finally...

www.iWouldPreferNotTo.com

(another template lost...)

   ... wjs... 9:50 PM

 
What have we here?

This is unlike any project I have worked on before.
Before, this thing would be dead in the water. I haven't done any work on it in weeks. I feel kind of bad about it. ... And that's all it would take for me to bury it.

But this time, I don't feel as bad as before. In fact, all the relief I need is to restate the context of the making of this movie.

Before, an idea could sit in my head forever and never get old. It was always looking for a way out.
The thing was, once it got out, it seemed like there was suddenly a shelf life for it. It was started, and now had to be finished or forgotten. And if any people actually knew of the campaign, the clock ticked even louder. There was much less room for taking one's time.

But This is it. is already in production. Three shots have been shot. But now, instead of a shelf life, it is like the ideas in my head. It can last forever. The idea is back in my head and is waiting to get out again. And the best part is, instead of it being a giant leap to begin, it is only a small step to continue.

So, I have moved it off the chalkboard now and put it in a camera on a shelf. Just like the camera on the shelf in front of me that I'm using to make it (except it isn't panavision, it is dv).

I might pick the camera up tonight or in a month, and when I do, I might just be shooting one scene or shooting the whole thing.
It will go as it goes. This is the new way of doing. Going with the flow.

   ... wjs... 8:01 PM

 
Hmm.... Let's reconvene in June. The plate is overflowing until then.
But once June comes, I'm going to force the camera into my life.
I have to catch things as they come to get the beginning together.
I need one full week. And I mean full.
One full week I can show in five to ten minutes. It's going to be easier than I think, and I think it is going to be easy.

Do you know how little is really going on around here?

   ... wjs... 10:12 AM

 
I wasn't kidding when I said this would move slowly. I'm saying that to myself, because I'm not completely comfortable with it.

Certainly I would like to dive in. But there are a couple of reasons that I can't.
1. I only have so much time to myself. And this isn't the only idea on the stove.
2. It is requiring more groundwork than I expected. In fact, the idea concerning how to get others involved is becoming a project of its own. An even bigger idea that I can't even talk about yet. Partially for fear of ruining it and partially because I could be completely off on it.

But regardless, the slow speed of this project is a lesson in itself. The question being answered is, how slow can you go? (There are at least 3 or 4 explanations for that question... There's just not time for them now...)

   ... wjs... 7:36 PM

 
This morning's shot was a move in the right direction.
I wasn't completely aware that I was making a movie the moment I woke up. I actually just wanted to go back to sleep. And I did.

Still got a few takes to go for scene 1, but today was progress. Looking forward to looking at it. I like the absurdity of wanting five seconds out of a twenty minute shot.

   ... wjs... 2:07 PM

 
We are set for shooting in the morning. Scene 1, Take 2.
Perhaps some more will follow during the day, perhaps it won't. That's the best part of this. There is no schedule.

   ... wjs... 7:38 PM

 
I used to jump all over new projects.
Generally working myself straight until I couldn't do it anymore.

Though it will take some time to get used to, I like the fact that I shot the first scene of a movie 8 days ago and haven't shot anything since.
I have organized my thoughts on a few pertinent subjects and started working with the editing system in the meantime, but that is nothing compared with how this would have gone two years ago.
If I had done this little over 8 days I would feel sick about it. As it stands, I'm just aware of the situation and the difference.
It is interesting.

It is difficult to say whether or not this will make finishing things more likely, but it does work well with the larger wheels I mentioned before and still haven't explained. ... I'm still watching them turn...

   ... wjs... 1:50 PM