Sunday, May 19, 2013

CAP Hollywood Reflection #3

Our Film is progressing at the expected pace.  We have made/edited the rough cut of our first act with a subsequent poster, and have gotten the footage for the ACT II scenes, in Downtown Silver Spring.  Challenges included creating a manageable time for all of us to meet, but we were successful in sticking to the plan.

This week I have posed for our movie poster, started the Photoshop process for the poster, and compiled songs for our rough cut storyboard.  

Next week, we shall finishing editing the rough cuts for Acts II and III, quickly film the third act with appropriate in school lighting, editing sound and clip order on FCP, and make polishes.  We will also be re-shooting the first scene, tomorrow morning, due to loss of our previous clips.  

Sunday, May 12, 2013

CAP HOLLYWOOD WEEK #2

Our film is progressing with adequate work being done with ACT 1.  Although we have had a setback to do file deletion of our initial action scenes, we plan to redo them at Downtown Silver Spring, this weekend.  Furthermore, we have finished act one scenes shot in school, both the bullying and and shoe purchase scenes, and are currently editing.  Our editing and sound selection are going smoothly.

This week, I acted in the film itself, manage file storage to avoid media loss, and have begun planning for music selection.  I have also helped with clip trimming, and editing the sound levels on Final Cut pro, for the first shot sequences in the hallway of Blair.

Next week, I will assist my group mates with shot editing of Silver Spring footage, and work on syncing music with action.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

CAP Hollywood Reflection #1

Our film is progressing slowly, but with good planning for a solid finish of filming the is week   One challenge, we continue to have is following through with storyboard ideas.  We plant to overcome this, by mapping out scene directions for the actors before filming  and running through actions and acting before camera shots.  With this, however, a major success has been establishing shot composition and clarifying camera angles for shoot in Downtown Silver Spring.

In a direct way, I have contributed to the film by playing the role of Joey, the protagonist of our film's first Act.  Joey's role is essential to jump starting the conflict in our film, and thus I have tried hard to emotionally build my role as "vulnerable" and "targeting," so as to initiate tension among the actors as well.  I have cooperated with scene composition and cinematographers  Amy and Max, to seamlessly transition between scenes.

Our goal for this week is to complete our filming of Acts I and II of the film.  This includes carpooling and pick-up to our shot area, enlisting a security officer or police officer for side acting, and coordinating shots with Silver Spring store-owners   Thus, I am trying hard to make sure our pre-production is specifically and effectively accomplished to ensure maximum focus on the production.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Career Question: Men in OB/GYN

Obstetrics and Gynecology is a tough profession.  Not only do doctors in this subspeciality recieve some of the highest malpractice charges, but there is an increasing number of men in this profession who recieve scrutiny.

From a male perspective (with efforts to be careful in how I write this post/not gender-biased) I don't see why men CAN'T connect to emotional, social, and physical needs of female patients. Perhaps its a sense of personal experience with certain health conditions, or a sense of connection that female OB/GYNs have with their patients. But, having men in this profession as well as in others (such as Nursing), seems to be a way of diversifying the perspectives and lenses involved.

I think a few stereotypes need to broken.  These include, the thirst for money among men in this profession, and the indifference to female needs.  There are good motivations for going to medicine, and frankly, I don't see why one's gender has to effect their ability to practice.

And just to put the other side of the picture.  What about female urologists?  We need to look at medical practioners from an objective standpoint, and not just based on gender.

Documentary Reflection: Meditating on Medicaid

Here it is! An honest reflection of the documentary process.  It had its ups and downs, but in the end, I learned a lot about Medicaid and disability care in the U.S.  Making this documentary motivates me to make change!


