Azin Ashourvan

Cool people go to San Francisco. Yes, they really do! Azin Ashourvan is as creative as he is enthusiastic about his work and life on the hills of San Francisco. Originally from Sweden, he has already spent one year in California working as an Art Director at the creative agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. He intends to keep on working and enjoying northern California life style in San Francisco for another year or more.
Despite time differences between USA and Europe, we had a nice conversation.

Azin Ashourvan, self portrait

Julija: Azin, you experienced Hyper Island. How was it and what did you get from it?
Azin: Yes, I went to Hyper Island in Stockholm. It was an intense year – you have to work a lot there! But, of course, it was a fun experience with lots of people from different countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, USA, UK, Norway and Denmark. We had to make plenty of projects. You get divided into groups and everyone has their own ideas!
Julija: And how did you choose to move to California?
Azin: Well, I was not planning to go there at all. I wanted to go to London. But I’ve met two guys from the agency, at Hyper Island, who were interested in having me and my creative partner for an internship in the U.S. And it happened so that I applied for that and seized the opportunity to go to the U.S. I spent over a year here already and I am planning to stay here for at least one more year.
Julija: So how does your typical day look like?
Azin: It depends. We are working with production companies, therefore we juggling a lot of projects. When we start new projects, we go through the brainstorming sessions and generating ideas. Then we are presenting our concepts to Creative Directors and so on... It means: lots of meetings!
Julija: Let‘s talk about photography. Your photos are so bright and inspiring, some of them even enchanting. How did you get into photography?
Azin: I was always interested in photography, but got into it more seriously in 2004. I went to India and was taking a lot of photos there... I like shooting people. I like portraits.

From Azin's photo exhibition, photo by Sima Korenivski

Julija: What cameras do you use?
Azin: Nikon D700 and Panasonic GF2.
Julija: Talking about other arts, what music, books and films currently interest you?
Azin: Basically, I like various styles of music. But, perhaps mostly indie pop and electro pop. I’m currently listening to James Blake and Panda Bear. I always like to listen to new tunes. I keep checking what’s new in the music world. Well, in summary: I like different stuff.
About books... I like rock biographies. Motley Crue, Marilyn Manson, etc... Very interesting.
Films... I recently saw RIO! In general I don‘t like action, but prefer indie drama comedies.
Julija: Favorite San Francisco hangout?
Azin: Dolores Park! Every weekend is like a music festival, where people come to meet each other, play music and drink beer.

Azin in Dolores park, photo by Hanna Wittmark

R: Retirement

R:Retirement

Retirement is the big topic of conversation at work. Seems like every week another Baby Boomer says goodbye to the work place. I still need to decided whether to take early retirement or try and hang in there another 3 years. Seriously though, I don't think I can. I've had a serious decline in my health the past few months; the most recent thing being my legs, especially my right one. I can still walk good but I'm having some trouble going up and down stairs; going up is much worse. Ahhh! the only way I can cope is to take it one day at a time. The future is this scary place and I can't handle it.

Here's a few shots from another recent walk. Strange to find two street  memorials in the neighbourhood.  The cycle of life: creation, preservation, destruction.

 

Q: Questions

Q: Questions

OK  now I have some growths on my thyroid and am waiting for the biopsy results. So looks like it's going be another round of questions What? Why? What to do  about it? 

In the meantime I went to the Global Marijuana March, on May 7th in Toronto. Here's a few snaps of that day. You can see it's a large, diverse crowd. Will Weed be legalized in Canada?

No way, not with our current "We want to be just like America" Conservative government. People forget that the last few years we had a minority government; but now with a majority, the Conservatives will be able to push their much loved hobby horses: Increase in military spending, mandatory sentences for drug possession, free hand for big business to do as they please, dismantling of the healthcare system etc. etc.  Think it won't happen? Just give them a few months to settle in and then you'll see.  

Not that it matters much, according to these guys.

Hayden Rhodes

New Zealand born Hayden Rhodes knows how to change your life. He, a positive mind and strong body specialist, is working as a performance coach. He has helped a lot of people all over the world, including athletes and celebrities. His energetic, positive attitude and sincere smile radiates good vibes.


Hayden, naturally getting ready to help people with their minds and bodies

SPORTS

Hayden always was very active. As a junior he trained at national levels in both swimming and gymnasitics and also played competitive rugby in New Zealand, until he got injured. Doctors understood, that sports were a big part of Hayden's life, but adviced him to forget about rugby for the sake of health. Hayden was upset yet turned to the ocean that he loves and started surfing. He later qualified for the NZ University Surfing Team. Boarding is his passion! He now surfs and snowboards all over the world. Extreme!

WHY

Hayden is a motivated person. He has always been. He used to not understood why people become depressed and had a hard time dealing with loved ones when they were down. But later he got it. He understood how low people can go and discovered the negative side of life when he had to survive the bad times. Hayden realized how much you can be upset and that is not cool at all. When he rebuilt his confidence and strength he decided: he is gonna live healthy, positively, and learn the complexities of chemicals, moods, nutrition, movement to help people to also live with health and stay positive physically, mentally and emotionally.


