First draft of Reading Script

I finally finished my first draft of my reading script last night by 6pm. This is a milestone event as it is the first time I actually did something before the deadline. It’s still the first draft so it’s incredibly shoddy. I was more focused on trying to get my treatment into dialogue form. From this point on, I have to cut it down to half its size and add more depth and circumference and significance to the remaining dialogue. I should also think of a twist, and add more character motivation so it’s not too stereotypical…even though white people stereotype Asians all the time.

postcard!

Reading Script

I’m currently in Nor Cal, at a freezing FedexKinko’s to work on my reading script before heading back down to LA. I will most likely swing by Boudin’s or Top Dog on the way. I have this inclination to stop by Top Dog, since I am currently working on a sausage post on my xanga. This will be the ultimate sausage celebration. Anyway, back to the reading script.

One thing that really irks me is that the professor didn’t really give us any guidelines to writing this reading script. I mean, she gave us an example of a reading script (the first 6 pages of it) and wants us to copy the format. That’s really nice of her, except for the fact that if I wanted to include things that do not fit the example, what am I supposed to do? I guess I’m just supposed to make it up to make sense somehow. Irritating.

Honestly though, I’m just making a fuss because I don’t want to tackle this project since it’s so daunting! It’s due by 9pm tonight and I’m going to be driving for most of the day. I know it’s going to be late once again so why even bother, right? I am the world’s best procrastinator because I can justify being late for almost everything. This is a true reflection of my Bolivian character (I can hear all the Bolivians going crazy reading this right now). Speaking of Bolivia, I had once wanted to make a documentary on the new wave of Chinese immigrants that were flooding Bolivia, and the xenophobic reactions of the Bolivian community. I wanted to follow the acculturation process of these Chinese immigrants and what sacrifices the kids (and parents) had to make in order to make a new life in a completely foreign country. The only obstacle that I saw was the language barrier. I realized that I didn’t know anyone who could translate the Chinese immigrants so I decided to postpone it until a later time when I could go back with a translator. Now, that will have to wait until after 2009, when I’m allowed to leave the U.S.  I hate my immigration status.

Anyway, I’m freezing my ass off here so I’m going to go retrieve my sweater that’s sitting in my dirty ass car and then I’m going to attempt to start writing my reading script.

Shot List

This is an entry from my blogspot that I’m re-posting here because it’s more film-related, and I want to keep this blog all about my filmmaking journey.

So my professor tells us that we should be writers at this stage. We wrote an outline, then revised it into a treatment, and then we made a shot list. Now, in my mind, a shot list is pretty visual because you’re breaking down your treatment (prose form) into shots.
So, instead of “Rudy is standing at the bar, talking to the bartender about the quality of the ale this side of town”, I would write:

1. Rudy standing at the bar, back facing towards us.

See how it’s more visual? So the next step, logically, would be to go on and write the shooting script, but the prof wants us to write the reading script. This would be fine, but logically, it would have made more sense to write the reading script first, then do the shot list, then do the shooting script. So, I would wear the writer hat and then switch to wear the director hat instead of going back and forth, which she warned us not to do. Anyway, so I called her out on it in class and it seemed to go over her head. Then she ridiculed me in front of the class, pointing out the fact that she never received homework from me. This made all the Asians in the class look at me in shock. It just doesn’t make sense to me why we are going back and forth, switching hats from writer/director, when she clearly told us that she didn’t want us to be directors yet because we’re at the writing stage.

I’m not sure why I don’t believe her. It’s probably because I have this innate problem with authority that is manifested through my public outbursts…or I’m just a self-righteous attention-seeker.

Either way, I just cut down my shot list to half its size and I’m ready to create my reading script. I sort of see why she made us do the shot list before the reading script but then again I think we could have gone from the outline to the reading script and THEN created the shot list for the shooting script. Okay I digress…

Working title

“Spin” is the working title for my next project. It’s a short film about interracial dating. I decided that I wanted to say something about not just some Asian women preferring to date white men, but also this unspoken obsession that some Asian men have for wanting to white women. Originally, I had planned on making it a documentary because I think there are so many different opinions, objections, themes, perspectives, and experiences that flow around this idea of dating outside of the race. In fact, I would still like to make a documentary about it in the future. However, after having slaved away creating, editing, and re-editing “Breaking the Heterotype”, I think I need a break from documentaries for at least a year.

