Stepping up to the plate...

I've been working on my step outline for a project I've been drawn to lately. I can't stop. But it's not glamourous. It's using a pencil and writing on index cards. Thinking about how each event in the story builds and turns. Making sure each scene's initial value finishes with the opposite value. As McKee says, it's not impossible but it's not easy either.

I've begun to transfer the contents to Final Draft index cards. I'm not about to begin the treatment yet but I think its making me really look at the cards. I'll be rearranging them and trying to put in more. For example, I've begun the script with a cross-cutting scene that includes symbolism.

Once I have the step outline in a solid shape, I'll write up a 10 page synopsis and pitch it around. If I get the interest in others, I'll then write a full treatment.

I'm enjoying the process so far. It's included lots of research because its a docudrama of course.

On another topic. I had the thought yesterday that perhaps instead of yearbooks for highschools I could help in develop yeardvds. Instead of images - video. I think it has interesting connotations. What do you think?

Blogging for work..

Man, another tough week. First post here in a bit. Reading Docudrama book. Have a great story that should be told. Has all the makings of something cool if I don't screw it up.

What a week... now I'm weak.

Well, after a week with a really sick kid and my parnter and oldest in Montreal I'm beat. I feel burnt and have had a headache for a few days including today.

All is not lost though. I've watched Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and (rewatched) Crumb. Oh and most of Adaptation. More importantly, I took the week off from my course which I could and set into developing 'Sam Parks'. I've read and reread a number of chapters and newspapers articles. I have written out all my receipe cards through the whole thing which came out to about 45. A good start I think. I've also made it through 1/2 the articles and have highlighted dialogue or key concepts.

I continue to listen to McKee's story. I'm on the 3rd go through and about to start the 4th. Watched his interview on The Hour again as it appears on YouTube.

I'll be getting back to my course this week and put the 'Parks' project in the background again. I'll let the ideas germinate as I apply the story to my listening of Story. :)

Finally, I've purchased Alan Rosenthals book on writing Docudrama. Interesting.

What does this all mean? I think it means. Don't despair. Just keep pluggin' away and make the most of the time you have even if it's crappy. Work on and off and do the hard stuff non-glamorous stuff. Perhaps this is a lesson about how to work in these difficult financial times. Just keep sluggin' away with an eye on a few goals and see where it leads... I've heard it could be 10-20 years! Who is prepared for it? You?

A thin line...

I did watch a Thin Blue line. Very good and colourful (Cdn. spelling). I had my mom and Milt watch it. Very interesting comments - they both liked but thought too much repetition of the incident. Not sure why Morris choose to repeat so many times. 

I read about Randall Adams on wikipedia and talks about Morris and his conflict about who owns his life story. Fascinating!!! Would love to discuss this with others... problem is - not one reads my blog yet LOL!!!

Way too busy lately

Man between, work, my course and home life I've had my hands full. I miss not having time to check in daily. I continue to read High Steel by Jim Rasenberger. I'm really enjoying it. I found a great story about Sam Parks that I'd love to screen write. I think I'll reread a few times and later investigate how I can go about it. Does anyone know? Still listening to Story and it's being ingrained into my brain. He suggests rereading the piece your adapting - hence. 

My course is going well. Instructor said I have the most animated and entertaining posts in the group but relevant. I think this blog my 3/4 yr journaling and posting to the course have really been enriching. 

I'm really at a crossroads though. Want to teach, want to make documentaries, want to blog and earn a living. Surely to God I can make something work. I'm worried I'm not focused enough. I'm not sure how to do this. 

I'll keep you posted.

Ironing out ideas...

I've began reading book on Iron Workers. I've always be curious about them. I like the Native Canadian connection too. The fear of heights and danger. I hope to get ideas from it.

I'm listening a second time to Story by Robert McKee on my commutes. I may have one. I have the index cards to start one day.

Rosenblum, Jeffery Jarvis, Jay Rosen... etc. All predicting the demise of the television networks and newspapers. I'm meeting with an Illustrator buddy tomorrow night. I want to find out how he is doing and what to make of these things. He's best friend with a old highschool buddy that works at our local newspaper. Look forward to the discussion. I'll share what comes out of it.

Checkin in between School work! Okay after really...

Finished Hillman Curtis' book. Not bad. Inspiring. He appropriates a lot of his work and relies on music to save his bacon at times. Easy read though with some good advice.

Watched The Producers doc about the cast recording featuring Mel Brooks. Fun but pretty straight forward.

Lots of school work this weekend. Watched a number of Errol Morris' First Person- The Complete Series while running on the treadmill an hour at a time.

Recovering Reality...and QTV.

Found this recent Errol Morris video on YouTube today. Also found this 25 minutes > more Errol.

A bit about Seeing and Listening

I finished Documentary Storytelling. I enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I particularily liked the interviews. I hope to discuss all my notes on it.

Watched Herzog's Land of Silence and Darkness. Really well done. At first I thought it was going to be hard to watch but then suddenly i was hooked in. The protagonist was amazing! The video really brought you into a whole different world and it became very touching not over the top though. I just can't imagine what their lives would be like but Herzog sure gave us a glimpse. These are amazing people.

