Video-- I'm A Lazy Blogger

Update: Lex in L.A.

Torn between the real and unreal, reality and fiction, life and dreams, Alexis marches on. Always to the beat of her own drum, always to the tune of her own horn and always dancing. L.A.'s dirty streets don't provide the comforts of home. Adjustments have to be made. Phone calls are her only touch with family and the East Coast and the warm home she has known for so long. Life is new and exciting, but can be sent into overflow at anytime.

You see that? A little freestylin' there. That's for you Grandma... creative writing. I know there's probably grammatical errors or something for you to proof... that's what I like about you. That and you've got spunk. ("I hate spunk.")

I don't remember the last time I wrote in the blog, but I think it was about zebras on your face, so I'll just write about whatever comes to mind... these days there's not room for much other than film information, techniques and text.

I have been gathering years worth of information in these past couple weeks. The amount leads to mental exhaustion, but boy is it fun. We have learned incredible amounts about combining technical skills, storytelling, history, art form and etiquette to make a successful film(s). I love it here. I have basically been waking up, walking to classes, learning, working on editing, shoots, writing, reading or plotting out the next assignment; then going to grab something quick to eat (generally after 3 granola bars during the day... this might be an exaggeration but I don't want you to worry about my habits. Lol), then I come home, do more work, check facebook and my email 30 times to keep in touch with my classmates and family, watch several episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore Show and then pass out. Repeat Monday-Thursday (sometimes Friday).

The weekends have been for working on "508 Productions" which are the film short shoots for the class a semester ahead of us (I'm in 507). These are great fun! It's where I've put what I've learned in class, mixed with a bit of common sense, to work. I learn tons on set and have a great time.

This is Farruk and Me sitting in so Talia can set up a shot.

This is me pushing the dolly. That's Evan, the director and Talia, the DP.

This is me waiting for the next shot, crossing my eyes like a champ.

This is me watching the action...

This past Saturday I went to see Justine Ciarrocchi play her sweet tunes. She is very talented and I hope to sway her into letting me shoot a music video or I need to get her to put some music in some of my films. I'll just keep pressuring this little bitch until she gives in... you know you want to Justine...

We also had our first house party here on Magnolia Ave.

Jenna, my roommate and I bought lights to put on our roof and our patio.

(Jenna @jennalynnhicks and our friend Stephen @StephenJGibler ... follow them on twitter...)

Tyler had bought a grill and he helped us string the lights. The party was a success! It lasted into the wee hours of the morning and I think everyone had a blast! :)

Here are some pics of the party and the lights. I've been really into playing with lights lately, so keep this in mind for the latter half of this post...

Me at the party... who's that cutie in the back? JESS ZUTZ!

That's Tyler, who has such an inner and outer glow... and his girlfriend Michelle. (It was Tyler's birthday so the party was really in honor of his birth)

Our new patio furniture and lights

"Flashing...Lights!"

Fake bamboo plant with pretty lights... these are now in my room. Lol.

I love lights.

On Sunday, I decided that despite my fatigue, I was going to be pro-active and cook up some "yummy pasta."

Now, for all of you who didn't live with me at Sarah and Jay's house... which is everyone... "yummy pasta" is a mixture of the best things in life. It's like if Mac and Cheese, Pizza and Spaghetti had a really beautiful baby... in some crazy mixed up way... it would be "yummy pasta."
Sarah makes it the best, but she gave me the recipe and told me how to do it during our kitchen talks in Salisbury... so I actually accomplished it quite nicely. The 7 or 8 servings proved to be the perfect meal for not only myself, but my roommates, my sister (she's visiting) and left overs! It's all gone now, but I'm quite proud of my culinary endeavors.

THE CHEF!

The ingredients!

COOKIN'

Chicken for everyone else... Tofu for me...PROTIEN!

"Yummy Pasta!"( Thanks Sarah for the recipe.)

I was describing how I've been really into lights, well, while I was reading a script for my 507 Directing lab... "Silkwood" recreation scene... I decided to play around with the lighting in my room. If you'd like to see more of these pictures, I'm posting them on my flickr.com page.

This is just a sample of what some of them look like. They're kind of weird because I'm taking photos of myself, but they're basically morphing light to get different effects in the same areas with just using a curtain to block.

Though there are tons of tales to tell (alliteration aside) to hear them you'll have to talk to me in person or leave me comments! The comments make me write more blogs... otherwise, I gots things to do.

