Quarterly Review

Dear Beeman, 

I wrote this paper in Film Analysis. At the end I tried to sum it up for my self in a list of ideals. They are personal ideals that I have worked hard to develop when I write and Direct. I hope that I can stay true to these personal Values in the future. 

-jorge soto la marina

Title

Subtitle

Summation: This Paper is a soto myth derived from the two readings in class on formalist film theories, Cinema is the way that I process information so the use of cinematic citation is used, Films speak for themselves in the service of the directors that command them, also Joe Campbell will continue to be the leader of narrative for years to come. React, in act, or get out of the way. 

Debates of the Future!

To Beeman,

Jill told us to analize the debates for extra credit, I did that and then I rambled about nothing, feel free to skip the last paragraph. Or not, you are one sick, sick, puppy. 

The presidential debate of the new millennium has changed the game of politics forever. Not only did I get to watch the debate live, I did not have to find a television to do so. I watched it from the comfort of my bed. I live in a house that does have televisions but not cable. The man has even taken away our free air waves that we used to use to watch broadcasts. But hey, with change comes compromise? 

By and large the best part of the debate for me as a filmmaker was the addition of the ticker that was provided by ABC and Yahoo News. This ticker did not only announce topics but it also provided insight from Twitter as to what other americans were thinking about these live issues. 

I also enjoyed that there were foot notes to everything the candidates would say. They were put on the spot. We, the audience, were enabled to check for consistency in the things they said. I am the first to admit that I cannot catch every possible speech delivered by these folks when they go on tour. Through the divinity of the inter-webs and the future I get to check and make sure my candidates are not flip floppers when it comes to the real issues. 

I feel the motion graphics were very coordinated and well thought for being presented during a live debate. How live was this debate? How scripted are their responses? Why does Romney feel the need to talk longer and louder than Obama or the commentator? These questions fill me at the end of the night and affirm a few things for me. The South is the South, People do not change if you ask them too, yelling at each-other is irritating, and finally, only local elections get shit done. Our Reps have to do just that, Represent us. We chose who votes in the electoral college and those fuckers chose who the next president is. If we complain about who is the figure head of our nation then it is up to us to mold and change that for the better. I do not know who is better, nor do I pretend to know how this election will turn out. All I hope is that I can finish college and fuck up life for the people who are working in society for the select few. The ruling class will have a new name to quote when considering their enimies. It might not be mine in particular but that is what pen names are for. 

-Jslm

Adress of the City

Mayor A.C. Wharton,

Wharton is our mayor. He is a great orator and knows how to address the people of Memphis in a very realistic manner. What I mean by this is that he knows that memphis has had a negative stigma associated with it for quite a while. Before he got up to speak one of his associates gave an in-depth presentation on the history of Memphis.

Wharton knows that things in Memphis are not always the best. He knows that Housing Projects are a real stain on the history and understand of where we are as a city. He talked about initiatives that will change this "projects" stigma for a new generations.

Wharton had a slip in thought during his presentation. Concerning gentrification and displacement of families that have lived in the same place for multiple generations. "We do Not want to put old wine in a new Bottle." The energy put out by this comment was felt through the room. Wharton soon rebutted that statement by speaking about how he did not mean it negatively.

I do not know Wharton personally, and I will also be the first to admit that I am not a Memphian. I was born in Compton, California, Raised in Rogers, Arkansas, and am currently developing into an adult in the streets of Memphis. Wharton, I do not think you are a bad politician. Nevertheless you are a politician, please sir don't grow out of touch with the community. Help build up Memphis in the way that you say you want to, instead of just being a politician that does nothing but talk about change with out ever in acting it. I know that there is a limited amount of actual work you can do, but as mayor of Memphis you are a figure head in the community. Anything that you support will come to fruition through societal means.

-jslm

Music Research

What's Good Beeman,

Music is an essential component of cinema. The way I see it music in Cinema the way directors hear and understand the world. The video bellow shows how powerful the memories and triggers that music enables. Its amazing. This semester I challenged my self with producing videos that are of the best quality. Part of being an Autor is being able to know your limitations. I do not make my fingers process audio eloquently. I understand basic audio design but making a sound track is a whole other monster of a discipline that I need to understand better. I am working with peers to develop my understanding of sounds and how to build cognitive narratives with sound. I want to learn by working with professional individuals who know how to produce unique and personal Music. I also understand that aside from building that relation ship my personal work is priority. That is why I want to branch out and reach more artists working as individuals to make strong collaborations that  become solid stand alone pieces.

