Tuesday 8 March 2011

Storytelling 3.0. Final cut pro is my new powerpoint! Yihaaa


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

Saturday 5 March 2011

What I am doing if I am not doing what I should be doing. A short guide to the art of wasting time

I am back at school with all the pains and glories of going to school. It means that most of my life I spend in the library, in books, reading and writing and … doing all those other things that keep me wonderfully distracted, completely unfocused and successfully ineffective for the bloody 6 weeks.

Surely there must be really nice ways of spending time nicely, when you are supposed to work and you just do not feel like, like …

… staying all day in bed
… watching all Antonioni collection
… having long sex (with my husband, to be clear!:-)
… reading Three Musketeers all over again
... writing proper letters to old friends

But no. I am not having ANY of those. No of course not. Doh! I am working! My catholic guilt would not allow me to do anything pleasurable, when I have to work. Oh no no no, every distraction is strictly forbidden!

So I write. All day. All night. Almost.

A short guide to the art of wasting time:

1. Start your day with the obligatory walk through facebook, twitter, gmail and pudelek.pl Leave some comments, press some ‘likes’. You see? What a nice productive start of a day. Takes only 20 minutes (Don’t you dare to actually visit proper newspaper websites. You don’t have time for distractions! Already forgot??? )

2. If after first 30 minutes you feel like falling asleep. No! Go for a coffee. Now, that’s called a productive break.

3. Visiting a bathroom is a humanitarian affair. No guilt here. Even if you find yourself breaking a record in ‘brick breaker’ on your mobile every time you visit loo. I’m a new master in brick breaker after having lost my blackberry with the glorious game called ‘word mole’.

4. Time for lunch, right? It’s been a hard day so far. And it’s so cold and gloomy outside. Everyone needs some nice kick at some point! You still worry that it’s only 11.45 am and you only arrived at 11? No worries. Its food for though. Feeds your brain, can only be good!

5. Back from lunch. You deserve a little update. Facebook. Gmail. Twitter. Skype. Found yourself 50 minutes later watching friend of a friend of a friend photos from his brother’s daughter birthday? Well, let's not be obsessive… who counts little distractions?

6. Sleepy again? High time for a nap. Naps in the library are really healthy. They never take more than 45 minutes.

7. Time to call Michal. He’s also studying hard. So no, actually, no worries, it’s not a distraction. Again pretty humanitarian. It’s always useful to discuss what you haven’t done.

8. Cigarette? Ha, you see, I don’t smoke in the library. Earned an extra time for facebook update, right? Or maybe coffee?

9. Ah now you have an idea! There was this really clever guy the other day? Hmmm? Let’s google him …

10. Hmm, library closes in 20 minutes. You’ve been working bloody whole day and you even haven’t start writing! And you didn’t even call your mum! Call your mum. She’ll take pity on you for the whole day of hard work.


See? Now you see I was far too busy to write blog! ☺ Sweet dreams and lovely weekend!