions. When speaking about the traveling film festival, Antero Alli described this as ranging “from cutting edge to utter dredge.” I can definitely see this as a trend in all festivals after only having worked Visions for a year; we definitely got some submissions last year that were not quite festival ready.

A second point I enjoyed from this reading was the eventual rise to fame that each festival saw. Though many experienced hardship during foundation and development, if they portrayed persistence and passion many went on to become internationally renowned. This gives me hope that one day Visions may evolve into a festival that was never intended from the beginning. I would love to graduate from here and receive word that Visions has become the top submission for aspiring undergraduates.

Let’s now move past the first reading, and on to the second about Microcinema. The entire time I read this article I thought only of three people, Andre, Shannon, and Dr. Carlos Case. This way of starting with experimental, and independent art houses sounded so much like the screenings at Jengo’s, and in the Silva backyard. I know how much this homely, and improvised screening method really strikes home with all three of these people. It allows for a certain aesthetic that would be lost in a more professional setting. However, I thought it was also amazing to read about the evolution of these behind the scenes art houses from almost hidden into more semi-professional theatres. What this evolution spoke to me was hope; I realize more and more that people in the world and film industry do care about those first works by a new filmmaker. Many times it is easy to forget this and expect that you will be making Spielberg films instantly. There will always be people out there eager to screen and view your work. Sometimes you just have to know where to look… perhaps a festival entirely aimed at screening undergraduate work…