Writing for Digital Media Blog #5
Roger Ebert’s Legacy While I was on exchange, studying in Hawaii during the Fall semester of 2016, I was able to participate in the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). Before the commencement of the festival I learned about the Roger Ebert young writers of the Arts program. I applied and was successful. My knowledge of Roger Ebert before the festival was limited and I had such an intriguing experience I decided to investigate his career further. Roger Ebert was born on the 18th of June in 1942 and he only recently passed away on the 4th of April in 2013. He was an American film critic, a Historian, a screenwriter, journalist and an author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 2005, Ebert became the first film critic to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2015 HIFF hosted the second annual Ebert young writers program for the arts. Chaz Ebert, his widow, works very closely with the program and she actually Skype called through during the second workshop and introduced herself and spoke individually with each of this years participants. She even sent through a signed copy of his latest book for each of these years young writers. The mandate for the program is: “In a swiftly changing media environment, informed writing and criticism on cinema is vital to a strong film culture and industry. This program’s mandate is to broaden and strengthen film criticism culture in Hawaii and teach young writers classical, as well as current methods and tasks in critical thinking and writing by reviewing films and interviewing filmmakers in a live film festival setting” (HIFF official website 2016). The mentor for the 2016 workshop is film critic, arts writer and actress, Sheila O’Malley. Sheila is a regular film critic for Rogerebrt.com . Sheila has an Master of Fine Arts in acting from the Actors Studio MFA program. Her work has also appeared in Film Comment, The Dissolve, Masters of Cinema, Movie Mezzanine, Flavorwire, Capital New York, Fandor, Press Play, and Bright Wall/Dark Room. One her most interesting achievements id that she wrote the narration which was read by Angelina Jolie - for the 2016 Governor Awards. Sheila writes about actors, movies, and Elvis Presley at her personal site, The Sheila Variations. I enjoyed blogs on practically all 12 seasons of Supernatural.
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Writing for Digital Media Blog #6
Sundance Film Festival http://www.sundance.org/festivals/sundance-film-festival/ Since participating in the Roger Ebert young writers for the Arts program at the Fall 2016 Hawaii International Film Festival I have decided to seek out and attend as many different kinds of film festivals that I can afford to (both time and money will be the main factors preventing from going). Though I have really only just started my research I am most interested in attending The Sundance Film Festival. I would often decide to watch film if it had any sort of affiliation with Sundance, mainly because it is has a great reputation for showcasing quality independent films. The Sundance Film Festival is actually just a program of the Sundance Institute. The concept for Sundance came about in 1978 when the head of Robert Redford’s company “Wildwood”, Sterling Van Wagenen. The initial idea for the festival was to showcase American made films only, and to highlight the potential of independent films, but mainly it was to promote and attract more filmmakers to Utah. So from 1978 – 1991 the festival was known as Utah’s US Film Festival. There was a company re-branding and marketing transition from the US Film Festival to the Sundance Film Festival and this was managed under the direction of Colleen Allen. There were many factors that went in to the success of the festival in Utah, although nothing quite as beneficial as having Robert Redford’s name associated with the festival. He is and well-known and respected actor and Utah is also where he lived at the time. The Festival was officially named the Sundance Film Festival in 1991 and it was named after Redford’s character from Butch Casidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). It has now grown in to a lucrative corporation and institution. There is the original festival in Utah, but it has also expanded to two international festival locations: The Sundance Film Festival London and The Sundance Film Festival Hong Kong. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places the world has to offer. It has a rich cultural history and is home to breathtakingly beautiful natural land formations. More recently many high concept filmmakers have chosen to shoot their film's there. So I have come up with the top three travel tips to persuade you to choose New Zealand for your holiday destination. New Zealand's Film Location Tours:If you have seen any of the films from the Lord of the Rings franchise or have more recently seen any of the Hobbit franchise films, then you will most definitely in for a treat. For those of you that don't already know New Zealand is home to the Hobbiton, which is the location for the above mentioned films Hobbiton movie set has recently become a top tourist destination (as if we needed another excuse to go see what New Zealand has to offer). For the first assignment in Writing for digital Media, I have paired up with a classmate named Abigail. We happened to stand next to each other in the green screen room at Sharkey’s Cove when it was time to partner up and that is how we met. My name is Nicole Lockwood and I will be interviewing Abigail Wilson (Abi):
Nicole: Hi, thanks for doing this interview with me, could you start by introducing yourself please? Abi: Nicole: In my culture if you want to get to know someone or find out where they’re from you ask ‘Whats your country’? This basically means could you tell me a bit about where you come from and maybe describe your family. Abi: Nicole: Could you tell me a bit about your University back home and how far in to your degree are you? Abi: Nicole: Why did you decide to come to Hawaii? Does it relate to your degree back home? Abi: Nicole: So you mentioned you are from England, have you travelled internationally before coming here? Abi: Nicole: What other subjects are you doing this semester? Abi: Nicole: Have you been able to go and explore the island at all since you have been here? Abi: Nicole: Have you tried any of the local food, does it differ to the food you eat back home? Abi: . ここをクリックして編集する. Tropfest Short Film FestivalWriting for Digital Media Blog #6 - Tropfest Short Film Festival
