Filmmaking, music, and poetry

There’s probably nothing more fun than combining different artforms into a cohesive art project. Since I’m already a filmmaker, it seemed it would be an interesting experiment to make small poetry films, which I ended up calling Poetry In Motion. Title is a bit banal, but it really does describe the project. 10 poems with a short 1 minute film attached to it, with a custom soundtrack to represent the tone and feel of the poem and the film. It was a great exercise to stretch out a bit.

I was inspired from a variety of resources, and it’s difficult to choose a favorite selection from the list. I really like what we put together for 10 Minute Poet, and I really love the video and music for Vacant Blues. Journey tends to be everyone else’s favorite; It was easy to make a soaring choir to fit the beautiful footage. The most listened track is If I Never See You Again, which was recorded as solo piano in January 2021. The poem is by Charles Bukowski.

All of the current poems besides two are posted and available for viewing. 10 Minute Poet is a poem written by my wife, Jaime Caluya Johnson, and Awakening In New York by Maya Angelou. They are still to come!