the internet on my imac has been down now for a while. this is a blessing and a curse. i hate the internet almost as much as much as i hate television (but i do think there are some educational things to be found on the internet, television is a different story). however, it is the bane of my existence when it comes time to get work done because i am only a click away from being completely and totally distracted for HOURS on end. so, the fact that i cannot click away into a world of mindless blog posts and music downloading forces me to focus on my editing.
shoot.
i have been struggling about what to write about since this is my first post in over a month i think. i want to write about my friend ben who moved to thailand, i want to write about how the editing is going for the blank street film, i want to write about going to the north carolina state fair. but tonight i specifically want to write about something that has been on my mind for almost a year now (caution, this entry takes some time investment...please commit).
first, watch this video (DO NOT CONTINUE READING WITHOUT WATCHING THE VIDEO)
Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.
i have an issue with the concept of portraying "truth" with filmmaking. from the start of a project, piece, film, whatever, the filmmaker is altering the truth. the viewer will never see or experience the content of the film the same way they would have if they were actually present during the event/filming. you are seeing something secondhand, and actually you are seeing something through the eyes of the filmmaker. he/she has decided what angles to shoot at, what audio to focus on, which clips to put next to each other, and how to present the piece as a whole.
people argue all the time that it is simply impossible to capture "reality". i agree with this to an extent. i do think it is possible however, to capture a moment.
in this short film we shared a moment with jason wood as external viewers. we sympathized with him and his friends because chances are, we have had to put a dog down before. its something we share in common. this is completely different than being with jason, in that vet room, holding onto oden as he breathed his last breath. that would be the essence of this experience. and that is something that the best camera and audio equipment will never capture.
that said, i think that filmmakers need to film more "moments" like this one so people can share them.
over the summer i worked on a film where a friend and i traveled the state and spent time talking to folks about any and everything. we were documenting financial struggles ranging from recent job loss to homelessness. we spent a day with a homeless man named Holladay in newport news. Holladay took us to a community of homeless folks who live under a bridge. we spent some time there and filmed the location (with permission). i could watch that footage every day for the rest of my life but i will never feel the same as when i was standing under that bridge staring at somebody's "home".
however, those "moments" that we captured with our camera will hopefully sink deep into the hearts of every person who sees our film. hopefully those moments will inspire people to check out their own "under the bridge" community and see how they might be able to help out.
"last minutes with oden" offers a few incredible moments. we can cry and feel joyous at the same time. the best part to me is that both jason wood and oden are real. jason is not an actor, hes also not a real guy being portrayed by an actor. we are seeing and hearing from the real jason wood and the real oden. there is something very powerful about that.
you might say that this short film sums up my goals as an aspiring filmmaker, and thats why it means so much to me. i want to film real moments, and share them with the world.
