Self Evaluation - Fran Ford Coco-Cola

I am incredibly blown away and humbled by the amount of connection my classmates and I have created through our pseudonyms.  A HUGE goal of mine this semester was to strengthen my voice and create a prescience…something that would get people excited and interested about. I feel very proud in how far I have come creatively, professionally and intuitively. Although it may have been a bumpy road in through many drafts, I do believe I have created a successful voice that created conversation online.

Another huge learning experience came from drafting my beateach week. One of my big struggles in life is taking on too many projects or often times being too broad. I really enjoy challenging myself with a huge undertaking or multiple side projects, but this semester, I found myself struggling to find a focused beat with two very different subject matters. Films & Fare has always been a huge passion of mine but in hindsight, I wish I had chosen just one subject and explored every option possible. I believe I did my best to connect my two subjects with support local communities but I did find myself struggling to make connections.

I actually really enjoyed and admired my pseudonym Fran Ford Coco-Cola. I believe it to harness all of my mash-up energy between films and food giving play to Francis Ford Coppola as well as Coco-Cola. I also did my best to remain gender neutral while playing to all audiences. The whole concept of a pseudonym was also very enjoyable to me...it was almost a character in a movie or a new dish at a restaurant. Harnessing a pseudonym takes believing in your character, appealing to your audience, and creating buzz and excitement that people want to talk about.

I am fully invested in my beat although again, I do feel like I took on a lot. But, going forward, I do want to reach out to more local communities to create stronger support for local. I believe my plans for a local app or starting events in the community would build upon the infrastructure of local. Some of my best workcomes from my Devil’s Advocate. I really enjoyed this assignment as it made me think on the opposite spectrum of being a “Comfortable Citizen”. This truly opened my eyes to the price of convenience and although I may enjoy support local, many people may not.

My writing has definitely improved throughout this semester, but more importantly my voice has improved. I now know the importance of creating conversation in a community and I hope to continue to strengthen my voice throughout my career and any professional projects I may take on.

-Fran Ford Coco-Cola

Long Form Article Submission Plan

The Comfortable Citizen Effect: Why We Need to Support our Local Restaurants and Cinemas Now More Than Ever.

This article mashes up Technology Vs. Culture in the idea that supporting local restaurants and cinema, will increase our economies and rid us of being comfortable citizens. There are many benefits and concerns on both sides of the coin, but I plan on submitting this article to an array of publications that fit my criteria.

GOAL: To create a healthy list of events and challenges that will learn from apps such as Pokémon Go and urge us to get out of our comfort zones and try new things.

POTENTIAL SUBMISSIONS: Websites, Blogs, and Application Developers such as;

1.    Thrillest– They do a great job of compiling lists of “Best in the city” and “Top 10 eats” type of articles that can help drive business to your local restaurants and cinemas.

2.   Yelp– They may create a sub category for their premium members that already review restaurants to meet certain goals within the app.

3.   Movie Pass– This will hit those bargain hunters that are already heading to the cinema and may wonder about what to do after the show.

4.   Business Insider– Business professionals that want to grow their economies will respond to the idea of keeping their costs low and in turn keeping their profits high.

5.    Facebook– Creating a calendar of events that can be shared and talked about amongst a community is key to supporting local.

CHALLENGES: My main challenges come from getting people out of their comfort zones when technology has made our lives easier and cheaper in many ways.

Also, creating a way to keep costs down for everyone involved while keeping excitement up from the local community.

CONCLUSION: I think my article is suited for these publications and applications because I do believe people want to get out of their comfort zones, they are just looking for the best way to do it. At one time, it was important to be a regular at the local watering hole or work at the local cinema and I think we can bring these lifestyles back.

Films & Fare: Beat 6.0

I tend to think of a local community like a house. Food being the foundation, the structure. Cinema is our window or doorways into the stories, the culture. We need to continue to build upon this infrastructure of supporting local Films & Fare.

I have always had an appreciation for films & fare, but three years ago, I had the pleasure to create my first food documentary. This experience opened my eyes to how similar both of these worlds are. Having had worked in the hospitality industry for 10 years, I was able to connect to my film’s characters through shared experiences in and out of the kitchen. They in turn, opened up their lives to me and made me feel like part of their families.

When I would interview chefs or restaurant owners, it would remind me why I started making films to begin with. Some fire within us drives us to create something that others will enjoy. Human interactions like these are what influence my stories and the structure of local communities. Sadly, in today’s day and age, these interactions have been cut off by technology.

It pains me to hear people compliment the “cheap & easy” movie streaming applications and food delivery services. Supporting local restaurants and cinema will out way the price of comfort in the long run if we can step out of our comfort zones. Convenience will keep us from learning the true stories of people’s cultures and lives. 