-jslm

Hot Ass Beat Clap

Hey Beeman,

Music videos are a curiosity to me. When I was younger and my folks got our first VHS player when I was like five or six one of the only tapes we had was the making of Thriller. We had this awesome tape that was a behind the scenes and I cannot denny that I loved it so much. I think that is why I love music videos last night. My dad would get excited and be like "pay close attention to this part." Without further a-du, Hot Ass Beat Clap will be a series that I upload every now and then showing a music video that I enjoy. The first is from South African rap group Die Antwoord. Enjoy!

-jslm

Film Analysis Tray

Beeman, 

Here is another film review.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God
1972
Werner Herzog
-An ill fated quest for el dorado turns into an introspective journey down the river to hell. The film revolves around the perspective of Aguirre, or through the eyes of imperialist European aggressors.

Werner Herzog is known for being a poetic filmmaker. The narratives he weaves take the audience for a ride. Often time it is a ride that we have thought about but never gone on. Grizzly man is one of his more contemporary works that I was first exposed too. One of the main things that I learned as an amateur student filmmaker was the idea of the BEAT. In script writing there is often moments where we want to give the readers (audience) a moment to reflect on what is being established or done by the characters.  Visually these moments can be translated visually to points where we think the shot is held too long, but soon we realize that these snapshot put together moments or Beat s are there for a greater purpose. That is to give the audience a moment of consideration as the narrative rests in repose. 

Soto Myths: The Metaphysical Automaton Device

Dear Beeman,

I want to explore my understanding of the Hero's Journey. I want to put a mirror to the audience by directing the focus of four intensive shorts on the fourth wall in the frame. The audience will experience narratives in four pannels. The pannels will be presented sequentially. The pannels will loop continuously. The viewer is invited to either watch the narrative or become immersed in the drama by choosing how long they will focus on each panel. (All panels at once would be kinda chaotic in my opinion.) I want to create narratives that revolve around one perspective, the Hero's point of view. I belive that we have concepts like the mono-myth and stages of concepts because of our desire to become universal beings. I belive that is because we are all trying to connect to one another. I want to present these as toy. Kind of like a looking glass into that collective unconscious. The next few posts will be dedicated to exploring the narratives I will fabricate for this project. This post will be the refference out line. I have made this list out of a personal need, this ciriculum is subject to change in the service of this vision. I hope to have Act One and Two fully scripted out before the next class on wednesday. The greater narrative will also be resolved but not posted. I gotta keep something anonymous in this digital forum. I am confidant in my abilities and will report influences during my time working to achive this goal.

Structure for these narratives.
Set up, delivery, punchline, antithesis, repose.

Three Narrative Dealing with characters responding to the situation,
In each the camera is the subject of greater part.

Act One-
Ordinary world established so we can reach Separation.

Act Two-
Special World established so that we may enter the Descent.

Act Three-
After the Ordeal we are Rewarded and can commence the Initiation.

Act Four-
The Road Back leads us to Resurrection, often there is also a Return with an Elixir.

Pannel Five- The viewer observes themselves traveling through the journey. They will react to this in a moment of enlightenment as they realize that they have gone through the journey because it is a universal theory.
*this panel is an idea and will serve the grander narrative. I feel it is crucial to me because I want to force a metaphysical reaction from my viewer. An emotional connection, some question, or pondering from the viewer. I want people to be able to observe themselves and the people around them while still having that connecting factor.

I say device because it is more of a toy than a machine. Automaton because it will make gears and oil of the audience to enforce a metaphysical discussion of these important themes. At the end of the day I do not subscribe to many theories, but some of these universal truths are undeniable in our collective reality.

-jorge

Grander GooooooaaaaaaLLLLs

Beeman,

This semester I decide to challenge myself, nothing I make this semester will look like it should be on youtube.

I was asked, Why do you have a glitch looking aesthetic. Its not really a full glitch aesthetic like tim and eric.



