Angels and Demons

About five years ago I decided that I wanted to give video editing a try. With the help of my best friend Josh we started playing with cameras to see how they worked, and started shooting video and editing. It's more of a hobby then anything, but fun nonetheless. In 2004 my mom bought me a rather expensive (MSRP: $2,700) video camera, and off we went. We filmed everything from live music performances to weddings to church videos, anything we could shoot we would. As you all know by now, I am into photography, but still keep my video skills in my back pocket in case they are needed. I think of video editing as a compliment to my love of photography.
Anyways, while we are in Rome this summer Ron Howard is filming his new movie Angels and Demons (the sequel to The Da Vinci Code), starring Tom Hanks. They have been shooting various scenes all around our school and on Monday June 9th I got to witness them filming a scene in front of the Pantheon. They yelled "rolling" and Tom walked in front of the Pantheon (full of extras) and to the entrance, all while holding his co-stars (Ayelet Zurer) hand. They had to shoot it multiple times because people kept taking pictures of the filming and there were random flashes that kept showing up. The best part about seeing this shot was that as they neared the entrance to the Pantheon a man selling flowers walked up behind Tom and offered him the opportunity to buy is lady friend some flowers, to which he said "no." If you have ever been to Rome, then you will find this quite funny seeing as this is a very common occurrence. Other than this though, the shot looked nothing like the Pantheon would actually look on a normal day. There were nuns everywhere and everyone was quickly rushing to get somewhere, when in reality most people stand in front of the Pantheon for what seems to be hours. I wish they would have made it more realistic, but it is their movie and not mine. It was great to finally see a multi-million dollar movie being filmed, as I have been waiting for this for a while. It sure made me want to start filming again when I get back home, that is, if I'm not too busy with photography! Ciao.

Boys Town of Italy

Boys Town of Italy is an organization whose "mission is to fund charitable institutions and programs that are concerned with the development of children and youth in the United States and Italy", according to their website. The institution was founded in 1951 and is recognized as an American charity that works abroad with their headquarters being located in New York City, New York. Currently there are 31 of these towns located throughout Italy and they are solely responsible the Boys Town and Girls Towns of Rome, which we are visiting this Friday, June 13th. The town itself is run by boys from the age of 10-18, with adults overseeing all the business that is conducted in the town. They run their own town hall meetings and government functions, and even have their own currency.

All information is property of www.boystownofitaly.org

Ostia Antica-June 10th

Ostia Antica is an ancient harbor town (which now lies inland from the coast), and is located approximately 20 minutes south of downtown Rome. While we visited this archaeological site on June 10th I thought that the main focus of this area was the ancient theater which is still in use today. The theater is built in Roman Theater style and dates back to around 12 B.C. The excavations of the theater were planned to begin in the early 19th century and were finished in 1880-1881 and then again in the early 20th century. The theater is quite large with an original estimated capacity of just over 3,000 people, but after renovations was able to hold over 4,000 people. At one point in time during conflict, the arches (which were used as entrances) on the lower level were blocked and the theater was converted into a fortress. Even when we visited the theater today, the year 2008, it was still in use by a ballet company who puts on shows there quite regularly.

All information on Ostia Antica and its theater are thanks to this site: Ostia Antica Theater History

The Final 3 Weeks in Rome

The past few days I have found myself becoming more and more homesick. I know this is normal and I keep referring myself back to the “U-Curve” model that I learned about in an intercultural communication class. It says that we all start our “new culture” experience at the top of the left side of the “U”, and then as the trip progresses we move down the “U” until we reach the bottom. The bottom is where you realize how much you miss the culture from which you originally come from. After you spend some time at the bottom of the curve you realize that soon enough you will be back in your own culture and therefore you begin to appreciate the new culture that you are in. At this point you move back to the top right side of the “U”, and this is where your trip ends.
I am right now moving slowly from the bottom back towards the right side. For the first 3 weeks or so when we were here I did not really talk to my friends or my twin brother. But, these past 2 weeks I have begun to communicate with them more, thus realizing how much I miss them and spending my summer nights with them at the Yacht Club in Pittsburgh, just hanging out on the top deck of the boat that my best friend owns.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Rome and everything that it has to offer, but it is not America. Even after talking to those German students the other night, as much as they said they hated Americans that made me want to go home and see my family. So I have laid out the things that I want my next (and last) three weeks to be, here in Rome.
I want to experience as much as I can in the next three weeks, because who knows if/when I will be back to Europe. I want to make sure that I spend as much time as I can with my fellow CAS students, because we are all becoming such close friends. I want to continue to do my schoolwork, and do it well. I want to travel more, which I will be. In 2 weeks I will be in Switzerland with Cole and Courtney, sleeping in a hostel in the Alps. I want to try new foods and I want to spend less time in my apartment doing work, reading, hanging out, and spend more time in the parks or on a bench on the Corso, just people watching. I want to make sure that the next three weeks of my life in Europe are the best three weeks in Europe that anyone has ever had. On the 27th of June when I roll back into Pittsburgh airport at 6:45pm, I want to be able to tell my parents, and my friends that I went to and experienced Rome/ Europe.
I know that in a matter of weeks after returning home and starting work and getting my other Penn State classes done, that I will want nothing more than to be back in Rome eating gelato with my friends as we talk about where in Europe we plan on going this weekend.

Ah! Photos!

I’m getting rather frustrated with myself as of right now. I love to shoot photography. I would consider it an obsession. I came to Rome with the intent of shooting every day, all day. But this has not been the case. It is hard to lug around a large (relatively speaking) camera bag and constantly worry about changing lenses and if my shots are composed correctly, etc. It seems as if I’ve taken all the fun out it for myself. Before I arrived in Rome I read all the important articles that would help my shooting here. I bought color correction cards, and lens brushes. I was ready to shoot.
I was just sitting here looking through my photo files on my computer and they are sorted by date. The day that I arrived in Rome, May 11th, up until about May 23rd, I was shooting everyday. I was seeing new things, and finding new ways to shoot what has been shot countless times (check the Colosseum pictures below). I feel like I keep running into a wall, figuratively speaking. I even took myself on a walk today up above the Vatican, trying to find something new to shoot. You can only shoot so many fountains, and churches, and islands, and bridges before you realize you’re not doing anything new. Anything unique.
I pulled out my photo magazines for a little inspiration, and I found what I was looking for. In Popular Photography from June 2008, there is an article titled 20+ New Skills. I flipped through there again and found a few new things I need to try, and new ways to shoot what I’ve already shot. I even had a great idea for shoot to do back home, so I will hopefully post that somewhere online and link to it later just for fun.
Anyways, I learned that I couldn’t let myself get frustrated here. I can’t be jealous of the people shooting with $8,000 cameras, because it’s not the camera that makes the photos, it’s the photographer. Hopefully I can pull through and take some interesting photos in my last three weeks here that you can all, as well as I, appreciate. Ciao.