I do have a little video I need to edit from when Jenna and I went to watch the actors arrive at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards... but I have to learn Avid first because Final Cut Pro is messing me up right now... it's like learning Italian when you know Spanish... some things are the same, but there are tiny little nuances that have to be dealt with... and that means leaving one alone for a while and learning the other... so Avid... you're gonna be my bitch.

Please comment and thank you for reading! I love you all!

Alexis :)

"Control Your Zebras"

A metaphor for this past week.

I am a piece of cardboard. I absorb water, but little by little. If you pour too much water on me, it puddles on the top of me and will soon fill my pores. Until it does, it sits there. If there is too much water, it drips through.

This week has been like a bucket of water thrown on me.

It's refreshing, but a lot.

Today was my day of realization. It rained thanks to El Niño and this caused me to be slightly emo about the whole week and things that have happened in the past month.

It just hit me today that I moved across the country, started film school, had a family member pass away, have no loan money (as of yet. F the BofA), and I'm not used to this lifestyle yet.

I haven't cried. I haven't really felt like that... it's just the sense of being overwhelmed and a complete change. I love it here and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm trying to let my control freak mind know that I can't control jack right now--ride the wave.

Well, on a more cheerful note I want to tell you that in film you never want zebras on your actor's face.

It causes problems...

Awkward shots...

Makes their faces disappear and they won't be happy...

This is something I learned this week. It actually not REAL zebras. That's silly. It's when your actor's face disappears because there is too much light, or the light is too hot, on their face.

The "zebras" are the stripes that appear on the LCD screen on the camera. On set, "Zebras" should always be turned on.

Aren't all of these double entendres great?! I just keep thinking of cartoon zebras and zebra stickers. God I love my craft.

This past weekend we went out in downtown L.A. I got to party right next to Angel's Flight (aka the park where Tom and Summer go in (500) Days of Summer go to sit on benches and play the "penis" game). We also went to the bar where they sing karaoke in that flick. Let's just say I was PUMPED! The only disappointment was that it's not actually a karaoke bar-- much to about 90% of our crowd's dismay. There was a band though and it was fun.

Well I have to get going now... work to be done... classes again tomorrow-- OH and I'm directing our first in-class project-- AWESOME!!!

Hope everyone is doing well-- please feel free to leave me how you're doing in the comments... I'd like to hear from everyone...

"PENIS!" (Sorry Grandma---it's in the movie.)

My First Day of Film School

This is a picture of me on my first day of film school. It resembles the type of picture we used to take every day on the first day of school.

For example, here's one of Julia on her first day of Pre-school (since I don't have any adorable pictures of yours truly. LOL)

It's fun to do these, I recommend it.

On to my day...

I woke up ready to roll. My roommates and I all walked together to our first class, Concepts of Cinematic Production (to which I might refer to as 510). This class is taught by Pablo Frasconi and Tomlison Holman. This class seems like it will teach us all the language of film, production, direction and sound. It involved the entire Spring 2010 class, and we each had to give a 1 minute autobiographical introduction. I almost barfed all over the microphone.

Though I wasn't first or even last, I was incredibly nervous. I am fine with getting in front of people when I'm singing, acting, improvising, giving a speech, answering questions-- sure it makes me nervous, but I get over THAT. This, this was talking about myself!! I can't do that. My statement of purpose took me like 2 months to finally write on paper! I can give you stories about life all day, but if you want me to tell you my accomplishments, I can't just list them... who does that?!

So after my "speech" which involved me plugging my Ingrid Bergman blog and looking like a total idiot in front of everyone (does anyone doubt that I'm the Mary? If you do, feel free to email me because I'd love to hear otherwise. LOL), we watched some film clips and learned some concepts. That was exhausting!

I walked home after class and sat down to eat some lunch, pizza, in front of the television. Now, though this pizza wasn't very good, it was still pizza, which is one of my favorite things on this earth. When I turned the channel, Bewitched was on! Well, what a great way to continue my first day of film school. I'd like to credit Bewitched with my first cognizance of what I wanted to be when I grew up: A witch. Well, once I found out that magic isn't necessarily probable or even possible (and generally creepy) I figured the next best step was learning how to make magic-- aka Film/Television. Signed, sealed, delivered...I'm yours, film.

Watching Bewitched, eating pizza, all after my first film class, could this day get better? Yes.

My other class of the day was a meeting for 507, my Production-1 class. My SA, Dennis, was awesome. He gave us instructions with great detail and was completely on our side. A fantastic reminder of why we pay so much to go here.

