brazil in six months

"Ele e Ela" Behind the Scenes

2007-06-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Syncing Sound!

2007-05-24T16:15:00.001-07:00

This is what I've been doing for the past few weeks, SYNCING SOUND! 16mm film. I can now say that I am an expert on syncing sound! It was a very hard process, mostly because the take notes were lost in the filming process, and we had to search for the good takes in a sea of bad takes. But thank god thats over, and now we get to the juicy part in which we actually EDIT.

Fat Marely Music Video Shoot

2007-05-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today, bright and early, was the start of the Fat Marely music video shoot. Locations include Ave. Paulista, random apartment, office building, and helicopter landing pad on top of the office building. So the general idea of the video is the following. We follow Fat Marely, who's animated head is superimposed on to the body of the actor.
Here is a test shot
He wakes up brushes his teeth, walks out side, gets on a bus, goes to the office, and then parties with ladies in bikinis. We're shooting that scene tomorrow morning. The five girls in bikinis will also have over sized and animated heads.
The actor who plays Fat Marely's body had to wear markers, blue sticky things, on his face and wear a very big hat with markers on it the whole day. The hat and the blue stickers will help super impose the over sized and animated head on to his body.
I directed a few sequences and tomorrow I will call some more shots as well.
I had so much fun today!

Last Shot

2007-05-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today myself and Ian went to talk to the manager of the apartment building directly across the apartment building where we are shooting the short. We needed to get onto the roof of the building to get the last shot of the film. And exterior shot of the female character and male character in their apartments through the windows. It took us a while to get a hold of the manager and we had to explain what exactly we were doing over and over, but we finally got access! We were finally able to get up there and take photos and see if the shot would work. Its absolutely amazing up there!

Virada Cultural 2007

2007-05-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Virada Cultural, a two day music/arts/culture public event held in Sao Paulo. This year 3.5 million people participated. From 6 pm to 6am Sao Paulo's streets where full of people enjoying live music and events. I went with some friends of mine. We started at Anhangabau where the plaza was filled with people watching a dance performance. Then we headed to Rua Direita where there was an all night electronic music event. Over 20 different Djs played. Then at Praca da Se there was a famous Brazilian 90's rock band playing. After that we went to Ave. Paulista to the Casa da Rosas where there was a live Forro band from the northeast of Brazil. We stayed there dancing Forro until about 5 am! I didn't bring my camera because it would probably have gotten stolen, and I didn't feel like lugging it around, so unfortunately no pictures. It was an amazing sight seeing the streets of Sampa which are usually filled with unending traffic, filled with people dancing all night long!

Map of Shooting Location

2007-04-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

We are scheduled to shoot starting May 25th to May 29th. FAAP is providing one can and a half of 16mm, and processing. Yesterday, myself and Ian, another producer, went to the location to collect measurements of the apartment. I put together this map last night.

Laura++

2007-04-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

We have casted our lead female role to Laura. She will play the role of the violinist. She has many years of musical, theater and dance experience.

Actors Workshop

2007-04-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Our crew organized an actor workshop so we could all meet the prospective actors, and get a feel for their talent. Most of the time was spent on working with how the two interacted with each other, while one tapped danced and the other played the violin. The two sounds are completely different so it was awkward at first, but by the end of the day they were able to work better together. Here are some photos of the day.

ABC Awards Ceremony

2007-03-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

Things are finally rolling with my Cinema class at FAAP. 4 screenplays were voted on and teams of students have been formed to begin Pre-production. I'm working as asn assistant producer and art director. This film I'm part of is entitled "Ele/Ela" "Him/Her". It is a short film about a young woman who plays a violin, and a young man who is a tap dancer. They live in the same apartment, the story follows their encounter through sounds. I'm very excited and so happy to be working with everyone in my group. Yesterday myself, the cinematographer and another assistant producer went to the prospective location, which is an apartment building in the old center of Sao Paulo. There we met with the owner of the apartment, and woman who was very interested in renting out her space for us. We anaylized the space and bargained with her until we got the price $R100 lower!

Last night my friend from FAAP. Marcel invited me to the ABC award ceremony and after party. The ABC comity is formed of Brazilian cinematographers, editors, and sound technichians. The ceremony recognizes Brazilian cinematographers, and it is the most imporant award ceremony for cinematographers in Brazil! I was very lucky to be able to go, it was very exciting. I met a lot of people that are very important in the Brazilian Cinema scene right now. I also got to meet on cinematographer who invited me on the set of a comercial shoot he is going to be apart of tonight at 8 pm. More to come!

Parque Ibirapuera

2007-02-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

Parque Ibirapuera is the largest park in Sao Paulo. I went there this weekend and spent a wonderful saturday afternoon there. Many people come out to the park on the weekends to sun bath, ride bikes, jog, walk dogs, and eat ice cream. When I was there I felt like I had left the city entirely. It was very relaxing. I would recommend visiting to anyone who goes to Sao Paulo!

Agora eu falo Portuguese!!

