MORE STOP MOTION!

I love this short animation. It is something that any kid with a digital camera can do in their basement. ENJOY!

You will see many other names in the credits, but I consider this animation mine because I did the majority of the concept creation, design and animating.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

I am not a graphic designer, but I do enjoy creating compilation images. Each piece of these posters wasn't necessarily borrowed with the utmost respect for copyright law. Meaning I stole some of the pieces I used to create these images. The only reason I admit it is because I have never, and don't intend to ever make money off of these specific designs. I created them as publicity for events (keg parties) my friends and I threw at our college. So, if you see a piece of your own art mixed in with some of these images, let me know and I will give you proper credit.

I had about 9 or 10 of these, this was all I could find. If i find more on the abyss that is my hard drive I will upload them.

STOP MOTION GEM!

I made this stop motion animation a few years ago. I decided I wanted to do something a little lighter, a little more fun.

I have done several stop motion animations in my day and most of them had a pretty serious tone. That might seem counter-intuitive because when most people think about stop motion, they think of the Fantastic Mr. Fox or The Nightmare Before Christmas. They think of cartoons, and think they are simply fun kids movies. But if one looks deeper into stop motion films you will see that it is a great medium for saying important things. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a great example of that. People approach the film feeling unthreatened and are therefore more receptive to a message.

But this stop motion animation is not like that....

My Last Stogie

Animated by: Nicole Davis

HARRY POTTER REVIEW: A GENERATION SAYS GOODBYE

HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

DAVID YATES

USA/UK 2011

Can you believe it? It is all over. When I say it to myself, it seems almost unreal. My love of Harry Potter is well over a decade old. I was 11 years old when I read the first Harry Potter book and 12 when I saw the first Harry Potter film. I was the girl who read all the books multiple times, slept outside the night the 5th, 6th and 7th book were released into stores, and attended all the films at midnight. Now, I am 23 and I waited in line for the last time with the excited hoards of super nerds, little kids, and awkward adults trying their best to concele their child-like glee.

Generally speaking, I HATE midnight movies. The older I get, the less the atmosphere appeals to me. People treat the movie theater like their living room and it drives me crazy. Now, I arrived at the theater about 45 minutes early, and I barely got a seat. As I waited for the movie to start, squished between a fat kid demolishing a bag of M&Ms and 2 teenage girls gossiping about bitches they hate, I thought to myself, "Wow, I can't believe this is the last time I will ever get to anticipate Harry Potter." I told myself to enjoy the anticipation because it would never happen again.

Having read the book, I was very pleased with the way they approach the film, minus a few problems. As we all know, books are hard to translate into films, but if done right, the film doesn't try copy the book, but takes liberties and short cuts to create a concise, organized storyline.

My only real complaint about the film is the pacing, it is a little rushed in my opinion. I thought they glossed over the escape from Gringotts and Fred's death. Both events had the potential to be great moments, but before the meaning could sink in, the story had moved on.

I liked that they showed Hermione and Ron in the Chamber of Secrets. I was quite surprised because the moment had been glossed over in the book. I am glad we got to see Hermione destroy a Horcrux. But the best moment of all is when Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), cut the head off of Voldemort's great snake. I was afraid the filmmakers might have skipped it, but they actually treated it with all the glory Neville deserved. Go Neville!

The special effects were great, but I could tell they had shot the film intending it to be seen in 3D. There were LOTS of close up and shallow depth of field shots, which is a characteristic of 3D movies that I hate. Unlike Deathly Hallows Part 1, there are very few sweeping landscapes and beautiful vistas. I am not sure if there was necessarily an opportunity for such shots, but it would have helped balance out the close ups and shallow shots.

Over all, Harry Potter was everything I wanted it to be so it is hard for me to look at it objectively. For me, the end of Harry Potter feels like the end of my childhood. It is hard to sum up into words. All I can say is read the books to your kids, let them watch the movies and maybe we can keep Harry alive for the next generation of muggles. We love you Harry, you will be missed by millions.

A+ I very rarely cry in movies and I shed more than a few tears when the credits rolled for the last time.

SUPER 8 FILM: PUPPET

Ballet super 8 film I did back in 2006 with my best friend. Today is her birthday so I am posting this video in honor of that. Enjoy.