The class is filled with people I have come to be friends with and more friends to come. It is also taught by Jim McBride, who is a director and has done many films (if you want to know what, follow the link on his name).

This class was interesting. A little hard to follow at first because Jim is new and we are as well. Once we got going, though, it was fine. It became even better after our 15 minute break. The first film we were analyzing shots of was: Notorious! I was totally geeking out.

This seemed like a sure sign that I am in the right place right now. I mean, for real?!

The day was a great one.

Though I have to end on a sad note. My Aunt Mary passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. Ingrid Bergman once said "Cancer victims who don't accept their own fate, who don't learn to live with it, will only destroy what little time they have left." Aunt Mary wouldn't speak to us about her cancer, she just lived everyday for the best. She was a great supporter of mine and was a huge maternal influence on my Mom and her sisters. We will all miss her very much but it is good to know her suffering is over.

Thank you for reading.

Video Tour: Welcome to the Hood

Greetings From the West Coast

I haven't posted here in a long time, but now I will post some of my adventures here in L.A. for anyone who's interested.

I would first like to say that I am at my happiest right now. Though it is difficult to flee the nest for the (genuine) first time, it is exhilarating and I can't wait what this world has waiting for me to unveil. Anywho, I hope my sister reads this, even if she thinks blogging is ridiculous. LOL.

I will start with the night before I left Easton...

All of my close friends, Carol, Michelle, John, Braden and Lee had agreed to go out that night as a fun going away/ Carol's home/ Holiday party. I had also found some close, but rarely around, friends like Christina and Laura who were a joy to see. I had told my sister, Erin, "Don't plan on staying out too late, we have a long drive and you have to be awake." She actually listened to me, however, I didn't practice what I preached. The night was amazing. Not too much drinking (on my part) but tons of laughs, stories, dancing, music, more and more people. They actually had to throw us all out of the bar... the bar that stayed open late to suit our partying needs.

3:45 AM rolled around and I had to leave. At this point we were at my friend John's house and everyone was still on that horse. I said my goodbyes and with this in mind...

I was ready to face the world. Then Carol came out screaming "Wait! Wait! Wait!" and of course we hugged for 5 minutes and cried like little babies, even though we are now closer in proximity than when I lived in MD.

The first day's trip was fun. The only tears had were when I said goodbye to my dog, Sadie. She's old as hell and she's my little best friend, so I think we can allot some emotion.

When Erin and I were on the D.C. beltway we received a call from Carol who told us that the debauchery continued into the wee morning hours and that inginutity had also kicked in when bedtime rolled around. "We were about to leave," she said about she and my friend Michelle, "but then Braden said they'd make us beds."( I love when drunk people get creative, it's priceless) They made beds out of lawn furniture. Of course, this failed miserably, and they ended up sleeping on the floor. Glad they were all safe.

Erin and I drove down 81 through Virginia, saying a nice "f-you" to Roanoke Virginia (the place where dreams come to die) and all the way to Birmingham, AL.

It was late at night, and I must tell you that Alabama is one of the creepiest states I've ever been to (at night of course). The trees turn into something out of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (the scary parts of the cartoon). We decided that it would be in our best interests to stay a bit outside of the city, in order to avoid higher prices and any sketchy neighborhoods that we tend to be drawn to out of sheer naiveté.

We came within 30 miles of the city and decided to try this place called the American Inn. Well, this hotel was run by Norman Bates. It had 10 pick up trucks in front of it and looked like there were definitely dead birds in the lobby, creepy landlords, and scary showers... probably holes in the walls as well (to cover all Psycho references). After Erin said "No way, there are too many trucks in this parking lot." We ventured a little further. We came upon, what seemed to be, civilization, or the American definition resembling it. There was a Wal-Mart and a small shopping center, a stop light and signs, but no hotel. I said "Let's check on the other side of the highway and see if there's anything over there." We drove across the overpass and along this dark, winding road we found one sign: "Alabama State Correctional Facility." "NO!" I said, we did a U-turn in the middle of the road and sped away.

We drove closer to the city (and further away from the jail) and found a nice, inexpensive hotel that suited our needs.

The next day we started towards New Orleans. One thing I'll give Birmingham, or the part we drove through, is they have the BEST radio programs in the morning. The women on the R&B station there should be broadcast nationwide, or at least on the internet as well. I would wake up to hear their viewpoint on the world. Fantastic. Go there, for that.