I'm listening to Story on my commutes to and from work. I will listen a few times and hope to internal a lot of the concepts. Although, the principles are for fiction, I think that a good understanding of them will definitely make one more aware of finding the story elements in a piece of non-fiction.

I've now been reading Hillman Curtis' book called On Creating Short Films for the Web. Less scholarly and technical, more cerebral and personal. Should be a good inspiration.

My mom wants to invest in my video career. She wants to help me get set up. She's always been big on the arts and very supportive of them. Now she wants to support me. I've very lucky. I now have to investigate what I really need to get going. I love you mom!

What is documentary?

I've been finishing up Documentary Storytelling. Reading the interviews. I will present another well-know creator this weekend.

I don't intend to make a feature non-fiction piece anytime soon. But, I think the importance of telling a story with an arc seems to be a common acceptace. I've read Robert McKee's Story and Bernard even mentions it in her book. I will have to reread sometime and understand the key message. I think it has something to do with starting a scene one way then ending it a totally different way. The use of acts and the aforementioned arc.

As I read Sheila Curran Bernard's book I marked passages. I'm going to revisit those marked and comment on them over the next little while. So here goes one... Bernard says, "At their best, documentaries should do more than help the viewer pass the time; they should think about what they know, how they know it, and what more they might want to learn." She also states that they should "confound our expectations"..."push[es] boundaries" and put us in worlds unknown.

I would agree. Just presenting an ordinary world won't engage anyone. However, as the videos of Morris has shown, there are extra-ordinary and yes absurd expectations found in ordinary people. You just have to let them ask the right questions and let them speak. From their as described in many interviews in Bernard's book, the videographer/director/whoever has to find the story and it appears if they look hard enough - it's there.

How do these concepts apply to shorter videos? Can a short 7-10 video have acts and arcs?

Ken burns interview... talking about the video and still photographs.

Absurdity is alive and well...

I watched Gates of Heaven over the weekend. My wife couldn't watch after 5 minutes. Too boring she said. I stuck it out.

I actually enjoyed it most of the time. The characters Morris interviewed are so forthcoming. It seems like Morris just has to say 'rolling' and off they go. They are full of contradictions and full of truth and full-of-it. At times I found them very funny and pathetic. I'm not sure if this means it's entertaining but it was for me.

Morris as editor is skilled at putting in little details that add to the absurdity of it all. At times the characters that ran the pet cemetery are just babbling over the 'Bubbling Well'... it seems as they really believe what they are saying. However, objectively I as viewer can tell they aren't genuine. Yet... oh, it's hard to explain. One of the pet owners says about his wife speaking on the hereafter, "I didn't believe it until right now." A lot of the video is like this. Characters talking themselves into believing the absurd.

The most memorable character is the old lady with the cane. Here is a bit of it. The best part is when she is talking about a car and we actually hear one. Classic!

I'm going to read what others thought of it. Roger Ebert loved it. I wonder what others think? I suspect most will be like my wife and stop watching.

I think videos like Spinal Tap and the like have definitely used Morris' style. I know I've been on a bit of a Morris binge but hey, this guy is really good and his stuff resonates with me.

Also watched The Making of A Brief History of Time. Pretty cool. The interviews where all done on sets created by Morris. Only Hawkings lab was recreated with great detail. Interesting that Morris blurs the line between non-fiction and fiction video.

Hoops and Style Hoopla...

Interesting article on slick vs. rough camera work. Gives you samples of the 3 different kinds at the author sees it. Prosumer, Consumer and Flip-like. Obviously, the slicker the look the more expensive the camera, higher the learning curve and time investment required by the user. It's argued that right now rough is more acceptable on blogs then web sites.

I finished watching Hoop Dreams last night (3hrs approx.). It was viewed using my VCR so it looked YouTubish and rough. Rough as the lives these two young men had to endure. Gates and Agee and their families gave the director unbelievable access.

I'd have to say it was humbling to watch at times. I kept hoping the two young men would use the opportunity to embrace school as I had with sports. But I guess previous educational experiences in conjunction with the home lives depicted were too insurmountable.

I give the director, Steve James a ton of credit. I can't imagine the difficulty shooting all this footage in it's day. There were lots of low lighting situations. So kudos to them. Being videotape, there weren't special features to learn more.

It's all About Time sometimes...

Jan and I watched A Brief History of Time last night. Copy from library meant using the VCR. Tape is a poor substitue now for digital but the content was what counted.

Errol Morris is a master of finding great characters and inter-cutting atmospheric cutaways! The contrast between interviews, photographs and staged scenes flowed well. Shots of the subject (Stephan Hawking) were always interesting and the voice well done.

Although, the ideas were well beyond us, the story of Hawking's life certainly has an arc and carries the video well. I kept trying to make meaning out of the ideas but depsite Morris' best efforts... I'm not a Physicist so I'm not shattered. :)

As Morris states, no one does "existential dread" like composer Philip Glass.

