Blog 8: Summer Plans

Hi everyone, today i'm going to talk you about my summer plans.

First i would like to go out to a place with rivers and forests. Maybe a week of camping in someplace. The other thing i would like to do is going to the south of the country doing backpacking, or maybe this time to the north because i don't know almost nothing of the north of Chile. So, maybe camping or doing backpacking with friends would be great. If this can be done, i think i'll search a good job to save some money to March or April of the next year. So i'll start the year with money and i'll have to manage with that hehe. There are the two options of my summer, but i think that the real option is saving money to buy some equipments to take pictures or film videoclips, i hope. In a parallel way i'll restart my analog photography work. I hope that money reach the price of a new analog camera, maybe yes, maybe not.  

Maybe i'll travel a week in a rural place with other friends and then i'll comeback to the city and start working in something to save money, that sounds like a good idea haha. I want so much jump into the river and cook in the fire until it gets dark and then drink something. I think that i would visit the same place last year. Because now i know where is the best place to camp hehe. Someplace in the hills of the Cajon del Maipo.

Have a good summer fellas

Blog 9: Changes to my study program

Hi to everyone, today i'm going to talk you about things that i would like to change in this insitute.

First, i think that the time that i spend studying the periodism courses are so invasive to develop our careers (as a filmmakers). You can see a lot of problems of communications with the academic direction of our career (called '3rd floor' maybe for all the students of the institute) For example, you can't go to a shooting because you need to attend all the classes with periodism. And this contradiction also happens with our film courses. I think it's kind stupid, they won't give us permission to develop our skills in the real world, or at least in the inner practices that are availables every year. So I would change this stupid system that doesn't gives enough attention to the film career problems. Other problems happens with a lot of courses in film. We have maybe the same courses every year, with a little bit more of difficulties, that's fine. But at the end if you analyze all the course, you can see that is always the same contents. Also, and very important, there's some courses that are very out-of-time according with the others. So, for example, in 4th year you are recently having production classes. So, in the first years you have to learn by making mistakes until you get to the 4th year, maybe that methodology is helpful, i don't know. But I know that is better having those importants courses before every big mistake. 

Regarding to the buildings and infrastructure. The shades of the threes of our 'pastos' are gone and you can only see so much concrete and cement. Before the constructions we were free to sit down of the threes and relax between our classes, or in the breaks. One point less to the study program and all his importance to the students. In technology issues, i think we are fine in the institute. Film is maybe out-of-time again but i think you can make something with those resources.

Maybe the workload is very length because of the periodism courses. And the repetitive courses and contents, we have more theory than practice in our career. And the students are paying a lot of money for this.

I would write more about it but i think is a waste of time.

Have a sunny week!

Blog 10: Language Challenges

Hi everyone, hope you're doing well

So, having English incorporated in a Spanish world makes me feels like i'm a expanding my horizon a little bit. And that is awesome because, firstly, it is necessary to my career. To know how to manage a camera. Maybe all the camera's that i have been use are in English. To know how to read the documents that maybe in the future i'm going to read, about productions, offers of cinematography. Anything that has to be with cinema, out of the country. Even to postulate in a film festival. So it is very helpful. And obviously it is a tool to know new people, or new countries. Make human relations with people from another horizons. For me that is very cool and i think that i still need more practice in the oral side as much in the writing side. But i feel like i have the language a little bit in control.

Also for me is not boring to talk or write in English. Is something that i enjoy because i feel like always when i talk or write in English i'm practicing more and more. And i though that in his essence it is practice and nothing more. Then you can reflex about this language reading poetry, literature or something like that. So you can play with his features.

I would like to use more my English out of the class, or the University. It would be more interesting to apply my knowledge about with other people out of a classroom. Like, with meeting foreign people and share with them. That would be great because i will have the examples of the pronunciation right there and my ears could be more accurate to know what are they saying to me.

Have a great week!

Blog 7: Music

Hi everyone, today i'm going to talk about my music.

