I’ll try my damnedest to get back on top of things. This blog is one of the few daily activities that holds me accountable to myself. Actually, I think it’s the only life preserver I may have in this ocean of nothingness.
(WTF?!)
First priority: my film. My editor dropped out. He was just too busy so it’s back in my hands. I have just under 20 days until the Sundance deadline. I wish I could quit my jobs for a month, hole up in a room far away from the world and just edit but that ain’t gonna happen. It’s gonna be hours of editing after 10-14 hour days on jobs that grind away at my soul. Anyone got any good tips for staying awake and focused for 20 days straight? Or how about a quick and easy method for burning the world around me to the ground?
Jesus! That! That’s the kind of s**t that’s been swimming through my head. I blame Europe. Europe was awesome. Too awesome. I came back and saw my life for what it is.
Ack, there it is again!
Okay, enough. I’m gonna stop writing because I’m sounding like my 17 year-old self (he thought THE STRANGER was the first work that really spoke to him). Anyway, I gotta run to the post office while resisting the urge to go postal and then it’s off to work where I get to sit in a dark room resisting actual darkness.
…
Who am I?
(For Ted: at least I didn’t say that while staring at myself in the bathroom mirror.)
(For Everyone Else: If you’re ever watching a movie and someone says “who am I?” while staring at themselves in the bathroom mirror you know you’re watching a real piece of s**t. Also, apparently I still have a sense of humor. That’s something, right?)
Oh so very funny. And then I cried. And then I looked for an Avid class. Check it out.
But seriously, we don’t need the FCP bashing. And everyone wants you to find their know-it-all nephew a job. Yeah, I got a job for him. I’ll turn his @$$ out on Santa Monica Blvd. F**k your nephew.
First off, that network admin job is over (for now) and it ended on a high-note: I was successful in setting up a server that allows any user to login and access their home folder from any client side computer. I know, a cakewalk for any IT grunt but remember that last week I didn’t know my POSIX from a hole in the wall.
This week, I’m back on AVATAR for at least the next couple of weeks, if not the whole month.
So that brings me to my question: have any of you tried the Pomodoro Technique? For those that don’t know, it’s this system where you get a kitchen timer, preferably one that looks like a tomato, set it for 25 minutes and kick ass on whatever task lays before you. You then take a 5 minute break before repeating the whole process over again (I think after two hours you’re supposed to take a 15 minute break).
I know, as I’m writing this down I feel so disappointed that my ability to complete a task relies on a f**king timer shaped like a tomato but since returning from Europe I’ve found it harder and harder to get back into the groove of things. Maybe this will give me some structure, force me to kick some ass on those writing and editing tasks I’ve been pushing aside. Anything that can optimize a struggling filmmaker’s time is worth a shot, right?
Sorry I haven’t written more this week but right now I have a night gig, in addition to my day gig, where I’m supposed to install a server, set up network storage and allow any user to authenticate from any machine but I’ve run into a hitch: users can’t login.
Oh yeah, also, I’ve never done this before and I know nothing about network administration.
(How I ended up with this gig is for another post.)
Therefore I’m quickly steering ya towards something that caught my eye. Have you ever heard of Scott Pilgrim? It’s a comic series I’ve been aware of but know nothing about (my theme of the week).
It’s Edgar Wright directing so it has a ton of potential but that trailer… but maybe I’m wrong. My buddy Pat used to always say, “terrible trailer = great movie.”
Goddamn those Euros, I’m so jealous they’re getting this!
A bit of background to help you understand my response. First, I don’t subscribe to cable. It’s a cost I cut a long time ago and I don’t really miss it. Then television got great. Suddenly I was hooked on shows like VERONICA MARS and FRINGE; my latest addiction is MAD MEN (I blame my former roommate for that).