MY CLASSIC MOVIE REVIEW: IMITATION OF LIFE (1959)

IMITATION OF LIFE
DOUGLAS SIRK
USA 1959
If you have not seen imitation of life I encourage you to look it up on Netflix or pirate it or something. It might be a struggle to find, but when you do, you will not regret it.

This glossy 50's film stars the gracious and lovely Lana Turner and America's sweetheart Sandra Dee (age 16), and the lesser known Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner. The story is about ambitious Lora (Turner) and her daughter Susie's (Dee) life after they take in Annie (Moore) a black housemaid and her bi-racial daughter Sarah Jane (Kohner).

Imitation of Life is one of my favorite films. Although people say that Lana Turner is a mediocre actress, I felt that in this role she did a beautiful job. I felt the performance was genuine in relationship to the story. If one looks closely you will notice that everyone in this film is acting, and not the actors, but the characters. They all fit into their stereotypical boxes and they all play their roles. Some characters are comfortable in their roles, others are desperate to break out. 


Now the film has a heavy handed message about racial equality, which is a 30 page review by itself. But what makes this film so special is that, at the end of the day it is a story about relationships and family, not about race.

Lora's obsession with her career and her never ceasing ambition drives her to neglect her daughter. This neglect causes young Susie to seek love in the wrong places. Lora is selfish, and blindly driven by her desire for an acting career and fame. This flaw in Lora's personality leaves her young daughter desperate for love.

Annie is the polar opposite of Lora. She is kind, present and attentive to her daughter. Annie's overwhelming goodness is a product of her needing to survive in a world where she is not welcome as an equal. Annie is the eternal optimist and does not despair when life is hard, which it often was for African American women. Annie's willingness to accept the life she was given, drives a rift down the center of her relationship with her strong willed daughter, Sarah-Jane. Sarah-Jane has a hard life to be sure. Because she is bi-racial (half white half black) and is very fair skinned, she tries to pass as white in order to escape the treatment her mother endures. Despite Annie's insistence that Sarah-Jane be proud of who she is, she instead shuns her mother, not wanting the world to know that she is black. 

This film combines so many different elements of 1950’s culture. It shows the hardships of racism, and the world of fame and power. It goes from a heart wrenching story of family pain to a beautiful outdoor fashion show. It is worth a watch if you like classic films and blond bombshells.

A: Well acted, well directed, beautiful, lush cinematography. Sirk is a master. 

Hey! DO YOU NEED PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEOS?

Do you need to create a video resume?


Does your band need a music video?

Do you need footage edited?

Do you need head-shots?

Are you an aspiring model?

Are you scorching hot and want the world to know?

Are you tired of those run-of-the-mill photography studios in the mall taking overly glossy & INCREDIBLY cheesy glamour shots? -------->

Well, it sounds like you need ME, Nicole Davis, to do personalized, and artistic images/videos that are attention grabbing and created by YOU!
                                                                                                                        
I collaborate with my clients to create images and videos that both satisfy my desire for quality, beautiful and unique photographs, and your desire for an image that says what you need it to say.

My rates are very, very cheap compared to those corporate photography/videography studios, but the quality is greater because we work together to create something special.

Now, just so you know, I do not shoot digital photographs (however, I do digital video). All images will be shot in 35mm film, color, black and white, any speed, any color quality. The images will then be touched up and perfected in Adobe Photoshop.

Now you might say, "Hey Nicole! Get with the times, I want perfectly lit, soft focus, HD photographs of my prom dress!" To which I will reply, "Go to the mall. They have a store for that."

I am not Wal-mart, I am more like a boutique. I do what I do, I am the best at it, and you'll get more for your money. It includes personalized attention, 2 free consultations, costume shopping, location scouting, script/concept writing, idea generating. I will provide an agreed upon number of images/videos, and a digital copy of your final product.

You can see my portfolio and some of my other work on the slide show above. If you like what you see, then I might be the photographer for you! Get into contact with me.

