48-Hour Film Experience!

So, as promised in the last post, I will talk about participating in my first ever: 

48-Hour Film Experience.  

It all started a few months ago, when some of my Comm Arts friends asked me to be a part of their team as "talent" (that's what on-camera people are called) so I immediately said "Duh!" Mickey came on board a bit later as Assistant DP (Director of Photography).  I knew this was going to be a blast.

So here's the premise of this Film Experience.  Each team (or director and asst. director actually) go to this place on friday evening at 8pm and get the genre and location.  The theme was retro. Our genre was horror and location was 50s.  All teams would have 48 hours to film, edit and everything to turn it in by 8pm that Sunday.  And so it started!

That friday night several people got together to write the script/rough outline and the rest of us got info for Saturday (shooting day).  And so, after a slow start that Saturday, we were off!

That's me!!! 

We filmed (almost) everything on campus because its architecture is very 50s and it was perfect!! 

Just some of us. :)

I played the new girl out of town who's being haunted by The Clique (behind me).  

Then, everything takes a turn! Dun...dun...dun!!!

In the wee hours of the morn'. 

We finished filming that night/early morning Sunday at around 1am. We were freakishly exhausted but so excited to see the final product!!! That following morning I had to meet the crew at a local high school to shoot a shot and then we wrapped filming! Then it was crunch time! They turned it in in the knick of time.  :)

Mickey and I the last day of shooting. Bright & Early. 

Next up was the screening that week.  I was so pumped and excited! I couldn't believe all the people that were there! Even more so, all the people that were gonna see MY FACE on a BIG SCREEN! I could hardly contain myself.  I was like a little kid! 

MY FACE on the freakin' BIG SCREEN! Oh. my. goodness.
My momma would've been so proud!! ♥

Everybody's films were very nice.  Although, I did think ours was just the bees knee's.  Haha. Get it? :)

We went to celebrate after the screening at a local Mexican Restaurant.  Only in the South.  

Not all the cast and crew were able to go but it was wonderful to be able to celebrate. 

 It was actually Anthony's birthday and so we surprised him with a birthday sing-a-long at the restaurant, along with a balloon and cake.  It was a fun time!

Some of our amazing cast and crew. :)

There was an awards ceremony the following week but unfortunately we didn't win anything. BOO.  We all thought 3rd place was ours. Oh well! There's always August and December for some more film experiences.  We are all hoping to get together and hang out because, well, we're pretty awesome.  

All in all, this was an AMAZING experience.  Thank you Joel and Ysenia for asking me to be a part of your fantastic team!

 If you want to see the video, just let me know! 

(acssndr2010@gmail[dot]com)

Here's Johnny!

Johnny.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have picked up my violin and played it for the first time in a year! I am helping my friend Cassey with her recital in the fall semester coming up and we had our first practice this past week.  I was seriously surprised I didn't completely suck.  It was nice to play Johnny (my violin) again.  It was kinda weird too that this was my first time playing the violin without my mom listening.  I know she'd be proud though.  Oh and by the way, my violin's name is Johnny because the first piece I played on him was When Johnny Comes Marching Home.  :)

I saw Titanic with a special someone and oh dear did I cry! I knew the parts I would be sad at because I've seen Titanic so many times and it was my mom's favorite movie but this time, it was way worse.  I mean, it was in 3D people! I guess what also got to me were the credits with Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On because it has sentimental value to me and it just was absolutely beautiful.  I'm really glad we went to see it.  It's crazy to watch a movie again after not seeing it in a long time, it really opens your eyes to things you never saw before.

-Happy Easter y'all!
-I've started looking at classes I will take during the summer and fall semesters and I feel like there aren't that many options for some reason.   A lot of the classes available are for graduate students, so I'm hoping they can change that.  They already made minor adjustments to the summer schedule but not enough to influence me.  It's nice, though, to be able to plan.  I already had my dream classes figured out, now all I need is for them to be there.  :)
-School will be over in less than a month!!!!
-Tomorrow I'm going to help someone with their video project, I will be acting in it and I'm so happy!!!! I already helped someone else with their video project for the same class, I helped with a voice over which was really fun as well.  I love performing!!!! :)
-I've lost 12 pounds!!!!

Well, I think that's it for now. Have a great day guys! Happy Easter!

M.I.A.

Recycling.

So I've realized I've been missing in action for about a month.  I guess I just needed a break from blogging because everything has been in fast forward since I last blogged.  But, here are the highlights.  Oh and I will try to blog more frequently.

