Neon Buckaroo

Stan Brakhage

If you noticed my new banner, it was inspired by the films of Stan Brakhage. Luckily, most (if not all) of his work can be found on youtube. So once again, sweet embedded videos:

Lazy Sunday

Now that school is out and I only have one final to study for, I have some free time now so I'm taking up my hobbies again. I've been reading, playing guitar, writing movies, and learning more about design and photoshop.
Here's a quick project I did following my good friend Jonathan Connolly's newest tutorial. Although, I tweaked the process just a tiny bit and created the wood grain background.

A Brief History of Stephen Hawking

I love creative final projects for class. It somehow feels like I'm getting away with murder, that I am allow to do something I enjoy for a grade. I was lucky enough to have two creative finals this semester, one of which I will talk about now.
I co-produced a short comic book with the help of Rafael Gaitan. I created the story, which was inspired by both the title of Stephen Hawking's seminal book A Brief History of Time, and the comic gold mine that is Stephen Hawking. Earlier in the semester I brought the idea of Rafael, who immediately jumped on board. From there it was just a matter of writing the story with Raf, and for me to figure out how to create a layout for, and illustrate a comic book. Needless to say, the whole process was delayed until only a week before the project was due, and I ended up creating the layout for the comic and illustrating it in a ten hour grind fest the day before it was due.
I really do enjoy continually going outside of my comfort zone in order to produce art. It's a great way to learn, and I think one day it will all come together.
Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as Professor Donald Ault, who remarked after reading the title, "Hey that's far out!"

You can download the PDF file here:
A Brief History of Stephen Hawking.pdf

The Official List of Student Movie Cliches

Takashi and I are working on a definitive list of all student movie cliches. These are things that all of us young moviemakers have done at some point. Although these tropes are not necessarily bad on their own, they become tainted by their over-use in bad student movies. I am posting my half of the list here, and Takashi will create the other half over at his blog (check it out on my friends list). Then we will edit the list down to create The Official List of Student Movie Cliches

My List:
Drug abuse
Suicide
Cutting random shots to your favorite song
Stabbing
Soft-core porn
Forests as a location
Angst
Excessive Dissolves
Existentialism
Homeless People
Muggings
Absurdity
Copyright infringement
Crediting a production company that is not a real company, but just you and your friend(s)

Live!Life!Loud!

Some people have been asking for it so here it is, Live!Life!Loud!. Thanks again to Miguel for all the help.

Frankenstein

I got a lil heavy last night, maybe too insightful. So as a thanks to anyone who read that. Here's one of my favorite things to come out of the 70s

My Pathway

I just finished re-watching Vivre sa Vie (dir. Godard 1962), and am in the process of reading Godard on Godard. I must say that I am in awe with the man's unselfconscious and brave path he has carved through cinema. I would say that it came natural to him, that he did what he wanted to without much regret or fear. I can't say that I am in his position currently. I am neurotic. I am afraid. I am confused.

I think back on how I've come to where I am right now in my "career" as a moviemaker. I look back over the movies I've created and I can't help but pine for The Vincent Project. It has been the only honest movie I've ever made so far (not that I've made that many). I don't know how Ryan and I gained such untimely confidence with cinema when we had only made one two movies before that. We did exactly what we wanted in that video: We had the audacity to follow a good friend around with a camera more or less against his wishes. We destroyed cinematic rules we jut barely had any grasp on. We silently understood that which we knew nothing of. I would have a long argument later with Ryan that through living only a few brief moments of life you silently understand everything about this world. If that has any truth then I must think that The Vincent Project was my first few moments of cinematic life.

After that brief, wonderful moment, I especially became intensely interested in everything my movies lacked, technical skill, continuity, and narrative ability (everything Hollywood). Every movie I have created since then has been neurotically aware of it's own short comings and because of that has failed to speak honestly.

However, I can't decide if that has been bad or not. I am beginning to think that this path is a necessary one. I think it is impossible for one to love something without question, and I know now that once I began questioning cinema, once I became conscious of my choices, I began a long and painful journey, but the journey is beautiful and meaningful. Holding my work up to a Hollywood standard has no misguided as much as I realize now that it has been my guide. It is my home, and it has given me my bearings. I would be lost without it, and had I inadvertently stumbled upon a treasure while groping in the darkness without a compass, I'd have no where to take that treasure back to, no home.

I think I'm beginning to really understand.

The Black Box Final

For reasons unbeknownst to me this very short and (I think) well-crafted video didn't make it into FUF's Cinerama, although my other video, Live! Life! Loud!, which was equally short and equally well-crafted, did. Since it won't be in the show, you can check it out here, a world premiere!
EDIT:
Oh yeah I guess I should edit this post. This movie actually did play at Cinerama, it just wasn't on the roster posted on facebook. Thanks for playing it guys!

The Black Box from Kyle Reid on Vimeo.

Return from Vacation

It's funny. A vacation from my blog means I'm actually very busy. The internet does have a way of inverting things. Anyway, I've been really busy with school and completing editing on two videos (Live Life Loud and The Black Box) I submitted to UF's Cinerama. I'll post them here after the show is over since I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone who may be going. Although you've all seen the rough cut of The Black Box but you know nothing of Live Life Loud, a project I shot last semester and didn't get around to editing till now. Well I'll leave you with a few screen-caps from the mysterious movie: