To be or not to be...

I've been editing a video for the Hip Hop Aids Fashion Show At CofC for the past few days. Just when I thought I was done, the inevitable happens. As the saying goes, one cannot have their cake and eat it too. Oh, the irony!!! The video began glitching as soon as I'd compressed it in Final Cut Pro. Teardrop. Hurt my heart really. It's taken me a couple hours to get the problem straight but I think I've finally mixed the right medicine to cure my little problem. I had to give my boy Jesse Berger a couple calls, which ultimately guided me in the right direction. He advised that I try a combination of things. I was a bit deflated to hear that there were more than one way to fix the problem. Deflated because that meant that there was no right way, so, in turn, I'd have to experiment and wait an hour for the project to compress before I discovered whether or not the problem was actually fixed...ugh! To my relief, it seems that simply opening a new project file and copying and pasting the timeline from the original project onto the new sequence might have done the trick. I'll take the optimistic approach on this one. We shall surely see in another 30 minutes or so though...keep your fingers crossed.

I'll take some time to talk about my long awaited project that I shot over Winter Break. My friend, Braker, gave me the idea that I should shoot a sequel to a short film I shot with some of my friends from home two summers ago entitled: "SLIP." The plot is about two cops that have been chasing a known drug dealer for the past couple of months. Just as they thought they had him cornered, he manages to "slip" out of their grasps. Hints the title "SLIP." Anyway, I was all for the idea until I got a text from my friend Gary telling me that a guy we'd come up knowing was shot to death in a home invasion. The news was both shocking and deflating. To be quite honest, me and the guy weren't the best of friends, but to hear that someone from your community died in such a tragic way is never good news.

My tune soon changed when I discovered that he was not the one being robbed, but...he was the robber. Suddenly, I didn't feel as bad. Call me inhumane if you must but it's hard to feel sympathy towards someone doing something with an inevitable outcome. I mean...what else was to be expected? A couple days later after talking to a couple more of my friends and my cousin, I'd settled on the idea of doing a story based around the event. The plot would entail a home invasion, but I'd add my own backstory. 2-3 weeks later I'd written "The Dead Pass Swiftly." The story follows a young man named Robbie. Robbie's father was killed before Robbie was born (the opening sequence of the film) while attempting a home invasion. Robbie's father, John, is a hustler, but moreso a jack of all trades. Presently, Robbie is stricken by a non-existent mother figure and the want to get out of a situation that only seems to worsen. The story follows Robbie as he makes his way up the food chain (so to speak) only to inherit the sins of his father and because of this is destined to end up like his father.

I took the last week of Winter Break to make the film. Working on a budget of less than $100 the footage came out pretty good. As of now, I've edited six scenes. I hope to have a rough cut by the end of the week so I can get a good idea of what I'll have to tighten up. I'm excited about the project though I've been on a two week hiatus because of other projects. I'll have to kick my gears into overdrive if I hope to show the film in a month or so at an event for Rhapsody in Black. An event that celebrates black art. It's held by our colleges Black Student Union (BSU). I'm confident I'll be able to have a decent version of the film to show. At the very least something that I'll be able to hold my head up on. I'll take the optimistic approach in this as well.

Now I'm still waiting on this HIV/Aids video to compress. My eyes are growing weary so I'll probably come back in the morning to see if switching the sequences worked. This song I'm listening to by Nas "Hero" is kinda giving me an extra boost. I might just have to burn the midnight oil. I'll keep you updated on how both projects turn out, peace.