US Film School

J: Hello everybody. We are finally here with our first guest – Luiza Simon. She’s Brazilian, from São Paulo, and she came all the way from Georgia just to be on our program!

G: Huzzah! Welcome Luiza!

L: Hello! Welcome.

J: We’re glad you could make it. So Luiza, erm, I saw your movie – Luna I think is the name of it…

L: Yes.

J: …and, and it was pretty interesting. Now if… Let me just get all of the facts straight for everybody listening in on this. Er, Luiza studies film in Georgia...

L: Yes.

J: …in Savannah?

L: Savannah. Yes.

J: Ok, so that’s kind of close to Florida – Northern Florida, right?

L: It is.

J: Ok. And you have been studying film for how long?

L: For a year and a half now.

J: A year and a half.

L: Yes.

J: And you’ve made your first…it’s not a full-length film, but it’s a short, right?

L: It’s a short. It was for a pre-production class. It’s not the first one.

J: Ok.

L: So, er, it was for a pre-production class, and it was a really good team to work with, like it-it changes a lot.

J: I think there’s some people that are listening that would be very curious to know, if their dreams are also to go, let’s say, study outside of Brazil – how difficult was it to get into this particular school, for you?

L: It wasn’t that difficult. The process is a long process, and it’s kind of tiring in a way, but it’s do-able.

J: Yeah.

L: And it’s very easy once you get the way to do it. So, I had to go through common application and do so…write some essays and do some tests.

J: B-but the tests are in Portuguese or in English?

L: In English.

J: Ok.

L: So you have to do the TOEFL…

J: Right.

L: …er to test your level of English, and for some schools, I don’t-I don’t think SCAD, in particular, has like a mandatory…er…

J: Score.

L: …SAT score, but some schools, er, ask you for SAT, so you have to sign up for that and take the test and you can do that in São Paulo. I know that you can do it in a couple of schools here. And so you just have to make sure that those scores get sent directly to the schools.

J: Ok.

L: And also for SCAD, in particular, sending a portfolio was really helpful. They give you some money for it…like some, er… kind of…

J: Like a scholarship, or something like that?

L: Yeah, some kind of scholarship. Um, also if you have great grades in high school, you have to send-you have send all your high school grades, but if you have good grades some schools will also award you for that and give you some more scholarship.

G: So what sort of subjects should you be studying if you are looking to follow a film career?

L: In high school?

G: Yes.

L: So, Brazilian high schools like don’t actually let you choose, but if you go to an American high school or English high school, um – British I should say! – I would say artistic type of…um…classes and also a lot of writing in English and if you have the opportunity of dramatic writing, everything that has to do with the creative side of things. And I would say also a little bit of math and physics – just a tiny bit for, er, if your interest is more connected to lenses and cameras that’s really important.

J: Um, mathematics, ok, sure.

L: Yes.

J: So, er, do you have any ideas of what kinds of things you would like to do for screenwriting, or anything like that?

L: Ah yes, I’m…I’m really interesting (sic), um, I have a really interesting mind when it comes to stories. I like stories that are kind of weird and have weird twists. So anything that sounds common but then it’s kind of like – ‘what is going on?’ I really like those type of stories, um, more related…

G: There’s a twist in your short movie, isn’t there? Cos, it starts out being how good the guy is and then it switches to actually he’s not so good. I thought it was very powerful actually. I thought it was great.

L: Thank you. Some people thought it was really sad.

J: But actually, here’s one question I wanted to ask you about that because the short, y-you’re going to school in the United States, so a-all the classes are in English and everybody speaks English.

L: Yes.

J: But you decided to do the short in Portuguese.

L: Yes.

J: So. So, what was…what I thought was curious about that… First – two questions. How did they receive it? And what was your motivation for m…those choices?

L: Ok, I’ll start with the second one. Um, I co-wrote it with my editor, and we’re sitting down – the whole – crew – and he was like, ‘I really don’t like how English sounds.’ And I was like – and I grew up thinking that how I don’t like how Portuguese sounds! So we had a little bit of a conflict there because I was like – ‘English sounds great!’ And he was like – ‘It doesn’t!’ So we were like – ‘Well, we go to school in America. No-one knows how to speak Portuguese…

J: Right.