-I was invited to join Alpha Chi which is an honor society for juniors and seniors!!! I'm pretty freaking proud of this accomplishment because I know my mom would've been so proud of me.  Oh, and the inductions? Yeah, those will be held on my mom's birthday.  Coincidence? I think not.
-It's been 6 months and four days since I've lost my mom and today I had a meltdown.  A GINORMOUS one.  One of those super draining ones, yeah, it was pretty bad.  I was expecting it to be at the 6th month mark but I guess it was delayed.  Sometimes, it really hits me how alone I am.  Don't get me wrong, I have friends and such but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't want my mom here.
-Last week, in my Intro to Technical Production class, we had to climb really high up to look at some technical aspects of theatre and oh my goodness, that was scary! Another thing, I killed a bug in my room like two days ago.  Another tremendous accomplishment for Amy! My mom would've been freaking proud.
-School will be over in about a month and I'm SO BEYOND EXCITED!  I'm not gonna lie, this has been one of my less favorite semesters.  I'm looking forward to the Fall 2012 semester so I can get back to acting! :)))
-Speaking of which, in my Video Production II class, we filmed our "How-To" videos and that was nice. I was director this time which was kind of empowering but the fun part was actually helping a friend and her group out.  I was one of their talents and oh dear! It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I basically did a semi-Good-Morning-America-esque kind of a segment. It was live for class so it was way fun! I love being in front of the camera :)

I think that's it for now.  I'm missing a lot but I will keep y'all more updated. :)

Weight, Giants, Acting

-I apologize for not blogging as much but I've been super busy with stuff but I'm glad to tell y'all that…DRUM ROLL….I've lost 3 more pounds! I have lost 8 pounds total!!! :) I'm so excited! My pants are big on me! I'm waiting to get to my goal weight so I can get new jeans!!! 

-School has been going okay, some classes are definitely not as fun as others but that's what college is so it's all okay.

-THE NEW YORK GIANTS WON THE SUPER BOWL! 

-My friends and I are part of this skit kind of company thing and we have been working on shorts and stuff and it's been SO. MUCH. FUN. Not even kidding.  We just finished filming this one horror short film and it was frickin fantastic! I got to cry in it! It definitely cured my acting withdrawals for the time being. I will most likely share this with y'all because I'm beyond proud of it.

-I will share more info soon but I just wanted to post something because I really needed to share stuff with y'all. :) 

-P.S. Happy Monday!

My momma would be so happy for me. ♥

Suffocation, Coincidences, Nostalgia, Future

Okay first of all, I had a sucky night on Tuesday.  I don't know why sometimes those moments just come up and it's like "HELLO AMY, MELTDOWN TIME." I don't know, I'm doing well now but it was tough.  I don't know how to describe it except that it was very suffocating.  Sometimes things in life seem bad but when you miss someone you can no longer see it's very…suffocating.  I'm glad today was a better day.  Speaking of today…

I've noticed several coincidences when it comes to wedding rehearsals and my mom.  So for example, last week, the bride's grandmother's name was Lupita, that was what my mom was called in Mexico, kind of like Maria Guadalupe, which just so happens that's what the bride's mother's name is this week.  THAT WAS MY MOM'S NAME! Another thing, I think this is the biggest one, the priest officiating the wedding is the priest who led the rosary at my mom's viewing, he isn't from my city so it's not even that common!!! I see these coincidences as a little "hey baby" from my mom, so they are nice. (There were more coincidences too).

Another thing.  I miss performing so much.  I miss acting, dancing, singing, and playing the violin for an audience.  I miss long rehearsals, late nights, getting stressed because of a costume change or not having the right hairdo for the routine, or having to drink a whole lot more water because it's humid, or worrying about my violin getting way out of tune because it's humid.  I miss it all.  It's sad.  I know for choir we have a performance coming up next month but still I miss it.  I especially miss being part of musical/play.  I don't think I ever told anyone this, which is kind of dumb because now I am, but I cried at my last performance of Fiddler on the Roof my senior year in high school.  It was my only performance in a musical in high school because orchestra and AP classes had overtaken my life but my senior year I really wanted to be in a musical and made sure I would be.  I cried because it was over and I didn't know how long it would be before I got to experience it all again, unfortunately I still haven't experienced it again.  As far as dancing, oh my.  I haven't performed a routine in front of an audience since the spring of my sophomore year in high school.  I'm a sophomore in college now! I miss it so much.  Playing the violin, oh dear, I miss getting a new piece and trying to sightread it and then trying to practice the super hard parts.

