Breaking it down

In an effort to get my shiznit together for work, I've been reading through David Allen's "Getting Things Done". As someone who has more ideas than completed projects - in both my personal life and working life - I figure, what the heck. This book might actually do me some good.

Allen has several tips on brainstorming, including one that he refers to as mind-mapping. Recently, my mind has been spinning with all the possibilities related to my crazy idea. I thought that maybe mind-mapping might help get my thoughts organized.

So, I sat down, wrote "The movie" in the center of a sheet of paper and just started mapping whatever came to mind.

I'm very happy with the results, and I now realize that there are eight areas that must be addressed. They are:

1. Philosophy - what is the overall philosophy of the project?
2. Media - what look do I want aesthetically?
3. Crew - how many people will I need?
4. Equipment - what do I need and how do I get it?
5. Locations - what places are available to me?
6. Music - how much and what kind of music will I want for the film, if any?
7. Story - what is the structure and feel of the narrative?
8. Acting - who (actors or non-actors) would I like on camera?

Sure, some of these areas are connected, but these were the things that kept spinning around my brain, all disorganized. But now, I know what I'm up against. And that's a good feeling.

-Eric

Why?

“I don’t know why I want to do this, why I like to do this. I just do it, and it feels right sometimes.” - Frank Ross in Shortend Magazine

The question that I've been asking myself lately - aside from "Are you crazy?" - is "Why?" Why do I want to pursue my crazy idea?

Well, I tried to answer that question by writing down my thoughts. I wrote down things like "to challenge filmmaking conventions, " to make a film that is "warm, intimate and thought provoking," and something about finding my "unique voice." And sure, I'd like to do all those things, but I couldn't help but feel that I wasn't getting to the heart of the question "Why?"

Later at home with Jenn, as we talked about our respective work days the "Why?" of it all seemed obvious. As hard as we work at our day jobs, as much as we'd like to succeed in a traditional sense, the deeper we get into our careers, the less they "feel right". I think that trying something like my crazy idea, might just shake things up a bit, and give us a chance that in the future we'll be able to earn a living while having more moments that "feel right".

I don't know if I'll wind up with a filmmaking career. (At this point, I don't even know if a career making films is something that I'd even want.) But I do know that there have been times when I've been PAing on a friend's film or capturing some moments on my camcorder where everything just feels right. I guess I'm pursuing this crazy idea in the hope that I'll get some more of those moments.

Only 362 days...

As far as I can figure out, I have about 362 days until the submission deadline for SXSW 2009. (I haven't seen an announcement for the 2009 submission deadline, so that number's an estimate, give or take a few days.) Although deadlines have a way of sneaking up on me, I figure I've got some time for reflection before I start writing.

As far as movies go, I know what I like. But I want to know WHY I like them. What are the common qualities in movies that resonate with me?

So, for the rest of this month and all of next month, I'll be watching movies. Each week I'll pick one movie that I find particularly interesting, and try to break it down in terms of plot, structure and technique. The goal for the end of January is to learn a little something about what to do, and what not to do, when it comes to creating my own little movie.

Filmmakers are everywhere

The day after I thought of my crazy idea, I went to a coffee shop with my journal, to try and get some ideas down. I found an empty table by the windows, next to a lanky guy working on a laptop. He wore dark pants with white socks.

I was there no more than ten minutes when a friend of his walked in.

FRIEND
How's it going?

LANKY LAPTOP GUY
Great. One hundred and thirty pages with a run time of two-hours and fifteen minutes. We're ready to go.

"Good God," I thought. "The guy's a filmmaker."

What are the odds? Well, nowadays in a city like Cambridge, MA, the odds seem pretty short. When I first moved to the Boston area in 2000, Cambridge was full of writers and musicians. Today, it seems that those former writers and musicians are all making films.

The idea of so many people making films caused me a momentary panic.

I thought, "What kind of chance do I think I have of landing a film in a festival like SXSW when there are so many people like dark pants-white socks over there making films?" The odds, I thought, were not very good.

But since then, I realized that my fear isn't that there are too many filmmakers out there; my fear is that I will make an ordinary film.

My fear is that I'll be just another person, adding to the hoard of fashion-impaired filmmakers already out there.

My fear is that I'll bust my butt to create just another mediocre screener in the SXSW in-basket.

I'll have to work hard to make sure my entry stands out. I'll have to be unique.

My crazy idea

Today is the deadline for entries to the 2008 SXSW Film Festival.

My crazy idea: I will have a feature film to submit to SXSW by next year's deadline for the 2009 SXSW Film Fest.

Why is this idea crazy? I have never made a feature film before. I have never submitted any film to any festival before. I have virtually no training as a filmmaker. And I am broke.

The idea to submit a feature to SXSW 2009 came to me about a week and a half ago, and I still want to do it. (A rarity for me.) Logic dictates that this is something that I shouldn't even attempt. Yet every time I think about doing it, I smile. So I figure, what the hell...