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Come join the Sigma Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc, on Tuesday September 24, 2013 from 6:22pm - 8:00pm at the Crawford Pool at the CRC

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A Steamfunk movie by Roaring Lions Production, MVmedia and the School of Literature, Media and Communication at Georgia Tech.

Check out the website for the film!

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As the semester comes to an end, I can share that I’ve complete 12 hours of classes!! I’ve managed to become the Post-Production Intern for a Feature Documentary to be released in December entitled Turning the Wheel (more information can be found here). And I’ve started my own production company (check out my website)!

            If you’re new to my blog, check out who I am and why I’m blogging here!

This is my final post as far as class is concerned! I cannot believe how awesome and fun this summer has been. I have learned a LOT about Steamfunk and I hope you have as well. This last post focuses on three films: Space is the Place, Final Flight of the Osiris, and Rite of Passage (you can watch the first two on YouTube). I think that these will give you a great feel for the upcoming film Rite of Passage (RoP). Final Flight has many of the same styles of fighting that will be used in the film, although the film I’m working on is not animated, this gives a great interpretation for anyone interested in what will be in RoP!

Space is the Place is more of a Black film. It has some sci-fi elements, which will kind of be like RoP. A lot of the elements of the film show that it was created on a low budget and that may be true of RoP, however we plan to do a little better than this film! The idea that there is a story and then sci-fi elements incorporated into the storyline is much how RoP is constructed. An 82-minute film about Black people on Earth, it is a direct link to my last post on Blacks in filmmaking. Although these characters may not be in the film to show the “southern” aspect of people, they are characters used to show that Blacks have progressed. One line in the film states, “blackness is not about skin color, but rather about having been oppressed” and this gives the perfect description of the film; one that is used to encourage and disband racism.

 I think both films will get you excited about out first EVER Steamfunk film!! It definitely gave me a great way to tie all the pieces to the things I learned this semester, from understanding Steamfunk as a genre to how Blacks play a large role on the Silver Screen. After reading and discussing so many different elements of Steam funk it is nice to see a creation related to everything discussed over the past semester. Check them out, and if you want to learn more about RoP be sure to contact me! I’ll be back soon with updates on the filming!

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Blacks in Filmmaking

WOW! I cannot believe that summer is ALREADY over! It’s been such an awesome experience getting to learn more about the Steamfunk genre and gaining experience by working on this film. It’s been a busy past few week; thus, my blog has suffered from servere neglect! But I’ll be showing it some much needed love today and for the next few weeks. With no school and too much free time outside of work I will find lots of things to keep updated in the blog.

  For my background story and why I started blogging this summer check out my 1st post here.

  As a part of the reading for my summer class, I was required to read about Blacks rise in filmmaking. One piece, R is for Race Not Rocket, by Adilifu Nama talks about Blacks and film through history. Since the Civil War, there have been drastic challenges and changed around the inclusion of Blacks in filmmaking.  The main movie and television series that the article focuses on is Star Wars and Star Trek. It is important to note that in Star Wars the good guys are in all white, while the bad guys are in all black; this shows a clear separation of races in our American culture. But by the end of the 1980s in the show Star Trek black characters are befriended by main character, thus showing a shift in the times.

   There is a part of the article that says that some Blacks felt as though they were sell outs because they were working with Whites. And I personally believe this is still somewhat true today. It’s as if the moment a Black person adds someone White to the production team a lot of the Black support fades, which is sincerely tragic.  

            It is also interesting that it took Will Smith in the 1990s to show a Black heroic character in a Sci-Fi film. I also didn’t realize how many Black characters were in the Matrix and how great of a role they played in the movie. My personal opinion is that most Black characters (even in roles today) serve as the “southern” presence in a film. Blacks are a reminder of the times before in Sci-Fi films so the future is more believable.

            Overall, I think that the rise of Blacks in filmmaking has been very successful. I think that  without the Sci-Fi medium Blacks would not have been able to cross into filmmaking and have an impact on the industry. 

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Guys, be sure to keep up with the next project I'm working in. #turningthewheel #documentary #intern about #Tibet please share the link and be sure to support!! http://turningthewheel.wix.com/film

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To compare, here is the commerical from the super bowl. Notice the message and how quiet you get and focused you become on the images. Gives you a different perspective on movies huh?!