Currently, I’m in the writing stage of “Spin”. I never realized how hard it was to verbally express my ideas. I’m so much better at visual communications though I can’t deny that I love to write, as can be seen by the excessive number of blogs that I maintain. It’s just much more difficult to write WELL, and to make impactful sentences that contain MEANING. I tend to babble, I tend to run with an idea and make it into a 15 page essay when the essence of what I’m trying to say could have been summed up in one very well-created sentence. I complicate things. This is my demise.

I shall update you on my progress with this new project, as well as the progress for “Breaking the Heterotype”.

Introduction

Hola, Mundo!!!

I’m an “emerging filmmaker”. What does that mean? It means that I’m juggling a full-time job and taking night classes to further my craft while continuing to edit my past shorts that I am spending an outrageous amount of money on to submit to film festivals.

Hopefully, in the near future, I will be “discovered” so that I can take off the hopeful adjective and call myself a “filmmaker”.

Anyway, here’s a short synopsis of my film:

“Breaking the Heterotype”

Run time: 20 min

Genre: Short Documentary

In “Breaking the Heterotype”, six women of Asian descent in the nation’s most prestigious women’s college speak out about the taboo topic of sexuality and how it affects them. They touch on topics such as coming out, internal reconciliation, facing their own prejudices, cultural constraints, nature vs. nurture, being in an all women environment, stereotypes, and expectations.

Screening:

Premiering at

The San Diego Asian Film Festival 2006

October 12-19

Specific show time and location TBA.

 

Director’s Statement:

I set about making “Breaking the Heterotype” in order to prompt discussion on sexuality, especially within the Asian American community. Since the subject is taboo, and many have struggled to either hide or ignore their sexuality, this documentary sets out to share a glimpse of the brave women who chose to open up and share their personal histories. The purpose of this film is to get people to feel more comfortable talking about their sexuality and to let people know that there are people out there who can be of support or in the least, offer some company. There are many stereotypes that act to conform, constrain, and oppress women of Asian descent. One of these is that women of Asian descent are submissive heterosexual women. In this film, six women speak out candidly about what it means to be a living stereotype-breaker.

 

3-LINE SYNOPSIS.
Women of Asian descent at a women’s college speak out about sexuality and race.

PROGRAMMING DESCRIPTORS.
FORMS: Documentary, Experimental, Short
GENRES: Educational, Deconstruction, Independent, Reality, Culture, Art
NICHES: Asian, Asian American, Gay/Lesbian, Women, Student

FOREIGN TITLES.

ENGLISH

Breaking The Heterotype

125-WORD SYNOPSIS.
Women of Asian descent from a small liberal arts college speak out about sexuality and how it affects them as women of color. Written by the six participants, the documentary reveals truthful experiences by this diverse group of women. From the queer and questioning hapa experience to struggling with cultural norms from a recently arrived international student from India, to the questioning experience of a Korean American woman who feels as though she’s a living stereotype, to women who are sure how to define their sexuality, ‘Breaking the Heterotype’ is an intelligent short documentary that explores the depth and colors of the queer experience as seen through the eyes of young women of Asian descent.

250-WORD SYNOPSIS.
Women of Asian descent from a small liberal arts college speak out about sexuality and how it affects them as women of color. Written by the six participants, the documentary reveals truthful experiences by this diverse group of women.
Julia speaks out about her experience in dealing with defining her sexuality as a hapa woman who is seen as completely straight by the outside world. Leah, a Hapa woman from Hawaii, describes her inner turmoils of being defined a certain way and her hopes in breaking those misconceptions. Aliya, an international student from Canada,considers herself bisexual and comments on the coming out experience and her perceptions on the American culture. Xan is an international student from India who provides an interesting perspective on racism from someone who has never experienced it in her hometown. Jeenah, a Korean American woman who is recently coming into understanding her racial and sexual identity, reveals the struggles of being confined to the model minority stereotype. Kat speaks out on her experience as a lesbian who ‘looks white’ to the outside world. Her half Indian, half white heritage puts her on the fence of having to constantly define herself, and she gives us a glimpse into her process of self-exploration.

‘Breaking the Heterotype’ is an intelligent short documentary that explores the depth and colors of the queer experience as seen through the eyes of young women of Asian descent.