L: …so let’s do it in Portuguese!’ Because no-one thinks the same way as I do! And let’s put the subtitles in English so they can still understand it, and sometimes subtitles help with the…with the whole, like, romantic and sad, like type of vibe…

G: It was interesting the subtle difference between the Portuguese version and the English version too, because...

L: Yes! We…

G: …it wasn’t a literal translation, was it?

L: Yes, it wasn’t. We wanted to make it have, like, the same type of feeling not like…

J: Airplane!

L:  We wanted to, um, the words to have the same exact same feeling, and not literal meaning, so I think that worked out well, like I feel the same thing, like,  if it was in English or in Portuguese.

J: So-so but did you write the subtitles or did somebody else do that?

L: We had the first version of the voice-over and it was a little bit different, and it was all in English, and we all sat down. There was actually another Brazilian in my class and we all sat down to translate it, and we made changes both in Portuguese and in English, so it would, like go together, er, very well.

J: So-so, yeah. So you had to find what kinds of words can give you that emotional delivery that y-you’re trying to find?

L: Yes. Yes.

J: Ok.

G: W-what about cultural differences? Because I’ve studied in the US, and obviously I’m British, and I-I tended to identify, in many ways, more with the international students than with the Americans. Um, because Americans are quite different if you’re from a culture like Brazil. I mean how have you found that aspect? You say you actually are closer to the Americans…

L: Yes.

G: …than to the other Brazilians, which I find curious.

L: Yes, that is kind of weird because at first I was close to all the Latinos, um but, I don’t know, I feel like my cultural differences with the Americans are not that, like, noticeable. That’s a weird thing. I-I identify with the Americans a lot. I feel like that the most noticeable, er, differences are everyday life, how it was back like living with my parents and having like people that take care of me and that cook for me and that, er, make my bed and like do my laundry and like all that, and there they’re used to doing that for their parents.

G: You have to get your own pizza, no?

L: Yeah, and like all my friends are like – ‘Yeah, I grew up like cooking for my parents and having to take the trash out, and like having to do everyone’s laundry…’ and that was something that was really different for me, because when I come back home like…

J: You don’t have to worry about anything!

L: Exactly!

J: It just gets done.

L: Yeah. Exactly. And my friends make so much fun of me because of that!

G: Thinking about the Brazilian, um, movie industry, it seems to have gone through quite a resurgence in the last fifteen years. What would you put that down to?

L: Um, so I have a few different, um, views, towards the Brazilian industry. The first one, obviously Cidade de Deus it’s something I carry on my chest, like every presentation I can do about it on classes, I do and everyone….every single class, like someone comes and comments about it – and they’re like it ‘I love that movie’ and bah-bah-bah. And I’m really proud of, um, our-cu, our culture for that, because that’s really Brazilian. It’s not a story about anything else. But on the other hand I know a fellow film-maker and he applied for, um, money from the government to…

J: In Brazil?

L: (in Brazil) …to make a movie and he was actually one of the last ones to get that money because of the new president. He kind of shut that down a little bit. That’s kind of disappointing because we have a lot of, er, good things coming out but you realize that those things are more um… They’re only possible because of the money and we kind of like assume the money er, is more focused on global and those, um, types of, um, companies. The movies or tv shows that are being made, er, their visions are only coming from one specific group of people. Having the opportunity of making a film, and so many people making films, there are going to be a lot of bad ones, and a lot of good ones. But if you only give a certain group the opportunity of doing that you’re only going to have one type of movies and…

J: Right.

L: …and you’re going to give them the sort of space to, um, improve with time, but you’re not giving other people the opportunity of showing their talent.

J: If somebody hears this and they also- they also want to study film, and have a career possibly making film either in Brazil or outside of Brazil, what are tips that would you give to somebody that’s, let’s say, just starting out?