My group’s documentary topic was a criticism of the present-day attendant care benefits for disabled persons.  It dissected policy that was ineffective for disability rights flexibility and drew upon the personal experiences of two disabled healthcare recipients.  Now that my group is close to finishing this project, I am excited to see the end product and create an advocating message.  Having covered disability studies in my last year’s Inspirations play for drama class, the topic of disabled rights is of huge importance to me.  I will even further explore this through an internship next summer with the Gilchrist Center for Diversity in Montgomery County.  Thus, I have no regrets.  Topic selection was also hugely important because I needed to pick a topic that I knew I could commit to, based on previous experience.  The freedom in choosing a topic allowed me to think and take time with my decision, which was beneficial in the long run.
                One interesting thing that I learned during the documentary process was the extent to which the disabled are forced into Medicare, and the inhumane marrying for insurance, and lack of security of benefits.  The personal interviews helped me to truly realize this, and also dispelled any myths I had about disability healthcare.
                The biggest challenge that my group faced creating the documentary was integrating the B-Roll and Interview A-Roll into a cohesive product.  This challenge arose due to the lack of communication between me and Ravyn, when we were scripting each part of the documentary.  We tackled this challenged by first transcribing all of the A-Roll footage and looking at where our B-Roll or secondary research could add in more depth.  Thus, we integrated our extra B-Roll by using the A-Roll as a point of reference.
                If I had the chance to create another documentary, I would take more part in the interview part.  Finding diverse and dynamic interviewees is the key to a great jump-start in a subject-based documentary.  Although our interviewees were extremely informative and effectively passionate, playing a personal role in that process would’ve helped to become more involved with the overall process.
                In terms of what the teacher can do, I think less is more (to some extent).  Monitoring the students is GOOD, and honestly, it helps me stay on track.  However, I think the weekly planning half-sheets are a waste of time, and don’t really help the students organize their time (tasks and plans are often repeated).  Furthermore, I think it would be helpful to have a professional reference guide for technical errors/troubleshooting in Final Cut Pro, such that major mistakes (such as loosing footage) will be avoided.  Along with this, should come strict protocol for file management. A few final cut basics should be re-enforced in the beginning of the process.
                Overall, this was a FUN PROJECT! I would definitely do it again, and feel as if I can explore other documentary topics on my own, using the schools I have learned. 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Author in Profile: Priscilla Gillman


She has an English PhD from Yale, and is by far one of the most talented memoir writers I know.

Priscilla Gilman writes about autism, but particularly how it has changed her as a mother, woman, and writer.  After learning that her son, Benji, was diagnosed with severe Autism, Gilman ventured to write the book The Anti-Romantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy.  This book speaks volumes on the subtle, and unspoken transformations people go through, while living and learning with an autistic child.  Gilman's book, daily facebook posts, and deep insight shed an informative and progressive view on children with autism.

Me being personally interested in the neonatal aspects of developmental disorders such as autism, Gilman's book and perspective have really inspired me to pursue some area of research related to this.  Her book isn't scientific but rather humanistic focusing on the little progressions and hidden talents of her son, such as poetry, or science fairs, and small milestones that reveal his true humanity!

I love the perspective and the light that's shed upon on just one boy.  Gilman's message is one that I think we can all follow!  There should be more books like hers.


Sunday, February 24, 2013

Book PREview- Bengali Harlem

Queens. Jackson Heights. Beeps. Lights. Fish Smell. Goat bones.

Is this the real precedence of BANGLADESHI AMERICA?

Not really.  In fact, Bangladeshi American aren't solely a minority among the large of wave of Asians that came to the U.S. in the 60s.  We have a history in New York, that goes long back.

The purpose of the book Bengali Harlem is to relay the profiles of early Bengali fishermen, and trades people who arrived on New York City's shores, and began their unique lives.  They intermarried with Puerto Ricans and Blacks and created a long-lost identity in Baltimore  Chicago, and NYC.

I'm getting this book in late february from a cousin-friend and am curious to learn about the history of my people in the U.S.  I love diversity and the urban minority story of NYC.  This book is sure to be a blast, getting to know to transnational stories of Bengali-mixed persons across the socioeconomic spectrum.