I used to be able to do this.

I don't like this feeling.  I miss performing so much.  I don't see how people do it.  This leads me into something else.  I'm taking Beginning Acting because it's required for my minor in Theatre, which is great but it's also [obviously] needed for those majoring in Theatre.  Which means there are some freakishly talented kids in that class that want to be professional actors or directors. Every single time I go into class I go in thinking, "Okay, I'm good, I got this" and I leave feeling like "Oh my goodness, I suck".  I remember our teacher saying that he would knock us down and then build us up, which reminded me of the Army slogan but I never thought it would be like this.  Don't get me wrong, I look forward to that class the most out of any of my other ones because it's so much fun but it's like I don't feel I'm good at anything anymore.

For example, you'd think that being a Comm Arts-Production major, I would be wonderfully good at those things and be extra excited but I'm not.  I'm good, yeah but not "Wow, this is what you are meant to do".  I try to think if I wasn't a Television Producer, what would I be? And I just don't think there is anything else for me.  I guess a big thing is that right now what I'm learning are kind of like the second stage of basics before it gets super fun, for example, I won't need to know how to write a Press Release or a News Story or anything like that [hopefully] as a Television Producer for let's say, Grey's Anatomy right? Right. I hope it gets better from here on out and that my skills grow, I guess that's why I'm in college.

Choir!!! [Plus I LOVE this movie]

Maybe what I'm going through right now is just self-doubt about the future. Which I believe is perfectly normal, I just wish I were better at what I'm studying [Theatre and Communication Arts-Production].

Well wish me luck guys!

PS I think I already wrote this but I'm looking for another monologue! Whoohoo! Wish me luck in finding the perfect one!

9.

[9 Loves]

1. My mom.  She is my hero and she is the strongest person I know.  She is funny, my friend, yet a parent first.  She knows how to make me feel better when I'm falling apart, she is simply amazing!

2. Babies.  No guys, I don't have baby fever, I've just always loved babies.  Grant it, I'm not a fan of their funny smells and snotty noses, but come on, you gotta admit they're adorable.  With that being said, I'm in NO rush to have them, I want to wait 'till I'm married and able to provide for them.  I love babies though, ugh, I just love 'em.

3. Animals. I love animals, not bugs, animals.  My favorites are cats, pandas, penguins, capuchin monkeys, small dogs, and pretty much any small animal.  There is a Humane Society like 10 minutes away from our new apartment so I'm excited to do help out once we both move in there.  Also, I want to work at a zoo because my mom did the same and I feel it would be a great experience to work at a zoo.  I feel like animals are amazing because they don't judge you or put you down.  I saw this on facebook: animals > people and I completely agree. :)

4.   Television.  I feel like most people watch television, even at a glimpse, every day.  There is so much that television shows us.  There is plenty of negative, unfortunately, but there is plenty of positive as well.  As an aspiring television producer I love watching television and getting ideas.  My favorite television shows are shown at the left under "All Time Favorites".  I'm serious guys, these are amazing! Shonda Rhimes is amazing as well! (Ahem, Grey's Anatomy!)

5.  Movies.  Lately, I haven't been able to watch many new movies seeing as we are living at the skilled nursing facility but we did watch Madea's Family Reunion.  It was pretty good. My favorites though include You've Got Mail, One Fine Day, Harry Potter, While You Were Sleeping, oh dear there are so many others as well.  My favorites are romantic comedies and also movies from the 90s. :)    

6. The smell of fall.  I love it.  It's a reminder that the holidays are near.  My favorite is that first time you smell "fall" in the year.  I love it!

7. Seafood.  I love scallops and tilapia and orange roughy and shrimp and clams and lobster.  Aaah! My favorite restaurant is Red Lobster.  Yum!

8. Volunteering.  I love meeting new people and helping out.  I love helping with little kids especially, they are just so fun, they make me miss my childhood but I get to relive it with them.  They make me happy.  I love volunteering.

9. Performing. I love dancing, singing, acting, or playing the violin in front of people.  That doesn't mean I don't get nervous though, I definitely do but I still love it.  I especially love the feeling right after you're done and people clap and cheer, it gives me goosebumps.  I also love the feeling right as you start and you realize "wow, I love doing this".  I LOVE performing. :)

Please keep praying for my mom. Thank you.