This project was an assignment with tight parameters.
An exercise of great restraint, focus and faith.
I spent 10 hours each week exploring the program and trying new things.
Some people like to eat soup.
I don't- but when I say it turned into soup: I don't mean it in the way I mean soup- worthless - I mean soup in the way other people mean "soup" who actually like it: a mixture of flavors all swimming together.
We grabbed still images and recorded sound from web postings, and easily shot the majority of our film in 2 hours. The editing process was fun, as each tool became a new format to show what would otherwise be a static image. For example, I took a photo of a cave and repeated it several times, zooming into the center each frame, creating the illusion of going inside the tunnel of graffiti.
I was also lucky to have a great partner. Kevin was happy to act in the film, gave great ideas, suggestions and feedback. He was patient and interested in trying new things. As we lost some of our footage, interview subject, and third group partner (who suggested to do a film about Graffiti,) we were given the challenge to create new story line and content. Being that it was a mock-umentary, and relied on “finding the story” we were very lucky to run into two graffiti artists, in the midst of creating a piece. Taking advantage of the moment and being in the right place at the right time, Queens’ “5 Points” (graffiti Mecca), we gained an essential part to our film. Additionally when we were leaving the site, some wandering graffiti appreciators agreed to be interviewed for the film and gave us great sound bites from “real people” – adding the extra heft to support the feel of a documentary.
In this experience I learned how easy it is to create something out of nothing, the surprises along the way and the limitless creativity that editing provides in creating moods and experiences. I also learned that you will be spending a lot of time with your piece, and must care about the subject and the overall end product in order to have the stamina to finish – (as seducing as Final Cut Pro is!) Ultimately it was a great experience and I am looking forward to creating new projects.