On my commute home I heard on the CBC that the NFB have just put a lot of their catalogue on-line for streaming. I will be making my way over and posting great video on the site in the future! There is even the trailer for a new film on documentary.

My Errol Morris' First Person Series - The Complete Series arrived in the mail today.

Cool Surprise by Andy Nulman!

Just by mentioning Andy Nulman's new book I'm suppose to get sent to my home. Now that is a surprise.

Surprises in a documentary video are a plus too. Who doesn't like surprises?

Thanks Andy!

The Truth about believing is seeing...

I found this Christopher Lydon interview of Errol Morris on Morris' web site. It's pretty interesting to hear Morris speak as interviewee. The show included callers and challenges from Liden. Morris seemed not to mind. The discussion is pretty indepth and worth a listen. Morris gives his responses some thought and doesn't sound evasive.

Morris twists the saying "Seeing is believing" into "Believing is seeing". I have to admit, he has a point.

Herzog & Morris

While waiting for my daughter to arrive home in her taxi, I found this article. Just a bit of talking amoungs Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. Very cool insight into how they work. I see a obvious similarity in their work. In particular their treatment of those they interview.

What I pick out is there willingness to not control the interview. Listen. 

Morris states, "I had this three-minute rule that if you just shut up and let someone talk, within three minutes they will show you how crazy they really are. And it has happened time and time and time again." Both reinforce this idea.

Today Obama brought a sense of hope to The States. Can't help but share a bit myself...

Grizzly Man oh man...

The family and I watched Grizzly Man after breakfast Sunday morning. It haunted me all day...

The video by Werner Herzog started off realitively subtle. However, as we got further into it, it got more and more troubling.

The film follows the last 5 years of Timothy Treadwell's life as he lives amoungst Grizzly bears. Unlike the foxes, with the footage Herzog uses it's hard to believe the Grizzlies do more than tolerate Treadwell. The video tries to give us a sense of the man. A man I would argue was manic. He is very likeable for the most part but snaps quite a bit near the end and we see the inner turmoil through his own lens.

Herzog's narration is unique and insightful. Interviews with people are Errol Morris like in their treatment. At times they are almost comic if not pathetic in my opinion.

Treadwell himself shot some amazing footage. But, in the end it's hard to guage if he was helping or hurting the Grizzlies cause. One can't argue that his was not a live well lived. His death was enevitable my eyes and certainly the eyes of Treadwell.

Want to know more? Check out his web site.

Amazing Kids with Cameras

Born into Brothels was created by first time documentarians Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman,. Really it is a labour of love for Briski. She has doveted a lot to the children she documents and how could she not? They are all bright, articulate and survivors despite a dismal upbringing.

The access given to the video makers (shot of dv) is amazing. However, the children are rewarded for their candor. Briski is able to help them despite her doubts.

Like Murderball, Born into Brothels doesn't rely on a great deal of narration. Both films allow the cast to tell the stories. This was true of The Fog Of War as well. I realize that narration isn't as necessary because the participants are still alive and can tell their story. In The Fog Of War the brilliant use tape recording and video/film footage showed that even the dead can have a voice.

What I like about Born into Brothels was it's inclusion of several children instead of just one. After seeing the video you'll want to keep knowing about the kids. There is a 3yr later video in the Special Features or you can go to Kids with Cameras and follow their progress. Perhaps you can support them while you're there!

Killer doc about honest athletes...

Watched Murderball on Thursday night and loved it. I went to university with a few guys in wheelchairs so I certainly empathize with the fellows.

I love sports too but the film wasn't really about the sport. It was about men dealing with adversity and a raw deal and with dignity. Despite the marketing visuals being edgy, these guys seemed harmless - off the court of course.

The games were shot and edited really well by directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro. The overall film had a good look. What is really is amazing is the candid discussion from the videos participants.

Joe Soares was specifically gracious in his involvement. Without him I don't believe the video would have been near as powerful. He was a an older man in a young man's sport but maintained his passion.

If you want to feel a twinge of empathy, watch the Special Features - Premiere screening I believe. At one time the camera holds on Joe and the isolation screams out at you. Very poetic...

See this 2005 documentary. It's players with suck you in and take you into a world you won't forget.

Super Sized D.

Super Size Me is an awesome concept. It will definitely hold your interest. It did make a difference but I'm not sure what it is but for me, it lacked something. To be fair I'm watching a lot of the best docs out there. I can't put my finger on it but it didn't really get me.

Don't get me wrong the film maker Morgan Spurlock did a great job. The film got McDees to drop it's Super Sizes! Still much like the fast food it examines, it left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Maybe the characters other than Spurlock weren't fleshed out enough. Maybe the subject itself didn't lend itself to real drama... maybe I just had to big McExpectations.

You'll learn a lot from this film but I think it's stuff we already really knew. I can see why it's done so well. I mean everyone can relate to it. Most of use have eaten fast food. You should of course judge for yourself if you haven't seen it already.