Rewinding Back 2012, Going Forward 2013

It's been a while, but another year is done and new opportunities await us.

As I look at this video rewind I created, I feel a sense of pride for all the things I accomplished, especially with all of the trials and tribulations I had to go through recently. A year of content creation is never easy, especially when you're constantly trying to climb the Youtube totem pole. But, I did become a Youtube partner (which was the main goal for me starting back on Youtube in the first place) and successfully created four films for my short film series #VideoDictionary. All in all, I would say it was a good Youtube year for me and 2013 shouldn't be any different.

Last year made me realize that as much as I love making videos, there are still a lot of things I would like to learn in order to be the best videographer/filmmaker that I can be. So far, I am on the path to taking some production courses to get certified in editing and television studio work so I can beef up my resume. Also, I am aiming to finally become a part of this production assistant training program, where I can gain experience being a P.A. and eventually work my way to being placed in an actual production project. Of course, these are all of my plans for the future and there's no guarantee that things will go as planned (especially if I get a job), but it's a start to realizing what I really want to do.

It would be easy for me to say that this new year is going to produce a new me, which I am hopeful for, but I don't want this new year to shadow the progress that I've made in 2012. Most people think that a new year must be the reason to change themselves, but a change in the calender shouldn't mean a change in self. Change can never be set on a calender, so why should we wait to change ourselves? This year looks promising, but I am staying realistic and keeping in mind that anything can happen.

P.S.: I've been treating this blog like an abandoned step-child. I need to do better, new year or not. Here's to more blog posts in the future.

-Video Vix[o]n

Stop (and Think) Kony 2012: Revisited

Last week, in a rush of emotionally charged passion, I posted my emotions all over my social platforms about my sentiments towards the now infamous Invisible Children documentary, "Kony 2012." From what I saw, I had to tell people that we had to band together to stop the evil monster who was Joseph Kony. I went from not knowing who this man was to 30 minutes later, cursing his name and recruiting my imaginary troops to do something about putting him down. During my state of fiery passion, I used my creative juices and thought to compile a mash-up of something popular in pop culture with this issue to spread more awareness. This was my result; Avengers x Kony 2012:



But, throughout my rally cries for the global community and myself to assemble and put a stop to Mr. L.R.A., I didn't stop and think about what this documentary was telling me and how it was affecting my emotions.

As I stated in my last post, this documentary was well shot and did a good job at conveying its message; too good of a job. Throughout the video, it uses different audio and visual messages that pulled at one's heart strings; showing African children in pain, the innocence of a young boy trying to understand what evil is and the ultimate message of standing up and finally doing something about it. What I failed to realize is that the ending was the drive home for the organization's mission; to donate. They advertised their merchandise that, through a donation, you can receive an "Action Kit," that would contain fliers, T-shirt, bracelets, etc.; all aimed at spreading awareness about Kony. I did get pulled in by "action kit" and immediately pulled out my credit card to donate. But, if my logical senses kicked in instead of the emotional, I would have realized buying a T-shirt and posters was not going to stop a world-class criminal. Each view on this documentary wasn't going to get us one step closer in the African jungles to catching him. I'm sure there are people who have jumped on the "Stop Kony" train that have come to this revelation by now too.

Was it wrong for me to feel strong about putting a stop to a bad man? No. Was I wrong for wanting to spread more awareness about the issue? No. Was I wrong for not taking the time to do more research about the issue before leading to any conclusions? Yes. Joseph Kony actually helped me to learn the importance of educating oneself about any issue before taking action, no matter how dire the situation may seem. After doing more research about Kony and Invisible Children, I discovered that everything is not what it may seem; outside of the anti-Kony 2012 rhetoric I was hearing all over the web. It's safe to do research about a topic to get all the facts straight; deeply analyze any pressing issue that I watch/read on the Internet and come to a well-balanced opinion. That not only makes me a smarter consumer of information, but a more cautious one. I'll remember to research first, react later.

Invisible Children, I see what you did there.

-Video Vix[o]n

Stop Kony 2012: I Can't Stop

Last night, I had the pleasure and disdain of watching a very important documentary on Youtube that shaped the way I see the world and my responsibility as a global citizen.



For those who have been in the dark about this issue, like I have, there is a man in Africa by the name of Joseph Kony. Kony leads a group of rebels called the L.R.A. (Lord's Resistance Army). This "army" is comprised of children that his henchmen and him have captured, raped, killed and forced to join his group and kill others with guns as child rebel soldiers. Seeing that these children are taken away and forgotten about, they're referred to as the "Invisible Children." These children have been suffering at the hands of LRA for years.

