Teen Pregnancy Research for New Project!

"Teen pregnancies across the United States have declined almost every year for the past two decades, but Texas and Travis County numbers remain two to three times higher than the national average."

"More than 70 percent of teen moms are single at the time they give birth and are six times more likely to come from a low income background. Only 38 percent of pregnant teens will get their high school degree by the time they are 22. And when they are 30 years old, they will only have 57 percent of the earning power of those women who waited."

"Most Texas schools teach abstinence only programs where there is no mention of contraception."

Statistics:

• 37.8 births per 1,000 girls in Texas (2014)
• 24.2 births per 1,000 girls in USA(2014)
• $1.1 billion spent on teen childbearing (2010)
• -8% change in birth rates from 2013
• -52% change in birth rate from peak year 1991
• 249,078 babies born to age 15-19 last year

The USA's teen birth rate is higher than any other developed country in the world. 

Sources:
https://sph.uth.edu/tprc/texas-teen-birth-rate-maps-2/
http://kxan.com/2015/05/06/ut-study-finds-texas-teen-pregnancies-lag-behind-u-s-improvement/
https://thenationalcampaign.org/data/state/texas
http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/teen-pregnancy/trends.html

BOB: A Documentary

Logline: "Bob: A simple guy with a... simple life."

Treatment: The film will open on our search for Bob among our peers. They will all respond that they either don't know where he is or they don't know who it is. Throughout the film we hope to show the audience who and where Bob is in school and in life. We will intercut interviews from Bob's family members and students at Booker T. as they talk about his interests and qualities. We are going for a humorous effect and we will counter all these comments about Bob with him doing something that contradicts that. At the end of the film, our goal is for the audience to feel like they know Bob or should go and have a conversation with him.

My Encounter With a Thrilling Documentary

This is the film's poster.

Werner Herzog, famous documentary filmmaker, wrote, directed, and starred in this wondrous film that captures the essence of the people and the nature that accompanies a little-explored continent. The film itself is quite beautiful, some portions even shot underwater. However, the story is quite poorly constructed. There are small snip-its of interviews connected by shots of the Antarctic terrain. 

There is certain flow between the interviews, however, there is no direct storyline or goal that is achieved at the end of the film. As the film progresses the score becomes more and more unique, called by one reviewer "eerily chilling and engrossing." In my opinion, sometimes the score benefits the story and there are other moments that take away from what Herzog wants to convey. Overall the film brings to light a side of the world that few people have had the opportunity to explore, making it a very interesting topic. Viewers are engaged throughout every moment of the film because they themselves will never have the opportunity to see Antarctica other than through Herzog's lense. 

The French New Wave- "400 Blows"

Francois Truffaut, a French New Wave filmmaker, directed "The 400 Blows," his first feature. "The 400 Blows" is the story of a french boy that faces challenges in school, with his family, and with himself. The story reveals to its audience the importance of a caring family that loves and supports you. The protagonist, Antoine, shows how with a lack of familial bonding, a young boy can quickly become a grown man.

French New Wave films are known for long tracking shots, quick clips, jump cuts, environmental changes, and the breaking of the 180 degree rule. Francois Truffaut uses many very long tracking shots throughout "The 400 Blows." For example, this type of shot is used when Antoine and his friend run along the streets of Paris or when Antoine spends the night on the streets. These shots contrast the quick cuts at the end of scenes. Often, after quite a long shot, Truffaut will cut from one location to another very promptly, helping move the story along. The best example of this in "The 400 Blows" is in the last scene when Antoine finally gets to see the ocean. The camera follows his journey from the military academy all the way to the ocean: freedom.  

 

This is my favorite shot of the entire film. It is long, but purposeful.

How "Inglorious Basterds" Influenced Me

Of any Tarantino film ever made, "Inglorious Basterds" influenced me the most. This film's extensively-developed plot, detailed costuming, realistic gore makeup, and simple, wide shots have forced me to rethink my personal filmmaking style.

The reason I believe that this is Tarantino's masterpiece is because of the way he makes the story and the violence so real to the audience. In "Inglorious Basterds" he unveiled a theme very sensitive to us in a such an avant-garde and potentially destructive fashion, that you can't help but respect this film. Tarantino successfully created a new kind of gruesome war-cinema that is expressed in not only "Inglorious Basterds" but also in nearly every film he ever made. He has created modern, stylistic violence.

When anyone indulges in a Tarantino film, there are certain expectations that need to be met. Everything onscreen will be purposeful, visually interesting, and there is often a repeated, mastered shot. In this specific film, the shot that Tarantino has mastered and repeated is a Point of View shot that looks up from the ground. This is used anytime Pitt's character is engraving the Nazi symbol on someone's forehead as well as during fast-moving fight scenes. I strive to be able to effectively include this type of shot in one of my upcoming films.