Grabbing a few things for the trip...

I can say that I've had a productive week. I went to buy a few things for my trip that I know I will need. One was I bought a 16gig SD Card for my MY TOUCH phone. I needed a good amount of gigs because I will be using my phone to take production stills. I want to make sure I take enough pictures for my project so I can use them for posters, programs, websites, postcards, etc,.. and a 16gig SD card is plenty of room for a 1,000 or so pictures. 


I have to say my phone camera works pretty good. I changed the settings on my phone, so that I can get the best quality picture as possible (size and pixels).  I've done some testing already and I am very pleased with the image quality. I'm not trying to get too fancy with my production stills or buy an expensive camera to take pictures. But I do care about quality... My Touch phone is not bad and it works with what I am trying to do. A generic brand SD card cost me like 25.00 dollars. Since I'm on a budget, it works for me! It is better than buying a $800 hundred dollar or so camera.


The other thing I bought was a mono-pod.  Its a tri-pod without the other two legs. Its basically one pole, one stick, or whatever you want to call it that supports the camera... I thought this would be more useful because it is light and it doesn't take too much room. I had some experience using a mono-pod when I was filming a roadtrip documentary with my friend. It was handy and easy to use.  Its the main reason why I wanted to buy one.  I figured since I would be out-and-about with my talent going to different locations, a mono-pod would be convenient to travel while shooting. I'm just trying to be efficient with my time.  Also, I wanted to use the mono-pod because I want to limit the movement of the camera. I don't want to give my project TOO MUCH of a hand-held style. There is nothing wrong with a hand-held style, I just prefer not to have too much shakiness. When I mean TOO much, I mean like the TV show NYPD Blue.   


The last thing I got was a medium size duffel bag that has wheels. This item I wouldn't say I bought because a friends brother donated the bag to me. He knew I needed one. "Its an early Christmas present," is what he said. I was looking for a this type of bag because its big enough to pack stuff inside and small enough to carry or roll. I am trying to limit bags as much as possible. These days most airlines charge WAY too much to check in multiple bags. I'm packing light anyways, all I'm taking is underwear, t-shirts, and a couple of pants. And I can't forget my equipment ... thats the most important part! 






Junior Gonzalez
The Filmmaker

I Woke Up and Said To Myself, Its Time To Make Moves!

Hello Everyone! This is my official introduction of my documentary "Words of Revolution."

Words of Revolution is a documentary about a culture trying to revive and progress from a history of violence. Many Salvadorans fled the country of El Salvador to escape a

treacherous civil war that happened during the 80's. Communities started to erupt across the United States, in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, and DC. After leaving their own country because of war, politics, and poverty - Salvadorans had to settle and find their own identity in the United States. 

The Salvadoran culture was left with a sense of fragility and a loss of innocence after the civil war. Therefore, through the hopeful voices of Salvadoran Hip-Hop artists' in the United States, their music and interviews will takes us on a journey to understand the culture and the new Salvadoran generation living in the United States. They will speak about their experiences, culture, politics, while also bringing awareness of their homeland that still struggles with poverty and violence. These artists' are trying to begin a new chapter in their history… chapter of peace…prosperity…and unity. These musicians have a mission to bring awareness, educate those who do not understand the culture, and also move their culture to a better light and future.

I have been researching my project for about four years now. I've had a chance to meet and spend some time with these Artists' that lives in Los Angeles, San Fran, New York, and DC. I learned that their music have connected them together. Now, they are trying to bring their music from the underground to the mass media. They have allowed me access to their world and I will be exploring how their music is trying to touch the world.

Now that you get somewhat of a taste of the project. Now its my mission to make it happen. I have had problems seeking financing from private investors, lab programs, personal resource, and non-profit organizations. It was an emotional hit for me after receiving rejection letters...after rejection letter... after rejection letter... after rejection letter... I could go on and on. Like I said, this project has been in works for the last four years. It bothered me that time was passing by and money was always an issue.

So I literally woke today and said, "Its time to make moves." It took me four years to say that, but when your back is against the wall and you're running out of options - I was risking the chances of NOT making this project at all. The only choice I have now... is me! Am I able to make this happen?

So I'm in talks of getting equipment. It wasn't easy, but I became a pest. It was the only way! I'm finally taking this project into my own hands and spending money out of my own pockets. Today, I made this blog to document my journey of making this project.

Also, I booked a flight to start filming my interviews in the East Coast. My first day of production will be Jan 6, 2011. Its finally happening! No matter how long it took, I stuck with the process and the hard times. I never stopped believing in "Words of Revolution."

Buying my plane ticket was the first step. I will keep you posted from now till it's done.

Welcome to my blog!

This is Junior Gonzalez
The Filmmaker