When I was in Hawaii studying on exchange at Hawaii Pacific University I was lucky enough to Tropfest is an Australian film festival and it is the world’s largest short film festival. It also hosts the largest live audience for short films in Australia the best thing of all is that it is a free, outdoors festival. Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people at a venue called the 'Tropicana Cafe' in the suburb of Darlinghurst - Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It was founded by John Polson, he is also an actor and director. The concept is said to all have started with him, “a man and a cafe and one simple idea”- he wanted to create a platform for talented filmmakers and a new wave of storytelling voices. Since then it has grown to become the largest platform for short films in the world and is a competition for emerging filmmakers to share their stories. The festival was originally called the Tropicana Short Film Festival - but after some rebranding it is now referred to as the Tropfest - Twenty-five years later, Tropfest has become the world's largest short film festival and one of Australia’s most iconic cultural events. Tropfest is recognized for their generous contribution to the development of the Australian film industry through events and initiatives that deliver ever-expanding audiences to view their work, locally and globally. I will be returning home to Australia in December so lucky for me, Tropfest usually takes place in January each year in Sydney NSW, but it is also broadcast live to various cities around Australia to an audience of approximately 150,000 via the SBS, the Special Broadcast Network. It was reported that just last year at the Sydney Tropfest in 2015, the organizer had announced that it was cancelled less than a month before it was scheduled to run. But the news was spread fast, and after much support on social media, Tropfest founder Polson announced in early December 2015 that extra funding had been sourced. The festival took place in Centennial Park on Sunday, 14 February 2016. This year they have a new venue and in February 2017 Tropfest would be held in a suburb called Parramatta on the west side of Sydney, NSW. One of the most unique aspects of the competition is that every film must be made specifically for Tropfest. The intention is to encourage filmmakers to get better at the craft of filmmaking, by making more unique content. This is achieved through having an annual Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) that must be included in their film. The have already announced that for 2017 the theme will be Pineapples. Some the previous themes have be to incorporate a Card in 2015, in 2014 it was a Mirror, in 2013 they had to include ‘December’ and Change in 2013 it was a month again ‘February’ and Balloon. In 2012 – Light bulb, 2011 – Key, 2010 – Dice, 2009 – Spring, 2008 – The Number 82007– Sneeze 2006– Bubble 2005– Umbrella 2004– Hook 2003– Rock 2002– Match 2001 – Horn, 2000 – Bug 1999 – Chopsticks and in 1998 – Kiss, 1997 – Gherkin 1996 – Teaspoon, in 1995 – Coffee Bean 1994 – it was Muffin. With a pineapple theme I am interested to see how many of the short films will also include a Hawaiian theme. Roger Ebert's Legacy.Writing for Digital Media Blog #5
Roger Ebert’s Legacy While I was on exchange, studying in Hawaii during the Fall semester of 2016, I was able to participate in the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). Before the commencement of the festival I learned about the Roger Ebert young writers of the Arts program. I applied and was successful. My knowledge of Roger Ebert before the festival was limited and I had such an intriguing experience I decided to investigate his career further. Roger Ebert was born on the 18th of June in 1942 and he only recently passed away on the 4th of April in 2013. He was an American film critic, a Historian, a screenwriter, journalist and an author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 2005, Ebert became the first film critic to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2015 HIFF hosted the second annual Ebert young writers program for the arts. Chaz Ebert, his widow, works very closely with the program and she actually Skype called through during the second workshop and introduced herself and spoke individually with each of this years participants. She even sent through a signed copy of his latest book for each of this years young writers. The mandate for the program is: “In a swiftly changing media environment, informed writing and criticism on cinema is vital to a strong film culture and industry. This program’s mandate is to broaden and strengthen film criticism culture in Hawaii and teach young writers classical, as well as current methods and tasks in critical thinking and writing by reviewing films and interviewing filmmakers in a live film festival setting” (HIFF official website 2016). The mentor for the 2016 workshop is film critic, arts writer and actress, Sheila O’Malley. Sheila is a regular film critic for Rogerebrt.com . Sheila has an Master of Fine Arts in acting from the Actors Studio MFA program. Her work has also appeared in Film Comment, The Dissolve, Masters of Cinema, Movie Mezzanine, Flavorwire, Capital New York, Fandor, Press Play, and Bright Wall/Dark Room. One her most interesting achievements id that she wrote the narration which was read by Angelina Jolie - for the 2016 Governor Awards. Sheila writes about actors, movies, and Elvis Presley at her personal site, The Sheila Variations. I enjoyed blogs on practically all 12 seasons of Supernatural. Waikiki Historic TailWhen I found out I was accepted in to Hawaii Pacific University, I started researching activities to do in my down time when I wasn’t studying. A lot of the images I came across feature the famous Bronze Statue of Duke Kahanamoku. So it was one of the first attractions I went to visit upon arrival to Waikiki. Much to my delight I discovered that it was only one of many Bronze statues. In addition to the statues there two other self-guided historic trails available to walk in Waikiki – one of which is easily distinguished by its historic markers which are information plaques in the shape of Surfboards.
