Longline

A naive and ambitious jazz student attends the most prestigious music conservatory in the world. Struggling to gain the approval of his mentor, the young man devotes his life to perfecting his craft. His parents don't support his endeavors, leaving him helpless. He finds solace with the rhythm of smooth jazz.

PFF Brett Akop

I created the Pegasus banner that will be displayed at Alamo Drafthouse for the Film Festival and I was a member of the Art Department.

Logline and Intent

I currently have two potential ideas for this upcoming documentary; either examining the studio space and work ethic of an artist (specifically my aunt who designs jewelry) or portraying the intensity of being an aspiring musician (Miguel who plays trumpet). For the jewelry documentary I would capture the unique work hours an artist thrives in and the comfort that he/she finds within their cluttered studio. I would shoot very still shots of the most valuable supplies along with the environment in which she works, including the people, pets, electronics, etc. I would even expand the documentary out into where she sells her work and the clientele thats interested. I would mainly focus on the struggles most people don't acknowledge, like having your work being reproduced, consistently offering new ideas in a fast growing market, transportation, etc. For the musician documentary I would want to relate a majority of the shots to the movie "Whiplash," portraying the fast-paced nature of the world and the unforgiving nature of the teachers. I would focus more on the story Miguel would tell as opposed to simply monitoring the environment in which he works. I would also focus on the limitations high school students encounter and the unfair finical burdens most students experience. I would really want to convey to the audience how this industry is about being unique and being given opportunities.

High School

This week I watched the film "High School" by Frederick Wiseman, entering the world of Philadelphia's Northeast High School. Created in the style of Cinéma vérité, Wiseman reveals the everyday complications found within both the students and administration of this 1968 school. Between common struggles of determining a college and interpersonal issues with authority, both the students and teachers are portrayed as more than merely a statistic. Wiseman finds beauty in the bleak nature of high school, highlighting minor details like the repetitive "click" of a typewriter and the frustrating discussions of discipline. One distinct aspect of the film Wiseman portrays is the tension within each classroom, every scene manages to offer a sense of discomfort and hostility. The teachers are always extremely prepared to punish the students, denying any sort of explanation on the student's behalf. This unforgiving nature makes the audience understand that these people have struggles outside of the classroom. Wiseman accomplishes a sense of agitation because of his ability to shoot the subjects at an awkward distance, zooming in on lips for much longer than the audience would anticipate.

French New Wave

I was inspired by the final scene of The 400 Blows where Antoine is running down the beach, it's a very simple scene yet there is a lot of imagery. It's very interesting how sometimes you need to have a very long shot in order to capture a scene in real time. I would definitely want to recreate this scene in a more modern and worse way. I would either make it comical or somewhat impactful. I don't really know I haven't really thought about it a lot. It should come out nice, especially if I start working on it now. French New Wave is super cool and I wish I got to learn more about it, maybe I'll explore more about this genre in college. -Brett

One film that had a profound impact on me was Whiplash directed by Damien Chazelle. I know many people like to critique the movie's inaccuracy when it comes to music and other semantics: however, the cinematography was beautiful and there was a wonderful progression with each character. The cinematography was well composed and all shots were evenly balanced. Compositionally, the movie always followed the golden rule and I could appreciate every single scene. I'm fairly new to the world of film and editing, but I will always draw inspiration from this film no matter how advanced I become in the cinematic world.