The English Patient

“As I’ve gone through life, I’ve found that your chances for happiness are increased if you wind up doing something that is a reflection of what you loved most when you were somewhere between nine and eleven years old.” ~ Walter Murch

In the wee hours of the morning, I decided to watch a beautiful love story entitled The English Patient. 

The wonderful cinematography was created by my favorite cinematographer at the moment John Seale.  The film also happens to be edited by favorite editor Walter Murch. Each of them were awarded an  Academy Award in 1997 for this film and rightfully so in my opinion.

This eloquent picture was the smoothest quench of holy cinematography I’ve seen in quite some time. The edits were like fine stitches in a fine royal cape. My heart was given an extra dose of love when I watched the aviation cinematography.  I have such a love for flight and aviation, and let’s just say the opening sequence for this film left me quite smitten. I highly recommend watching this film.  Some of my favorite stills are included above, but that’s the bare minimum of what visual treasures this picture holds.

– l.

Curtains

The Highly Anticipated “Curtains” coming soon.

– A couples fate, twisted by a night of terror

I am not a good editor.

Normally I’m one to oversell my abilities, but editing is not for me. Editing my 24 frame project only reassured me of that.

This post has been edited by the author.

Day 1 of filming Captain Jack: Closet Queens

 

 

 

I started production for my “Inspired by a song” project this weekend. It has been a rough week getting started because I have been in and out of the hospital but wanted to make sure I did not miss this show and a chance to get great footage and it was well worth it. My song is Captain Jack by Billy Joel, in the song there is a line,

“So you go to the village in your tie dyed jeans
And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens
It’s like some pornographic magazine
And you smile”

 

For this I wanted to get as close as I could to the vibes of Greenwhich village which is Montrose. I have previously worked with the Drag Community in Houston so was able to go back stage and film them getting ready for a show, then film the rest of the performance for this specific part of the story. The character is walking up and down a strip of busy clubs and stumbles into the drag show backstage then to watch the performance.

 

Though I will only be using about 10-15 seconds of this footage, I easily filmed an hours worth or more. This day of filming was a success but also a wake up call for the rest of the project. I know getting all the footage will be time consuming and I will having to get tons of footage in order to end up with at least 20 seconds of a perfect or usable shot. I feel I am off to a good start and this makes me excited for the rest of the project but also a bit nervous on time. As fate may have it, I am also making a trip back to NYC sometime soon and may be able to film in Greenwhich to get the rest of these shots. However if my trip doesn’t meet up with the deadline for the project I may just re film the entire thing with new footage I obtain from NYC, still pending.

 

 

Just a peak into my psyche

At the moment my favorite editor is David Hughes. Here’s a link to an episode of Hughes’ show Off The Air. The show features multiple shorts and animations put together to reflect a single theme. This show is not for everyone but then again not all art is.

Life Experience

It all comes down to storytelling.

We had a discussion about life and life experience in the office of 4381 the other night. Because of the preponderance of time, one of us in the office had apparently lead an  interesting life, but appearances are oft times misleading.

I think the person with the seemingly engrossing life was just old.

The key to making  existence seem more compelling is knowing which stories to tell and how to tell them. The most exciting life in the world will seem boring if told poorly.

Keep your eyes open and ears open when life picks up. Don’t miss things. Remember the highlights and skip the boring. Then tell your stories well.

I was in Vegas walking down the strip on a cold and windy December day. I walked past the book below and nature cooperated with me and my camera.

 

And in closing, spend a little time with the musical talents of Dr. John, although at this point in his career I think he was still Dr. John Creaux, the Night Tripper.

Life

[Chorus]
Mother
Just look what they done
Done to yo’ boy
Mother, mother
Just look what they done
Done to yo’ boy

[Verse 1]
Mother, mother
I have felt the mark
Of ten thousand teeth
I done seen my body
Lyin’ stiffly at my feet
As I’ve seen my soul
Creepin’ out of my chest
Bow my head towards the east
Got victims by the west

[Chorus]
Mother, mother
Just look what they done
Done to yo’ son
But it ain’t so bad
I’m a drinkin’ while
They just havin’ fun

[Bridge]

Father, father
Just look what they done
Done to yo’ son

[Verse 2]
I see visions of dolphins
Dancin’ in my head
But I’m not gonna worry
Might wake up in the mornin’ dead
But if I die
Stoned before I wake
Lord, grant me one last wish
Please unveil my fate

(I didn’t know what I was told
About the work of the Devil and now I know)

Father, father
Just look what they done
Done to yo’ son
(I didn’t know what I was told
About the work of the Devil and now I know)

But it ain’t so bad
I’m a drinkin’ while they just havin’ fun
(I didn’t know what I was told
About the work of the Devil and now I know)

Father, father
Just look what they done
Done to yo’ son
(I didn’t know what I was told
About the work of the Devil and now I know)

 

50 TV scripts

Hey everyone it’s me Alex, from class.

I try to read a script every day in order to better understand writing and story structure. Sometimes it’s tough to find good scripts written by writers you’d want to emulate, but i recently stumbled upon a great resource that I’ve been chewing through. It contains links to 50 different scripts that range from Arrested Development to Better Call Saul. Whatever it is you’re interested in, I guarentee there’s atleast one script for you!

Check out the scripts here!

Blue Bulbs

It’s been quite a challenging week, but I believe challenges give us art to work through. I learned about some of my strengths and weaknesses this week – mostly weaknesses. A valuable lesson life has taught me was to take your time.

I may have taken thousands of pictures in my life, but not with the intent of actually capturing the story as it should be captured. When a painter paints, he/she paints with the delicacy of a swan gliding with the ripples of a pond.

One of my favorite visual storytellers of all time is Michelangelo. The intent he had when creating some of his greatest works was beyond words, and this world. It may have taken him years to complete some of his works, but they’re breathtaking centuries later. So today I take heed and vow to take my time and perfect each stroke of light.

This week’s color palette is diary color is blue: not quite the most amazing captures but they’re in synch with how my current is flowing at the moment and my best attempts.

  

   

  

In the words of the late great Charlie Chaplin, ” Sometimes we think too much and feel too little”. Then there are times we love too little as well. Remember to be kind to yourself, and most importantly, patient.

-l.