Spring Break

So Spring Break was a much needed relief from the craziness of school. Things have been a bit screwed up lately...my actions keep seeming to be misconstrued. But what can you do. I am what I am.

I don't know how the break managed to speed by so quickly. I spent the first half of it at home mostly or with Asha. I also spent a day at SXSW watching some films. Ma didn't take off work so I hardly saw her at all :(

Then on Wednesday, my friend's band came into town. They were all staying at our house while they played at SXSW. We went downtown a whole bunch and they got me in through the back door to see a bunch of music shows for free. It was pretty sweet! I felt like I was in Almost Famous or something. Everyone was so chill backstage and it was interesting seeing it all up close! To make things even more fun, Lucy and Justin were in town as well! I was excited to introduce Lucy to my fam!

I had only seen Dizzy Balloon perform once before, but they really are talented, fun to watch guys! I can't get over how much they move while on stage. None of the guys are ever standing still...well I guess Louie is kind of still because he is at the drums. But Joey on keyboard even manages to bounce around as he plays. Petros who sings is absolutely adorable! If you have never heard them, you should definitely check out their album. Its really fun...I like every song on it, which is rare!

I was bad and tanned and got sunburned too! Ugh, I better not get skin cancer.

Pretty How Town

I finally uploaded Pretty How Town to YouTube! Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGJxnHW3S44&feature=channel_page

Director: Lucy Wells
Cinematographer: Lauren Gabel (Me!)

Its kind of sad that it has taken me literally 3 months to upload it....but this is probably how busy my life will be from here on out! I don't mind :)

The Semester Midpoint

Gosh, so much has happened!


We finished filming for one! It was a long haul but we made it!!!! I think the movie is going to turn out really funny, we seem to have gotten good material. I love our crew, even though filming every weekend as long and stressful, I really did have a good time. There are only two girls on the crew and one of which is a production designer and would often be off buying stuff while we were filming, so I was usually the only female crew member. But it was kinda fun being with all the boys! We were joking on set constantly...it was a great experience.


Sadly, as I was filming, I had to miss 2 Troy Camp kids events! I was really sad, but I finally got to go to my first kids event of the semester--career day! It was a blast. There was a film production station and I told the kids all about my major and afterwards they became obsessed with making little films from common fairytales and filming them. Andrea, one of my favorite campers, was the director and she'd tell Jimmy what to film with his camcorder. They had a blast.

Overload & School Update

I have been on the go so much lately! My course load is crazy. Each semester, I think that my workload is going to get lighter and easier, and somehow it just keeps getting harder. I don't know why.

This semester I am in: Advanced Film Production (which I will commonly refer to as "480"), Directing the Mise-en-Scene, Writing 340, Intro to Production Design, and Production Planning. I guess its tough because I am in two production courses, one of which is rigorous enough! I have had tons of homework--more than I anticipated. I have seriously contemplated dropping something...but I don't know what, because I want to take all the classes above mentioned (or have to take in the case of writing 340).

Last night I had a meeting with the director of the 480 I am working on, Sugar Rush. I was there til 2AM, but it went really well and I like the people I'm working with so its not a chore to meet with them. Its kinda cool, we have like a $12,000 budget, which isn't too shabby for a student film! We already have a two story house booked for the month to film in--its only a mile away from campus which is great. And we are in the process of casting actors.

But it hasn't been all work and no play, this Tuesday I went out to a joint 21st birthday party, which was pretty fun. And tonight I might go clubbing with my friend Amy. I have also been watching Brothers & Sisters, which is an intriguing show, I recommend it!

Ooh and Oscar nominations came out yesterday! I'm sooooo proud of Slumdog Millionaire--it got 10 nominations! Way to go! There weren't too many surprises as far as nominations go, I was pretty spot on in terms of predictions this year.

The Last Date Online!

Check out my first 16mm film, The Last Date. Written & Directed by Lauren Gabel. Cinematography & Editing by Lucy Wells.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfNk1otdgQ8

Ultra Suede

Okay so this weekend, my friend Amy and I decided we wanted to go out again for a night on the town. It was a long weekend, so it seemed like a great opportunity to go clubbing in Hollywood. So Amy looked up a list of places and we chose a random one off the list, it had a funky name, Ultra Suede...sounded like it might be fun.

So along with our friend, Sonya, we ventured to West Hollywood to Ultra Suede. It should have been a red flag when as we pulled up, there was a half naked guy with a bright blue mohawk wig standing in front....he had on some strange little loin cloth type outfit. Again, when we showed up IDs to the bouncer, he questioned us..."you guys here for Cherry Pop?" We didn't know what that was, but played along.

So we pay and go in. Immediately we see guys in itty bitty underwear standing on platforms dancing. All around us are well-dressed, attractive guys. We had somehow wound up at a gay nightclub. But we had already paid so decided to stay and get some drinks. We ended up dancing the night away--two hours nonstop literally! It was a lot of fun and we definitely got a lot of laughs from the experience.