For a while it seemed that for $1.99 iTunes could give me what I needed but damn if those files aren’t huge and season passes are expensive (and what if the show starts sucking?). Hulu seemed like the answer. Just a couple of problems: the window of viewing and the window for viewing. A couple weeks of “nose to the grindstone” and I end up with 20+ hours of NBC sitcoms and Fox animation I wanted to watch but they’re expiring in 14 hours. Plus I was locked into watching episodes on my laptop. Sure, I could always get the DVDs from Netflix but…
But then Netflix introduced streaming on the PS3 and it was as if a whole new world opened up to me. Suddenly I could follow my whim and watch a movie or a documentary or an episode of KING OF THE HILL and all I had to do was start buffering while I cooked dinner. I consider that a big win but instantly I wanted more. I wanted more than a handful of THE OFFICE episodes and why do I still have to use that stupid disc?
So when I heard that Hulu was offering a paid service that would show current shows and allow access to their back catalog, I was interested. When I learned that I’d be able to do this on my PS3, which is hooked up to a sweet TV, I immediately signed up for an invite.
(Still waiting for that invite.)
So obviously I’m excited for streaming services that let me view quality content via my PS3. Therefore, it should be obvious that a film nut like me wants a service showing Criterion like programming (plus I’m dying for something to tear me away from BORDERLANDS). Those are the movies I love, the kind I need to be watching, discovering.
Here’s hoping Mubi & Sony make this happen in North America.
I’d like to tie the design of this blog to that of my site. Let’s call it a new coat of paint.
Finally, I need a website for my film. That’s a “from the ground up” job.
If she can do this, great. If not, she can point me towards competent folk. This is exciting. I love getting the creative juices going.
So now I have to develop a creative brief, an “information architecture“, and show some samples of what I’m looking for. I really like the sites for Psyop, Hammer & Tongs, Hillman Curtis and Ruben Fleischer. They all employ a clean and logical design but still retain the spirit of their respective artists. I also like the ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS site if only because it has just about everything a film like mine might need in a site w/o a lot of clutter.
Which brings us to the interactive portion of this post. What are some well designed sites you like? They don’t have to be film sites, just a site that really works.
What’s the best part about going to Europe for 30+ days? Coming home.
No, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy my trip. I f**king loved it. Florence and Paris were my favorite cities. I think I spent a week in Florence and I could go back to spend another week eating all those amazing Steaks Florentine and all that phenomenal gelato.
As for Paris, I only spent a couple of days there but I’d love to go back for a month. That city has an energy, something like New York. And the women… oh God the women are… yeah, I think I’m gonna marry one… if I ever get married (but that’s another discussion).
Cinque Terre was beautiful in a way I can’t describe. Here’s the best I can do: the water, it’s so blue and clear that you can see the bottom of the sea floor 20 feet below. Yeah, I know, that doesn’t do it justice.
Rome was okay. There was one magical meal at a farmer’s market I stumbled into but otherwise I really wasn’t feeling it. The same goes for Milan. I was bummed that I didn’t get to see the Guggenheim but otherwise I’m not going back to Venice until I have a serious girlfriend or a fiance or a wife.
Prague, that’s the one that got away. I stayed on the Avenida Revolucion of Prague and it sucked. I’d love to go back but 1) I’d like to go with someone that’s been there before and 2) I want to stay somewhere quieter, nicer.
Obviously I loved Europe. I want to go back. I want to travel more; I think Asia should be next, maybe back to South America. So why was coming home the best part? Because going away for so long gave me a clarity, a perspective I’d lost about my life. I can see the bulls**t for what it is. And I’m tried of dealing with bulls**t.
The great thing about going away is that it allows me to return to routine with a renewed enegery and a refreshed perspective. I can reconnect with that original desire, or not come back at all. And so I return to the blog but not before sharing my European vacation slideshow with you.
As you read this, I’m on a plane leaving Italy. I was last in Venice, Milan before that.
First, everyone warned me about Milan. They all said it was gonna be gray and dull. And it was at first. Then we found a cool bar (like the kind back home) and hung with male models but in truth Milan’s heart was still gray and soulless. Yes, Lake Como was beautiful but I was really happy to leave Milan.
Then I arrived in Venice. If we’ve ever talked about traveling, you know that Venice hates me and the feeling is mutual. I thought things would be different this time but they weren’t.
Therefore I leave Italy without looking back. Next stop, Prague.
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