This Week In My Life

This week has been a good week! We filmed and edited the new intro for Komain’s video, then finished off the video. I didn’t change much, a small lighting change here or there, some changes to the text. Then, last night we put it out at about 7pm and since then it’s had about 350 views and the reviews and comments have been great. Komain is very, very happy with the finished product, as am I. I may still tweak a thing or two before turning it in as a final piece but I’d say it’s 99% done. Here is the link:

As for “Keeping Up With The Joneses”, we got another round of interviews done yesterday, but with all the music video stuff going on yesterday I didn’t have time to do anything with it, which is fine. I’ll be tackling that this week. We are also waiting to hear back from Curtis’ aunt to see if this weekend will be good for her to talk with us. If not, then we have his father scheduled as a back up plan, so I’m confortable with where we are at. I’m hoping to have about half the movie done in the next couple of weeks, along with making contact with some of the local (to the plantation) officials that may be able to help us. Stay tuned!

"Keeping Up With The Joneses" Artist Statement

“Keeping Up With The Joneses”

This is a documentary film focused on one Curtis Jones, a mixed-race man from South Bend, IN. The film depicts Curtis searching for his roots, specifically on his African-American side. He is intent on finding his ancestory dating back to the days of slavery. Upon locating the plantation that his forefathers were enslaved on Curtis will travel and visit that place, with camera in tow. It is intended to be a spiritual discovery, a story of one man’s journey through history to find himself.

"My Guitar Gently Weeps" Artist Statement

“My Guitar Gently Weeps”

“My Guitar Gently Weeps” is a music video for an artist by the name of Komain. The song is an ode to what hip-hop used to be, could be, should be, or maybe some combination of all three.  The basic concept is that we’re stepping inside Komain’s head as he hears the music and the scenes reflect the song’s feeling. He walks through an empty door to nowhere, seeking something, finding only the beat. In the auditorium, he is alone, a student of the music and rhymes, alone in his research. As the words flow from his pen the guitar gently weeps in the distance. Outside, he is in the cold, vulnerable, fighting through it. In the studio he is in his element, his comfort zone, oblivious to the outside world and he is one with the music. 

Komain - "Guitar Gently Weeps"

This week I shot a music video with an artist that goes by the name Komain. We shot the whole thing on Saturday and I've spent the last couple of days editing it together to form the rough draft that you see below. We also shot a short intro for the video yesterday but I have not yet edited that into the beginning. It still needs some work here and there but this example is fairly close to how the final product will look. Here it is:



As for "Keeping Up With The Joneses", we unfortunately had to reschedule this weekend's shoot. Ultimately not a huge deal since I had the music video to work on. The good news is that we have made contact with his aunt in East Chicago who is the "family historian" and promises to be a great source. We've also been digging into more research and have found a new and interesting census record containing info on Calvin Owens, Curtis' great-great-grandfather. Here it is:

If you notice, Calvin's birthplace was Virginia, which is in line with some of the family legends we have heard about Curtis's family being slaves in VA, which is great to hear. Curtis and I plan on meeting up in the next couple of days to get caught up on shooting and then we hope to meet with his aunt next weekend. Until then, here is a small trailer I put together for "Keeping Up With The Joneses":


So, that's where I'm at this week. Stay tuned for more!