We arrived in New Orleans and it was about 40 degrees. Poor Erin, she was hoping for a warm trip through the south, in winter, and it was colder in New Orleans than it was in Baltimore that day. Though it was chilly, we still had fun. We had some yummy Creole food and walked the French Quarter. We went to the French Market, where we bought some little d00-dads and Erin had a laugh about "hot nuts." Stood next to the Mississippi river, made some Streetcar Named Desire references ("STELLA!") then went on our merry way. I would definitely like to visit New Orleans again. It seemed like a crazy town, and I think I'd like to witness that someday.

The bayou is a really cool area. The roads are just bridges over land that doesn't really exist. It's mostly water, or spongy land-like substance that has people and trees on it. I can't imagine discovering that, back in the day. I'm sure there's all sorts of scary animals and creatures lurking just under the surface. Gators, leaches, giant fish, snakes, Republicans... scary.

The drive to Austin was LONGGGGGGG. Erin did a lot of driving that day. I was really proud of her ambitions on this trip. I wish I could have given her a better time or more sight seeing, but being that I'm still nervous about getting to my classes on time, I didn't want to risk it. We made it to Austin in one piece, I wish I could say the same about leaving.

Set the scene, the next morning, the downtown hotel in which we stayed.

"I'll go get the stuff while you're on the internet and then we'll check out," I said.

"Okay, make sure you get Monkey," said Erin.

"Where is she?"

"She's in the bag" I thought I heard her say.

I gathered everything out of the room and we checked out. Moods were pleasant as we drove through the Texas rain towards Western Texas.

We were on the 10, in the middle of nowhere when Erin asked "Where'd you put Monkey?"

"She's in your bag..." I said nonchalantly. "Oh you put her in my bag?" Erin asked.

"No, that's where she was." The blood drained from my face as Erin told me she said "Monkey's in the bed." NOT "Monkey's in the bag."

Now, if you're unfamiliar with the heaviness of this situation, Monkey is Erin's most prized possession. Monkey is never referred to as "it," Monkey is referred to as "she" and if you call Monkey a "he," God help you. Erin has had Monkey since she was a tyke. Monkey was afraid of my Dad, went on every and all trips and if you're close to Erin, you're close to Monkey. It's really the funniest, most endearing relationship. A relationship that I almost destroyed with my poor listening skills.

When we noticed that Monkey was missing/left behind. Erin called the hotel, but because we were in Western Texas, in the mountains, the call kept dropping. These were the most awkward and thick moments in the car. I couldn't say anything to make this situation better. If Ruth, the front desk clerk, couldn't find Monkey, I would have to pull a Thelma and Louise. I would have to drive into a mountain wall. I would have to let Erin have my Elephant, Elli, who is the same size as Monkey, just her elephant counterpart. Most likely Erin would have thrown Elli out the window, on fire then my turn would come later.

We stopped at a gas station and I called Ruth again. "May I speak directly to housekeeping please?!" I nervously asked. "Are you calling about the Monkey stuffed animal?" Ruth asked. "YES!" I said desperately. "We have it, would you like to Fed-Ex it?" "YES! PLEASE! Send it to our address there." I exclaimed. "Would you like it next day?" Ruth asked innocently. "PLEASE!" I said as she were asking if I'd like 10 million dollars.

Erin's trust was regained. I was redeemed. I was saved.

Thank goodness, otherwise, I wouldn't be typing right now, both hands would be broken.

We drove, that day to Tucson. I don't think there's anything more depressing on a road trip through the U.S. than seeing Mexico from the El Paso border. Wow. I don't know how anyone can live in El Paso and not want to just help those in MX. I couldn't do it. I feel guilty for just driving next to the wall. We shouldn't be this way. But that's a story for another day.

While driving through New Mexico there was a stench much like a porta-potty. Erin told me some disgusting stories about the Bonnaroo porta-potty's overflowing and we punchily laughed our way through the state. We also had a great laugh when at the checkpoint in NM, I stopped, heard the policeman say "Go" when he actually said "Whoa!" He thought we were smuggling people or drugs until he realized that our car was so stuffed, the person would be dead or the drugs ruined and also the two idiots in the car could never pull off such a feat or they should just get away with it if they can.

Arizona was an easy drive. I was trying to line up my housing so I'd have a place to live, which was accomplished, but it was generally a great drive. We drove through southern CA, on our way to see Aunt Mary in Laguna and it was such a sight. There were windmills EVERYWHERE! Working their hardest to gather energy from the strong winds which pushed and pulled "lil girl" (our coined name for my new car [2006 Scion Xa]) all over the road.

