HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:CREATING A FAKE COVER FOR A BOOK THAT WILL BE USED AS A KEY PROP
FOR THE CHARACTER CARITA LOCKE
IN THE FILM OPEN/CLOSE
(This is the first draft of the cover by BYFC student Solomon Oke. What do you think about it? What
do you like? What would you change? Tune in for our next blog posting and hear the critique Solomon got and what alterations he was asked to do. Then check out the final version of the book cover!
(Solomon Oke
with his daughters
Sarah Yetunde (3.9 yrs)
and Deborah Opeyemi (9 mths)
I am a Brooklyn Young Filmmakers student and the shoot photographer for the OPEN/CLOSE film project. I, Solomon Olanrewaju Oke, born in the mid-fifties, grew up with one of my uncles, a farmer and a hunter, in a small hamlet called Ago-Amodu in the rural part of Western Nigeria.
I left my country to go to St. Aldates College in Oxford City, England, where I studied Economics and Business. After graduating I came to the United States and enrolled in the College of Staten Island. Two and a half years later I dropped out having lost my interest in Economics and Business. I looked for a trade to engage in. Since I love working with my hands, I thought about becoming an electrician. But I could not afford four years of study and $16,000. I later picked up an interest in becoming a photographer, but I did not have two years and $4,000 that the course required. Luckily I saw a small ad in the newspaper for a home study course in photography. I paid $500 for the course material, studied at home, and became a photographer.
Now I work part of my time photographing weddings, portraits, and products. In my second job I work as a security supervisor at one of the NYC Welfare Centers. I also have developed an interest in writing and in 2008 Enaz Publications published my first book, "With Sex On My Mind".
I want to put photography together with writing and so I became a student with Brooklyn Young Filmmakers. Someone asked me why now, why at my age, I decided to learn about filmmaking. It reminds me of what my mother asked me when I was 19 and she found out I tried to commit suicide "Why now?! Now that we spent all our money and energy to raise you, why now do you want to kill yourself?!" I looked at my mother, acute sadness in my eyes, and answered her -- "It's better late than never Ma; it is better late than never." This is the same answer I gave to the person who asked me why, at my age, I want to learn filmmaking -- except there was no sadness in my eyes this time when I answered.
MY WISH is to teach my daughters, Sarah and Deborah, as they grow up, to enjoy film as a means of entertainment, but to also appreciate it as a medium of expression and a world of many jobs.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MY COUNTRY FOR YOU
NIGERIA gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, after 60 years of being its colony. Popularly known as the giant of Africa, Nigeria has about 140 million people and it is divided into 36 states plus the capital territory Abuja.
Situated in West Africa, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa; it is the eighth most populous in the world. The country is split in half between Chrisitians and Muslims. The country's official language is English, but there are well over 200 different regional languages. Nigeria has three most influential ethnic groups -- Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. It is very rich in cultures and good in sports, especially in soccer, running, boxing and weight lifting. Nigeria is the largest African oil producing country and it is one of the major oil suppliers to the U.S. (There are many large oil spills in Nigeria that have been going on for decades and the world has paid no attention: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html )
- Solomon Oke
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