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LOOP After Party Here's my coverage of the party that followed Pericles' LOOP premiere at the FAIF Festival two weeks ago in Anaheim, California. Which became a happy reunion for several Karmacritters who'd only met on-line. It's a chance for you to see the famous Dawn Sandwich (as featured in cici's "I posted some pics of our KC gang" blog), my infamous wandering windsock, and cici in action as a photographer. It also comprises the final chapter of my yet-to-be-edited US Travelogue. I've returned with 14 hours of material from a 6 week coast-to-coast trip, so there's certainly some cutting in my future! One part down, about a dozen more to go... Filmmaker's notes: This is really just an edited home movie, shot in unusually low light, but I have done the best I can. I put it together in a sweet and sentimental, old-fashioned style 'cos hey, that's how I feel about it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! My role(s) in this film: Director Cinematographer Editor
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Man...that was hilarious
You guys really turned the lost wind sock thing into a story...was that scripted?
I remember you all looking for it.
I saw the camera come out and tried to be invisible.
You can see me briefly at the beginning on the phone, believe it or not, I was talking to Ezequiel.
JOHN MEREDITH
WWW.MEREDITHFILMS.COM
One Big KC Reunion
Excellent, John! We'll count that moment of you on the phone as 2 more Karmacritters seen in attendance then!
That windsock thing was quite the drama. Cici commented: "Oh no! You're unprotected!" We borrowed a flashlight from security to locate it, and once my fellow Aussie filmmaker Michael Graves finally found it, Dawn was unable to keep her hands off it. Not that I minded all that much... Mmmm, happy memories!
LOL!
I am in there couple more times, but only partially.
Glad you posted it.
I enjoyed meeting you guys.
JOHN MEREDITH
WWW.MEREDITHFILMS.COM
Thank you, Dave!
This is a very sweet homage to a wonderfully memorable event.
I keep getting distracted by the luxurious mane called Cici's hair...
And I love your song choice... I love those old songs (in this case by George and Ira Gershwin) which evoke a special yearning and poignant romance.
Star Power
I'm glad you like the music, Dawn, and even better, know who wrote it: I was going for a '30s/40s Golden Age of Hollywood feel with this. Along with- yes, you're right- a quality of yearning and poignant romance, since now we're all on different sides of the earth again.
*sniff*
Yes, Cici has a beautiful mane (too often hidden under a cap) though yours is nothing to sneeze at either. But to be honest, it was the fishnet stockings and leather boots you wore that night that really extend my windsock.
By the way, I hope you liked my tacky star-wipe on your final shot. There's a statement in that too...
beautiful intentions
I did notice the star-wipe (thought it was "cute" as opposed to "tacky'). I hadn't put together its inherent statement... thank you! I sure appreciate it... hope that intention manifests...
Wish I had been there....
Then again, I dont know what I would have done... I'm soo boring at social events... but I know I would have enjoyed meeting all of you. Thanks for posting this Dave, and btw, good editing, I could tell you were synching with the lyrics here and there... "put my hat", "light my heart", etc... nice!
It's impossible to be boring...
... with the crew at this party.
P
"I'm almost not crazy." - John Cassevettes
Awww
Thanks for sharing. I hope some day to meet you all!
"The greatest journeys are the ones that bring you home."--The Namesake
Life of the Party
Marco, I'm so glad that you picked up on all those action-to-lyric matches! I was hoping someone would. It sounds as if, like me, you're smarter behind your keyboard than in social situations. I'm the same. I ran for my camera, letting KC stars like Dawn and cici be the life of the party. Anyway, thanks for putting our party on the Front Page today. Wish you'd been there too.
Pericles, I'm especially glad I got to promote those glowing LOOP toys you and Lisa made for everybody. What a herculean promotional effort you made! (I'd also love to know where to buy a glowing volume meter like the one you had on your shirt.)
And Jan, nice quote! At a human level, I felt more at home in Anaheim than I do now back in Sydney. Would that I could fly the lot of 'em here!
Home
And Jan, nice quote! At a human level, I felt more at home in Anaheim than I do now back in Sydney.
That's exactly what the quote means for me, Dave. We are all on a journey to find our true "home".
I know that I feel more vibrantly alive when I am among people who are driven to strive for their own personal best.
