A New Project for Your Virtual Story – I May Need Your Help!

Hello Everyone,

This website has gone through a few transformations, and here’s the next one:

I’m writing a coming of age story set in 1980’s East Los Angeles.

Yes, it is loosely based on my high school years. My goal is to combine social media, video, and the written word to create a “virtual story” on this website. If there is enough interest, I will then write the script to this story.

That Friday morning seemed to be another school day and a not very happy birthday for Sylvie, but it ended up totally radical for her, her family, and friends.

Music is so important to the creation of this story and the development of the characters. The 1980’s were a great time for me, listening to incredible music on KROQ, such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths, and Siouxsie and The Banshees . However, there were a lot of cheesy songs, cha-cha songs, and songs you don’t want to fall asleep to.

Of course, there was cruising. This was a typical way for L.A. teenagers and those in their early 20’s to meet and hang out. Here’s a example of the cruising scene:

I’ve written about 25 pages of the story, but I have many more pages to go. I’m going to have a separate section of this website dedicated to this “story”. In the meantime, I will need your help. Yes, you! I know some of you are itching to relive the 80’s even if you weren’t born during that time. (LOL) I’m looking for 1-2 minute video “previews”, where you would live out a part of the story. If you’d like details, email me at

YourVirtualStory@mail.com

 

 

In Six Seconds – The Viner Interviews

Take a look at the project Jen Dent and Blue Osiris produced – visit the In Six Seconds page and take a look at the first video interview from Viner Jeffrey Marsh.

Maris Jones

I’m so happy Maris offered me an interview. She’s a busy artist, as shown on her Adolescent Content profile page. And she’s a DJ in NYC!

I really enjoyed this interview, and I hope you do too.

– Yolanda Baker

 

 

My parents are artists, so I grew up attending art shows and listening to them talk about all things cultured. My parents were so worried I was going to grow up normal that they would get mad at me for trying to fit in. Coming from a family of artists is so confusing. I guess I was doomed to the artist life from the beginning. LOL

I found out about Vine when it was initially released. I was a junior in college, attending film school. Everyone I knew was downloading it, so I did, but I soon lost interest. I was looking at Vine the wrong way – I was seeing it more as a video recording app rather than a social network. The year after I graduated, my friend Kelly convinced me to start making content again. I’m grateful for Kelly’s persistence.

My vines are very stylized and satirical, centering around themes of how we evolve as a civilization. (people may not pick up on that.) I am intrigued by how pop culture serves as a giant time capsule. It seems to me that in the past, people took themselves so seriously. However, when you look back, the fads we thought were great now appear absurd.

I left school wanting to be a film editor, and so I love editing my vines. Sometimes I use Final Cut Pro, but I try to use computer enhanced effects sparingly. For example, when I create animated vines that look like the Vote for Pedro post, I use the Rotoscoping technique. You take each frame of a video and draw over it. It’s time consuming but rewarding.

My Welcome to the 70’s and similar “decades” vines are created by enlarging each frame until it matches the first frame of the next scene. It looks like you’re zooming into a camera lens or TV screen. My “profile” animations such as The Ocean are all paper cut outs and my camera. I draw a musician’s head and choose a song of theirs. I load the audio clip into my editing software and count how many frames are in each syllable of that song clip. When I animate, I count how many frames are on each word, and the vine is done. Sounds tedious, but the system has worked well for me. I could use animation software and sync the music up while I shoot the video, but that would be too easy.

Shortly after graduating, I moved to New York City. Jacob Kornwolf, and actor and viner, contacted me to see if I would collaborate on a vine. We became friends, and started dating six months later. We’ve been dating for about a year and a half now; he is one of the few people that understands what I want and tries to upstage me in my own vines! We constantly fight over who will be Robert Plant or Roger Daltry in a vine. We end up wanting to murder each other after we make a vine, but they turn out amazing. It makes me even happier that I found someone like him! He’s so funny.

I have two other Vine accounts. MARIS TALKS was created because whenever I speak in a vine, people are shocked. “OMG, she talks! I have never heard her talk.” If you knew me outside of Vine, you’d realize I don’t shut up. This account is for any stupid vine I feel like posting. Sometimes, the pressure to post intricate, artistic vines is great. MARIS TALKS releases me from that anxiety. I also like posting Jacob goofing off.

JACOB JONES is a collaboration account with Jacob of trippy visuals to music loops. It’s been recently resurrected to fuel my passion of film making and to channel my inner cinematographer. I shoot footage around New York City at 60 fps and put the posts to music. Urban settings amaze me – all this beauty, people and events that surround me. I can’t contain myself!

There are endless possibilities to use this platform and to creatively express myself. My life has changed dramatically for the better because of Vine.

