Twenty years and several owners later, my trusty 1989 Buick Park Avenue hit 250,000km today. I have to say that as much as I originally thought this car was kind of lame, I've come to love it. It's become a character, not just in some of my movies, but to anyone who knows me. Lovingly referred to as THE Buick, she's been around since I was a kid when she was my moms. When I think about the family vacations we went on, driving her when I was 16 and throughout high school, trips to university, and then finally owning the car when I turned 21, the Buick has been a significant fixture in a lot of the things I've done. Here's hoping she still has a few more adventures left in her.
I washed my car! Okay, I know it's not that exciting but happening to have my little MiniDV cam with me I decided to record it. I think I'm getting more into the habit of looking at daily life as a potential short film or exercise. I don't mean this as an epiphany either, I mean I've always looked at things that way, but lately I've been thinking why not just make more video exercises for myself? Enough with assuming I have to plan all my ideas. Why not just film more, edit more, produce more, and then have a history of footage to play with? What's wrong with collecting video clips?
It's tough to be heard and seen, and it's a struggle when what you want to do relies so much on that, but I figure if I'm having fun and it's because I'm creating, there's no harm in documenting as much as possible. What I do with it is still up in the air.
So, I washed my car, filmed it, and put together a split screen short showing the same image cut together at slightly different moments. It's basic, a technical exercise with artistic flare, but it's short and now posted below.
August is an exciting month for me because my work will be playing at two significant film festivals in just a few weeks. The first fest is Aeon 2008 in the UK, where my film Keys to Existence will be screening in an open field amidst a giant music festival. The second fest, Youngcuts in Montreal, is an international affair for filmmakers 25 and under. My short film Give it Time is screening and is in the running for best short film. It's a great feeling to actually get some direct feedback (and positive feedback at that) from folks that you expect to rip your work apart. The last few years have been quite a rush playing the young filmmaker festival circuit, and I'm feeling energized and anxious to produce some new work and force myself in some new creative directions. The slightest taste of success only makes me want it more, and it seems like I'm off to a good start. More about the recent highlights here.
