Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

One of the great things about working in a creative field is that you meet so many creative, talented people. Today, we met Colin Boyd , film critic and radio host of The Big Picture on FM101.5. He interviewed Jabbes and me about the Zambian feature film, BAD TIMING and the companion documentary, VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION.

He allowed us to bring in the cameras and record the session for the documentary. He even did a custom opening and close for us because we are sending the recording on to ZNBC. It was a wonderful interview because he was both inquisitive and supportive. I got terribly excited at one point because he said that Jabbes and I had created a blueprint to help launch the film industry in any country. What an amazing thought! That is why we created the blogs and encourage everyone to write vociferously. We hoped that others could enjoy and learn from our journey.

I was surprised to find a large number of MP3s of Interviews with Boyd on his website. Among the folks he interviews, George Clooney, Jake Gyllenhaal, Charlize Theron and Scarlett Johansson. He even has an interview with Elija Wood about EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, a film by Liev Schrieber that featured music by Gogol Bordello. Our very own MKRacine’s sister is in the band, so of course we find everything about them interesting.

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We’re getting ready for the trip to Zambia. We’re doing all of those pragmatic things that one must do to travel internationally. We contacted PASSPORT SERVICES to handle our immunizations. I found out that we don’t really have to take any shots at all. Zambia does not require immunizations for entry into the country. We’re actually choosing to take whatever we hope to avoid during our travels.

I chose to get immunized for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B (I’m doing the accelerated Hep B so it will require a sequence of four shots total). Of course, I updated my Tetanus and Diptheria. We both did the Polio vaccine. Typhoid turns out to be a live oral tablet that we take every other night for a week. The anti-malarial tablets we start taking two days before we leave and continue to take for a week afterwards.

We went to the PASSPORT HEALTH in Mesa, Arizona. The nurse was quick, quick, quick … and painless. We were done in nothing flat. In the end, it did make me a bit tired. I ended up sleeping for TEN HOURS afterwards. My arms are a bit sore today but nothing unbearable.

So, today, I learned that you don’t have to take anything at all … as long as you don’t mind getting everything. So, I went with the shots.

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If you look to the lower right side of this blog, you will see that we have added a links section to make it easier to get to sites and blogs of importance. Email me other links of importance and we’ll get them up, too.

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A friend went to Chicago for a conference and found the perfect gift. The small, handmade book is filled with African Wisdom. The covers have a geometric yarn pattern. They’re very tactile.

There are a number of African sayings (I was hoping for one or two Zambian quotes but, alas, there were none) on natural brown pages. The artwork is also very geometric and native. Two of my favorite bits of wisdom:

Until the snake is dead, do not drop the stick. — Ivorian proverb

Do not throw away the oars before the boat reaches the shore — Mpongue proverb

Jabbes says that in Zambia they often use proverbs and tales to teach children and make points in discussions. He has said that he would love to do 3D animations of some of the Zambian folk tales. I’m looking forward to hearing those stories to see if the student animators at MCC could produce such a film. I have a gifted student, Luis Alvarez, who wants to make an animated film. I’m waiting until we get back from Zambia to get that project started. It’s all so exciting.

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BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA - If I weren’t a producer, I think I’d be running some sort of crazy sideshow. Being a producer gives one experience in balancing dozens of competing interests while soliciting the creativity, passion and commitment of each team member. It teaches you how to stretch yourself to reach every conceivable entity that wants to support the project.

As a producer, you’re working to satisfy the needs of the creatives (director, actors) and the crew. You have to satisfy the investors and financial people. You’ve got to figure out how to reach out to the media and provide what they want. In our case, there are the needs of the Zambians (private and government officials) and the needs of the college.

Is it any wonder that sometimes, we producers just have to let off a little steam? Saturday evening, at the PoolParty for Zambia, I was dared to jump into the pool … how could I resist? I jumped into that with the same passion that I jumped into this Zambian feature film project. Sometimes, you just got to get in and get your feet wet. It can be scary and refreshing ….

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I submitted the films to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). I’m waiting to see if they accept them for the database. The form is very, very, very long and asks for many details. I’m sure they’ve got a million folks asking to have their films added. I provided the web links for the feature BAD TIMING and also for the documentary VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION. I’ll provide a link as soon as I’ve got it.

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Another exciting development in the Zambian project. We’ve been shooting the documentary about the making of the first dramatic feature film in Zambia. We’re preparing diligently for the feature. We’ve scheduled a three-week shoot beginning the first week in July. We’ve allowed for a fourth week, if we need it. Ideally, we plan on teaching the fourth week at one of the colleges in Lusaka.

As the education piece of the project started to take shape, it started to evolve and grow. Initially, our plan was to educate artists and filmmakers on how to make films. We had hoped that other films would be made after Jabbes’ film and that the Zambian film respository would expand rapidly. When we spoke of the Voice of an African Nation, we hoped that voice would be multi-layered and multi-dimensional. While Jabbes’ film would create a loud roar in the world, we wanted the rumble to continue.