The documentary is well shot and convincingly gets its message across. The director and main narrator, Jason Russell, explains his experiences working with the Invisible Children organization and spreading the word about the mistreatment of these children in Africa and fighting to put an end to Kony and his tyranny. There was something inside me that was building a fire as I watch every moment and learn every fact about the Stop Kony movement. I was aware that evil existed in the world, but not to this magnitude. This is something different; something bigger than myself or anyone else that I can imagine. We're talking about a world criminal; the most dangerous man in the world. Ironically, the U.S. had sought out to find Bin Laden and stop Gaddafi, but the efforts to put an end to Kony has never been emphasized (of course, this is due to underlying U.S. interests and not the concept of world justice).

Ultimately, the question comes down to what am I going to do about it? After college, the fire I had in me to create change fizzled out; I got caught up in my own world and creating a difference for me. But now, there is a global threat on our hands that has been occurring for more than 20 years; before I was born, and I have the ability to stop it. I'm afraid that if I don't keep this story in my mind's eye, then I will forget and go back to my complacent ways. I can't allow that to happen. For some, this may be a bandwagon trend that'll go away in a couple of days; for others, this is something that needs to be addressed and acted on.

If anyone reading this wants to do something inherently good and take action to spread the word about Joseph Kony to stop him, then do your research and get active. If not, then I could understand; it's not easy to feel empowered to create change. It can be scary and not much people know how to handle it, much less make it a priority. Either way, I am a strong believer in stopping villainy and as all of us can be the heroes we need to put an end to this tyrant.

-Video Vix[o]n

Fall for Fashion [M.B. Fashion Week Recap]

This year was my first experience outside and within the Fashion Week world. I am nowhere near knowledgeable of the fashion world like my girlfriend, Janelle, but it was a good opportunity to attend my first official fashion show in NYC.

Earlier in the week, I went out with Janelle and Joshen to take some street photos of the participants coming out of the fashion shows. Seeing that I prepped for this moment, I had camera in hand and took pictures of the most fashionable to the best of my ability. Here are the results...

I feel I did a decent job, seeing these people actually posed for these photos, unlike most of the subjects I shot before who would walk out of the way of a picture. After our photo session, we decided to keep it moving and hopped in a free cab downtown.

Outside of photography, I recently completed a gig off of Craigslist, working with international pop singer, Heather Schmid; who is an extremely nice person. My main job was to cover the fashion shows she was attending and be her main cameraman, following her to each event and getting footage of her interacting with the press and being fabulous. She was nice enough to invite my girlfriend to one of the shows, which she appreciated. Here is a quick video I made capturing the essence of Fashion Week.

Overall, I had a great time being in the ambiance of Fashion Week. Though I wasn't the subject of the photos and video, being in the atmosphere makes you feel important, especially when you have the access to go backstage and see the models and the looks that nobody else has the chance to see. I hope I have the opportunity to do this again and relive the creative rush that is the fashion world.

-Video Vix[o]n

Frame x Frame: New Year; New Blog

"Happy New Year to everyone. They say 2012 is suppose to be the end, but we'll show 'em it's the beginning of something dope." 

I shared this status on all of my social media sites as the new year rang in. Most people have been associating 2012 with "The New Apocalypse" ever since people discovered the Mayans ran out of months on their calender. I think of it as if we survived Y2K, we can survive an expired record of time from an ancient civilization. From what I've learned from "Doctor Who," the human race is quite resilient.

I spent the Eve with most of my close friends, being productive and merry; no Time Square, no crowds, just watching Dick Clark once more on the tube with my significant other. On New Year's Day, we decided to hit the town and just live within the NYC streets and the aftermath of the New Year buzz. We mainly went shopping and got some food, all to enjoy the NYC weather and the fresh 2012 air (despite the rain the followed later on that evening).

The New Year also dawned some new aesthetic changes to the blog; including a new header, links to my social networks and a new "Rewards" tab that viewers can receive points for visiting the site, as well as sharing my posts. The most significant change I made was deleting the majority of my old posts. For some, that may come as a shocker, but I think the issue with my blog was some of the old content was weighing down the new content. Plus I didn't want to continue focusing on what my blog was more than what my blog can become. Outside of that, I felt deleting posts would have been more progressive than deleting the whole blog all together. With some of these changes, including the addition of my new picture posts ("Frame x Frame"), I'm getting a new found rejuvenation to blog again. 

I could call all of this a New Year's resolution, but I rather call it a new commitment for a new year (possibly the same thing, but I digress). Happy New Year everyone and here's to the new posts coming ahead. 

-Video Vix[o]n