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While I am working on this steamfunk film, I am taking summer classes. This week my teacher showed us this short film. It is of still photo's but the message still get's across. One may even argue that the message is more clear. But of course that is up to you to decide. Once seeing this, how does it make you feel about the Dodge commerical that was in the Super bowl (I'll post that next). Just goes to show that everything may not be new, and some things come across better without moving images.

Of couse, this is just my personal opinion. I found both pieces to be ironic in the messages that they send to the viewer.

Take a look

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The summer semester is halfway finished and the film’s pre-production is making great progress! We’ve taken a bit of a hiatus for blog posts, but work on the film has continued. One thing you’ll note is that because we are being allowed to use props for little to no cost scenarios change...

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Apparently I am having much trouble updating! This post was originally created for June 11, 2014.

Yet another week in the pre-production semester! Last week was a little rough, we (the production crew) realized how quickly our schedules and final locations needed to be handed to the director....

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At our second table read! The film is making progress :-)

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African American SF Short Stories

We’re beginning week 3 of the preproduction phase for the Rite of Passage film. I’ve managed to focus in on the top 10 locations for the 16 scenes in the film, and this afternoon I will go out and take pictures and record video of the locations so that the producer and director can narrow the locations down to the one’s they would like to go out and see. Once this is done, I can start finalizing contracts with the location owners and the Director and Producer. Our hope is that we will find some local parks and we will not have to get much signed since these places are open to the public.

            For this week’s readings, we were asked to look at some short science fiction (SF) pieces by Du Bois (The Comet), Butler (Bloodchild) and Bell (The Space Invaders). Each short story has the same idea, displaying African Americans in a SF medium. Most of the pieces have this outer space element that causes catastrophe on Earth and creates a door for the African American to open and get ahead. I think my favorite piece is The Comet, mostly because I love stories that are about the idea of the last man on Earth. In this story the African American man is thought to be the last man on Earth and the Caucasian woman is thought to be the last female on Earth. They realize they must procreate to keep the human race from going extinct. The harsh reality however, is that in the world that just ended they were not supposed to be involved with one another because of their race. The race card has always been one to cause a ruckus in history. But they overcome it and just as they are preparing to save the human race they are found and saved by a rescue crew.

            These short stories helped me understand more about African American SF! You should check them out to get a clearer understanding of the genre too! They also give an example as to why Rite of Passage is written the way it is. I think that every small piece of the film plays an important roll in creating the overall story. Dr. Walcott’s bodyguards are Caucasian droids, the slave hunters are freed slaves, the powers that each of the legendary figures have are because of a spirit enriched weapon; these small pieces give the overall film character and leaves room for the audience’s interpretation. This film follows the outline of the Afrofuturism stories, and much like the short stories we were required to read this week, this film is all about bringing light to the African American race, and how things could have turned out a little differently if technology had advanced sooner, or differently. This to me gives a reason to reflect on why African Americans were treated the way they were for so long. Or it is a great way to open a discussion on why race is still relevant today even with the scientific advancements.

            But that’s really a conversation for a different blog. I hope you choose to check out the short stories, they are great reads and they are sure to help you get ready for the release of the film!

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The History of Race in Science Fiction (My Take on it)

This past week was quite busy for me. I created a site location list for all 16 scenes of the film and forwarded them to the Producer, and then I was given the task of converting the word document into a Celtx file. This way we can add pictures of each location directly into the script and we can have a better organized feel for what the production has already and what we still need to get before shooting in August.

For class, we were given 3 articles to read to introduce us to Black Science Fiction, which many called Afrofuturism. Unbeknownst to me, the Black Science Fiction genre has been around since the 19th century! I personally thought this was a more recent development of arts in the Black culture. I also was unaware of the fact that race was a major factor of technology in the early years. This all makes sense when looking at the script for the Rite of Passage. Although true Afrofuturism writings began to be noticed during the early 1900s, it is fair to believe that during the time that the film is taking place racism was still very relevant. There are a lot of references to examples of Afrofuturism writings in the articles we were assigned. One of the most famous being Invisible Man, written by Ralph Ellison explores the journey of one man to change his future. And even though he is challenged my his invisible self he tries to decide on a path to take when pursuing the future the invisible man tries one radical approach and destroys the city. Thus leaving the invisible man trapped in the sewer. This seems that it will help the main character decide on a path but it doesn’t, it only leaves him more perplexed on the future. In another story, The Comet, the main character Jim Davis ends up alone in New York City after a comet hits. Later he meets the only other person left, a white woman, and they begin to realize that the two of them must over come the complexities that once faced them regarding class and race in order to preserve the human kind. Once they are about to engage in preserving mankind, they are found by a rescue crew and life as they once knew it returns and the woman goes back to her white, rich lifestyle and Jim returns to his mediocre life. The author, W.E Du Bois makes it seems as though it will take a natural disaster to eradicate the race factor in our society. Another author, Nalo Hopkinson writes about fiction and mythology and science, thus giving blacks and technology a new spin. I think that having an understanding of Afrofuturism gives me a better understanding for the reason the film flows the way it does. The story of Harriet Tubman and Bass Reeves and John Henry are classics in the black community, but when you look at it from an Afrofuturistic view it triples the importance for me. Now having a background of what these authors and writers of the 19th and 20th centuries were trying to convey through their writing to the masses, I have an even larger appreciation for Steamfunk and Steampunk as a genre.

