Editing has opened up the whole sea of possibilities I have not thought about before. It’s like going to a hidden place in which you had never been and have no preconceptions about.
Obviously, knowing me, I always find something to worry about. I can already see the risk of over - editing footage to the point where it’s only about form, not about the content any longer. And surely, there’s a temptation … with all the glamorous things that final cut pro can do for you. Surely editing will not replace a good story, but it can still make things a bit more visually bearable and interesting. And there’s this really weird moment where you look at your digitized footage and you know it can travel in thousands directions, you can tell the story of the same footage in unlimited number of ways. It would be interesting to see what different people with different experiences, backgrounds, and interests would do with exactly same footage. But I guess if you know what you what to say in you film, you know exactly what goes with what and how many editing spices you need to add …
On the other note, I am getting ready to shoot the THE FINAL thing. I’ve seen couple of visual references that you recommended, including Chantal Ackerman and Alan Berliner …. In different ways, totally impressed by both of them and touched by it to the point where I am starting to realize the impossibility of the challenge that faces me. OMG, 15 minutes is a really long time to say nothing. I’ve started to shoot couple of little things - like preparing morning coffee, unlocking my bike or opening window to embrace spring. I wanted to work out the style, tone and most importantly, the frame and the angle. And I am trapped a bit in thinking that somehow I need to try to get beyond what looks like just very generic scenes. I should give to each and every on them a special character, so they feel in a specific way, so they are there for a reason… so what I am trying to figure out if maybe I should decide that I do only particular type of shoots - like close ups, extreme close ups and than a wide plan with me walking out of frame…
For a moment, I guess I am thinking that the way to establish my presence is through my hands … hands that do things, hands that show hesitation, hands that take part in life …
Also I already hear the music (which is key since as you know NOTHING is going on in the bloody thing)
And I found a way to communicate my thoughts - though email, blogs, facebook, diary, mobile conversations. And I think that if not overused it can serve the purpose of pushing the narrative somewhere and giving some cues to the viewers about how to look at the film.
It has all quite a funny effect on me as I feel I am ‘narrating’ my life, not only my film…. Very weird feeling.
Photo by Alana Rae
