Riddle Me This
A group of film school friends went to Vegas on Wed and Thurs night to celebrate the completion of a 12 minute film on which we were all crew. I think we all universally agree that the final product was a bit of a disappointment...that we all aspire to make better films than what we ended up making. We took along my little 1-chip consumer DV camera and shot a bunch of stuff while we were up in Vegas. I looked at the nearly 2 hours of video we shot and despite the obviously bad production value, I know we could put together a MORE interesting 12 minutes than our 8 months of working on this other 12 minute film. Why is this? Here are several options:
1. NARCISSISM - I'm a narcissist and simply like watching myself and my friends moreso than a narrative story.
2. BIAS - It would not actually be more compelling than our 12 minute narrative...it is simply a home video that I have fond memories of versus a project that caused a lot of hard work and heartache and problems.
3. LOOSE- It is more interesting because we were LOOSE - we could essentially shoot as much as we wanted without worries of money, time, pressure...whereas we get this rigid project, with strict time frames and money constraints and a huge crew...and we choke.
4. THE REALITY TV FACTOR - The spontineity and realism that we strive for in narrative projects are difficult to fake...whereas what we shot in Vegas was truly spontaneous and real and impossible not to fake...all we needed to do was turn the camera on and point it in the right direction.
5. FREEDOM - When you have the freedom to fail and not be judged...when you have creative liberty and freedom, one can make magic. There are obvious contraints...mostly, in this version, technical - which contribute in a way to the project. I think constraints need to be embraced and not fought against tooth and nail, as was the case in 546.
I don't know. Maybe it was just a home video....but I think there is something else going on...I think there are bits of dialog and conversation in the film that FAR surpass in sophistication and humor anything we saw in our 546 short film screening. That strikes me as not only important, but vital. It makes me think of how Renior shot some of his films, how Jules and Jim felt while watching, about Curb you Enthusiasm, about the Celebration...there are other ways to shoot and make films - better ways, methinks.
1 comment:
There is something so compelling about nonfiction -- not "reality," as in reality TV, but actual reality. Compared to any other time in modern history, we live in a world that lacks convention. No married by xx age or you're an old maid, no xx is dignified for a person of a certain social standing and xx is scandalous for someone else. There are lines, certainly, but the gray area is growing.
I think we face so much uncertainty about the way we live our lives that we thrive on any evidence of how other people behave. This is, in fact, why I read your blog even though I barely know you.
On the other hand (and I say this as someone who has never seen any of your films), maybe it's just a matter of dialogue. Even for good writers, great dialogue can be difficult to capture. These impromptu film sessions could be one way to improve your ear.
Or maybe you're a narcissist.
JR
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