My short film -- check it out please?

[initiallyyours]

So this all started when I started volunteering for YouthCO AIDS Society last year. Months later, I was asked if I wanted to be part of a project in part of the Society and the National Film Board of Canada, to which I wholeheartedly agreed, seeing as how I'm currently in film school and it would be a great opportunity.

As a writer it was weird for me to get in front of the camera, since we've always been told to stay away from it, but it was really fun. And even more fun to write the music for the film and include it.

The goal of project, called "Playing It Safe", was to tell various stories by street youth, some of which have gotten themselves off the street in the hopes of affecting and impacting youth today about the choices they make around harm reduction and safety.

The following film is the one I made with my partner, Lulu. The rest of the videos can be found at this site:



If you guys would be kind enough to pass it on to even one person, that would awesome. Thanks so much, and hope you enjoy the film.

~~Aaron

 

[martin6]

Well done Aaron!!

I was wondering if you wrote the music for the project and then I re-read your post. Then I watched it again and looked at the credits!

 

[initiallyyours]

Well done Aaron!!

I was wondering if you wrote the music for the project and then I re-read your post. Then I watched it again and looked at the credits!

Thanks, Sam! Glad you liked it. I'm working on the structure for our second one; it'll be finished by the end of July, which is exciting. I think we'll be using my music again, but I'm not sure. Anyway, should be fun!

 

[Corny]

the music fits very well. my only critic would be that's just a bit too long. i would say the people you want to reach are kinda hard to reach .. you have to take them "quickly" since most of them won't watch this for a few minutes. oh .. and you wanted to post an url with "the rest of the movies", but it seems you forgot that

 

[Yves]

Good job, Aaron! (and Lulu too)

It's great to see creative initiatives dealing with street youth and harm reduction. The music fits the images (great work on the music too) In a few instances the music track was a bit dominant.

I agree with Corny regarding the length. Another alternative is to consider a second version of 2-3 mins or so with critical key messages and a link to current resources.

 

[Apollo]

Wow, that is amazing. You did a really good job. Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[montimon]

nice one...

P.S. Could u please tell me what sort of camera did u use? lol... i know silly question but im about to buy one but confused with all of them...

 

[frankfrank]

Excellent viewpoint! This could save lives...

Wow, so there are TWO pianists in Van, in JUB, who write their own music? How cool is that? Maybe you two will meet someday, which would be so cool.

I love the NFB! I wish there was an equivalent government agency here, but there isn't. The National Endowment for the Arts is only a hint of a shadow of what the NFB has become, and what they have accomplished.

 

[initiallyyours]

Excellent viewpoint! This could save lives...

That's exactly why we wanted to make these films. Hopefully it's at least affecting some people.

Oh, and here's the link to view the rest of the videos:

http://citizen.nfb.ca/films&dossier_nid=21201

And to address a few things mentioned:

1. I'll get back to about the camera, montimon. The second film is coming up, so I'll ask.

2. I had the same feeling about needing to hook viewers in. At first, I thought putting something really... shocking, I guess, would get people interested, since it's hard to get people's attention without a really good hook nowadays. It's definitely something to think about for the future films.

3. Because all the films had to be less than 5 minutes and we had over a hour of interview material, I didn't think that would be an issue, but also something to think about. Thanks for bringing it up.

4. Yeah, there are two pianist/composers in Van City. I think he's (The Pianist) really great and I could learn a lot from him.

Once again, thanks for all the comments and positive feedback. It totally means a lot.


Aaron

 

[initiallyyours]

Oh!!! I know it's been a while, but I just got an e-mail from the myspace people telling me that the film is now featured on myspace impact for this week! Weird... but so awesome!

Here it is in all its glory (next to Simple Plan... ugh):

http://ca.myspace.com/impactcanada


The second video was completed about a month ago and now we're working on our third. It's so good to see the film actually being viewed by people. Hurrah!

 

[Yves]

Wow! Thanks for sharing the great news, Aaron & Lulu. I'm glad to hear the first video is getting exposure. Congrats!!

Have you explored the possibility of a contribution to a GLBT news program as "In the Life" (US/Canada: http://www.inthelifetv.org) or similar (Other Jubbers might be familiar with other TV/Online alternatives to consider)