Welcome to my personal blog. It's going to be a random collection of things that I see/do/think with a broad focus on all things artistic and Los Angeles. Look around! Leave a comment!
Over the years, California has passed a number of different laws specifically prohibiting cell phone usage while driving. But from what I see on the roads, the number of people using cell phones while driving has stayed the same, if not increased.
I thought the new cell phone laws were put in place so that the roads would be safer, with less distracted drivers, but I see more distracted drivers than ever. How are all of these people getting away with driving and using their cell phones? I decided to do some research and get to the bottom of this.
Upon completion of my research, I discovered that there were some loop holes in California's cell phone laws. Allow me to illustrate my findings with some photos and descriptions.
Fig. 1
California law prohibits all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle, as depicted above. If a police officer sees you doing this, he will issue you a ticket.
Ever since I began seriously pursuing a career in the art/entertainment industry, I've taken a different approach to consuming the art around me. I no longer just enjoy it and smile; instead, I analyze it and study it. The question that usually comes up first is: what makes this piece of art good? It's not an easy question to answer, and it may differ from person to person, but I'm going to try and place an answer that I've arrived at in the paragraphs below.
We've all done it before: watched an actor's performance or viewed a piece of art and said "that's really good!" But when our friends ask us to explain why it's good, we're at a loss for words. "It's... umm... it's just... cool. I like it." My goal recently has been to narrow down the elements that make art "good", and make sure that those elements are incorporated in every project that I embark on, in hopes that the end result will be "good".
There are many elements that make a piece of art "good", but I've noticed that one element keeps showing up in every single piece: the ability to evoke emotion. All good art evokes some sort of emotion in its viewer: happiness, awe, longing, nostalgia, excitement, fear, etc. It makes sense that when someone sees something they don't like, a painting for example, they say: "this does nothing for me." I believe what they are actually saying is that the painting didn't evoke any sort of emotion in them. Does that make it a bad painting? Not necessarily because the next person that comes up may feel something from the painting that the previous person didn't. So the key is to create something that will evoke emotion in as many people as possible. It's impossible to satisfy or evoke emotion in everyone, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be your goal.
Now take a look at what I consider to be "good" art. Watch this short film from beginning to end:
The film was simple and short, but it had heart. It had the right pieces to evoke some sort of emotion in its viewer, from the amazing cinematography to the universal theme of loneliness to Feist's hauntingly beautiful vocals. If you removed any one of those pieces, the film may not have had the same effect.
This is just my theory of what makes art "good". The next time you go out to consume art, try to see if you can pinpoint what makes art "good" to you. Take a step back and see if those elements that make someone else's art "good" can also be found in your own art.
Share your thoughts and findings in the comments below!
For all of my aspiring screenwriters, from now until September 30, 2011, all Final Draft products are 20% off via their online store! If you've been waiting for the right time to get the premier screenwriting program, this just might be it!
Be creative with the proper tools and share with us what you've made!
L.A Graffiti is giving away a pair of tickets to see Anna Faris and Chris Evans in a private, advanced screening of "What's Your Number" to TWO lucky readers! (Anna Faris and Chris Evans won't actually be there in person, but you'll get to brag to your friends that you saw the movie before it opened to the public!)
Each of the two (2) winners receives a pair of screening passes to "What's Your Number", showing at the Pacific Theatres inside The Grove on Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 7:00 pm!
To enter this give away, just "like" L.A. Graffiti's Facebook page by going here or clicking "like" in the box on the right-side column (you don't have to, but you better!) and then leave a comment below!
What kind of comment should you leave? I dunno. Be creative!
Two winners will be picked at random from the comments below on Friday, September 16, 2011!
You don't have to live in Los Angeles to enter, but you will have to fly yourself out here if you win!