Hayden, teaching breathing techniques for relaxation and power in the pool

STUDIES

After finishing studies at the University of Waikato, Rhodes decided to go deep into athletic performance and nutrition. He has learned a lot from doctors. Combining this knowledge with what he learned in behavior, psychology and education studies helped him to achieve the best result. Hayden admits, that if you want to understand human‘s mind and body, you have to work with hundreds of people. Then you can influence thousands.

WORK

Hayden helps people to become healthy, happy and strong individuals. His life coaching lessons, trainings and communication helps to get their confidence back, regain positive thinking, health and beauty.
„You have to be aware that everything is gonna change, that is the only certainty, life is always changing... evolving...".

Hayden training, keeping his mind positive and his body strong

CHANGES
How many people can easily change language, culture, job, and living environment or their body shape or their thinking? What about all these things at the same time? Hayden admits, life can sometimes have lots of stress and immediately adds that you have to learn to let changes to happen.

CLIENTS

How this man finds people to work with? It is not a big secret that there are not too many experts doing that kind of job, so clients find him themselves. Hayden has a great connection with various musicians, athletes, and club managers. He believes everyone needs a coach including people in music. A personal coach who makes ones life easier, helps and teaches to perform better, to recover after exhaustions and develop stronger living habits. Hayden admits that musicians teach him, too. They make him to be creative!

Hayden with Sean Fitzpatrick

WORLDWIDE

Hayden has traveled and worked around the world: New Zealand, Australia, Japan, America, UK, Thailand.

Lots of countries and a huge experience. “You learn so much while traveling!”
He also speaks different languages, such as Japanese and Thai.
Now Hayden is working in Germany, near Cologne. He is living a happy life, full of real miracles.

If you feel good, you look happy and associate with goodness. Welcome to the healthier life and
better world!

I thank Hayden for our conversation! If you also would like a free chat about your life just ask him! He will do it! 

For those Extreme Athletes follow this site- http://www.boardbetter.blogspot.com/
For physical and mental confidence and strength please visit-  http://www.evolvingcirclelivecoaching.com/

Le français et sa Muse

Si vous êtes intéressés par la mode,  je suis sûr que vous avez déjà vu cet homme sur le blog The Kooples Warren Guetta est jeune parisien, aussi occupé au cinéma et à la photographie. Il est comédien, photographe, réalisateur de film court.

De plus, comme Warren le dit, il est fou de sa copine Margaux avec laquelle il vit, dort, mange et travaille sur tous ses projets.

 

Warren avec Margaux

Julie: Je suis très curieuse dans savoir plus au sujet de ton premier film LOL!

Warren: LOL fut mon premier film, ça a été une expérience fantastique! J‘avais à l‘époque 18 ans et j‘ai beaucoup appris sur ce film, aussi bien humainement qu‘artistiquement... D‘avoir le privilège d‘être sur un tournage et de ressentir l‘ambiance qu‘il y a sur un plateau. Je pense  que ce tournage à vriament conforté  mes choix professionelles. Je me suis dit ok. Je ne sais pas si c‘est devant ou derriere une camera que je veux être plus tard, mais je sais que je travaillerais dans l‘image d‘une maniere ou d‘une autre.

Julie: Quelle est ta collaboration avec The Kooples?

Warren: Ma collaboration avec The Kooples fut pour moi un premier pas dans la blogosphére, car même si pour le blog de Margaux ( The Killing Moon) nous prenions souvent les photos et réalisions les vidéos ensemble. C‘est avec le blog The Kooples que j‘ai vraiment découvert toute la construction d‘un blog, son évolution au fil des mois et le travail minutieux que cela demandé tout les jours et ça a été très excitant, car tu sais  très bien qu‘il y a un nombre infini de blog et que même si les gens aime ton travail aujourd‘hui, ils peuvent se lasser demain et zapper sur un autre blog. C‘est toute la force et difficulté  de ce livre géant qu‘est Internet. C‘est donc pour ça que tu dois de remettre en question tout les jours et surprendre.

Julie: Et qu‘est-ce que tu peux dire sur le nouveau projet Jumeaux Singuliers?

Warren: Comme je te le disais nous devons surprendre tout les jours, et nous nous sommes rendu compte que grace au blog the kooples nous avions fait nos armes, et nous avions envie de prendre notre envol de manière complètement indepéndante. Et c‘est donc sous le nom des " JUMEAUX SINGULIERS" que Margaux et moi évoluéront désormais en tant que vidéaste. Nous avions besoin d‘avoir une liberté, pour réaliser les projets qui nous tienne vraiment a  coeur, comme réaliser des courts métrages et pouvoir être ouvert à de  nouveaux projets. Notre site est d‘ailleurs en construction mais nous avons une page Facebook sur laquelle vous pouvez nous retrouver.