Frederic Beehupp Interview

I hope you enjoy Frederic’s interview as much as I did. Paris est une si belle ville. Un jour, je reviendrai.

– Yolanda Baker

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Vine is like a giant and friendly net, capturing what I call “viral excitement”. It is a small virtual planet in a vast, imaginary universe. An expansive field of artistic expression, it is free, yet intimate and dreamy. A place where creativity flows.

What I love about Vine is it allows my imagination to to be free and dares me to share experimental shots, lighting, and edits. It’s a challenge sometimes to shoot, but I do not worry about perfection; everything and anything seems possible in a six-second video loop. It is a territory without borders, where you need no permission to enter, but only to carry simple tools: your phone, your heart and your artistic desire. 

Vine turned up in my life in the summer of 2013. My friend, a cinema critic and movie lover, was reading a magazine with the cover title “Instagram Generation”. He could not understand this fascination over that app. To him, Vine should have been on that cover. He felt it was extraordinary. 

Walking in Paris that evening, we scrolled through wild, spontaneous, artistic vines. I was fascinated. This was exciting and refreshing, something unique. My iPhone instantly became an open window to a wild, new world.

The next day, it was obvious that I had fallen in love. It was the square format, the endless loops, and the organic video production that intrigued me. I found a treasure, a traveling cinema in my pocket, portable, and easy to share. Eventually, it became a friend maker!

My first vines were created when Vine had many technical limitations, but I accepted that. I was open to and excited by the possibilities this app could bring. Continuously and constantly learning with the support from this creative community, I produced videos I never dreamt possible.

For example, if I needed words over an animal silhouette, I would model the animal with paper and shoot with two tripods. One tripod for the illustration over a wooden frame, and the other for the iPhone.

Occasionally I use time-lapse apps. They are very helpful in capturing body movements and celestial shots. I’m a big fan of the amazing app Fused. It’s a “ghost” creation tool that has been like a dream to me. I no longer need to make my own transparencies or silhouettes, no longer praying that a gust of wind would not destroy the effect.

I recently filmed professional models for the first time. My current goal is to draw over my footage using Photoshop. If it continues to work, I’ll blend images from my iPhone and cameras in the future. I look forward in finding new ways and tools for this app.

About the post from April 6, 2016, inspired by Chagall:

When Vine asked me to participate in Twitter Museum Week, I was overjoyed, rushing to find inspiring paintings and painters to pay tribute to. In Paris, I easily found inspiration from Douanier Rousseau’s Jungle Dream.

But the second Vine creation eluded me. I studied hundreds of paintings in the museums here in Paris, but I could not decide.

After a tribute to nature and the animal kingdom, my desire was to find something involving love, so this became my obsession and my only quest.

Then it appeared: a couple, embracing, floating calmly in a deep blue sky. It was a quiet, dreamy painting with lots of space but few details. The sky hovered over them like a dove.

Thinking about these blue lovers, I decided to blend them into each other, to mold into flesh and blood. This would be art becoming life. A vine inside a vine. A painting that goes through and over you, like a dream that suddenly embraces you.

I blended several iPhone images with one long shot for that hug in the vine. I did utilize Adobe After Effects while filming in a square format.

Vine frees my imagination and feeds my soul and my dreams. It opens doorways, landscapes, and possibilities. I enjoy these loops of creativity, questioning what I’ve learned about art and developing new ideas. I don’t want to be too serious about this, because I’m happy, surrounded by these diverse, virtual, artistic expressions. These are my new online friends, sharing their dreams that never appear to end.

Humble Pimp Interview and New Song

My name is Gabriel Rojas, aka HumblePimp. I’m a Mexican American born in Fresno, California, raised in Maryland. I come from a musical and spiritual family that was and still is involved in ministry. My family loves to sing, listen to, and play music.

When I was about two years old I wrote a melody, but it was not until the age of 12 when music became something important in my life. I believed I was mute when I was younger; I would rarely perform music because I had no confidence.

When I was 16, I was talking to a couple of neighbor girls outside, down the street from my house. My sisters and their boyfriends watched from the front of my house. When I walked back, they smiled and began teasing me, saying I was the pimp of the cul-de-sac. I responded, “No, we’re just friends.” They continued teasing me, and I kept denying. Finally, my sister said, “He’s a humble pimp”.

“Humble Pimp” is my Xbox gamer tag and my Instagram name. As soon as I made it my profile name on Vine, it became my persona. 

When I was a teenager, my sister and I attended an acting and modeling school for several years. It helped improve my posture and confidence and made me comfortable in front of the camera. It was a great experience, but there many things that I had to overcome.

There is a program available at a Washington, DC radio station in which the listeners can attend. I’ve been a part of the show’s band since 2009. It was tough in the beginning but I adapted quickly. It gave me a huge boost in confidence in performing music, composing, stage presence and dynamics, but I couldn’t get over the obstacle of singing in public.

