strength in numbers

you cannot do it alone and if you are it must be a very lonely and painful journey. as of late this lesson has been highlighted and punctuated by the almighty universe. some of you may know i'm also working on a documentary on the amazing '80s aerobics movement and thanks to friends and family my journey is not so lonely. i'm currently working with the talented artist Franzisca to visually brand my docs image and the talented writer Meghan Yuri to tighten up my thought and words. i am so grateful to be surrounded by talented minds and am excited about extending my creative family. and a major thanks to my "better or for worse half" boo bear for being my motivation and inspiration.
invest in your family, invest in your friends, invest in your network. life is so much more happier and fulfilling. there is strength in numbers.

home team

con artist team

on that note, i'm forever looking to expand my creative network specifically with talented camera and sound peeps based in New York or Los Angeles. so if you or anyone you know happen to be in the film field and want to get involved in this amazing project holla at me: maya[at]lostinthelegwarmers.com

"united we stand, divided we fall"

ny filming resources

keeping on track with obsession "complete script" i've been doing tons of research as well as more interviews. i've also been looking for free or *cost effective workshops to educate my mind on the possibilities on how to go about materializing this thing. thank gad i have friends who point me in good directions. i guess one could go to school for this but school isn't for everyone and with technology so easily accessible all you really need to do is hop online. sometimes the best things in life are free :) lucky me will be attending a FREE workshop this thursday at the Tribeca Film Festival...very excited to learn more and meet like minded individuals. for all my filmmakers or wanna be filmmakers out there hopefully these links help you out.
http://anthologyfilmarchives.org
http://www.sundance.org
http://www.shadowandact.com
http://www.tribecafilm.com
http://www.filmforum.org
http://newdirectors.org
http://www.hotdocs.ca
http://www.tiff.net
http://www.pbs.org/producing
http://blackpublicmedia.org/for-producers
http://www.wmm.com/index.asp
http://www.nywift.org
hopefully i have more exciting stuff to blog about this week. as for entertaining my "paint the floor" idea...that will have wait until i know for a fact i can finish it in one week :S

ADHD effect

i am back in full ADHD effect! i'm finally taking the necessary steps to get MY studio up and running. yes MY studio :) and it's about time. i'd like to find an affordable studio/office space by the fall that caters to all things work/art related in my life. in the meantime i'll be working on branding and finding a good rep to assist on the promotion front since i haven't been very good at self promotion :S but having said that i plan on getting better and that starts by reclaiming my name. i've branded my name as a photographer however i do more than just photography and would like my name/site to reflect my world :) so....i'm brainstorming studio names to move my photography to and using my name for Maya's real world :) exciting much. it's been a dream of mine for sometime to have a studio...so of course some photo inspirations:

in addition to stepping up my game i'm STILL working on my script and producing/filming shorts. currently a music vid that's 1.5 min with the theme NY HUSTLE. as well as a follow up video for cousin Jeigh. He was in town for Apollo and Rent auditions however the video will document his legend in the making rise at the Apollo. twins:

and here he is in line for nearly 4 hours, cold, and the greatest cousin ever along side filming :)

i'm finally revamping my voice demo. cousin Mathias updated my look now i just need to re-record a few spots and burn some DVD's but it's a comin'

home renos!!! with the weather warming up i'm planning on painting the floors grey, organizing my closet space and finally moving forward with buying big purchases like a couch and other amenities. but oh yeah...my ADHD self didn't update ya'll on the bathroom so here it is:

i need to put some artwork up above the toilet but otherwise it's pretty sweet if i do say so myself. mind you the flash is making it look slightly better than it really is. remember how it was before? trés prison cell:

oh we've come a long way and still further to go. i still haven't installed the kitchen cupboards yet which is super lame. i keep getting distracted with the million other things that have to get done but i'll get there...eventually :)

Commercial Debut

Oops! i forgot to share the commercial i directed :) this was the most painful thing ever! now i realize the importance of a good sound person. not only was i directing and acting i produced, did lighting, sound, wardrobe, makeup, editing..INSANITY but completely my niché. moving forward i'm hiring a crew. but considering i came up with the concept and executed it in less than 1 week i'm finally happy with the results. special thanks to my fams for helping out with pre and post production--->David, Mathias and Nathan :)
definitely more vids to come :)
p.s. it sounds better with headphones. you can't really hear the music track without it

and so it begins

sorry for the delayed post. i've been steady grindin' away on my goals for 2011. i start my new J.O.B. as a STUDIO MANAGER!!!! lucky me will be managing a photo studio here in NYC!!!! i'm super amped as this is my first office job in the arts and 2011 is all about me learning the business of it all :) tomorrow is my first day on. but that's not what been keep me busy. what's been really consuming my time is this commercial competition that's due today! everything was so last minute. the idea was conceived a week and a half ago. we shot this past tuesday which was a gong show, reshot scenes yesterday and edit and upload today. crazy i know! this is my first time behind the lens as a film maker. well in the "professional" sense and our set was far from that. definitely lessons learned and that's what life is all about. growth through adversity. ok...enough talk, back to work. here are the photos :)
storyboard courtesy of Mathias Horhager aka cousin

that would be me biting Chris' head off :)

let me be ya managa!

in other news...i've added Manager to my long list of job titles. i'm so pulling an Eric from Entourage with my cousin Jeigh Madjus who happens to be an amazingly talented singer. i shot and edited his first audition for Glee prior to the official myspace audition. we went for a very amateur-diva-gorilla-artist vibe. his official myspace video is coming out soon. i plan to take this viral and get everyone to watch it :) spread the love! check him out here and if you like him hit "like" and comment: