Story & Question Planning

 Story:

• I am going to interview Eric Cooper, a New York Graphic Designer with Trinidadian heritage. He is also my partner. 
• What story are you going to tell? I am going to tell the story of his creative journey and how he found what he loved and pursued it, and the things that happened along the way.
• What is the beginning, middle, and end of the story? The beginning: his interest, the middle: college and internships, the end: his career and aspirations or proud moments
• What larger themes does this story address? Believing in yourself and putting energy into the future you want

10 questions:

1.    What did you want to be growing up?

2.    How many times did you change your mind about what you wanted to do/be in the future?

3.    When did your hobby become more than just a hobby?

4.    Who influenced you to take risks for what you want?

5.    Who inspired you to do what you were doing?

6.    How did you deal with fear and anxiety?

7.    How did your friends or family support you?

8.    What do you wish you did differently?

9.    What would you do exactly the same?

10.What advice do you have for anyone that wants to be in the creative field?

Shot List Define A Space

This is the shot list for the 68 street subway stop for our Define a Place Project:

1. Close up- 68th street hunter college sign

2. Wide Shot of the train of arriving

3. Wide Shot of the train departing

4. Medium Shot of the people exiting the train

5. Medium Shot of the people entering the train

6. Medium close up of the mta box office

7. Close up of metro/ticketing machines

8. Wide shot of people swiping into the train station and walking out

9. Medium shot of people going up and down the stairs

10. Medium shot of the people waiting in the train station

11. Extreme close up of a card being swiped

12. medium shot of seated waiting area

Team Plot Development

The location that Nina and I have chosen to shoot is the 68th Street subway stop. We plan to film both the movement and stillness of the location. We want to capture the rush hour crowd when there are tons of people entering and exiting the subway and contrast it to the calm and quiet of the in between times. We want to shoot the trains coming and going, the growing crowds, the signs, the stillness of the seating area, the empty turnstiles and the mobbed turnstiles, the ticket machines, the departure and arrival time signs, the countdown of the train arrival, and the empty tracks. The video is themed after Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times and uses one of his silent movie soundtracks. it has a comical feel to it and shows the reoccurring flow of everyday life for commuters. 

The feelings we want to evoke are the anxiety and repetition caused by the commotion of the people moving through the subway station versus the tranquility of the emptiness of the subway station prior to their arrival. The story we want to tell is how one place can be the setting of such extremes by changing one factor: the people moving through it. I am excited to have the opportunity to also show the diversity of the area, with the different types of people at the subway stop, students, workers, the average commuter following their daily route through the city. Some challenges I anticipate are since the subway stop does get so crowded, the hectic atmosphere of the stop could interfere with some of the shots, the lighting of subway, the time of day influencing how many people are there, and getting all the shots we need in the time allotted. 

NINA x BIA Modern Times

Define a Space: Nina And Biancha from Nina Dixon on Vimeo