Well I guess Its because thats what I saw when I was growing up. The first real short that clicked with me was this short called "Blue Shorts." It was a short that a friend made in high school while I was still in Junior High. This video resignated with me because it was the ultimate forum for expression, video that is. This freedom was developed later when I got drafted in to some of Derrick Sims projects at NWAAFA. We learned some cool shit. Sims eventually moved to Hollywood and became what he wants to become. Which is still happening. Here is his latest Film.



This last summer I questioned my self, why have not made something that I enjoy watching over and over again? Im not sure if I am thinking about it any differently but I must say that I have a better plan this year. Jill Wissmiller, Sims, and Ian Gillham (Blue Shorts) made me realize that I need to make the films I want to see. This semester I will use Dynamic Imaging two as an oppertunity to develope my aesthetic and work on a grander narrative. Digital Cinmea Three will be a chance to develop my techniques and practices for the Narrative. I want to create work that is substantual without being dry. That is my challenge. I am making good progress. I have a script. It needs work, but atleast it is finished and on paper. I look forward to critque on wednesday.

This made my day,
-jorge soto

Film Analysis Deux

Beeman, 

A taste of the larger essay for class. I felt I was presenting too much in one essay, so I'm going to start scaling it back and only talking about the grander themes that I want to understand.

Jorge Soto La Marina

Formalist Film Theory

Professor Eric Huber

Orson Welles- The Stranger 1946

Orson Welles was a tycoon of cinema within his own time. He rose to fame with his infamous dramatic reading of War of the Worlds. Welles was a Filmmakers Filmmaker. Welles relied heavily on the audience to think critically about the narratives he presents. Welles is a personal favorite because he did have such an actualized conceptual vision. Old cinema was predicated on title cards. Audiences’ who were watching Welles had lived with this for a few decades now. Welles was revolutionary because he developed a visual short hand for characters as well as a short hand for cinematic metaphors. Welles achieves a mastery of visual narratives because of his visual metaphors. These ideals and choices will eventually come to be coagulated and rewritten decades later as some of the foundations for Formalist Film theory.

Rinko Kawauchi

Let Me Holla At Beeman,

It's not about having the top of the line camera. Its about knowing who you are, what your art can comment on, and how the process can highlight and amplify the greater themes you want to articulate. Sure Kawauchi could just have stuck with film because it was unmatched in high quality but why not look into innovations. I think she made a realization that no matter what kind of camera you have or what equipment you have on hand, it's the artist behind the documentation that weaves the greater narrative not the freedom from the equipment. An artist does not need the best money can buy, the artist should be concerned about being able to analyze their process and concept to articulate the greater meaning. Hiding behind quality does not cover the holes in your concept. I believe in having a solid foundation of concept and then articulating certain faucets from that concept. Thinking this way has helped me to map my growth and learn from my mistakes. I might try and discuss in critique and figure out where someone is coming from, but I always try and make it a point to write five critical thoughts on my work for every two that illicit a response. This is how I work and think and breath and feel. Aesthetics vs Concept is just a silly debate to have at the end of the day. Im not going to change my mind, I am going to let my work show you why I believe I am right. I try too goddamn it.
-jorge

Coming Atractions

Beeman, 

I want to prove myself the person I know I can be. This is my schedule for the next two weeks, I will update it periodically and is subject to review at the click of a button upon request. 

Inception

Beeman,
We are things that hope to understand through the examination of our personal truths. It was a once in a life time moment and watching this makes a lot of what I understand now make a little bit of sense. These were all shorts undertaken by me and my peers my sophomore year of high school. We had a developed director that grew to understand the frame and himself during his time there a little better. I believe it was one hell of a time for sixteen year old me.

