Comic Book Documentary

For the documentary interview, our group will be focusing on comic books and comic book films. We have chosen John Hitchcock, an owner of a comic book store in Greensboro, North Carolina, as our expert interviewee. We are also planning on shooting the documentary at his store in Greensboro. With this documentary, we are aiming to set a nostalgic tone. We are planning on recording our vox pop questions in downtown Wilmington.

10 Questions for Expert Interviewee:

            1) What drew you to comics?

            2) What inspired you to develop it into a career rather than a hobby?

            3) In your lifetime, how has the industry changed?

            4) How have the recent comic book films affected the comics?

            5) Where do you see comics in the next 10 years?

            6) Which book inspired you the most?

            7) What comic books do you recommend?

            8) What do you feel is the Golden Age of comics?

            9) Has your passion for comic books ever wavered over the years?

            10) How do you feel you have contributed to the comic book community?

Here is the list of vox pop questions we will be asking people in downtown Wilmington.

            1) Do you read comics?

                        if so, what do you like about them?

                        if not, do you watch any films based off of or influenced by comics?

            2) How did you get into comics?

            3) What has led you to watch the films but not read the source material?

            4) How have the films and TV shows affected your attitude towards reading

                        the source material or comics.

Light Observation: Part 2

Two nights ago I observed another instance in which lighting created this aesthetically pleasing scene. My roommates and I were in our apartment watching TV (half of us on either side of the room and the TV in the center of the room. The power went out and a few seconds later the power came back on; however, half of the light bulbs in the ceiling light remained powerless, creating this surprisingly stark contrast between the two sides of the room. What I found interesting was the effect that the lighting had on the TV screen. Half of the blank TV screen was dark and the other half of the TV screen displayed the reflections of us.

Light Observation: Part 1

Light is always an interesting thing to observe, and people often mindlessly neglect the great image that light can help create. For example, I was walking down Chancellor’s Walk late last night, and the only sources of light were the street lamps, the blue lights atop of the emergency boxes attached to the poles, and the round ball of light that was protruding from the clock tower. What I really loved about this lighting was the systematic pattern of shadows that it created down Chancellor’s Walk. I also loved the symmetric aspect of the illuminated sidewalk down the path as well.

Light Observation #2

The second shot that I took was a reestablishing shot of the Stone of Change building. I particularly liked the lighting in this shot because although the back of the building was facing away from the sun there was still a lot of light that helped illuminate the building. The empty branches of the trees adjacent to the building helped the light pass through and shine on the building. I feel like this really helped improve the quality of the image. Because this shot was taken earlier in the afternoon, I feel like more light was able to penetrate through the empty branches of the tree and illuminate the building.

Light Observation #1

As part of the Documentary Portrait assignment for class, I shot an extreme close up of a stained glass window with a design of a horse and a reestablishing shot of the back of the Stone of Change building. While taking the shot of the stained glass, I noticed the reflection of the sun. I feel like this helped illuminate the stained glass. The reflection of the sun can be seen in the bottom left handed corner of the frame. I really liked how the sun lit up the entire stain glass and illuminated the design of the horse on the window.

Documentary Portrait Storyboard

Reestablishing shot of the beach (left), and an extreme close up of a shell surrounded by retreating water (right).

Blog Entry #1

            My name is Jonathan Mayo and I am an intended film studies major just like the rest of you. I have had filmmaking experience dating back to high school. During the summer preceding my senior year in high school, I participated in a filmmaking program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The participants in the program were split into groups consisted of at least ten people, who worked together on films which each person wrote. Each person in the group was given the opportunity to write and direct their own film as well as serve as key crew members on other films, ranging from editing, director of photography, gaffing, and producing.

            I am looking forward to FST 201 for many reasons. First, I want to become more familiar with the camera equipment that we will be using, and I want to become more familiar with Final Cut Pro. I know that editing is not my strongest ability, so I want to improve that aspect. I am also looking forward to viewing previous student films to see how FST 201 influenced them.

            In 10 years, I am hoping that I will be a part of a casting agency or working on the producing side of filmmaking. When I first applied to UNCW, I took a look at the different internships that the Film Studies department has to offer, and I became very intrigued by the internship for Fincannon and Associates that UNCW has to offer. To this day, I am waiting for my opportunity to apply for this internship.

            I live in a small town called Tarboro in North Carolina, and I have an older brother and a younger sister. Other than analyzing films, I really enjoy watching college and professional basketball and football. My favorite teams are the San Diego Chargers and the New York Knicks.

(I am on the far left)