Documentary

My group and I decided to interview John Hitchcock. He is a lover of comic books and even owns his own comic book store where we plan to interview him. Being that this is a subject of passion for Hitchcock, we hope to set a nostalgic tone in our documentary. These are the 10 questions we’ve prepared for the interview:

1.     What first drew you to comics?

2.     What inspired you to pursue comics as a career rather than a hobby?

3.     Has your passion for comics ever waivered?

4.     Which comics have inspired you most?

5.     Which comics would you recommend to a beginner?

6.     In your lifetime how have you seen the comics as a medium develop?

7.     How do you feel that the comic book-inspired films have influenced the comic book community?

8.     What, in your opinion, has been the “golden age” of comics?

9.     How do you feel you have contributed to the comic book community?

10. Where do you see comics going in the next 10 years?

Vox Pops:

1.     Do you read comic books?

-if yes:

      + How were you introduced to them?

      + What have they meant to you?

-if no:

      + Have you/do you watch any films or t.v. shows inspired by comic books?

      + Do these films/t.v. shows cause you to be interested in the comic books?

Let There Be Light

     I watch the sunset from my back porch. By now everyone has retreated indoors for the evening and I am left alone to watch the sky. As the day comes to an end the sun thrusts out its rays, clinging desperately to the western horizon. The light touches only the surface of the earth as the midnight sky reaches down to touch the remaining sunset. I can now face the sunken sun head-on, and we look at each other face to face. It's light falls softly on my face as the sky turns pink and orange and gold. Slowly, it slips from the earth, retreating from the looming darkness as it says goodnight. 

Now that it is dark I go back up to my room and lay on the floor with a book. I flick on the lamp and watch as light explodes from the tungsten-colored bulb. The light is incased in a small old bird cage, but escapes from behind the bars casting sunburst shadows on the ceiling and walls. I lay underneath the lamp, it's light reflecting off the satiny-white pages of my textbook. My dog wanders over and sniffs my face before plopping down on the section of the page I was trying to read. Her black eyes shine up at me in innocence, highlighted by the soft light. I ruffle her hair and roll her over on her back, rubbing her tummy as I continue reading.

This is Izzy. I never miss a chance to show her off. 

Sketches

The first is a medium shot of tires, the second and extreme close-up of broken glass and litter on the ground.

Introduction

    Stories have always fascinated me. Some of my best memories I have are of my dad reading to me from books like The Secret Garden, or the adventure tales my mom made up about "Betty Bunny" and "Bobby Beaver". I spent the majority of my childhood— my life really, coming up with every kind of story. What I like most about them is that a good story spans all cultures and social classes. They bring truth by relating it to a person's own life. Even the most unwilling have accepted truths they previously rejected because of a story they heard told. That being said, stories are far more powerful than we ever imagine.
 
   It was storytelling that originally led me to film. Film as a medium is complex— detail oriented, and yet simple. A good film is natural, in that you interact with it as though you were inside it. You see the emotions played out in facial expressions, body movements, music, sound, landscapes. And I, as a storyteller, find in it a natural outlet for my passion. I've been making movies ever since I could get my hands on a camera. When I got to high school I had the opportunity to work on a student-produced t.v. show that aired on public television in our town. It wasn't much, but it was because of that I realized film was the thing I wished to pursue.

   After high school I took a semester to intern overseas in Cardiff, Wales making videos for a nonprofit organization. When I got back I started college in Oklahoma, where I was born, and quickly realized that if I was going to pursue film I needed to get out of Oklahoma. I looked into a few places and fell in love with Wilmington. So here I am.

  I don't know where I will be in ten years, but it is unlikely that I will stray from the course I have been on most of my life. I am a storyteller and a filmmaker. I have the potential to take that anywhere— hopefully everywhere. I have a heart for travel, and have seen amazing places such as East Africa and most of the United Kingdom. I've seen three of the four corners (as I would define them) of the U.S. and continue to seek out new adventures in places I've never been. So maybe this will help in the location scouting department. :D

   I look forward to meeting all the members of 201 and reading about your interests in film!

Audra

This is from the top of mountain in Scotland. The picture doesn't do justice to how beautiful it really was. It's the most beautiful place I've been.