Tail End of April

A wordy, picture-less post, this post-midnight mind-purge. With lots of hyphens, apparently.

Currently experiencing the charming, end-of-semester alienation I always seem to get stuck with. With each passing semester, the bitterness just gets thicker. I get sick frequently (or really sick every so often, like getting a super fever for one day and being convinced it'll be the thing that kills me), am always exhausted, always out of laundry, eating poorly. The end of semester is a wonderful, fantastical time of year that never feels good. Maybe one of these years, I'll have a good semester's end. Until then... well.

An opportunity for a unique, out of province summer came and went (plus a day of moping with a loop of Noah and the Whale songs), and although I was hoping to spend my summer back home in Alberta, it seems Vancouver's got some other, interesting plans for me. Regardless, I'd like my summer to be filled with adventures, books, new movies, filmmaking and new acquaintances. I am forming a list of things to do, things to accomplish as the days grow longer. Old habits will die hard, but I am prepared for a great deal of change in my future.

The past two semesters have been rather revealing in more ways than one. As the culmination of this time spent comes and goes on Tuesday, it's more a time of reflection for me, rather than a time of celebration. There's more reflection upon this to come, I am sure. But for now, let me say, that although my time spent amidst the frustrating pit that was this whole venture - the experience that this time has afforded me will become invaluable. Regardless of the outcome. And what an outcome it is turning out to be.

I've been thinking a lot lately about experience and perception, values that people will put on individuals depending on their employment, education, gender and ability to represent themselves.  I guess this train of thought has come by because of my long-winded battle with the Vancouver job market. But it seems, from struggles comes logical thought, enlightenment and growing patience. Realizing that being satisfied in any job that is outside of filmmaking isn't necessary.  Realizing that I need a lot more than a resume and diligence to get anywhere at any speed. I'm in this for the long haul, and I guess I've finally realized it's going to be a hell of a long haul.

Each person seems to lead their own lives of bizarre happenings. I hope everyone's doing alright with theirs.

Things you need to know about:

GLITTER AND DOOM: SFU's 2nd year film screening
Yes, it has come to an end. COME AND SEE THE RESULT.

Trailer:


Here's the event on FACEBOOK.

Tickets & Screening Info.


HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU: SFU's Grad film screening

Trailer:


Here's the event on FACEBOOK.

Tickets & Screening Info.

Check out our ad in this week's Georgia Straight!


NARRATED BY MORGAN FREEMAN

Something dreadful happened, yet another harddrive crash. As a result, a few film kids are going on an adventure, to make up for lost time. Spread the word and follow the journey on twitter and facebook.

Check out their Indiegogo page.


To see the outcome of this Morgan Freeman business, plus tons of other excellent Grad films, be sure to come to the Grad screening!

All of the screenings are taking place at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at the Goldcorp Center for the Arts (SFU Woodwards) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Tell your friends! We love a grand audience just as much as we love putting on a show!

Hey there, ho there, DECEMBER.

Oh December, how bittersweet your arrival.

I did a lot of Christmas shopping today. Most of it in fact! Now I have sewing supplies spread all over my living room floor, am chiseling haystacks off of a plate I neglected to put parchment paper on and watching some good ol' Pulp Fiction.

Last week, I said goodbye to a feltie that's been with me for a little while. Little Buckaroo!

May he find peace amongst the dutch tulips!!

School is done on Monday, thank goodness. Monday is also the day I show my film to the class. When you show your film to the class, the following things happen: fingers trembling with trepidation, load the projector, fiddle with the sound, roll it, short round of applause, the class talks about your film for a while without any of your input, then you get to talk about it, then you take some questions, then you sit your ass back down. Needless to say, all I'm feeling is fear... but that is normal.

I picked up some inks from Opus, along with a variety of super skinny paintbrushes and my very first real X-acto knife in preparation for the post production portion of my film. Opus is now one of my favorite establishments because they give student discounts. I love a solid business who knows the financial perils of the student. I finished a rough cut today and will spend the next few days doing some all-too-fine work under a magnifying glass.

My one paper for the term is complete, pathetic as it was. My lame math presentation is done, thanks to one super group member who thanklessly did most of the work. Once my film presentation is done, it's on to studying for three exams. I will be done the Fall 2010 semester on the 14th and will be flying home to chilly Canmore on the 17th! I'm fairly excited to have a home visit after an entire year. Hard to believe it's been so long!

