Hey Steemit! I'm jumping in! Mark Vicente - Filmmaker/South African Trouble-Maker
Hello All!
I’d like to introduce myself…. My name is Mark Vicente. I am a Director / Cinematographer / Writer / Producer / Trouble-Maker from South Africa, currently living in Los Angeles. I was introduced to Steemit by my lovely wife @bonniepiesse and the amazing @benleemusic - who are both champions of the platform.
A little about me. I was born in Johannesburg but have lived all over the world. South Africa, Portugal, Brazil, Canada and now the US. I developed a love for filmmaking early on, after seeing Star Wars when I was 13 years old. (More on that and how I ended up marrying an actress from Star Wars, later.)
My childhood dream was to be a filmmaker and my obsession when I was a teenager was - I had to make a movie that was important by the time I was 26. At 26 I started shooting the film “Sarafina” and it was released when I was 27. I was extremely proud of the film and felt like I had just squeaked in under my goal! I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting Nelson Mandela, who came to visit the set for a day. That was a moment I will never forget. Sarafina’s critical success gained me entry into the larger world of filmmaking and to Hollywood.
My pursuit in life has been to create media that effects people in the deepest possible way. It was my dream to get to Hollywood and in doing so, I worked with some incredible people: Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Swayze, Halle Berry, Rufus Sewell, Minnie Driver, Josh Brolin, Marlee Matlin, James Spader to name a few.
As a cinematographer I shot a number of films I was very proud of but I was yearning to express my own voice about things that moved ME. Directing was the obvious next step. That yearning began to come too fruition with the release of “What the Bleep do we Know?!” Along with my partners Will Arntz and Betsy Chasse we came up with the crazy notion to get ideas that were relegated to musty weird bookstores - out into the mainstream. And we did exactly that! The impact of that film opened my life up to so many new adventures and people.
The dream has always been the same. Make films that matter and effect people deeply. I am currently in the middle of production on a series which promises to do just that, in a profound way. Also, I’m in early development on a Science Fiction film about Artificial Intelligence, a Ghost Story and a number of other short form projects. I love directing like nothing else in the world.
I decided to jump onto the Steemit platform for two reasons.
- I love a community that seeks to nurture and develop voices in all kinds of fields and...
- I have a lot I’d like to express! I might have to do a little work to temper my insurrection, politically incorrect sense of humor and outspoken views - but hopefully I can bring value to this amazing platform and meet other awesome people.
I’ll likely be posting about:
- The making of films I’ve been involved in
- Films I’m currently in production on
- Some of my film work
- Video and photo contemplations
- My spirtitual quests in life (the good the bad and the pitfalls)
- My heroes
- Video interviews with fascinating people
- My passion for Science Fiction, Philosophy, Science and Art…
- My evolution as an artist
And more importantly… my work-in-progress realizations as a human.
See you soon!
Mark
Feel free to follow me here:
Instagram:
Website:
Facebook:
Yay! Welcome Mark! Excited youre here!!
Yeah
Thanks Ben! It's all because of you! xoxo
Welcome, Mark! Great to have you here. There is an amazing community on Steemit. I am also originally from South Africa, now living in Australia. Thank for sharing that amazing introduction.
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Hi mate. Have you reached out to @choogirl for #teamaustralia membership?
Not yet, but thanks for that. I will check it out.
Hello, Mark, and Welcome to Steemit.
It's quite a surprise to meet the director of "What the Bleep..?" which I saw in Toronto years ago.
I typically welcome certain new Steemers with a list of advice / suggestions re making great posts, but your intro shows that you pretty much know how to do that. So, I'll just summarize by saying ...
Create high-quality content.
Support others through "curation" of their posts (You'll learn about doing that>)
Cheers, and Full Steem Ahead ... to wherever the Bleep it takes us.
Great to have you onboard, Mark.
Don't keep a lid on the political stuff; we love a quality rant :)
That's good to hear Matt! Thanks for the support.
hi markvicente, it’s nice to see new face on steemit, hope you will spread positive vibes in steemit.and keep up the good work on steemit...;-) and be regular on steemit it will make grow you faster... ;-)
Welcome to steemit , upvoted you will regularly do on your good work , for newbie tips and basic information you can check my blog at @adityajainxds
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Thanks @adityajainxds
This is fantastic!
Welcome aboard the Steemit Train @markvicente!!! May we flourish together for years to come. I am so excited to read what you are about to share with us.
Namaste :)
Thank you for your kind welcome Eric.
Hello welcome. I invite you to our discord chat. We help new users to grow. You will be welcome if you want to come. https://discord.gg/h6ykdsu
Thank You Anais!
Hello, @markvicente, and Welcome to Steemit.
Below are a few basic points of advice re posting on Steemit.
1 – Longer posts are more lucrative than short posts. If you make a post of 20–30 paragraphs, it's more likely to earn rewards.
2 – Include some photos, images or graphs, to complement the text.
3 – Make sure the text and photos are formatted properly, so that your post looks attractive and appealing.
4 – Be yourself.
5 – Be interesting and informative.
6 – Create quality content. Steemit is intended to be a platform of quality content. (You will see many insignificant posts with meager content and no quality. Most of those of posts [called “shitposts” by Steemit whale Stellabelle] will earn few rewards and soon pass into oblivion.)
7 – Get online and start curating. Read various posts, comment on those posts you find interesting, and upvote those posts. That’s the best way to attract followers.
Thanks for the advice!!!
Glad to have you here @markvicente I think you are really going to enjoy this platform. I am excited to see more filmmakers here on the platform as we could definitely use more. Hopefully at some point we could rally all of us filmmakers into a little community here and potentially start a discord group.
Loved your film "What the Bleep do we know" By the way. I remember watching it a few years back ad really resonating with the core concepts you guys put forth in the film. I am always looking to connect with fellow conscious content creators. Welcome to steemit and welcome to the future of content creation. Cheers and I look forward to seeing what you create here.
Thanks! BTW Techno-Pagan is an awesome descriptor :-)
Happy to meet each other via this platform! Stay in touch! Congrats for your Art/Filmography! All the best Mark!