 

 

I downloaded Instagram because I love photography. In February of 2013, a photographer from that app messaged me about Vine. It looked pretty cool, so I setup an account.

I began posting stop-motion vines. There wasn’t a lot of music on Vine at the time, but musician Ryan Hubbell would play incredible guitar instrumentals. I joined in, recording myself singing over my iPad. At the time, Vine did not have a face-fronting camera. Collaboration was difficult and had to be done in one take. 

Later, I discovered Rob Johnston and his post about an “overzealous superman”. I made a song about it, followed by another vine song for Marlo Meekins. Viner Sean Von encouraged me to sing more, so I did. It’s not the best post I’ve done, but the motivation he offered stuck with me. I’m so grateful for that.

As time went on, I continued creating songs for Viners. If someone had a birthday, or maybe someone they loved passed away, I would try to sing on behalf of the person. I tried to compose the song like if they were the ones singing it, including Disney type songs. I try to make it about the character’s perspective of what they went through in a movie.

Viner Goon Holler made a Vine series called “What’s behind the green door?” He would ask who should be behind the green door. People put names of Viners they wanted to see “Goonified” on the comments section of his posts. I was one of the lucky ones; he posted my name and drew me with sunglasses. After that experience I decided I was rockin’ my shades, all the time. I don’t want you to be distracted with me. I want you to hear, to experience what I’m doing, what I’m saying, and what I’m creating. And so I wear the sunglasses.

Before Vine, I didn’t sing. I didn’t have the confidence to do it. But because I had feedback, instant feedback on the app, I was able to be real with my sound and be real with myself. I was able to overcome my insecurities. I thank the Vine community for that.

You should always be your number one critic. Critiquing is not about, “oh I suck” or “I’m the best thing in the world.” Critiquing is about identifying your strengths and your weaknesses, to see how you could work with what you got. While you’re doing that, you’re able to work on your weaknesses. You got to be real with yourself. Always look within. See what’s really stopping you from growing.

Be aware of your weaknesses and address them. Anything in life that comes easy to you, tends not to be good for you in the long run. It doesn’t matter how great it is. You need learn how to truly earn what you got. That’s why I never used my dad’s name to get where I am. I never nudged my sister that works at the radio station, to see if she could “hook me up.” I wanted to earn it.

Appreciate everything that comes your way. If you don’t learn from your mistakes, how do you expect to grow and have peace with your life and your relationships? You’ve got to workout your physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional muscles. It doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.

Every obstacle that comes your way is an opportunity to work out those muscles. You have the choice to complain about it or to learn from it. Have the patience to learn how to have a “teachable” spirit. You’ve got to keep yourself in check at all times. “Treat others as you wish to be treated” goes along way. If you want respect, if you want people to take you seriously, take your life seriously. Stay humble.

Derp Interview and Art Gallery

Hello, fellow Viners!

We have another great interview from modern artist Andrew Smith. You may know his vine protege Derp. Check out his Page on this website, and take a look at one of his pieces of art here.

 

Jimusey Interview

I’m so happy I was able to interview artist and Viner Jimusey. He’s a talented filmmaker with an interesting life story.

Jim, if you come by Austin next year for SXSW, let’s celebrate with Blue Osiris over breakfast tacos.

– Yolanda Baker

 

I was born and raised in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. When I was ten years old, I found my dad’s 8mm camcorder, and I spent hours creating movies with my friends. We would have so much fun and make stuff up as we went.

When I was twelve years old, my mom, sister and I moved to Georgia. I left everything I knew – my friends, family and culture. It was a very hard time for me; I was sent to a therapist to help me with my parent’s divorce and the move. One of the hardest moments in my life was saying goodbye to my dad at the airport. I was dragged through security because I didn’t want to let him go. It was the first and only time I saw him cry.

I adapted to the move by stuffing my emotions and not expressing myself. Middle school and high school were tough; I became very reserved and quiet. Video games were my escape – looking back, I was definitely addicted. However, I did find some great friends to make video game and music videos. My YouTube channel was very successful, with over 20,000 subscribers.

In college, I stopped playing video games and started abusing drugs and alcohol to escape. I didn’t care much about my studies, and by my second year, I was kicked out of film school. I hit rock bottom.

Lost and confused, I had no idea where I was going with my life. I broke down and prayed for the first time in my life. I wasn’t praying to a specific god, but to a higher power for help. Three days later, there was a knock on my door. A cute Chinese girl informed me that she was my new dorm room mate. Five years later, Riyong and I are still dating, and she is a blessing.

For four years, I worked at a studio in Sarasota, Florida, filming business promotional videos. Riyong and I took off to Mexico, Canada and around the United States filming weddings.