Films & Fare is born from my experiences in film school, moving to Los Angeles, opening restaurants, as well as doing some seriously bad acting. Through this, I believe we will create a thriving economy of unique cultures, low costs, and strong support. 

It is what fuels me and what motivates me every day. 

-Fran Ford Coco-Cola

Wikipedia: Films & Fare

WIKIPEDIA: Films&Fare

Films & Fare is the mashup between food and cinema. The efforts of supporting local cinema and restaurants in hopes to strengthen our communities. 

Historically, the idea of Dinner & a Movie started as a subculture, most famously as an American cooking and entertainment television program aired on TBS from 1995 to 2011 [1]. We have now become a culture that praises convenience and over uses applications such as Netflix, UberEats,Moviepass, and Yelp.

Local movie theaters have been struggling to turn profits against these large enterprises. AMCTheaters have gone to great lengths to compete by adding 3 movies every week for $19.95/ a month and started Order Ahead Online– “Make sure your favorite food and drinks are ready when you are! Select theatres now feature online food and drink ordering, either with express pick-up at concessions, or delivery to seat [2].”

Local restaurants have also begun to invest more into delivery services but they do come at a cost. UberEats charges a restaurant 30%of their listed prices for the privilege of delivering their food [3]. Local watering holes that once depended on their regular customers, are now running specials and lowering prices while their food costs continue to go up.

Social Impact

Supporting local business will increase the overall economy of your community. It is important to know where our food is coming from, who is cooking it, and why they enjoy cooking. Local artists and documentarians also help tell these stories which in turn keep your community unique and exciting. When a consumer buys local, significantly more of that money stays in the community. In fact, one Chicago study found that for every $100 spent at a local business, $68 remained in the city while only $43 of each $100 spent at a chain retailer [4]. The convenience of Netflix and UberEats will decrease jobs, increase prices of local business, and will separate bonds in a strong community.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_and_a_Movie

2. https://www.amctheatres.com/food-and-drink

3.https://www.forbes.com/sites/cameronkeng/2018/03/26/why-uber-eats-will-eat-you-into-bankruptcy/#36b8b95821f6

4.https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244839

Films & Fare Beat 5.0

Food is the foundation, the structure. Cinema is our window into the stories, the culture. We need to continue to build upon this infrastructure of supporting local Films & Fare.

I have always had an appreciation for films & fare, but three years ago, I had the pleasure to create my first food documentary. This experience opened my eyes to how similar both of these worlds are. Having had worked in the hospitality industry for 10 years, I was able to connect to my film’s characters through shared experiences in and out of the kitchen. They in turn, opened up their lives to me and made me feel like part of their families.

When I would interview chefs or restaurant owners, it would remind me why I started making films to begin with. Some fire within us drives us to create something that others will enjoy. These human experiences are what I believe are hard to find in this digital day and age.

It pains me to hear people compliment the cheap & easy movie streaming applications. Supporting local restaurants and cinema will out way the price of comfort. Convenience will keep us from learning the true stories of people’s cultures and lives. 

Films & Fare is born from my experiences in film school, moving to Los Angeles, opening restaurants, as well as doing some seriously bad acting. 

It’s funny how similar hospitality is to filmmaking. Half military, half circus. There are so many factors involved, so much money at stake, with a side of light hearted fun. 

It is what fuels me and what motivates me every day. 

-Fran Ford Coco-Cola

Problem Solution: Films & Fare Application

How can the restaurant and movie going process break down the barriers of convince?#question#506iv

We live in a very fast paced, convenient world. How can we slow this down and get back to a strong tight knit community?

Answer: The Films & Fare App

Creating a weekly events page on the Films & Fare App will increase the support from your local community.

·     This application will require you to create a User Name where you gain points, achieve goals, record all of your Films & Fare, as well as create challenges for other users. 

·     The Dinner & A Moviesection will contain a digital wheel that determines where you will eat and what movie you will see. The users will spin the wheel that they can add requirements of food type, location, movie genre, movie length, etc.

·     Learning from the app Pokémon Go, users get very excited to get out of their homes to find new adventures. I believe that the Films & Fare App will achieve the same thing by creating challenges that give points and badges to become “Super Users” that get deals on prices.

·     The Films & Fare App will also have a section for Singles who want to meet new people, try new things, and get to know the local cuisine. This singles page will also coordinate with groups of friends that want to meet other groups in #MeetUp style, all in efforts to strengthen the community of people.

·     The more that the users enjoy the application, the more points and benefits they will achieve. Vice versa goes for the users that don’t use it very much…they will lose points and be given more challenges to motivate their success.

·     The ONLY way this application will work is to have our local businesses support our efforts by being present, acknowledging our users, and to offer challenges or recommendations to excite our users. A community that excites each other, grows and sustains each other.

