Tough Week of Filmmaking

Journal entry by Bart

Here's an update: When you have two films to shoot at ounce and a million other things to do, the clock ticking down and combine that with the unpredicability of filming wildlife, I was seeing things starting to get chaotic. Filming is where the uncertainty mounts. Did I get on tape what is in my head?

Tonight I filmed a simple scene (for Strange Attractor), of a burner from a gas stove igniting-off. The lighting wasn't what I had expected, but the digital tape showed some of my lighting tricks worked really well. This tiny transition shot, really picked-up my spirits. It's the reminder that a film is built one scene at a time. And a good film must be a string of deliberate and purposeful images.

Interesting, that the gas-burner idea which came from Jim Ericksen (collaberator in the film), would end up being the image that sparked the whole filming effort.

That's the whole point, I never know what's going to work, so I have to document everything I can. But my own limitations try to box me in, so that's why I have to get creative.

Earlier in the week I lost a whole night of shooting (for the film: Bats of Ruby) because I had one button switched "on" that shouldn't have been and over-saturated the image. Another night, I had to switch a battery in mid-shoot of the bat's flight, then ran out of tape. All due to carelessness, juggling two projects and the clock - the details will derail you.

However, after reviewing all the footage, I feel I have been capturing the essence of what I'm trying to accomplish. Trying to remain true to the idea.

Stay in the moment - Stay in the moment. That's is what I keep saying to myself. And to "breathe".