These readings give me an understanding of why the film is composed the way it is. I understand the reasoning behind why it is important to ensuring the audience recognizes the different races present in the film and why the weapons are so important. I remember at our first team meeting when the Director was explaining the importance of creating each weapon so that it gives off a certain effect; he kept stressing the importance of each weapon and how it really had to look technologically advanced in the film. Personally, I now have something else to be particular about when helping find set locations this summer. It’s really important to capture the essence of the film and its connection to Afrofuturism because there was a time when Blacks were though to never understand technology, or be as well with it as other races. As I said in my previous post, the location is a very important part of a film, it gives the audience a direct connect with the time of the film. If this aspect is off, then it begins to create other problems throughout the film. The audience will not relate to film and/or they will miss the importance of the weapons and people in the film if the locations do not fit the time and place like the actors and script does, then the production value of the film shrinks. 

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For those of you who are interested in learning more about what a location scout does, here's wiki's definition!

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The Rite of Passage Steamfunk Film

  My name is Lorin Young. I am a 6th year transfer student. My major is STAC major here at Georgia Tech. STAC stands for Science, Technology and Culture and it’s a pretty broad major. We take courses related to literature, media, local and global issues and even gender to name a few. With this BS degree, I plan to continue on to a MFA program for Film and Producing. Because of the flexibility of this major, I have taken courses across campus, ranging from electrical engineering, mathematics, literature and media. And that’s the main reason I’m involved with this film. During the spring semester I took a course called advanced video production and I was able to write, produce and edit short films. My class of 7 was a small film crew and we were able to create 4 shorts over the semester (You can check out a few of the short films @ www.youtube.com/lilbird61). Needless to say, with all the experience I gained from the class I jumped at the opportunity to work with a real film crew and be a part of a feature film.

This summer the film will be in pre-production. This means that actors will be solidified, locations will be booked for shooting, costumes will be created and the film crew will lock in their position for the film.  For the summer, I will be on the location scout team as the head location scout. This means I have to research and find locations that will reflect the time period of the film and that are ready for filming or that can be transformed into a set easily. With the guidance of the Director and Producer I’ll find locations, speak with property owners and create contracts that the Director, Producer and Property Owner will agree upon. This will be on a much larger scale than anything I’ve done before. I feel prepared though; because of the training and experience I’ve gained from the video production and advanced video production courses I took at GT.

            The 70 page script for the feature film is an interesting SteamFunk take on prominent black historical figures. Harriett Tubman, and a few others embark on a journey. They visit the town of Nicodemus,KS. During my first reading of the script, I was reminded of a few railroad towns that I’ve visited. Also, the script brings to life some interesting stories of important African American figures. I connected with this the most because I think it is very important to keep the past as a part of the present so that the future is better. I love the fact that there are Steampunk and Steamfunk advocates telling the stories of the past in an interesting way so that people will be educated on the past. Also, this gives me the opportunity to work on a feature film so that I can gain experience for my demo reel for graduate school. 

I’ve recently taken courses on modern poetry and science and technology from the 1500 to the present. Both courses relate to the film and it has given me a new appreciation for how advance our technology has progressed. I’ve studied the evolution of Jazz and a lot similarities occur with African Americans and their influence on American culture. It’s also great to see that the things that I’ve learned in school are relevant to the real world and I can use my studies in the film industry when I graduate.

I’m excited to being my work on the film and I am excited to meet all the people who will work on the film. With all the things I’ve learned at Tech I think this is a great way for me to put it to use. I think the best education is one where you can take what you’ve learned and used it in the real world.  And Tech has given me so much theory and practice and I’ll be able to showcase that this summer with my involvement with this film.