Strange more than anything-jorge

Tapping In

Beeman,
I am the self that is a summation of the different experiences that develop my personal character and inform my personal narratives. I have been trying to understand this for a while. First I looked at the beat geration. Beat Brothers Productions is the label I have worked with to sign my video work. I wanted BBP to be a translation into Beatnik Brothers Producions. My Peers and I felt that they were on to something interesting as far as playing with words and the social context that were created and defined once placed in context. Beat Brothers Productions eventually fizzled in obscurity after high school. Many of the members dissolved into society, but a few of us still remember the wave that we were riding on. It was glorious Beeman. The digital revolution was starting up from grassroots and we were part of that future. Eventually I decided that I could not just limit my self to being a poetic video artist. I needed to be poetic but also have the conceptual development through process so that I could be articulate about the images and sounds and words and narrative that I wanted to Create. I came to Film because I saw it as the pinnacle of common language. I still hold this truth to be self evident. I believe that a video artist can make a high concept piece that can be put into context of a fine art space but also work to connect the masses to their media by using visual common language and visual short hand. I will post a few videos that I felt were formative to getting to this point in thought because it is pretty radical to look at my peers and say "hey i respect what your doing, but my mom and dad will not want to sit and stare at your shit for longer than a second because they will not understand." My parents came from humble roots, never finishing high school and even migrating illegally to a new country. They understand where they came from and know where they want their children to go. I just draw the line with high concept when artist creates aesthetics in a gallery dialogue, once your a prissy ass working with specialized language for your trade i feel like you become a pompous asshole who says "look at how much i learned to make up concepts for my themes." I believe that aesthetics should complement conceptual development in the service of the greater dialogue that connects rich and poor, educated and ignorant. Most importantly I find it soul crushing when I tell my characters that these greater morality questions are informed on our experience together but then explaining it in a way that they feel like I'm tricking or doping them. I love art that can make sense as mass media but that could also be taken to the art world and examined as a part of the greater dialogue.

Well, that was really long winded. Here are some videos that I was attracted too before I started writing about this in abstract terms.

The Social Funk

Beeman,

Fellowships are a way of spreading good nature and the peace of man to institutions across the world and even in our local international community. In the past my art has been informed on my personal experiance growing up labled by society an alien to this country. I was born here and grew up here, honestly spanish is not even a second language to me. Its a third language like piglatin, It is a product of the assimalation that I felt during my formative experiances. This tension between understand where i came from in the context of the traditionally Bigotted Amerrican South still resignates with me today. I find my self drawn to abstract dialogues, think of visual metaphors like splashes of colors and sounds used to create a unified work. These allagories foot prints of who I figured I would be. The last few years in college have produced some of the most interspective work, I honestly did not think I had it in me to press forward with concepts from semster to semester. An early tearcher once told me "That's bull shit Jorge. You are seventeen years old and you expect me to belive that there are no ideas floating around that big head of yours. There are whole lifetimes played out in the few seconds that it takes to type one sentance." What I guess he was saying is that we have a privlage in our day and age. We have seen the rise of memory cards. We don't rely on archain books to keep track of all information. If you wonder what the origin of a word is you can google it. If you wonder if that word has ever been used to name a movie you can look it up. If an artist used a word as a pivital spark of intuition for a whole movement, it would probably take a second, but you could figure it out. What is this unified central storage device that holds our past as well as documents our present while still maintaining a dialogue about the future you might ask? Well let me blog about it for a second, there you go. Thats what it was, if you missed it then I guess you just missed some perception of god. Before this gets more long winded than it should I'd like to speak about Mexico City. The foot hold for many empires who hoped to get thier foot in the new world. Mexico as a country became the old west of time once conquistadors came to rape murder and plunder in the name of god glory and gold. Mexico City is a place that hold these abstract socially constructed lables from street to street. Once when I was younger I remember going to Mexico to meet my grandmother. It was my first time there. I noted that the streets were in grids, for a fourteen year old to be paying attention to archatecture and city planning is a big thing in my family. I also noted that the street names dictaed the distrects. There is a distrect called The Roses, In the Roses districts there are streets named after rosey flamboyant flowers. Not because of any modern context but because at some point in time that was where the forum for selling fragrant plants. When I say forum I mean forum, The streets of Mexico City can come to look like modern metropolitan bussleing centers. Two blocks over you will see scenes that look like they have been handed down generation to generation since the time of columbus. Mexico City represents a city so routed with a violent past that it has chosen to assimalate with the past to create a bearable present and brighter future. This idea is visible in the eyes of the people who live there. It is also a brilliant moment to see forigners come to this almost mystical place and realize just how far the city has come.

