Creative Clutter

I imagine that a lot of people don't see the benefit in keeping so many random collections in view.  However, so much of what I fill my space with isn't merely stuff, most of it has a story behind why it's even there.

Take my bulletin board for instance.  It may be full, but it also holds random knick-knacks from traveling, postcards from friends, creative tags from a couple of t-shirts, posters, ads, and other little pieces that I thought were cool to look at.  It's become an inspiration board mixing the things I like with the things I've done.  My strategy for making my spaces my own has always been about a lot of visual and graphic emphasis - not shying away from color, contrasting patterns, or mixed textures.

I've always been inspired by pop art and rock culture to the extent that a few photographs just never seemed like enough to tell the full story.  I love that I've surrounded myself with pieces of my past, collections that borrow on the mainstream, samples that emphasize a do-it-yourself type attitude, and gifts that friends probably forgot they gave me.  I've essentially found a style that makes me feel creative and connected to a lot of different sources.

I'd like to think that someone could walk in to my place and by exploring get to know a lot about me - more than what just a family photo might say (although that's in there too). 

Keeping in mind that these photos are all close-ups and that my space is actually a big open loft, the film editor in me has kept things structured and laid out in a way that feels deliberate.  The goal has never been to have a mess of stuff, but instead to create a look that's just busy enough to challenge the way people see or respond to it. 

I guess in a lot of ways I've never wanted to be too easy to sum up.

Flip Cam Test - Jaguar XJ8 Winter Drive

An experiment, a Flip camera demo, a glamour shot of my Jaguar - this edit is all of those things.  I'm starting to feel energized about the idea of producing a more ambitious, stylized, narrative short film.  Meaning that a years worth of work could easily go into a single project and allow me to draw on the variety of creative and technical experiences that I've had in just the last several years.

What I did here with this winter drive test was actually play with the way I could mount my Flip Ultra HD to various points on my car. This included the dash, along the edge of my wheel well, and to the front of the grill.

I decided to cut together a short edit from this footage just because I was impressed with how well some of it turned out.  I see a lot of potential in mixing both the lightweight and maneuverable benefits of my Flip cam with the more cinematic and rich footage of my HDR-FX1 in an upcoming future project.  

For now, I find it encouraging just to see what I can do using my own resources.  Tests like these are really just ways to find inspiration and push myself to tackle even more ambitious and creative shooting techniques that just weren't possible for the low budget indie filmmaker 5 years ago.  I love the idea of merging a professional look with the spirit of an amateur shoot.  

Downtown San Francisco, California

A city with character - and characters - was exactly the impression we got from our two short days in San Francisco.  We aimlessly navigated the hills of downtown, exploring Lombard Street, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate. The final days of the road trip were chalked full of new things to do and even more visual stimulus.