L: Um, I would say practice. That’s-that’s a tip I’ve heard from big film-makers and something I’ve learned by myself. Never stop doing it. Like, your free time is time to be writing, time to be thinking about it, time to be exploring, like, features on your phone that you can film, er, different stuff with – time to be just filming random things or putting together some new film. Never stop doing that. You need to like keep exercising and that’s going to make you improve, like, without even noticing it. You don’t need, exactly, like… You don’t need a class to teach you something. It’s not the only way of getting there. You can…

J: Ah, so-so by doing…

L: Yes.

J: …and with your own experience you can also get the same result.

L: Yes. Yes. Of course, I’m really grateful for having professors that lead the way but if I wasn’t able to go there, I think I would still be able to learn a lot by myself. And also there’s youtube, there’s vimeo, there’s so many things out there you can do for free and from home. You can learn, um, and also SCAD is not the only film school. There are cheaper film schools. There are film schools that are harder to get into, er, they’re all over the place and I feel like, just doing some research and just finding what’s best for you to learn. I feel like just – keep learning!

J: Just do it. Keep learning. Er, Gee, do you have anything else you’d like to ask Luiza?

G: No-not to ask. I think it’s been amazing. Thank you very much for coming in today and talking to us.

L: Thank you.

J: Yes, thanks very much. We appreciate your time.

G: But before you go, is there anything you’d like to promote in terms of your projects or talk about that people might be interested in?

L: Er, I’m, as I said before, I’m on the work of a few scripts, so I just wanted to let you know – follow me on social media, follow me on YouTube and be on the look-out.

J: And-and you have-you have a website that people can-can find you?

L: Not yet.

J: Or like Instagram or a Youtube?

L: I have Instagram and YouTube. My Instagram is @luizasimon, er, I guess you guys will leave the link. And my YouTube is Simon Says.

G: Simon Says.

J: Simon Says, ok, great.

G: Where does that come from?

L: Ah, Simon’s my last name.

G: Ah, ok.

L: How you pronounce it in English. So I found it, kind of like, interesting…

J: Ah, you see, because that’s a little play, because there’s a game in the United States that we do that says Simon Says and then… So Simon Says one thing and then, you have to repeat exactly what Simon Says.

L: Yes.

G: But now it’s Donald Says, isn’t it?

J: Don’t even get me started on that!             

                                                                                                            End of Part 2 

************************************

G: After that wonderful interview with the lovely Luiza, um, we are on to our final section of the pod, which as always is the English Guru!

J: The English Guru, woohoo!

G: So Jay, I think you’re first up this week. What have you got for us in terms of an English tip, this week?

J: Well I’m going to keep this week a little bit short, er, simply because we-we’ve had a kind of a-a extended interview. My tip this week – it comes from the financial markets. Well it could also be for the-the multinationals as well. It comes from the-the word that the Americans typically use for meetings. So for example, er…

G: Meetings? Ok.

J: …er, yeah, ok, a meeting is a meeting, but sometimes they can’t be there physically, so if you can’t go to the person physically – have a physical meeting – what would you do?

G: Then you would send somebody else, probably.

J: No, oh well, ok, you still need to have a meeting with this person but you can’t go there physically, so then you think…

G: Right. You have to use technology perhaps?

J: Technology. Perhaps the telephone, or something like this, alright? So then you have a call.

G: Ok.

J: Ok. Now the issue is that sometimes – and here specifically in São Paulo – people don’t quite pronounce call correctly. And they say, so – ‘I have a cow.’ Moo-ooo! Yes, that’s a different thing.

G: Well, in England we have a call, depending on your accent.

J: Yes. So it could be a ‘call’ (US) or a ‘call’ (UK).

G: Or a ‘cawl’ if you’re from the deep south, no?

J: But a cow, no – moo-oo – no, you can’t have that.

G: And you’re going to hear a lot of bull when you get to the meeting. So, how do we pronounce it again?

J: Call.

G: Call. Ok.

J: Yes. Not cow.

G: I’ll give you that. It’s definitely not a cow, no.

J: Yes, it’s not a cow. Cos we do have the expression – ‘I have a cow’ – but that’s completely different and I’ll get into that into another podcast. So, er, Gee, what do you have, enlighten us?