Décrive-toi en trois mots...  Curieux, reveur, passioné.

Ma philosophie de vie est... Rien n‘arrive par hasard.

Mes ambitions sont...  De réaliser un long métrage avec Margaux.

Mon récemment moment le plus fabuleux... Lorsqu‘avec Margaux nous avons tourné trois nuits d‘affilées dans Paris pour notre dernière vidéo pour le blog The Kooples. C‘était un autre Paris que nous découvrions. C‘était assez fou de voir un Paris nocturne si desert et si silencieux.

La ou je ne suis pas très bon ... Écrire. Je ne sais pas vraiment si je suis mauvais la dedans mais c‘est une chose qui me parait vraiment difficile. Et ce n‘est pas l‘envie qui manque.

Mais mon talent caché est... J‘ai découvert depuis peu que je n‘étais pas un si mauvais cuisinier que ça. Enfin quand je mis met vraiment.

Merci beaucoup pour l‘interview et bonne chance à vous deux!

Rupert James

Talented British filmmaker Rupert James, currently working out of the Thai capital, writes and directs sometimes curious, oftentimes dark, always powerfully-charged documentaries and commercials that somehow hint at hope amongst the despair. I spoke to him last week.

Rupert James

Do you as a director have a vision?

Darkness – both visually and thematically – features a lot in my work, largely, though paradoxically, because of its illuminating power. Visually, darkness helps to underscore details, to place focus on elements of significance in the frame; while thematically it's through darkness that I see the extent of the nature and truth of the human condition and in this torment and desperation perhaps at least to some degree hope – even if it's distant or only conspicuous by its absence.

In fact, darkness is, undeniably our starting point. Just as a painter starts with a blank canvas, I believe that as a filmmaker one starts similarly with a canvas of sorts, though of course itʼs black rather than white – traditionally, unexposed celluloid film, nowadays an empty flash card and editing timeline. The theatre itself, too, the near-pitch dark in which the audience watches the film, is an extension of that empty frame. And thatʼs further cause for the auteur being circumspect with the ‘marksʼ s/he makes as itʼs between the darkness and the intermittent beams of projected light, sometimes bright sometimes dim, that the filmmaker touches the audience emotionally.

Can you give some examples of this process?

The first marks I tend to make on the ʻcanvasʼ are often in fact not visual but actually audio –

largely because I believe itʼs through sound specifically that we leave a vital, visceral impression on an audience. Audio sets the tone; everything else serves the audio. Indeed, the publicity surrounding the arrival of cinema in the 1920s often described the form as being ʻradio with picturesʼ. And that still holds true. My editor in LA takes it one step further: “Picture is possibly even tertiary, ideas not images being secondary to audio.”

With Mourning Glory the first element laid down was early morning birdsong – although the sound isnʼt apparent until the instrumental passage end of the title sequence over a minute into the

piece – struck I was by the hint of the very celebration of the existence of life in a space that was so devoid of humanity.

And how many days was the Mourning Glory shoot?

After shooting political demonstrations and soldiers for nearly two months I decided to use footage from just the last two days, as after witnessing the aftermath of what was essentially civil war everything else Iʼd witnessed seemed irrelevant and had to hit the cutting room floor. It can be a tough decision but often the best decision if you want your message to be singleminded is to, as they say, ʻkill your babiesʼ. (There are, interestingly enough, possibly several other films to be made from the dailies I have from the project.)

MOURNING GLORY SHOTS:

What motivates you?

Iʼm moved by inequalities, by the struggle of the underdog, by the many grave miscarriages of justice of our world. I strive to show not poverty porn, but the extremity of circumstances, the human condition, all its anguish and sorrow, with an occasional glimpse of hope. Truth is important to me, but not fly-on-the-wall truth as is found with Direct Cinema, as itʼs often deceptive. A vérité approach with specific framing or even a recreation of the truth, I believe often presents a more authentic account of an event as opposed to just rolling camera. Whatever approach you take, there are significant decisions that will be made that will effect the final viewed content: when you turn the camera on, when you turn the camera off, where you place the camera – these are all editorial calls – not to mention actual cuts, shot sequencing, choice of music and the like. There is no such thing as a purely candid film – not one that anyone would watch. I believe even though itʼs typified by coverage of actual, real events, documentary must still be fashioned within the realm of drama. And if drama is uncertainty combined with anticipation, one must take this license to retell the story – if only to serve or honour the truth.

What about your style?

I donʼt care much for style; whatʼs paramount to my work is tone. What I strive to reproduce is an honest, coherent statement that is tonally poignant. In talking about Kubrick, Scorsese points out the beauty of his work is in his achievement of sentiment without being sentimental. That sums it up for me. I attempt to charge my work with emotional power, whilst not overcranking the thing so it becomes twee or trite.

Thank you very much for the interview.