Manifesto

The process of a film should always be a healthy balance of fact and fiction. My goal is to learn how to utilize this balance, remaining true to both. And while fact is constrained by rules and elements of reality, the fantastical can be bent in ways that are just outside the realm of relative probability, such as the spiritual, the mythical, and the fictional. This knowledge should be used not to create an alternate reality, but to travel just beyond it. For instance: an event may be filmed in a current day city with current day issues, but can be a story told of another city, at another time, with an entirely different group of people. Since films are not truly ever fact unless they are documented as the actual day and place, all films that are not documentaries are really fiction, even if they are based on fact.

The job of the filmmaker is to document, to expand, and to understand. How can an audience understand if the filmmaker does not?

To speak about the issues of society and culture, and neither research them, nor dig deeper than what can be reached with simply your bare hands is not only irresponsible, but death. Too often, filmmakers skim over the content and the truth, and replace it with their own vision.

Having a vision is not altogether bad. But a vision is only useful when it is coupled with responsible action, research, and imagination. The truth of film doesn’t lie behind its content. Any story must also begin and end correctly. To end in the middle before the story is done, even if a sequel has already been put on the table is no real story at all. Even sequels must have a temporary ending.

Most of all, movies should not be bound by time or culture. Films are not here to say, “I was created in this time period, by this country, so, I can be understood by no other.”

To make characters that respond like real people is a blessing. A character needs to think. A character needs to learn. An excuse of invincibility or a massive ego will only go so far. As a result, the filmmaker must also think and learn from her own experiences.

Prep for Manifesto

Make of list of films/styles/genre/content that you hate:

The Golden Compass - The overall story was okay, but the ending was far too abrupt. Nothing was actually explained or wrapped up. The movie just ended...

Steamboy - This movie was kind of a torture to watch. This film's weakness was a combo between the grueling, boring British voice acting and the overall slow-moving nature of it.

Alien vs. Predator - I'm not one for horror movies. This especially held no real interest for me. I don't like seeing movies that are simply there to try and scare me.

The Lion in Winter - Another boring film. I don't think I ever actually got all the way through this film. It just wasn't interesting. There was no real hook to it.

Vertigo - Again, I'm not really a horror movie fan. For this movie, my main dislike lies in the fact that I can't tell what's actually going on until almost halfway through the movie. Determination was the only reason I actually got through this movie.

Grave of the Fireflies - I hate movies where they condemn children to death. This movie does that. Two orphans in Japan... one a young girl of maybe five, and her older brother of maybe twelve, try to scrounge for food. Inevitably, they both die in the end. But what I hate about this is the fact that you have to watch them starve. I don't agree with making a statement in this way. As a fact, many children in Japan were made orphans as a result of bombings during WWII. Its a fact that I think it good to address. The in-your-face approach that this movie has though, doesn't make me want to become an activist or even a history professor.

Hero - In general, this movie is quite good. The beef I have with it though, is that the same story gets retold three separate times. So, essentially, you start from the beginning, and go to the end three times. By the very end, you just want to say, "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!"

Little Shop of Horrors - I like Scifi. I don't like "stupid." A plant that eats people and is evil in nature is malicious and stupid. End of story.

The Never Ending Story - Too many unbelievable special effects and happy pink clouds... The story is also painstaking cheesy.

Tokyo Story - Perhaps others might like this story, but it moved too slowly and made too much effort to show every little aspect of Japanese culture (gestures of respect, etc.), and every conversation. Even the ending didn't make a whole lot of sense to me....

Make a list of the above that you love:

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Sword of the Stranger
• Legend of the Shadowless Sword
• Coraline
• Ella Enchanted
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• Hunt for Red October
• Alice (Syfy)
• No Reservations
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• Anastasia
• Serenity
• The Ramen Girl
• Reclaiming the Blade (documentary)
• District B-13
• Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• The Matrix
• Appleseed
• Babe
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
• Transformers
• Pirates of the Caribbean 1&3
• James and the Giant Peach
• Not Without My Daughter
• Spirited Away
• Van Helsing
• Star Wars (original 3)
• 17 Again
• House of Flying Daggers
• Hacking Democracy (documentary)
• Diary of a Mad Black Woman
• Transporter 2
• Valkyrie (newest version)
• Remember the Titans
• Willow
• Superman Doomsday
• Hidalgo
• Runaway Bride
• Man in the Iron Mask
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice
• Spiderman 1&2
• Meet the Robinsons
• The Last Samurai
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Mulan
• S.W.A.T.
• Peter Pan (live version)
• The Parent Trap
• Race to Witch Mountain
• Batman Begins
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Hellboy
• Pursuit of Happyness
• IOUSA (Documentary)
• Batteries Not Included
• The Great Happiness Space (Japanese Documentary of Hosts)
• Fern Gully
• Titanic
• The Secret Garden
• Dragon Heart

What a lot of these movies have in common is that, they fall heavily into either the romance genre or the Fantasy or Science Fiction genre. On a rare occasion, a documentary or historical film will sneak in. This has either to do with the nature of the event being told in the film, how well the film is communicated, or if it dips into a different culture that I have an interest in.

Make a list describing the style and techniques used in your past and current work:

In the past, many of the films I made were experimental, romance related, group exercises, had elements that gave it a sitcom feel, implied and/or absurd comedy. All these works were very different, and while individually, they all had elements that I liked about each. None was in a category that I truly has a passion to pursue.

Make a list describing the content of your past work:

- office scenes

- teddy bears

- sitcom romance

- objects as people

- puppets

- every day/manotinous activity

Make a list describing how you want your work to grow/change/transform:

- spend more time on a single piece

- really take the time to nickel and dime color correction, visual effects and the soundtrack

- incorporate new techniques I'm learning

- incorporate more of my own interests into my work

- dig deeper into the psychology behind my characters--how do they really think? How do they act because they think that way? What happened in their lives to make them think that way?

- use light in a better fashion. This especially applies to outside light. I'm going to try harder to film during more diverse parts of the day that will get me a better, more interesting lighting effect.

- aim to make the cuts make more sense overall

- make the shots from more angles

- make the overall content dive into ideas that I already have, and to utilize my knowledge to make the result feel more real.

Make a list of how you want your work to function:

• to be fictional, but debatable in relation to real modern culture and values
• to incorporate values of not only immediate culture, but other cultures as well, using research
• to use a wide variety of character traits, and not just "whatever I want it to be for no reason." Which also includes making characters believable.
• making a way for the camera to actually move
• use characters and plot to dig into deeper into more serious issues, not just to skim the surface of these issues (issues like war, trust, cultural miscommunication)

Make a list of what you think your role as a filmmaker is:

• to understand and include issues occurring or having occurred in the world, as well as possible issues that could occur in the future.
• to research what I don't know, rather than just filling in the gaps with personal opinion
• to explore realms of the fictional, as well as the fantastical and factual.
• to make a story that is coherent in some form
• to not bore the audience
• to give an actual ending to the movie, and not just stop in the middle