So, I came up with the idea of contacting equipment manufacturers to see if we could get new or refurbished equipment that we could leave behind in Zambia. It seemed that it would help the film industry greatly if we could leave the equipment the Zambians were trained on. I thought it would also strengthen the industry, stimulate economic development and allow more people to acquire technical skills.

Other faculty became interested in the Zambia project and asked if there were any way they could participate. At the same time, we were working on the Chinese Educational Exchange CD and I started to think about how great it would be if we could create an exchange with Zambia. What if we could exchange faculty from a variety of disciplines and students? What if we could create an ongoing commitment and long-term link with Zambia? I mentioned this to Jabbes and told him that I had asked the Dean of Instruction to join us. Shortly thereafter, the education representative of the President’s cabinet indicated an interest in developing that connection with MCC. How exciting is that?

At MCC, we currently have exchanges with Ireland, England, Australia and China. I’m excited to be helping to facilitate an exchange on a new continent.

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Today, the Media Arts faculty and students were invited to the meeting of the college leaders. Commonly called the Leadership Meeting, we were given the opportunity to present what we’ve been working on for the last four weeks. Among the projects we’ve been working on:

• The Interactive MCC “Donut” CD consists of an interactive interface, a core body of information that is common to all groups and two customizable presentation sections. The interactive interface was designed by Media Arts Faculty Jeanette Roe using Macromedia Director. With the assistance of the Institutional Advancement Staff, the core content was created. MCC Media Arts Students prepared the video segments for the core and the custom videos for the Chinese Exchange program. They assisted with the production of the dual-platform CDs.
• MCC Program Brochures in printable PDF FormatMCC Media Arts student M.K. Racine used Quark Xpress (from a layout and design provided by Joan Waters) to create an efficient method for laying out Program Brochures for all departments. They were then exported to PDF format for printing. MCC Media Arts student James Bowles designed a web page that displayed all brochures.
• A Recruitment Introduction in Spanish. Rather than an interactive CD, a DVD was chosen because over 90% of the homes in Maricopa county have a DVD player. Computers are in significantly fewer homes. The DVD concept allows for family participation in the dissemination of information. Recruitment advisor Sherrie Soria present to a Spanish-speaking audience. MCC Media Arts students recorded the presentation with multiple cameras. Students then taped an introduction and conclusion outdoors to create familiarity with the campus and enrollment process.
• Career Spotlight Promos MCC Media Arts students have created several “commercials” that spotlight specific programs. These promos are designed to be used on the web and on the donut CDs to reach a narrow market segment. To heighten student comfort and identification, the promos feature MCC students, happy MCC graduates, highly-skilled and compassionate MCC faculty AND a representative from Governor Napolitano’s office discussing the need for future graduates. Shot and edited by Media Arts students, these promos are exciting, interesting and leading-edge marketing.
• Innovative FilmZambia Project

A pivotal moment in African film history is being made possible by the recognition and contribution of an American community college, its Media Arts faculty and students. Read more about it on the film blogs:

• Zambian Dramatic Narrative, BAD TIMING
• Zambian Documentary, VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION
• Jabbes Digital Story

MCC Media Arts Students who contributed to these projects includes: Lindsey Black, Pamela Bowman, Robby Brown, Carlos Espinoza, Alec Hart, Ross Ingle, Heath McKinney, Michael Montesa, Jared Moschcau, Jabbes Mvula, Gina Puma, M.K. Racine, Stephen Shelley, Kyle Taylor, Jeniece Toranzo, Jason Werner. MCC Media Arts Faculty who contributed to these projects: Cyndi Greening, Keith Heffner, Cindy Shievitz and Jeanette Roe.

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I wrote yesterday that the FilmZambia was up. The blogs related to the films are up now, too. The first blog will be the thoughts and experiences of writer/director Jabbes Mvula. Jabbes is the Zambian native who came to Mesa Community College to learn digital filmmaking. The blog for BAD TIMING, the first dramatic feature film to be made in Zambia, is located at FilmZambia.Com/BadTiming/. Later in the production process, Jabbes may invite the Zambian performers and participants to blog about their experiences, too.

We may only be in pre-production for BAD TIMING but we’re well into production on the documentary film, VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION. The blog for the documentary is being written by the students (those who intend to go as members of the production crew, as well as those who will remain behind an provide behind-the-scenes support). This blog is a group endeavor and it can be read at FilmZambia.Com/AfricanVoice/.

Bookmark them both!

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If I stayed up and never, ever went to bed, AND worked every single minute I was awake, I don’t think I’d get everything done. Now, I just try to do the most critical things first. I’m very much enjoying the process of doing all these things. It’s an exciting new challenge.

Today, Saturday, they’ll be running the Preakness. My sister Sandy and I love watching the Triple Crown. (To be honest, she’s much more excited than I am but it’s positively contagious talking to her.) Anyway, normally, I’d be glued to the television but today I’ve got a meeting with Jabbes, a gathering of the film crew, a meeting with the web programmers and designers and script feedback.