So how did it all begin? The Waikiki Historic Trail was originally conceived by George Kanahele; an Hawaiian expert and historian. Kanahele was born in 1930 and he began his studies at a Kamehameha School. He then went on to study at Brigham Young University, as well as gaining further education at Cornell University. It wasn’t until 1993 that Kanahele went on to write a paper called "Restoring Hawaiianness to Waikiki". The paper that suggested over a hundred ideas on improving Waikiki; the majority of his ideas would benefit both the locals and tourists. In that paper, he proposed to create the Waikiki Historic Trail. George Kanahele wrote most of the text printed on the surfboard-shaped markers on the trail. In 1997 he founded the Native Hawaiian Tourism and Hospitality Association. George Kanahele died on the 15th of September in 2000, he was only 69 years old. Sadly, he passed away before he was able see all of the markers installed on the Waikiki Historic Trail. For anyone interested in learning more about Hawaiian history, the Waikiki Historic Trails are self-guided walking tours are well documented and promoted. Collectively, the trails are made up of 23 sites of historical significance. There are various websites that you can visit if you want to learn more about particular individual stops. Some websites have created their own customized tours, focusing on a select few statues. If you don’t want to complete the whole trail and are only interested in checking out one or two statues, you can do so, because each stop is organized by numbered markers and it is well documented. To get the full experience and to get the most out of the self-guided tour, it is suggested to start from the beginning; the official starting point is located toward the Diamond Head side of Waikiki. As you make your way along the historic trail it makes a slight detour through the Hawaiian Convention Centre and Ala Moana, before finally finishing at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort. I have gathered most of my research from the Waikiki Historic Trail Website www.waikikihistorictrail.com and also the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association was available to talk to at 841-6442. Art on the Zoo Fence.
Art on the Zoo Fence has such a unique location and an intriguing concept; a vision of artists sat in their fold-away outdoor chairs, some perched under umbrellas - which was just as visually appeasing as the art they had created. I strolled through their constructed corridor of various sized canvas prints, displayed and tied to the wire fencing of the Honolulu Zoo. It was a lovely experience, I visited Art on the Zoo Fence on Saturday 17th September 2016. The weather was not the best as it was overcast and tried to rain for the majority of the day. Bad weather didn't stop the exhibition, most art was kept dry under the protection of banyan tree canopy that formed above. Most Artist were happy to sit and monitor there collections as patrons strolled by, but if you pause long enough to admire their work, you might be lucky enough to talk story with the artists themselves. This kind of direct interaction with the artist is one of the events biggest draw cards. Usually if art is sold from a gallery you often converse with the curator rather then the creator. Being able to engage with the artist and ask what, why and how they came up with their designs is a great opportunity I was lucky enough to speak to one of the artist 'Jgenus' (pictured above). He resides Waikiki, and has a BA in Studio Art and a Masters in Fine Art. His art addresses the alternate reality of human existence; one that is not tangible or physical. His says his focus is more visceral and emotional and the feelings of bliss and fear, loneliness, calm melancholy and excitement are commonly portrayed by his subjects. Mainly he is drawn to themes of landscapes, the homeless, and island visitors. What I found most interesting was that he draws from personal experiences
Act of War: the overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation (1993), was produced and directed by Puhipau Joan Larder Na Mako Ka Aina. Interestingly though, the film was made in association with the Centre for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawaiii in Manoa. I feel that this collaboration of Academics, Professionals and filmmakers were able to create an engaging, entertaining and informative film. Act of War is unique in the way that not only is it is told from the perspective of the tradition Hawaiian, but it also seeks to tell the ‘truth’ in regards to Hawaiian Politics and America’s impact of Hawaii.
From the very opening scene I was captivated. The viewer is presented with similar images: volcano, lava, sun, smoke; these images are synchronized and associated to the commentary. Then contrasting images of ships, planes and tourist immediately let the viewer know of the filmmaker’s standpoint. The film promotes the idea that there is always two sides to a story, and their account of Hawaiian history is the one less often heard. The recording of Haunani-Kay Trask protesting for Indigenous rights is a very powerful and moving clip. Though what I found to be even prevailing was her commentary when she was being interviewed. A text-box below her image had her name and her academic credentials listed. The same sort of information was displayed near each interviewee. This sort of data informs the viewer that the content gathered for the film was sourced from diverse - but more importantly informed - sectors of contemporary Hawaiian society. Effective filmic techniques that really stood out to me were the recurring images of the flame burning in the background and displayed over that image was statistical data. The population count of Original Hawaiians was dwindling throughout the duration of the film. Watching the numbers get smaller and smaller, really did tug at my heart strings. I did not realize quite how may live were lost due to Westernization in Hawaii, and the that was effective way of informing the viewer. |
AuthorNicoleRoseAnna an Aquarian, middle child, grand-daughter, sister, aunty, cousin and niece. On the road to becoming a Sociologist specialising in Film & Television. Archives
December 2016
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