G: Alright, I have a quiz. So, um, it’s a very short quiz. Which of the following is not a countable noun? Um, so if you are listening to the pod after…

J: Ok.

G: …I read the four you can pause the pod and think about this, so that you can decide for yourself. I’m going to give you 4 nouns - which one is not countable? First one – bonus. Second one – profit. Third one – feedback. Fourth one is – vacation.

J: So bonus, profit, feedback, vacation?

G: Yes, which of the four is not countable?

J: I-I-I assume we’re getting…

G: You don’t have to pause the pod! The listener can pause the pod at that point!

J: Ok, I-I don’t have to do anything. Ok.

G: Yeah I know…but ok. This is for them to pause the pod and then they’ll hear the ans-answer afterwards. So you’re going to tell us the answer, and then we’ll…you know.

J: Bonus. Ok, so, the question is – ‘could I have several bonuses?’

G: So bonus is countable. What about profit? Is p-profit countable?

J: Profit? Can you have profits? Yes, you can.

G: You can. What about-what about the next one – feedback?

J: Feedback? No, that’s non-countable.

G: Feedback is non-countable. That is the correct answer.

J: And what was the other one?

G: Vacation.

J: Vacation. Vacation-you can have multiple vacations per year. No problem.

G: You can have multiple vacations. So, the only reason I mention this one is because many people use the word feedback in Portuguese. It’s one of those words that’s migrated from English into Portuguese.

J: I had feedbacks.

G: Yes, I received some feedbacks from my boss, I hear a lot in Portuguese, you know, and of course, when they use it in Portuguese, it sounds – it’s become countable, but in English it’s not countable…as is not countable, is…um… software as well. That’s another common one.

J: Software. Or insurance.

G: Or insurance.

J: Or furniture.

G: Or furniture. These are non-countable nouns.

J: I-I do hear that also, er… Sometimes people say – ‘I have many furnitures.’ Yeah, of course that’s no… I have a lot of furniture.

G: Exactly. So that’s, um, that’s my English Guru thought for today.

J: Very nice. So I guess that concludes this week’s section of podcast number 3.

​

************************************

G: That has been another action-packed episode of The Samba Buzz.

J: That’s Buzz with two zees.

G: Or two zeds. Um, hope you’ve enjoyed the program. What have we got in store for the next pod, Jay?

J: Well, er, good that you ask. I can tell about the next guest that we’re going to have. Our next guest is going to be a very special individual. He’s a lawyer.

G: Oh no, not a lawyer!

J: Yes. Immediately you get that sensation, ye…but he’s a special guy. Like I said he’s a special lawyer because it’s not necessarily about what he does but what he dreams. See he-he wants to go travel across the world

G: Ok.

J: And I think many people have this same dream.

G: He’s got people chasing him, maybe?

J: No, well not that I know of. G-good question but as far as I know there’s nobody chasing him at the moment.

G: All right.

J: But he wants to say-give up his job, buy a van and go travel around the world with his wife and two children, for at least five years.

G: Wow.

J: So he’s actually willing to give up his entire business to go follow his dream. And that’s why it’s interesting.

G: Wow. So that’s like the sinner who repented and wanted to go and cleanse his soul, no?

J: Yeah, kind of something like that.

G: W-well I look forward to meeting him. It’s going to be fun.

J: It’s going to be fun. Um…

G: And we’ll have our normal sections, I guess. We’ll have What Caught My Eye…

J: What Caught My Eye, the grammar-English Guru.

G: The English Guru, not American Guru, the English one.

J: Ah, I think I’d prefer the American Guru. But anyway er…so…that’s what we have for the next pod.

G: That sounds great. I look forward to it. See you next time.

J: See you next time. Thank you everybody. Thank you for giving us your time and…

G: And of course, if you want to get in touch, don’t forget our email address is mailbox@thesambabuzz.com

J: And feel free to visit our website as well and send in any comments and tips that you might have and we’ll get to them next pod. Thank you very much.

G: Sounds great.

J: Bye-bye.

G: Bye-bye.     

************************************

                                                                                                              The End