In recent (as in 10 minutes ago) news, I have finally started assembling this giraffe for my friend Amanda to give to her boyfriend's cousin who is two years old! I just put these fantastic eyelashes on it, aaand I sort of had to share it ASAP. SNEAK PEAK.

Working with the minky fabric has been a little bittersweet. Although it is extremely soft, it has a bad bad habit of looking a little mangy at the seams, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. It was probably a fabric made for more large scale things like baby blankets.... but it will have to do!!

State of the floor. I'm going to have fun vacuuming out all of the minky bits out of the shag. Not.

I'm really happy to be sewing again. I haven't finished anything since the Rainbow Owl. I've sold a couple of felties since then. I seem to be missing them a little more than I had expected. I guess every feltie I make has a little bit of my love stitched into it (corny much?!). Bahaha. Anyways. Life goes on. More felties come to life!

Back to felting I go!

I do plan to finish that VIFF review sometime...

'The Frets' photojournal

Bolex #4 - a mysterious enigma that does not like to count film properly and enjoys giving me anxiety.

The paperwork... before it got stuffed into my pocket for three days.

Organization. A bitter sweet process.

This then happened. 90% of the clothes I own were unfolded and thrown on the floor. But, with any luck, it will be the best stop motion double exposure anyone has ever experienced.

Overall, it was a pretty swell, but extremely tiring process. First and foremost, thanks to my one talent/superhelper/drinking buddy Durae! She put up with three days of not only me, but FILMMAKING me, which is this entirely different entity.

For this first project, I decided to go without help. I got lots of offers for extra hands on location from my super film class peers, but this was a journey I had to make to myself - perhaps only to prove that I could do it on my own.

My weekend (mid-Thursday through very early on Monday) went as such:

• 4+ hours of planning, storyboarding, checking and double checking equipment
• 10+ hours of set ups and shooting
• 200 feet of 16mm film
• numerous mild aneurysms over-thinking exposures
• trying to justify to a stranger or two why I was shooting on film and not digital
• a lot of puns
• 5 hours of my normal job
• 12 hours of Lord of the Rings at the Rio
• Way over budget on food
• 6 hours of late night philosophical conversation
• a soup pot filled with spiced rum cider
• so much coffee
• 10 hours of sleep

My film is currently being whisked to Ontario to the fantastic Niagara Custom Lab. I hope to have it back by next Monday, so I can begin the arduous process of post-production I have assembled for myself. I am sure there will be lots of cursing when I get the film back. Then when I have to cut it on the Steenbeck, then again when I'm hunched over it, carving impossibly tiny things into a 16mm wide piece of emulsion with a knife. But this is the moment I have been dreaming of since the day I woke up and figured I would devote the rest of my life to film. Life is good.

On Sunday, the amazing Rio Theater showed all three Lord of the Rings films (the extended versions, too!). It was a struggle to stay awake through them, as I had gotten 10  hours of sleep over the course of three days and I was extremely exhausted. It was so great to see them all again. I realized that I hadn't seen Fellowship of the Ring in theaters for eight years. Which makes me feel old. The first and second of the trilogy were shown on 35mm. Unfortunately, Return of the King was shown on DVD and seeing the two compared so close together made me see the difference. It's something I always knew was there, and now I have physical proof for myself. There was digital noise, the colour was different (in a sort of contrast-bumped way) and even the sound was distorted. Nonetheless, it was a rather emotional experience; partly because of the lack of sleep and the rapid 'coming down' after two days of caffeine high, but mainly because I realized that The Fellowship of the Ring was the film that introduced me to the concept of cinematography. The day I watched that film, not only did I want to make films even more, but my perspective of filmmaking changed. It sounds really lame - but it came out when I was 12 or 13, I had never seen anything so amazing. Nothing will ever influence me the ways that these movies did.

"Fell deeds awake... now for wrath... now for ruin... and the red dawn."

Anyways, I'd just thought I'd justify my Lord of the Rings love. If you have it seen it, see it now. It's got an ocean of depth (compared, especially, to the puddle of depth Avatar has). Also, read it. I've read Fellowship of the Ring so many times. When they pass through Farmer Maggot's field has always stuck with me, a long with the parts with Tom Bombadil. ANYWAYS, it deserves a lot of respect, both the books and the films. I'll stop having a glory rant.

I still owe my blog some VIFF reviews. One of these days.

Hope everyone's having a great November!