So i'll start saying that jazz genre is my favorite. Why?, well because i have been listening old school rap all my life since i was a kid and that genre always use samples of another genres like jazz, soul, funk, blues...Since i start listening rap, my taste of jazz music has grow and expand up to Miles Davis (and obviosly into anothers figures), how is my favorite jazz trumpeter and composer because his career has many variety of styles. He always progress into a new way of jazz listening, like ways to get close to his unique style, until his last album called "Doo-bop" you only see evolution in his work.

Specially i like "Doo-Bop" because this album has so much of hip-hop, or rap music essence. Is a combination of jazz and rap, using samples and trumpets close to rap-drums like and a unique way to improve in each song. Well, i also like his music because my uncle listen this when i was a kid so i have flourish the taste of jazz a long time ago.

You have to know that the life of Miles Davis is a messy one, with drugs, girls, jazz and guns and he has a peculiar legend about his last album "Doo-bop", you maybe can find it in Internet.

As well as i like his life, i also like his previous albums with all the essence of a "blue-jazz". I suggest you to listen a little bit of his work, i guarantee that you're not going to spend your time.

Graduate Studies

Hi everybody. I expect that you're having a great day.
Today i will talk about taking a course in the future.

Well, in the present i'm not thinking about a future course that i might consider to take because i'm thinking in other things related to the near future, but if I think in what it would be. I would say that i would take a course, like a workshop of cinematography. Maybe by doing a course related to photography i can get a certification in something, i don't know really but i think that a course or a workshop of analog photography or cinematography would be great. 

If I can't study any of those courses previously mentioned. I might be interested in a Ilustration workshop, Serigraphy or something related to a graphic thing. I have a Wacom Tablet, so I know a little bit, how to draw and do other things in Adobe programs. So I think it would be great because it can be a plus in my job, or for simply having plus knowledge about those topics. And obviously I would like to study out of Chile, if there's a chance i'll take it fast. But I don't have any problem to study here in Chile. I would like to do a part-time course, because of the time that I spend working in the week. But when I graduate from my major, i'll have more time so in that case I would study full time. 

Have a great week!

Blog 5: My future job

Hi everyone, i hope you're doing great. Today i'm going to talk you about one of the jobs that i'll like to do in the future.

I would like to do the cinematography (or photography direction) in movies. In a full-length film or a short film, or videoclips. Anyway, i would like to be part of the team that is taking care about the lights and all his difficulties. Or the team that are taking care of the camera and all his instrumentals like the tripod or the differents grips. I think that it would be outdoors and indoors, in case that i need to travel a lot, i don't care if it is outdoor or indoor because i would be doing the thing that i like. And about the salary, i would say that it is really good when you are thinking in big productions. However, the salary is really standard and always you can join in the SINTECI (Union of The Cinematographic Technicians). So you can demand the right salary in case of any abuse from the employer.
I'm studying Film and Television, and i'm in my fourth year of five, so i hope -when i finish this major- work as a cinematographer and make very good projects.

A film that i like

Hi everyone!

Today im going to tell you what is my favorite movie. Well until now i have a lot of favorites movies but i'm going to choose one of them. It calls 'Embrace of The Serpent': I like this movie a lot because of his way to depict colonialism and his consequences in Latino America, specifically in the Colombian Amazon. 

It tells the story of two mans. Karamakate y Evan, the first one is a shaman which has lose his faculties to remember and the other is a north american cientific which is searching the Yakruna, a sacred plant that can return his habilities to dream.

Both travel trought the Colombian Amazon searching the sacred plant Yakruna. In his path, both will prove the sharpness of the process of colonialism and the effects that live the colombian amazon people.

My favorite character is Karamakate, who lives in his own meat the violence of colonialism and the diseppearance of his people. And is interesting because you can see Karamakate like a young boy and Karamakate like a oldman. So you can do you own comparison of his own vision.

One thing that i liked about the film was the treatment of the black and white photography and the silences and good use of nature and his open spaces. And obviously the smart critic to colonialism. 
Something that i didin't like was the sadness but i think it was necessary to feel empathy with the characters, to keep near by a treatment of realism and support the idea of a realistic world.

My favorite scene is when Karamakate and Evan finds a village where colombian kids are getting evangelizing by a priest. Then, years ago Karamakate pass through again this village and he founds those kids, but now their are adults and they are mad. It is a very sad scene :(

Hope you're doing great!