-jslm

Nitty Gritty Riot

To Beeman,

I have been watching this podcast for a while now. I first found Film Riot when I first took Digital Cinema in college. A lot of what the show teaches is rehiteration from things I learned in high school. I enjoy the format of this particular show because it reminds me of the feelings we had in the school that I was a part off.
We were in our late teens, the social implicatians of this form of art was able to spark fires anywhere across the land. There were so many indie production companies and the market was saturated with a lot of really great films. People like Tarantino, Rodriguez, K. Smith, and Both Del Torros were riding the crest of the indie realizations they had in the decade before- Film is a timeless voice that can be used for a greater ideal, best of all anyone could be a part of this dialogue as long as they brought their hearts into it.
These people strive to be consistant and exhude such a productive energy in cinema that thier foot prints will be standard for Student Filmmakers for the next few years. Filmmakers with-out a crew types who make work and survive and grow from collaboration and adaptation. I feel that the Folks at Film Riot encapsulate that feeling.
They are very informed people who have defineable stances on visual aesthetic theory. I don't feel that they have remaind visually stagnant. Clicking through their catalogue illustraits a growth in practice and standard that I hope to learn from. This is a universal feeling among filmmakers. Tarantino says you have to be the best or you're nothing an old friend once told me once.
I never understood what this meant. I hope that I am starting to understand and practice this principle of perfection that in my opinion is a signal of passionate people reguardless of their occupation or aesthetic choices that can transcend all medias and narratives

-jslm.

Coverage and Sequential Theory


Latest Episode

Hot Ass Beat Clap

Beeman,

This is a segment from a different life, Where in I post a music video I enjoy and let you reflect on its aesthetic and conceptual qualities. Enjoy.

-jslm

The Holy Fool or Whole Full

Beeman,
I want to find the archetypes that are hiding deep inside the people that I know. The people I laugh and live with. The people that remind me what humanity is. I hope you like the video.

-jslm

Film Analysis

Deer Beeman,

This is draft one of my paper for film analysis class. If there is something I am missing or miss taking for meaning and you want to call my bull shit. Please do! Then I wont sound green when presenting these concepts to the class.

Der Letzte Mann (The Last Laugh)
Directed by F. W. Murnau
1924

I know dude (Murnau) from his 1922 classic of horror Nosferatu. Murnau is a cinematic boss of the German Expressionistic movement. His mastery of editing and the camera make his name synonomys with Spielberg, Griffith, or the modern Tarantino.The Last Laugh is the story of an aging Hotel Porter that must face his humanity.
One day durring a storm he is forced to carry in luggage that is heavy and eventually sets in to motion the demise of the old Hotel Porter. Murnau uses visual story telling to the maximum. The film is in the firmament of cinema because of its complete self reliance on film to tell a narrative. Murnau challenged himself to create a work that was completely free of title cards. This is ground breaking because for the first time the audience is being asked to think and analyze visual metaphors through shadows to create a story using only acting set design and reliance on the audience to think hard about what the message is. This silent film breaks form, and that is kinda risky grounds. Two year prior to this piece, Murnau's Nospheratu, the standard three act narrative for the screen relied heavily on the director directing the audience toward the greater theme of the narrative.
Murnau was a pioneer because of how he used successful visual rhythms to create an engaging three act feature lenghth narrative. At this time film was still in its very formative years. We call these old works experimental not because they break the laws that govern cinema, maintaining over arching order in a world of three act structure. People like Joseph Campbell would eventually come to label and map the progression of a Monomyth. Through my personal growth I have also found that Kurt Vonnegut makes it a visual representation. Vonnegut set the precedence by scribbling down the Monomyth on paper and making it a very tangible thing.
 We hail these works as examples of directors and crews and actors and musicians that created some of the first examples of structure. This continues today. When we expect a disorienting frontal shot of a drunken character we can think of any number of modern horror films that use this technique to build anxiety and a feeling of urgency, think Uma Therman in Pulp Fiction. Murnau used this technique to build to a moment of apotheosis in the last laugh after the Hotel Porter has been striped of his rank and he has stolen it for one final night of happiness a lot like Cinderella and her ball.
 Another interesting development in The Last Laugh that I noticed was the usage of frames. At the very beginning the main character, Father Time I came to call him instead of just Hotel Porter, dutifully does his job. He smiles holds doors for women, helps them in and out of taxies. It does not even matter when it is raining out and he is the only hotel employee that has to deal with wet rich folks coming through the turning glass doors. He has a moment of desperation and morality when he tries to lift a luggage case that is too heavy for his frames age. He has to recover for a second but soon he is back to work happily, a paternal figure I would argue. He literally poses for a proletariat style portrait when he steps back out in to the rain. He steps out through a door way, two bell hoops on wither side standing like pillars or representations of extreme wealth. There in the middle is the old man battered and down going to happily do his work, his coat keeps him warm and dry, and he is able to do the job and attend his post. There is lightning in the back ground of this scene and I believe that Murnau places the camera at a low angle to elevate and glorify the old Father Time. Making him a hero of the proletariat about to cross the threshold in to a series of trials and tribulations that will question his very essence.

