foghead, bottom of the ninth…
i was going to go see the A’s play today. i bought my $2 ticket for today’s game 2 weeks ago. maybe that is part of why i felt half dedicated to going today; that the ticket did not cost me that much. the A’s even won the game they played against Toronto last night, so that was encouragement. but i watched a movie last night before i went to sleep. a movie that i at first thought that it would be okay to just fall asleep while watching. but i was wrong about that. i had to see how it ended and then it was 3:30 and i was freaking wide awake.
the movie was SUNSET BOULEVARD and was filmed in 1957. a good friend, and reader of my blog mentioned to me recently that he thought that a short story that i shared with him recently echoed some elements of this film, so i had to see it. and he was right. i had actually seen this film a very, very long time ago and it struck me that time too as a poignant, yet disturbing love story of sorts. i’m not going to analyze the film here because that would probably bore you. nor do i want to go into detail about the cross elements of the film and my short story. i do want to say though that i’m thinking more and more about film making.
the recent posts i did on this blog; the animations that were created from individual still photographs from my Cemetery Girl photo shoots, that technique inspires me creatively to actually think a little bit more about what i’m actually doing while i’m photographing. to think in more cinematic terms than simply photographic terms. it’s a simple editing technique i used to make those dissolves but when i’m actually shooting, i’m not thinking about this outcome. that it works as well as it seems to has totally been chance.
so i can already tell what some simple things are that i can do to improve this technique. use the tripod more, for one thing, although i really don’t want to give up the handheld aspect of this style of shooting. i will just need to use more gradual camera movements but i think also that i can do more movements around my subject. also, i will need to encourage my models to actually move their bodies more. i will also do more work with the tripod mounted camera. the way i used to stage my “clone shots”, i can now see ways to do lots of “self interaction”. i’m just afraid about losing interest in spending time on making “final photographic edits” for my models, the way that i’ve spent so much time on doing this for them in the past. maybe it won’t matter…
another element of this that will be interesting to incorporate is the telling of a story; actually writing a script of some sort to follow through a shooting session. i made one of these “slide films” yesterday, a quite long one, about 25 minutes long and it contains ALL of the photographs from the Aviva-Anastasia photo shoot in L.A., and i tell you, it is really like a short-film. they ARE actors, for one thing… but i had a problem uploading it to Vimeo. i ran out of space. i actually pay Vimeo for a Pro account but i am still limited to 5 gigabytes of video upload a week. i KNOW, right?? like wtf is THAT about. so their video is over 2gb in size and i have to wait until my threshold is refreshed on Monday night. just WAIT till you get to see that one.
the other thing i have trouble with in making these videos is finding suitable length songs. not easy. i’m going to have to figure out how to edit songs together… shouldn’t be too hard.
on other fronts, i need to get something fixed at home so that i can write there. right now, the only time/way/place that i feel i can write is when i go out of the house to a coffee shop. sometimes going to the Dublin Library, i can write there too. but being dependent on only writing at a cafe limits me severely. cripples me actually. because some days it takes a lot of effort for me to GET to a coffee shop and i don’t get to one until there is only an hour or three left before they close. the problem at the house is about 80% physicality, 35% distraction. when i go outside, i feel like i’m AT WORK, in an OFFICE. i can’t turn on the t.v., i can’t say fuck it and get back in bed, i can’t say i don’t feel like writing or that i can’t concentrate and work on editing photographs instead (because now i only bring my netbook, which is incapable of photo editing to cafes)… although a lot of times, like right now, i’ll freaking BLOG instead of work on serious writing projects… the blogging is important though because it clears my head, it helps me focus, it therapizes me… lol.
another thing that i’m still in throes of discussion about are what to do with the creative writing pieces that i’m working on. should i keep them private and only share them with a select few, or should i make them public. good friend Burt is who put this idea into my head when i stayed with him in San Diego in June and i like the going public idea about 75%, but here is the catch. i wrote something recently that is so personal that i don’t want the whole world to have access to it. i’ve shared it with some people but everyone. there are some people that i definitely would not feel comfortable with them having read it. is this the test though? of a brave enough writer? to expose your bravest pieces to all the world? it’s a good piece of writing. actually one of the best things i’ve written in years. so i should, and do in fact feel a bit proud of it.
the foghead thing in the title, was that i woke up feeling so groggy today and had incredibly aching shoulders. not sure what that is from except that i did work a lot on the computer yesterday a lot making these films, but i have not had muscle tension like this in a long time. not even from over strenuous photo shoots. so i will probably make my way to the gym tonight for a good long steam and soak. hope tomorrow is more fresh upon waking and that i will have a breakthrough tonight on creating comfortable space for writing at home. i have sooooo freaking much to write!! oh, and bottom of the ninth… that is when the A’s pulled in the winning runs in last night AND TODAY’s games!!
Comments
Too bad you missed the game. But there is a 162 + per season so we always have another chance.
Glad you enjoyed the Holden/Swanson movie. I always thought Holden was cool. A man's man and a long career. He died tragically.
I can sympathize with the where to write issue. But I suggest you set a baseline of writing a certain number of words per day. I am trying to write in the evening sometime before bed. I have not set a word count but I just write freely. Daily writing makes the writing come easier. Don't judge it, edit it, critique it. Just write. If you finish it, set it aside and revisit it a week later or longer. That is the time for revision.
Louis Lamour wrote everywhere, and claimed to be able to sit in the middle of a busy street with his typewriter and write. I don't suggest that. But if you are having trouble writing at home, try setting a word limit of 250 to 500 per day. That is 1 to 2 pages and very manageable. You can write more but the next day still must meet the minimum.
The idea is to develop the habit of producing consistently and not set too unrealistic goals in the beginning. When you are producing consistently then you can increase to 750 or 1000 words per day. Remember, this is writing, not editing. Be creative, not analytical.
The idea is to empower your muse.
I would like to read the secret prose!
Thom
people are fools and savants. you've got to take their idiocy along with their genius: it's 2 for 1.