I find it most often when I am in L.A. visiting with friends who are so
excited about what they are doing. Or when I am on a studio lot,
overwhelmed and amazed at the dedication that goes into every aspect of
the work that goes on there. I also feel it when I am on a movie shoot
in Chicago. Those are the places and times that are most truly "home"
for me.
"The greatest journeys are the ones that bring you home."--The Namesake
I want to see this!!!
I hope to see this soon. I'm on my cruddy dialup here on my laptop, and I'm afriad to do much on my editing, desktop computer at the moment. I had my main drive crash. I got it back up with a Windows Restore, but I don't think it's 100% like it was....so I'm going to backup my data and reformat. Until then, my computer just sits in the on position. Not taking any chances of any screwups. :(
Anyway, I too wish I'd been there. Especialy to have met my hero, Dave Williams. That man can do no wrong! :-P haha. Maybe I'll try to connect to the city's wireless soon, when I get the chance.
Eric
Home Is Where The Heart Is
Jan, I think I might adopt your quote as the theme of my whole travelogue. You explained that beautifully.
Sounds Great... Looks Like Ass
Eric, I think it's almost merciful you can't see this with your video editor eyes, since I know you'd have a problem with its technical quality. I had the gain up full while shooting it, brightened it further in post-production, then compressed it to a .wmv file for youtube, which they then converted again. It's a miracle we can make out faces at all! To quote a ripe old cici-ism, it "looks like ass".
Still, until I'm in a position to offer copies on DVD some weeks from now, this "through-a-rain-streaked-window" look will have to do. My US Travelogue will be a massive beast (I'm thinking an hour's running time) so it sure is nice to have your encouragement along the way!
I'm used to "sub-par"
I'm used to "sub-par" footage. One of the marks of a great editor is making something beautiful from something not so beautiful. We editors are the cosmetic surgeons for the video social outcasts. haha.
I've actually described the editing process, in the past, as surgery. We cut the video apart (open), then we pull out the diseased organs, put everything back in to its proper place, and then we suture (transition) things back together.
It sounds cut and dry, very scientific, but editing really is more science than art. We actually perform art in a scientific manner. It's only after the video is put together in a proper format, that we can then "create" artisticly.
Anyway, that's my short philosophy on Editing. I'm sure I'll enjoy this when I see it. I guess what I'm getting at, is that when I look at something for the editing, I don't factor footage in to the equation. Footage is the camera operator's thing, not the editor's. :) But, as you also shot....you also understood the limitations of shooting in low light, without any lighting equipment. Of corse, I'm not going to fault you for that either. haha.
Dr. Eric
I love that editor-as-surgeon analogy, Eric. Brilliantly put.
Mind you, I often feel the surgery is being done on me! I dread the editing room these days: I find it tedious, grinding, arduous, thankless, seemingly endless work, which very few people other than editors can even appreciate. It's one of those jobs that, when done right, conceals itself. So people will say "ah, marvellous pictures, beautiful acting, well directed" but almost never "what a miraculous editing job." You end up feeling like a mushroom, kept in the dark and fed nothing but bullshit.
On the other hand, the editing room is where the film is made. All prior stages are simply collecting the raw materials. And as Orson Welles once said, if a filmmaker can't do his own editing, then he's really not in control of his own work. Besides, I'm really not that great a cameraman, so the only way to make myself look good is by judicious editing. Which means I guess I'm stuck with it, huh? Better learn to like it...
You said it, bro.
Not to mention, we editors are the ones most walked over. We slave away to actually make the film come alive... to bring the patient back from the edge of death. However, we get treated as if we are orderlies just taking orders (pushing buttons). True, there is some level of that needed, but if I were just a button pusher, I wouldn't be an editor. I almost hate editing for other people becuase they want stuff left in that just doesn't work, or it makes the piece look like crap.
But, as i want my paycheck, I put up with it. haha. But, when those creative juices get flowing...and you make something totally etherial...you just go in to this trance of euphoria. To make something that is truly "your own". Taking the raw materials and actual sculpting the work of art. There isn't a better feeling in the world...dare I say, even better than the love of a woman. hahaha.
Anyway, be sure to check out my private message, coming to an inbox near you. (By the way -- side note -- I almost went to school to become a pediatrician. More so, to study Hemotology -- blood disorders.)