-jslm

Freedom

Beeman,
I think this is the most thoughtfuly chaotic essay I've worked on. Articulation is hard to come by but I think This pitch was a good sell, These were the notes that I used in class.

-jslm

Trucking out from a rear view mirror, there are trees flowing by, air rushing through a mildly cracked window. A young man sits, Slicked hair, Aviator glasses, a dirty rock band plays through the speakers, the beat influences the drags of his cigarette. Every stop he makes he is sure to ash his cigaret through the small crack in his tinted windows. he wears no seat belt. The rushing trees soon become start to mesh into other photographs and it becomes more apparent that the back ground is made of composited environments. These environments evolve into photographs, Eventually, the young man drives past the frame leaving behind the montage of different environments, A waterfall sparkles as a troop of scouts wander past in awe. Two teenagers run through the woods in camouflage pants dogging paint balls, a group of hipsters pull in to a vacant lot and hop out with a disco ball ready to dance and enjoy the evening. They thrash and dance hard, they dance through the night. Dance until they fall. at first this falling is seen as frightening. A woman falls down into a dark abyss, she is horrified for a few frames. in Slow Motion she screams in terror, we jump to a wide shot of her laughing as she takes a plunge in to a lake from the top of a bluff. she waves to the boy, smiling like an angel looking unto the future. He stands there in brilliant youth ready to dive, ready to fall, as he plunges, we hear a sharp squeal of the wheel, he flips violently through a void far lost from the lake we were at, now he plunges through abstract red black purple and orange space, soon everything is blue as he comes to rest in the seat of a car. slowly as he comes too he looks around, slowly, he feels his seat belt as it materializes, he opens one eye a smear of blood comes down his face. We see his profile, a steering wheel comes into focus, broken and steaming, his second eye opens and his face is significantly more bloodied, the whole car erupts in to violent clarity all at once. he is in a ditch, his hair is messed up and matted, he looks down at the cd player, and it is skipping, he dose not know why it chose to skip on this part of the song, its such an ironic song for the machine to chose to skip on the thought crosses his mind as he unbuckles, grabs his broken and bloodied cigarets and glasses, climbs out the side of his car, and walks a way from a wreck, He wont be so lucky next time.

A Lion

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

F. W. Murnau

James Dean in Reble Without A Cause

The Digital Revolution and the Descent in to Madness

Yo Beeman,

The last few days have been interesting. My focus has been directed on working from the past to create an ultimate future. Optimistic? Crazy? Probably, but I'm creating head movies in these letters here. So go with for a second now friend. Cinema has been tethered to a strong mechanical industrial heritage of being by the people for the people and with the people. A democratic idea, images of early cinema tests come to mind. Something about Workers Leaving the Factory, from the last industrial revolution, film has been a media obsessed with the masses. Well, just hear me out Beeman, I'll tell you what, film is tethered to large mechanical roots. Both conceptually but physically as well. When Audio was introduced to film there were ridiculous measures taken to try and perfect what we now know as dubbed films. Aka any movie ever to have dialogue ever. I guess what I am getting at is that cinema has been a double bladed sword since its creation. Film frees humans to capture the beauty and drama that creates a sort of collective narrative. Film is a literal foot print proclaiming loud and proud to generations to come. Filmmakers yell from the depths of obscurity "LOOK HERE! WE WERE ALIVE! WE LOVED WERE LOVED AND DIED ALL IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE THROUGH THE SANDS OF TIME!" This is where the digital revolution comes in for me. The film bellow is without a doubt propaganda for the RED One Camera, but through the majesty of the revolution it is well made and thought full. Not because of convenience or resolution but instead because of the passion of the people who put together this small documentary. I hope you enjoy.

