Of all of the experiments we did in our film school animation class in 2004, drawing on film was by far the most tedious to me. If you keep in mind that 24 frames equal one second of screen time, it meant having to replicate an image over and over again to create the project - or at least it should have.
I chose instead to go the completely experimental (and in many ways easier) route, and opted to create a colourful film strip inspired by frequency lines. I divided my film strip evenly between frames of green, red, and blue. This was done with a clear strip of 16mm film and pack of sharpie markers. On top of that I drew various lines that would fluxuate in contrast to one another. The result was as busy as you might expect, but it created a cool effect. See what resulted below.
All of the film I shot in film school was done on a Bolex camera. It's essentially the old work horse of all film school cameras as pretty much up every introduction to shooting uses this versatile 16mm piece of equipment. After recently purchasing a vintage 16mm projector to watch some of my old shorts, I was reminded of the Bolex diagrams we had to learn. The camera had to be threaded in complete darkness as to not expose the film, so knowing your way around what wraps where was kind of a big deal. In any case, I found those original Bolex diagrams in my notes and thought it would be cool to share them. Someday in the not too distant future I'd like to buy myself a used Bolex and give shooting on film another go.
One of the things that really struck me after watching so many different movies leading up to the Oscars was how many different types of filmmakers there are. It's a broad field I know, but stick with me. Especially with the speeches you could sense how everyone had been pursuing that moment, to win an Oscar as a form of validation. Somehow things had come together and they'd fulfilled a childhood ambition.
I'm always giving myself a hard time about enjoying where I'm at, while forcing myself to keep an eye on what I want to achieve ahead. It's more frustrating now than it was just a few years ago, because for maybe the second or third time in my entire life I can honestly say that I don't know what I want. I don't know if I want to move, I don't know if I want different jobs, I don't know if I want a serious relationship. All I can say is that I want improvement or growth of some kind. I also really want to feel that sense of achievement again. The kind where you really surprise yourself.
The funny thing is that where I'm at now would've been a dream come true four years ago when I was still in film school. The differences are huge, and I'm proud of that. But I also felt the pressure back then to make something happen. Now it's more a debate over becoming too comfortable.
Reading all of these articles about filmmakers, actors, and editors over the last few weeks, it's not the work I'm envious of - it's the stories. I feel like I need to find myself in the middle of a good one right about now. I need a refresh but I'm not quite sure where to begin.