Creative Flow
Amen to that whole comment, brother!
You're right- and I shouldn't forget- that when you're really in that zone, in that creative trance known to artists and athletes alike as "the flow"- there's nothing better. I agree that it's better than sex. (Then again, maybe I just haven't had great sex yet. Hmm... think that's one to ask Dawn.)
"Flow" is amazing
BUT... creative flow is in no way better than great sex... not even close.
I will say that they are different and uniquely awesome, but that sounds so cliched.
Been Missing Out...
Gee, that's a kind of depressing answer. I just haven't had great sex. (Or perhaps I've just had AWESOME creative flows.)
Hate to be the bearer of bad news...
But I do know awesome creative flow as well...
Well then...
I guess I've just been hangin' with the wrong women.
True enough...
... maybe its time to make some changes in your life and attitude so that you can attract a good one.
I choose Creative Flow
Actually, I wasn't referring to sex. I just meant the creative flow is better than knowing some woman completely loves me. But, then again, I've never known the later, only the former... so its not like I know what I'm talking about. lol.
Creative flow I know I'm able to acheive, and creative flow won't stab you in the back... finding some woman stupid enough to love me... I'll stick to what I'm used to, because I know the later will never happen.
Eric, we'll have this conversation again...
...after you've fallen deeply in love... there is nothing like it! I guarantee you that you'll feel different.
Take heart! There is a woman (probably many), Eric, *smart enough* to fall in love with you!!! Remember what I said about barking up the wrong tree...
Looking back at the comments, I am noticing that you did say "love" and not "sex"... funny how Dave turned that around.
But then, in my experience, *great love* is an integral part of *great sex*!
Dr. Dawn...
...is definitely the expert in this three-way conversation, but I have to say I know how Eric feels. I feel safer falling in love with a project than falling in love with a woman. My creative works won't turn around and dump me for someone better/more attractive.
Come to think of it, though, I've been heartbroken by projects too. Like http://www.aussieshortfilms.com which has slowly sucked me dry. Now there's a true love-hate relationship. And there have been others.
I think you have to be at least a little emotionally screwed up to be an artist. I think it starts from a place of pain.
Wonderous dichotomies and mysteries
That safety you feel with a project over a woman, is, as you already observed, illusory.
Love is scary for everybody because it opens up vulnerabilities... but through vulnerability you can discover its opposite: strength.
Acting is a vulnerable craft: I had to learn to be vulnerable for acting and it has enhanced my life.
Pleasure or ecstasy can only be understood in relation to its opposite: pain.
Pain is the root of both comedy and drama.
I don't think its emotionally screwed up to accept pain and exorcise it in your art. There is no avoiding or repressing pain, Dave. There is no life without pain. I don't believe you can consciously minimize it. You are direct evidence of how the avoidance of pain only creates more of it.
Step into life with all its colors and imperfections and revel in its chaotic beauty and unexpected joys. You cannot control your own nature nor the nature that surrounds you.
Yes, Doctor
Yes, doctor.
P.S. Would you like to examine my swizzlestick?
Nice Video
Nice people
great party, the music fix perfectly with the ambient
and the wipe is a touch of magic
thanks for share
:)
A Touch of Magic?
Victor, you certainly have a way with words!
I'm glad you liked it.
Heeheeheee
That was lots of giggly fun!
I love making you giggle, cici...
Now why didn't I think of handing you the camera? Guess I must've been too busy ogling you and your slantee sistah through the viewfinder. What a glamourous couple you made all dressed to the nines! Good heavens, woman, you're good on camera, good behind it... is there no end to your cinematic appeal?
Rest assured, though, you got excellent shots of me at the Dulles Air & Space Museum. Which I guess will be part 3 of my travelogue. Thanks for giving me the encouragement to keep going...
How's this for encouragement??
FINISH THAT TRAVELOGUE, BITCH! I WANNA SEE IT!!!
Now you've got me giggling...
When you cuss at me like that, cici, something tickles. Maybe it's because I know your voice now, so even traditional cician foulnesses like "motherfucking cocksucker" don't sound rude. Or maybe it just appeals to my masochistic side: I'm secretly hoping for a good spanking when this travelogue is done...
Funny
Funny
:-)
:-)
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