(Image courtesy of Google image search)

The Green Lantern Review..Better Late Then Never

Courtesy of IMDB.com

The Green Lantern

Martin Campbell

2011 USA

I saw the Green Lantern and I feel like doing a review is pretty pointless. It is not that the film is bad, but that it doesn't have much of a soul. I honestly like Ryan Reynolds. He is shaped like a Greek god and has a sense of humor which is both mildly irritating and totally endearing. Just Friends is a classic and probably Reynolds best work to date. But this funny man is NOT a superhero. He'd be an excellent side kick or comic relief character, but he is not believable as the leader with power thrust upon him. He is an arrogant kid with a daddy complex and the most amazing luck any human has ever experienced. He has all the classic symptoms of being a hero but Reynolds just doesn't pull it off.

The Green Lantern suffers from a lack of cinematic honesty. While watching the film I couldn't help but feel as if the SFX artists were either rushed, or not paid well for their time. The film felt 100% like a cartoon and that really pissed me off. I would have been able to forgive some of the cheesier aspects of the film if the SFX had been up to par but they fell flat.

The actress, Blake Lively, didn't make out so well in my facebook review, but now that I have had some time to think about it, I still think she is terrible. She is absolutely gorgeous, and her character is a strong, smart woman, which I am always inclined to favor. However, she has this blank stare quality to her acting which could be taken as deep thinking, but she honestly just looks confused, or bored.

This film lacked a strong director, not to say that Campbell didn't know what he was doing, but I am not sure he was prepared to handle this FX heavy film. With films like Golden Eye and Casino Royal, he is no stranger to larger than life Hollywood films, but the Green Lantern is a whole different genera, a whole different style of film that Campbell treated like a run-of-the-mill action flick instead of a superhero movie.

I gave it a C in one of my earlier reviews because 1- I do like Ryan Reynolds and 2- because I think the film benefitted from not taking itself too seriously, but I am now lowering it to an F.

F - The FX not up to par and Reynolds isn't convincing as a superhero.

More Beautiful images from The Rest Are Missing

The Rest Are Missing will be available on DVD in August. If you would like a copy of this amazing short film, email, facebook or tweet me! The first 50 people to contact me will get one DVD sent to them for free, after that the DVD will cost 5$. For 10$ you can get a copy of the film and a movie poster. 

These photographs were taken by Chris Clark on our first day of shooting. Costumes by Addam Vigil, Cinematography, Producing, writing, & sound design by me! 

Take a look at the images below and you can sort of see how the film progresses from a dark, dank hospital to a bright desert landscapes. This film is quite an achievement, and incredibly entertaining to watch. 

IMAGES FROM 'THE REST ARE MISSING'

Below are some stills take from the set of The Rest Are Missing. The photographs are not mine, I was too busy DPing and producing. However, our amazing and talented set photographer Chris Clark took these photos and was so kind to let me use them at my own discretion. Because of that, I ask that you let me know if you plan on copying or using any of the images to make money.

The Rest Are Missing is a film that means a lot to me. It is not only my most successful film to date but it also represents the moment when I realized that filmmaking is the most important thing in my life. As intense as that might sound, it is my true passion and I can't imagine a life with out it. 

Aren't these photographs beautiful. I spent my college years living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is the most beautiful place in the entire world. The high desert is such a perfect location for not only photography but for filmmaking as well. 

MY RESUME

Nicole J. Davis

Demo Reel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw_SPezRA9U

Work Experience

2011                            Ex Post Somnio                                  Audio & Boom Operator

Using a Marantz Audio Recorder I recorded sound & operated the boom pole for this independent film.

2011                            SFUAD MOV Equipment Cage                        Lab Tech

My job was to check in and out the latest film, video and audio equipment to students and faculty for a variety of projects.

2010                            Souvenirs                                           Assistant to the Director

I took part in a variety of tasks to help maximize the productivity of the film’s director. Independent film.

2010                            Minnesota Film and TV Board                       Intern

My job was to do website updating, filing, script reading, answering phones, greeting guests, and running errands.

2010                            Rat Tail                                                Costume P.A

I assisted in the organization of costumes for a Columbia College Chicago senior thesis production.

2008-2009                   Student Activities Committee                         Event Planner

Organize, budget and execute campus wide student and staff events. Including the Block Party & Rocktober-Fest

2006-2009                   College of Santa Fe                            Photography Lab Tech

Mix darkroom chemicals, give photography help and advice to students, general lab maintenance.