Vine came into my life after I quit the wedding industry. My attempts to become a “pop viner” did not take off, so I focused on comedy. My first Vine friends were J.J Mia and The Real Dusty C. Slowly, I met more viners and became invested in this online community.

I stumbled upon viners Hankes Pankes and DannyBGo!. Their artistic work on the app was incredible, so I decided to create “artsy” vines. I tried something new and posted a #FridayNightLightz vine. I was hooked. I went further and created the #SilhouetteSunday hashtag. It received over 1,700 entries, and I was blown away.

There are several Vine projects I created that I’m proud of. During the SXSW Festival in March of 2016, I visited a friend in Austin for a day. Blue Osiris lived there, and I wanted to meet him. I didn’t know him too well, but I was a big fan of his vines, so I messaged him. We ended up meeting up for drinks that night, hanging out with Shahab Zargari and Girl Afraid. Blue decided to film his TV Head character the next morning before I left.

After breakfast tacos, we hiked over to Barton Creek and began filming. The next thirty minutes was a tornado of creativity. We didn’t plan any of it, and #AmarilloSeries was made. It was one of the best times of my life. #AmarilloSeries did so well it was featured on the Vine Twitter page!

Props go out to Blue – he wore that costume in the Austin heat the entire time we filmed.

Another Vine project that I’ve been working on for the past year is almost complete. “Dear Me – Vine Project” features seventy vines from the most creative minds on the app. It’s a patchwork of pre-existing vines, inspired by Shane Koyczan‘s poem “A Letter to Remind Myself Who I Am”.

Vine has been an incredible outlet for me. It’s allowed me to heal my wounds and simply be myself. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my story. 

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Dr. Wayne Dyer:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”

Xaviera Lopez

 

My name is Xaviera Lopez. I’m a Chilean artist and animator. I’ve been drawing since childhood; it’s what gives me joy.

 

In art college I became fascinated by video loops and animation. After college, I worked for a few years as an art director for an advertising firm. During that time, I abandoned my personal artwork, despite having a constant yet uncomfortable feeling about where my life was going.

 

Everything collapsed in 2012 when I attended grad school and discovered it was not what I expected. I quit and studied yoga for two years; I needed to find myself again. My situation changed for the better when I started yoga. It changed the relationship I had with myself. I still practice every day.

 

In 2013, I was introduced to Vine by my sister and instantly fell in love with it. My passion for creating art seemed to fit in this app. Although Vine had technical limitations initially, there were many inspiring and supportive people on it. A Vine user had to be very resourceful to make a great post.

Creating art on Vine was a good way to have a little visibility outside of my country, Chile, where it’s difficult to be an publicly-known artist.

I spent all my spare time making vines. I even lost some friends because I wouldn’t go out on the weekends. I learned so much from this app. After a year of vining, I was offered work to create branded content on the app. I was also invited to display my work in a couple of exhibitions. Later, I expanded to other formats like gif.

 

 

I love to learn and improve in every way, every day. Creativity feeds my soul. In my animations, I reveal how my work progresses and ultimately who I am; this is not always pleasant. It’s like journaling; I try to be as honest as I can.

Vine is like a moving comic made by different frames in real time.  The thing I love the most about it is you can share something meaningful, and in turn, attract like-minded people who then inspire you to create and share again. It’s a very magical cycle.

 

 

I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and the people I’ve met on Vine.  At first, it was hard and sometimes painful to find my voice on Vine, but now I am slowly getting it. I’d like to inspire, especially young girls, and let them know that if I could do this, anyone can.

Interview by Yolanda Baker

Xaviera Lopez Interview this Thursday

This Thursday, Vine Artist Xaviera Lopez will have her interview (along with some of her work) here. Stay tuned!

 

The Trials of Completing the Vine Stories Book

Hello friends,

Jen Dent, my co-author of “Vine Stories: Vols. I & II” posted two YouTube videos about the development and eventual fallout between the (former) three authors of the book. I will make my contribution brief, for the following reasons:

It was recommended to me by legal counsel not to talk about what happened.

The situation became so perilous that my husband demanded I stop collaborating on the book. I refused, but as a concession, I promised that I would cease my creative relationship with that third author and no longer mention his name.

What I can tell you is that if I were to be questioned in a court of law concerning those tumultuous days, I would confirm that what Jen Dent said in these videos below, to the best of my knowledge, was the truth. She was willing to work with anyone, and I will say her participation was not an issue. In fact, if it weren’t for her, I would not have been able to complete the first book.

But in case word leaks out, I do have a confession to make.

To Chico Bronson: In confidentiality, during this debacle, I called you a pompous ass. I don’t even know you. I should have done the proper research, read your posts, then told you to your face that you were a pompous ass. I’m sorry.

– Yolanda Baker