What I remember about being painted was a very severe atmosphere. I remember her intensity and sharp glance.
Escaping into the fantasy of intellectual investigation or narrative story telling makes me feel hopeful. That too is a fiction, but one that makes me feel good sometimes.
The idea of discussing psychological and philosophical ideas in a visual medium was really exciting to me. I thought I was going to go into philosophy...and suddenly I found this way to combine that with my love for visual mediums.
As I get older it gets harder and harder to hold on to the ephemeral excitement. When a documentary, or a screenplay, or even just a brainstorming session is going well I get to experience sense of hope, and expansiveness, even if it's just for a moment.
The human animal is a fascinating beast. Watching people and trying to learn how and why they do things, and to engage in the somewhat futile attempt to explain them...it's my reason for living I guess...to ask 'why?'. I don't know what else to do with myself. In some strange way it's probably an attempt to understand myself and my own relationship to the world.
The glut of information that is spayed at us on a daily basis is an important factor in the formation of our ideologies, and it's not even actually happening in front of us.
There is a straight-forward definition for 'Independent Filmmaking'. The term references a group of films that are financed by money that comes from outside the studio system. In a literal sense that is what it means.
I don't call myself an 'independent filmmaker'. Either a concept works within a studio system or it doesn't. If it does then you should try to get a studio budget so that you can use all of the tools they have to get what you want. If it doesn't then you look elsewhere, or make it yourself.
Pick up a camera and start shooting. You need to wade in in order to figure out how to move forward and do something concrete. I firmly believe that a lot dynamic and revolutionary work flows from those who summon all of their personal energy and just go out and make something.