2008-2009                   Costume Salon                                   Assistant to Owner

Aid in the construction of costumes for plays and advertisement design as well as clean, repair and inventory.

Summer 2008             Minnesota Twins                                 Fan Photographer

I took 500+ photos of fans at Minnesota Twins Home baseball games, which where available for sale after the game.

____________________________________________________________________

Formal Education

Graduated 2011          Santa Fe University of Art & Design   Major:  Film & Video
2006-2009                   Santa Fe, New Mexico

           
2009 - 2010                 Columbia College Chicago                 Major: Film/Video

                                 Chicago, Illinois                                    Concentration: Cinematography 
Graduated
May 2006                    Perpich Center for Arts Education     Concentration: 

                                  Golden Valley, Minnesota                     Film/Photography                                                                                  

Special Skills: B&W Photography, FCP, Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Color Photo Processing, HD video, 8mm 16mm, 35mm, casting, lighting, producing, on set experience, assisting. 

Reference: Available Upon Request

For The Record...

I am not a crazy feminist. While I may be a raging liberal and support equal rights for all people,  I was born for this business and I do not care that it is populated mostly by men. I like men, I get along with men so I am more than prepared to stand up there with the big boys. While this blog may involve a lot of female-centric language it is only because I am an empowered woman, not because I am trying to perpetuate some type of stereotypical feminist ideology. I shouldn't have to explain that, but I did, just so we're clear.

I am going to fix it.

Hey, just wanted to let all my new visitors know that I am working on fixing the layout for this page. I know it is super amateur, but I don't know much about html so it is a bit of a process. So if this layout pisses you off, just know I am right there with you.

- N

WORDS OF THE WISE

"The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little"

-Bansky

OK so I am sure this quote is a bit cliche, but the words he speaks are true. 

My Half-Assed Review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon

I got the image off of google. It's not mine. 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Michael Bay

USA (2011) 

I have no idea what the story was about, but I have to admit I was full of malicious glee as I watched Chicago get massacred by the Decepticon invasion. It was so satisfying especially after the piles of shit that city heaped on me during 2009-2010. However, when I set aside my dislike for the Windy City, I have to admit, it looked great. Between Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the Dark Knight, Chicago seems to be booming. 


But back to the point. Overall, our hero Shia Lebeouf (Sam Witwicky) cries a lot, which might put some people off this film, especially if you, like most people, think Lebeouf is a whiny bitch.  But me, I LOVE Shia, he is the perfect actor for these types of big hollywood monstrosities. He looked quite dapper throughout and gave a solid performance so I really enjoy watching him. 


Now, Megan Fox 2.0 is a bit of a different story. We all know Michael Bay likes his actresses, dumb, hot and willing to endure vicious verbal assaults. But this Rosie Huntington-Whitely was pure garbage. I don't mean to hate on the girl, she's beautiful, and statuesque and all. But her acting nearly ruined the film for me. There is no character development and she ends up being the random chick who does a lot of slow-motion walking, posing and lip-pursing. They should have just axed the whole love/relationship aspect to the film. I know it is part of the 'formula' but no one pays $12.50 to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 3D on opening night for the relationship banter dribbled out of the mouths of shitty (but hot) actresses. They should have just blown her up. For real. 


But I am probably focusing on the worst thing about Transformers. The acting. The special effects are obviously awesome and will force a smile out of even the most jaded movie goer. But, the aspect of this film that deserves respect, even from the most hard nosed film critics is the sound design. It is absolutely outstanding. This film felt completely 3D even with out the glasses thanks to some incredibly talented sound mixers and designers. Hats off to you boys and girls. Oscar worthy? Probably. 


Sure, Transformers is BLS (big, loud, and stupid) film that caters to our American need for escapism. Hipsters will think this film is lame and every day people will think it's the best film they have ever seen. It is neither. It isn't 'cinema' (in the classical sense) but it isn't garbage either. It is a very real reflection on our society and if you look at it like that, you might see through the BLS and find something a bit more interesting...


D+ For cinematic competency 
A+ For mindless awesomeness. 
So..i guess a C... I don't know. it is hard to grade. The student of film/professional filmmaker side of me wants to hate it, but the 12 year old girl/movie lover inside of me wants to love it.