Beat 4.0

Food is the foundation, the structure. Cinema is the window into the cultures, the families and the stories. 

I have always had an appreciation for films & fare, but three years ago, I had the pleasure to create my first food documentary. This experience opened my eyes to how similar both these worlds are. Having had worked in the hospitality industry for 10 years, I was able to connect to my film’s characters through shared experiences in and out of the kitchen. They in turn, opened up their lives to me and made me feel like part of their families.

When I would talk to these chefs or restaurant owners, it would remind me why I started making films to begin with. Some fire within us drives us to create something that others will enjoy. These human experiences are what I believe are hard to find in this digital day and age.

It pains me to hear people compliment the cheap & easy movie streaming applications. Supporting local restaurants and cinema will help continue this infrastructure of a strong local community. The price of comfort will keep us from learning the true stories of people’s cultures and lives. 

Films & Fare is born from my experiences in film school, moving to Los Angeles, opening restaurants, as well as doing some seriously bad acting. 

It’s funny how similar hospitality is to filmmaking. Half military, half circus. There are so many factors involved, so much money at stake, with a side of light hearted fun. 

It is what fuels me and what motivates me every day. Films & Fare.

How To: Food Photography

How To: Photograph Food 

Whether you are filming your first food documentary or trying to step up your Instagram game, food photography can be very difficult to get right. Many times, you only have one chance to get the shot depending on temperature and timeframe. 

What you will need

·     Food (Hopefully you have many backups of the same subject)

·     Large window or natural light source

·     Some type of diffusion material; a bedsheet, shower curtain, laundry sheets, etc.

·     A white material for bouncing light; white piece of paper, use of walls, t shirt, etc.

·     A dark material for cutting light; black piece of paper, dark cloth, book, etc.

·     Textured materials: Wooden table, table clothes, napkins, etc.

·     Color contrast: Complimentary or contrasting colors that will make your subject pop!

·     INSPIRATION! 

Let’s Do This!

1.    First step is to pick the dish or item you wish to photograph. You will want to take note of every color on this dish, every texture, and anything else this dish will involve such as steam, smoke, melty gooey, etc. Once you pick your subject, you will want to find something similar in color to put in your frame as you set up your lighting.

Pro Tip: If the dish is extremely hot or heat involved, keep a torch or some type of heat source right off frame to add some quick reheating if needed.

2.    Locate a large window or bank of windows that has a nice natural light source of daylight pouring in. Natural light will keep the color palate of the dish consistent and true to form. Any sort of tungsten lights can add a yellow/orange color cast if not balanced properly.

Hopefully this huge source of light will be soft daylight meaning the sun is not blaring in directly. Best case scenario you want a nice cloudy day or the sun just rising or setting.  If this soft daylight is not available, we need to add diffusion to that light in the form of a bed sheet, shower curtain, or something similar. This will spread out the light evenly giving nice subtle shadows instead of harsh lines.

3.    Once we have our soft daylight, we will want to bounce that light around to create some beautiful light on our subject on various sides. If we use the daylight to hit the back of our dish (which is recommended), we will back to put a reflective material to the front of the dish to bring out more of the details. In a tough bind, ask someone with a white t shirt to stand in front of your food or right off camera. This will lift the overall exposure of our food giving a nice soft dreamy commercial type quality.

4.    Next, we will want to add some shadows to our subject. Adding contrast will add emotion, mood, and depth to our food. While we want that “well-lit” dreamy feel, we also want to add depth to show size and form. This can be achieved by placing a dark object right off frame usually directly left or right of the subject. Be careful not to cut too much of your natural daylight, but just enough to shape your food.

5.    Now that your food looks breathtaking, we want to add some textures. Adding nice napkins or table clothes will let us feel connected to the people and place where the food is coming from. This adds that “people” element to our food which is the subtext of our photography. This can also be achieved by using things that relate to our subject…say if your shooting an apple, you may want to have some leaves or a knife in your photo. Something that connects our viewer to the story of our image.

Adding some other colors in the image will also help our subject pop…you may want to go to your local arts & craft store and buy some different colored paper (oranges, yellows, pinks, work great!)

6.    Now that our scene is set…we want to bring in our star and really let the subject shine. The composition of the photo must draw the viewers eye directly towards want you want them to look at. Your inspiration will help you bring your food photography to life…it really takes sitting down and thinking about every angle of the image as well as the food itself.

Now you’re ready to go off on your own and take amazing food photography! Please send me your pictures!

-FFC-C

Persona - Comfortable Carter

I wanted to take my Devil's Advocate a step further and create "Comfortable Carter". I know many like Carter and often see a little of him in myself, but it is important to put ourselves in uncomfortable positions to support our local community!

Enjoy Carter.

-FFC-C