Poetry Shorts by Kearmonie
Donation protected
My name is Kearah-Armonie(Kearmonie). I am a 24 year old Poet/Spoken Word Artist, Blogger, MC, and Filmmaker from Brooklyn, NY. I recently completed my B.A. in Documentary Film Production at Brooklyn College(Spring 2016). As a three-time member of their poetry slam team (BC Slam Team), and their 2016 Grand Slam Champion, I would facilitate writing workshops and poetry events on campus. The team went on to rank 12th in the nation at the College Union's Poetry Slam Invitational(CUPSI) 2016. Having been performing spoken word since 2011 I am now a mentor and teaching artist teaching to as young as elementary school students across NYC. My most recent documentary short, “BLK GRL POET” a spoken word driven chronicle of the Black Lives Matter protests in NYC, has been featured in the Women of African Descent Film Festival and The 34th Annual Brooklyn College Film Festival(awarded Outstading Acheievement in Documentary Filmmaking), and is availabe for veiwing on my website: http://Kearmonie.com/film
I am raising money to purchase equipment and start shooting poetry shorts much like my latest “This Gen’”. I believe that the way we receive spoken word visually and digitally can be more than just a stage and a microphone, more than just a live performance. Poetry can be visual. Film can be poetic and lyrical, not just that it can be accompanied by actual poetry but a film can be a non-linear string of images that tells a story just as concrete, understandable, and as beautifully as a narrative film. Poetry is often on the back burner of arts forms, especially spoken word. It is often used to enhance or add to other works of art rather than being the main product for consumption. I would like to change that one short film at a time. This endeavor will not only change the way spoken word is perceived and received but also the perception of film. Words like “non-traditional” and “experimental” put all film that is not feature length and does not follow a basic narrative structure into a subcategory of sorts, as if it is “other” or secondary. To call a certain film an “art film” is redundant because film is already art, that is it. Whether it is a blockbuster, a TV original, or shown in an indie theater or only on exhibition at a museum, all film is film. Much like directing music videos for music artists, I will offer this as a service to poets/spoken word artists. Which includes them sharing the poem they would like a visual for with me and I will go ahead and draft a script/outline and storyboard, direct the short, and edit the short myself. The materials I would need and the costs go as follows(in order of importance):
Camera (Canon 5D mark II) - $3,000
H4N Zoom Sound Recorder - $200
Shoulder rig/stabilizer - $100
Light Reflector(s) - $30
Shotgun mic/Boom Pole/XLR - $200
Lavalier Wireless Mic Kit - $100
3-point lighting kit - $200
Just to recap !:
Who: I am Kearmonie, a spoken word artist (for 5 years, slams & has competed nationally a couple times), A filmmaker(with a B.A. in documentary production), a teaching artist(working for 2 different orgs teaching after school workshops for the youth).
What: I will be creating short films for poetry. Poetry shorts if you will. Offering this as a service to poets.
Where: I live in NYC, the project(s) will be based in NYC, I am definitely willing to travel.
When: ASAP
Why: To create a space for poets, a digital space for spoken word artists that is not boring. To bring forth a combination of the beauty of film and the beauty of spoken word. Also to normalize the idea of “Non-traditional” and “Experimental” film. This will not be something I dabble in, this is not a phase, this is what I do.
Of course I am not limited to poetry shorts, this is the need right now and this is the big project but as an artist and filmmaker other plans with this will include music videos, documentaries, event coverage and more.
I am raising money to purchase equipment and start shooting poetry shorts much like my latest “This Gen’”. I believe that the way we receive spoken word visually and digitally can be more than just a stage and a microphone, more than just a live performance. Poetry can be visual. Film can be poetic and lyrical, not just that it can be accompanied by actual poetry but a film can be a non-linear string of images that tells a story just as concrete, understandable, and as beautifully as a narrative film. Poetry is often on the back burner of arts forms, especially spoken word. It is often used to enhance or add to other works of art rather than being the main product for consumption. I would like to change that one short film at a time. This endeavor will not only change the way spoken word is perceived and received but also the perception of film. Words like “non-traditional” and “experimental” put all film that is not feature length and does not follow a basic narrative structure into a subcategory of sorts, as if it is “other” or secondary. To call a certain film an “art film” is redundant because film is already art, that is it. Whether it is a blockbuster, a TV original, or shown in an indie theater or only on exhibition at a museum, all film is film. Much like directing music videos for music artists, I will offer this as a service to poets/spoken word artists. Which includes them sharing the poem they would like a visual for with me and I will go ahead and draft a script/outline and storyboard, direct the short, and edit the short myself. The materials I would need and the costs go as follows(in order of importance):
Camera (Canon 5D mark II) - $3,000
H4N Zoom Sound Recorder - $200
Shoulder rig/stabilizer - $100
Light Reflector(s) - $30
Shotgun mic/Boom Pole/XLR - $200
Lavalier Wireless Mic Kit - $100
3-point lighting kit - $200
Just to recap !:
Who: I am Kearmonie, a spoken word artist (for 5 years, slams & has competed nationally a couple times), A filmmaker(with a B.A. in documentary production), a teaching artist(working for 2 different orgs teaching after school workshops for the youth).
What: I will be creating short films for poetry. Poetry shorts if you will. Offering this as a service to poets.
Where: I live in NYC, the project(s) will be based in NYC, I am definitely willing to travel.
When: ASAP
Why: To create a space for poets, a digital space for spoken word artists that is not boring. To bring forth a combination of the beauty of film and the beauty of spoken word. Also to normalize the idea of “Non-traditional” and “Experimental” film. This will not be something I dabble in, this is not a phase, this is what I do.
Of course I am not limited to poetry shorts, this is the need right now and this is the big project but as an artist and filmmaker other plans with this will include music videos, documentaries, event coverage and more.
Organizer
Kearah Armonie
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