-jslm

Stacey Page

To Beeman,

Two letters in one night? I forgot to tell you about this artist, I like this aesthetic, I will be keeping an eye on her when thinking about some of my work in class this semester. She is Stacey Page. Feel free to check out her website, http://www.staceypage.com/

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, 

-jslm

Formative

To Beeman,

I think I've been able to work out my concept a bit better over this last weekend. It's remarkably late and I've been writing like a mad man for class tomorrow because a few things finally began to click. This is a short entry but I'll list some notes for class tomorrow bellow.

-With the Formative project I hope to Explore and Map an internally informed aesthetic dialogue that effects who and how I chose to be from day to day.
-Growing Up There are some Major events that shaped How I see the world today, These events are recalled every day of my life as I exist as abstract trains of thought. These trains of thought are a connection with my past. 

-This Connection comes to me as a fully visceral intuition that informs how I act and react to situations in my day to day life. 

-Occurs as images, sounds, actions, abstract colors, forms and thoughts. 

-Here I consolidate these by looking through my past and current formative experiences in an attempt to enter the wider dialogue that I suppose you could refer too as the collective Unconsciousness. 

-Each episode will concern its self with one of these formative collection of influential intuition.  

-Freedom, Humility, Arrogance, Bliss, Anger, Compassion, Anxiety, FreeDoom

I Hope this letter finds you well, I'm hope my writing has not been too bland as of late. I'll write you again soon.

-jslm

The Great Ultraman

To Beeman:

Ultra-man is a live action Science Fiction Show from the late sixties. Somehow it traveled across the ocean to Mexico City where a young Maricela de Santiago watched attentively during her formative years. I never knew about any of this and I am sure that you are confused as to why I am saying all of this but go with me for a second here.

When I was a young boy growing with my cousins there was nothing cooler to watch than wither Dragon Ball Z or Power Rangers. I know that both of these shows are different.

Power Rangers was my first real exposure to special effects, what I like to think of as movie magic, this too helped to inform my modern aesthetic discisions. I guess I enjoyed a lot of action oriented superhero ensembles for some reason? A five year old Jorge Soto spent a lot of days with my cousins making cardboard and crayon armor. We would also make fake swords to fight off the older more jaded villans, usually played by the older of the bunch.

Ultraman is a sciencefiction live action television show very much like Power Rangers. Power rangers is oriented around an ensemble cast with defined team leaders and other basic archetypes. Ultraman places its focus on the main character who is bestowed with a whimsical gift, the gift is literally a button he pushes to become a Godzilla sized alien that usually does battle with Godzilla like creatures. The show is a hoot and a half as an adult and as a child growing up this series would truly be a prolific work of science fiction full of special effects and theoretical science.

It was good times, but this long winded letter is about the connection that I made recently about my life. My mother watched Ultra-man Growing up her disicions as to what I watched later in life were probably informed by her own experiance growing up. I was influenced by a sixties live action show that influenced my mother. My mothers sorts of inside jokes that she has with my uncles and aunts is kinda awesome.

I guess one of the most resigning questions that stuck with the last open discussion was why do I have this aesthetic that Im always trying to replicate or I guess that the word Im looking for is encapsulate. I see work and media as letters from the past. "Momento Morie as photography" as Susan Sontag would say. I agree with this thought. I think maybe my work has been a longing to be come a part of this glorified dialogue that started in the sixties.

I guess this letter looks like a long ramble about some obscure facts in my life. I suppose you cannot master your present and future until you study or at the very least acknowledge the past. Not too much tech evaluation either, Ill save that for some film critique posts, This is going under conceptual development I suppose. Looking for characters that I have buried deep inside of me. In the most non Bi-polar way possible, or so they say.

-jslm