The website FilmZambia.Com is up and running. Cindy Shievitz did a great job with the design. It’s very distinctive and appealing. There is an area for Zambian National Arts and an affiliation with ZNAC. There is another area for Zambian Film Industry and a space to connect filmmakers in Zambia. There is fourth area for Zambian National Tourism. The third button is for current film productions (that’s BAD TIMING, the dramatic narrative and VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION, the documentary). Additional kudos to Jonathan and Lorra Gilbert (pcoptimized.com) for all their server and programming support.

It’s great to have our “global face” on.

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We’re about six weeks away from departing so activity is really picking up now. The potential participants are working on passports and shots. The prompt ones have started their sequence of immunizations. Hepatitis A, Hepatitus B, Meningococcal, Polio, Typhoid and Malaria. Yellow fever and rabies are not required.

I have about a thousand production concerns. I’m working on making sure we have the right equipment, visas, power adapters, logistics, official letters from Zambian supporters and the carnet. I want to make sure the students are ready for this responsibility and that they can work together as an effective crew. I don’t want to forget anything we might need. All of the nitty-gritty details of managing a film AND managing students abroad are weighing heavily right now.

On top of that, I have a whole pile of creative duties to manage. I’m working with Jabbes on refining the script and story. I’m thinking about casting in Zambia. He has ideas of the talent he wants to use. Since he was/is a producer at Zambian National Broadcast for a number of years, he has relationships with many of the best actors in Zambia. We’ll do screen tests when we get there but I have great faith that it will work out okay. Since Jabbes has already worked with material by Samuel Kasankha, there’s an affinity for the material and the probability that it will shape into something compelling.

Tomorrow (Saturday), cameramen Mike Montesa (pictured above) and Carlos Espinoza are going to get publicity stills of all the contributors. We want to get them onto the new blog we’re creating for the documentary so they can start sharing their thoughts, feelings and experiences. I want folks to know the faces and contributions of everyone.

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“Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.”
      Samuel Butler (1835 - 1902)

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.”
      Rabbinical Saying

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I revealed to Jabbes today that working with him on the first Zambian feature film has made me see African people with new eyes. It was hard for me to admit that, in the past, I would have glanced at an African or African American if they were in my vicinity but I wouldn’t really have seen them as I do now. I told him about how I look at photos now and try to recognize people in his family.

“Ahhh … now you are looking for the face of a friend,” he said. Part of what I hope to reveal in the documentary Voice of an African Nation is our journey from strangers to friends. I am hoping that the documentary we’re making can create a similar opening for friendship for the viewers. Perhaps, then we’ll never again hear, “There’s no money for Africa” because it will be denying our friends and neighbors.

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I so desperately want to blog tonight but I am tired, tired, tired. It was a grueling day in some respects AND totally wonderful and exciting in others. Jabbes and I had an excellent pre-production meeting about locations, actors and all that sort of thing. It was so very productive. We had several other interesting conversations (some of which should have been ON camera) including one about racism, another about his childhood and his mother and, finally, one about differences between Zambian and U.S. communication.

Toward the end, he said something that really inspired me. I have always said that I want to emphasize the collaboration between me and Jabbes, MCC and Lusaka, Arizona and Zambia. I want the connection to be evident and the mutual benefit obvious. Since we’re helping with the first feature film in the country, our contribution is easy to measure. Today, Jabbes and I were talking and I was saying that I was really wanting the film program at MCC to grow and that I thought these two projects would really help that. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” he said, “if one day you are able to say the the film program at MCC grew because of the contribution of a man from Zambia!”

In that moment, I was dumbfounded because the connection, collaboration and contribution was so apparent to me.

Most recently, we have started to discuss a Faculty and Student Exchange Program between Zambia and MCC. I am so excited because, if everything goes according to plan and all of the money falls into place, Rodney Holmes (Dean of Instruction at MCC), Kai Kim and Gingher Leyendecker will come to Lusaka at the end of the film shoot to meet with the University’s Principal Director and Faculty body about an ongoing exchange program.

It would be so awesome! Today, Jabbes was telling me that the women in the villages love to create batiked fabric. I am anxious to bring some home with me. Sometimes, I think I need to pinch myself to believe this is really real.

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In the beginning filmmaking class, students must create a Digital Story that reveals something about who they are, what motivates them, and what has most influenced where they are in life. Digital stories are limited to about 100 words (making them between two and three minutes in length).

Jabbes did a story on why he was at Mesa Community College studying digital filmmaking. The whole room was quite moved after he screened his first short film. It is a powerful story. Press on the image above to view Jabbes’ Digital Story.

Kudos to Jeniece Toranzo, Jason Werner, Heath McKinney, Robby Brown and M.K. Racine for supporting Jabbes in the production of this piece.

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