Laguna was fun. We got to see Aunt Mary, for which I'm so grateful, and I hope to see her again soon. Uncle Bob was of course ready to tell his stories and show us the sights. Jeff, his son was there with his wife Robin, with whom we all instantly fell in love, she's cool as hell. Aunt Evie, my Mom and my cousin Jess were all there as well. We walked, rainy, Laguna and then went for food. It was a great way to end the trip. Emotional at times, but fun none-the-less.

I arrived in L.A. the next day, but I'll blog about that soon. I want to put together pictures of my new place and things so you'll have to just wait!

If you're reading this, please shoot me an email or comment on my blog-- you don't have to sign up to do so.-- I'd like to know if this is worth posting here and there to keep everyone abreast of my goings on @ USC! :)

Classes start Friday, but I'll try and visit this Starbucks again for some internet. Thanks to Uncle John, I'm aware that I could hang here all day if I like. Lol.

:) Much love to all.

Lex

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USC you in LA

Okay-
I'm going to write about my experience in L.A.
I am going to tell a lot of it with pictures because I want you to feel like you got to go too.
Also--I've been telling my story to every member of my family for the past 3 days, so I'm a little spent. I will probably either do this in pieces or I'll elaborate later...who knows...? Here we go!

I was awake this past Friday from 3:30am EST to 12:30am PCT...aka 3:30am EST. A 24 hour day, and one of the best days of my life.
I left the Eastern Shore on time, but my arrival caused me to almost be late. My shuttle had to make a stop in South Central L.A., which made the other lady in the van nervous, I talked her down. We were okay.
We rolled up to the Vagabond Inn (name fits) at 12:00pm, it was exactly when the meet and greet at the Zemeckis Building was starting. Luckily, for me, the inn was 2 feet away from the building, so I was only 5 minutes late!


I met up with Nicole and Brian at the Luncheon. They are two fellow future Trojans who I have talked to before the weekend.


(Brian and Nicole)

We had a great lunch, watched a film about the school, listened to the Dean, who told us that "USC SCA is harder to get into than Harvard Law." A great way to make us smile!) and then broke off into specific groups, based on studies.
We listened to our future teachers talk, then took a tour around the School of Cinematic Arts.



(The new SCA building...thanks George Lucas' $175 Million!)



Tour!



Afternoon meet and greet where there was free booze (I had one corona...didn't want to embarrass myself!) and free fun! Met some teachers and a TON of cool people!



Nicole said that this weekend was "fan-fucking-tastic." That's on the record.



This is the "Frank Sinatra Theatre" where we saw a screening of Forrest Gump and then listened to a Q&A with Robert Zemeckis, Eric Roth, Gary Sinise and Tom Hanks.
Check it out!



The next day, I toured the campus with Brian and Tyler. We took pictures of everything, including under "Tommy the Trojan's" skirt. Sexy.



Tried taking a random pic, Tyler apparently is photogenic and smiled.



After the self guided tour and lunch, I headed to Santa Monica to see my cousin Jess. While she was at work, at Houston's, I went down to the beach, near but not on the pier. It was a gorgeous day and I soaked it all in!



I ate lunch with Jess and then walked the Promanade. I looked at everything I could see and then went to see Sunshine Cleaning, which was AMAZING!!



Jess lent me her car for a bit, so I went back to her apartment and played with Moos and Ace, Jess and Matt's cats. "Moos" means "cat" in Gambia, so it's not spelled wrong, lol.



After work, Jess and I headed to Beverly Hills to pick up some frozen dinners. Nothing like a little Passover Pizza to brighten up a little girl's night!



Sunday, Jess and I made our way down to Orange County to see my Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob. My Aunt Mary was in the hospital recovering from surgery, but this is her view, so I think she'll be fine as long as she occasionally looks outside!



After Jess left for work, I headed out to drive to Hollywood. I wanted to do the whole "tourist" thing. I took pics on the way there, whenever I was stopped, which since it was L.A., was quite often. LOOK AT THE BILLBOARD! I'm a nerd.



I went to Hollywood Blvd. and saw Grauman's Theatre...



...stood in Cary Grant's footsteps...



...and of course, paid homage to Ingrid.

My last night in L.A. I went up to Jess' roof deck and wrote for a long while. This video clip is of the view from the roof. It was a great way to end one of the best times of my life. I can't wait to rejoin my friends, make some films and go to USC SCA!