2007-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated in awhile. I'm very sorry, but I've been extremely busy with my Portuguese classes. Today I was at FAAP making I'm enrolled in all the course I chose. Today was also orientation for all the international students. This year is the largest group of international students FAAP as ever received! There are students from CHILE, COLUMBIA, MEXICO, FRANCE, AFRICA, USA, FINLAND, IRELAND, and SWEDEN!

Tomorrow, I start my cinema courses. Here is what my day looks like:

From 1:30 to 5:30 I have Portuguese class,
then 7:20 to 8:50 Film Editing
then 9:00 to 10:20 Cinematography and Lighting

Friday, FAAP is taking all of the international students on a 5 hour tour of Sao Paulo.
I'm very excited for this! I've hardly had time to do any site seeing!

Funny

2007-01-17T03:57:00.000-08:00

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I found a place to live!!

2007-01-17T03:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a clip of what my apartment looks like, and the view from our patio. I live with 2 Chinese, 2 Columbians, and one French. We're all exchange students at FAAP.

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At Cafe Sao Paulo!

2007-01-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

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The other night a group of us went to this place called Cafe Sao Paulo. There was live music! Here is a clip of the music. Enjoy!

FAAP!

2007-01-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

So here I am 10 days later from my last post, and a lot has happened. First of all, I'm living in a republica which is just a realy big apartment with other FAAP students, all of which are international students. Here are some images of FAAP and the other international students.
Monday, I start my Portuguese classes, and Feb. 1st I will start taking other classes like cinema production and editing, and Brazilian art history.

On the Road to Alfenas

2007-01-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

This footage is of our 4 hour road trip to Alfenas, Minas Gerais. From the road we could see mountians and coffee farms.

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***

Here is the footage of the countryside entering the city of Piracicaba.

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Piracicaba, SP: Mercardo Municipal

2007-01-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

...Click Images for more photos...

I´m in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo. A city that is located about 1 and a half hours from the city of Sao Paulo. I´m here visiting with family for a little bit longer, before I have to go back to the city and start my classes. Piracicaba is a very historical city of Sao Paulo. Located in the center of town is a Mercardo Municipal, a histoical market where venders sell fresh fruits, veggies, meat, spice, cheese, etc. These are some of the photos I took today when my brother and I went to buy groceries.

Ano Novo!!

2007-01-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to spend New Years with my wonderful family in Alfenas, Minas Gerias. Some family I met for the first time, and others I have known for awhile. This photo is of all my cousins on my sister’s side of the family. There are over 15 of us, but that doesn’t even begin to touch how many more relatives I have here in Brazil. I am one of eight siblings, and my father is one of nine! I had a great time getting to know all my cousins. All of them are very creative and intelligent, and some are pursuing painting, sculpture, and video!

+mais fotos+

2006-12-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

++street art

2006-12-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

Just some Brazilian street art I've seen around..
(click image to enlarge)

On the 43rd floor

2006-12-28T05:24:00.000-08:00

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Here my mom and I are on the balcony of an Italian Cafe located on the 43rd floor. From here the view is spectacular! Sao Paulo seems endless!

First Day in Sao Paulo

2006-12-28T05:07:00.000-08:00

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We met a cab driver named Reinaldo who offered to take us around the city and show us some important places I should know about. We went through the Italian district "Bella Vista" and spent most of our time in "Liberdage" which is heavily influenced by the Japanese.

I'm here!

2006-12-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

So I've made it to Sao Paulo in one piece! I arrived at 11 pm Sao Paulo time, which is 4 hours ahead of Boston time. The plane ride itself took about 9 hours, which seemed more like 19 hours, but after I finally got some sleep, the rest of the ride was better. No delays. No lost luggage. And no passport drama. It was a smooth beginning to my travels. Tomorrow I going to visit FAAP, even though all the students are still on break, I'll be able to meet the Advisor for international affairs and hopefully figure out where I'll be living for the next 6 months.

+Intro: The Plan

2006-12-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

My name is Savana. I'm a student filmmaker at Mass Art (Boston) and for the next 6 months I will be living and studying in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I plan to study Cinema/Film and Brazilian Art History at FAAP. I was born in Acre, Brazil, but lived most of my life here in the US.

I've created this Blog/Video Blog, to keep people back home updated on what I'm up to in Brazil, and most importantly to document my experience.

The day after Christmas is when my journey to Sao Paulo, Brazil will begin. I'm leaving early because my mother and I are going to visit family for about 2 weeks before my classes start. During that time we have to arrange my living situation (Most Brazilian universities do not have dorms, students either live with their families or go in on apartments). I'm kind of nervous about the whole situation, but I know that something will work out.
My mother hasn't been back to Brazil in about 4 years, so this trip is very special for her. She also isn't telling any of our family in Brazil that she's coming with me, so we hope to give them a huge surprise!

At this point, I am in the process of moving out of my apartment, packing and preparing what I need to bring to Brazil, and saying good bye to my friends and family.