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Behind the scenes short film: The Chip-Bot Program

Behind the scenes my concept for The Chip-Bot Program began many months ago. It was inspired by numerous headlines that flooded media of unarmed people being fatally shot and killed by police. Unarmed individuals were killed for petty offenses or sometimes no offense at all.  Internalizing this reality from a filmmakers perspective, I asked myself the infamous “What if?” What If robots or some kind of artificial intelligence were the enforcers of the land? Would correct and equal justice be spread evenly amongst citizens then? Would the headlines stop? But what about the human element involved in artificial intelligence? The Chip-Bot Program explores this variable in a society where technology is initially designed to remedy the errors of humanity. Production began for my sci fi short film The Chip-Bot Program in October of 2016.

Check out behind the scenes video footage below with some of the cast (coming soon).

Subscribe at Qew Flicks for updates on my next short film.

To view this Qew Production movie click the computer chip:

ComputerChipLink

 

Columbus 48 Hour Film Project

“What is the 48 Hour Film Project?
It’s your chance to stop talking and start filming! The premise? Filmmaking teams have just one weekend to make a short film. All creativity—writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack—must occur in a 48 hour window beginning Friday evening at 7:00pm and ending Sunday at 7:00pm. The following week, the completed films are screened to an eager audience.”

Qew Production represented at the 2016 Columbus 48 Hour Film Project and was 1 of 34 teams that participated. The short films were featured at Gate Film Center. This is my 3rd year participating in the 48 HFP and thus far my best. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years as I continue to grow as a filmmaker. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that it is okay to have help. I’m very used to wearing all the hats on a production and the perfectionist side of me has been okay with this. However, this year I had help with recording sound and it really freed me up to focus on what I like to do more, be a director!

Another thing I did that helped was keeping my cast to a minimum. Overall this proved to be more efficient. Creating a story was simpler because we know we had a small cast to work with. It was easier to manage a smaller number of people as opposed to larger groups I’ve had in the past. Last but not least it was more cost efficient when trying to take care of cast and crew, less mouths to feed, lol!

In closing, I was very pleased to have the team I had this year and the camaraderie we shared in completing our film “The Longest Round” for the 48 Hour Film Project. The 48 HFP has been a wonderful trial by fire opportunity and experience for me to learn filmmaking. I recommend it to all budding filmmakers!

Prince

My birthday pencil drawing tribute to singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer whose genius created Lil Red Corvette, Purple Rain, and many many more hit songs, Prince. Prince Rogers Nelson. RIP… Limited edition prints click here.

Art

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Trayvon Martin, One Love

February 26, 2012 is the  day 17 year old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman.  Hearing this news inspired me to want to do something as an artist. Days afterward I had created a hand drawing of Trayvon Martin with an inscription on the bottom saying “We Are Trayvon Martin” (Later I would update the image by digitally adding “One Love” to the top of the image and creating a crowd of smaller Trayvons standing behind the main image).  Living in Ohio, now the question was, how do I get it to the people in Florida who were mourning over his loss and or fighting for justice for Trayvon Martin.  Luckily for me, my Ace, my Sands, my brother in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Howard Pernell, happened to live in Florida and not far from Ground Zero where the initial protest began.  I sent him a digital scan of my One Love Trayvon Martin drawing and he printed off a 1000 copies that were handed to protestors fighting for justice for Trayvon.  We did not charge the people for these copies but did receive a little under $200 in donations in which I shared with my Ace and his crew for the hard ground work they put in making sure people had access to the prints if they wanted one.  I was proud to learn that my art contribution was first on the scene and many people expressed gratefulness and were eager for a symbol they could protest with as many protesters already toted skittles and iced tea.  Adding to this joy was a phone call I got from Howard who informed me that my image made the news in Florida and was being used by an elder who was protesting for justice for Trayvon Martin.

In this post are attached some of the photos that were taken in Florida where the initial protest for Trayvon Martin began.

Dining With The Ancestors When Heroes Come to Dinner

This time last year my artwork was featured with 6 other artist in a book titled “Dining With The Ancestors When Heroes Come to Dinner,” by Dr Eric J. Chambers. “Dr. Chambers is a 4-time Emmy Award winning Hollywood red carpet reporter” and he asked over 150 African American entertainers, athletes and notables a question…”If you could have dinner with anyone from history’s past, who would it be? And what would you talk to them about?”

Later Dr. Chambers would reach out to several artist (myself included) to create illustrations of the Ancestor’s with the living celebrities who chose them as who they would have dinner with. I was selected to draw a illustration of Sojourner Truth, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Yolanda Adams, and Tamar Braxton. My artwork can be viewed on pg.34 of “Dining With The Ancestors When Heroes Come to Dinner.” It is a coffee table book that shares Black History in a non-threatening way.