Skip to content

Lisa Anita Wegner

“I make stuff and sometimes write about it”

Category Archives: film and art

November 12, 2013 OCAD Student Request: A Day in My Life

Last week I got an email from an OCAD student who was doing a project on daily creativity and asked me to blog about a typical day in my studio. I am happy to oblige and documenting today November 12th. I was going to wait until a day where I had an interesting meeting or something extraordinary, then I realized that was missing the point. I think it’s more important what I do on a more typical day. I have no meetings, no phone calls planned. A regular work/ creative day.
I woke up at 9am without alarm, I’m proud of that. I’ve worked to become an early riser lately. I’m sure I’ll go back to a late schedule at some point. But this busy fall/winter I want to catch all the daylight I can. I get up and first snuzzle with my dog Tanner who sleeps on  next to my bed. I open the window to air out my bedroom, make my bed, put on my robe and head upstairs to my kitchen and studio.
Upstairs I greet Aqeel my young dog who sleeps in the living room, he guards the place. I kiss the top of his hot little head and he runs outside. I put on coffee, pour some blueberry juice and sit down to schedule my day. Today is my dad’s birthday and I will write on his Facebook wall, pour my coffee in my favourite snowman mug and give him a quick call. Actually I took a snapshot of a framed picture of us and posted that to his wall. I then check my Wunderlist Application, I have all my project listed there and I do a scan to refresh my brain on the status of my current work. I am making my morning list (9:30am).
Having my studio at home for the first time I take advantage of being a mere fifteen feet from my stove all day long, to simmer some super spaghetti sauce. Tonight I have one carnivore and one vegetarian friend for dinner so I’ll simmer two sauces for six hours or so for heavenly blended taste. First step is all the chopping which I like, I do this to music and do my best to be present and lose myself in every moment I can.
I sent a thank you email to folks who helped with research. I am always thrilled that folks want to help my storytelling. (9:30am)
I am doing Internet Movie Database updates (9:45am): Queen of the Parade went up on IMDb as the first feature length film co-directed by Carl Elster and I. I’m having some difficulty adding the folks who aren’t yet on their service- the art/theatre folks. And finally the Canadian Comedy Awards Nominations have gone up on their site which means I can finally add them to my profile. I was nominated three times for best actress in a film. One year I lost to Catherine O’Hara (bragging and name dropping is the lamest but I am very proud of this). Plane Crazy a feature doc in a tortuously long post production, will not go up on IMDb as we don’t have a release date. Submitted updates and got emailed receipts for the Canadian Comedy Awards.
I open the window for a bit of fresh air and lay out my camping mat and put on an 18 min relaxation muscle relax guided meditation from Youtube. Headphone, dark, quiet, incense. Ahhhh. (10:10am) I Birthday skyped with my Dad. We were both drinking coffee. Cute. (10:30am)
Now to prepare the chopped vegetables (10:35am). I’ll put on Diff’rent Stroked on Netflix during the chop. I will dance to the opening theme, it is inevitable. During this time, my ideas come to me, projects solidify and by imagination plays hooky from being an adult. I decided to grate the carrots for the vegetarian sauce, for heartiness. Also second cup of coffee. I had a little Quisinart chopper that Ben gave me awhile back. I got it all loaded up to chop finely and no go, the appliance didn’t work. So I chopped by hand and grated the carrot. Now it’s 11:30am and the sauce is on time. I have to remember to stir with either the meat or vegetarian wooden spoon. It took a whole hour to chop by hand and prep two sauces.
11:35 I checked LinkedIn and the new folks who added me. I don’t focus much on this site but it is a great way to directly connect. Got a call, my christmas present couch from my parents is on time for delivery tomorrow. I lent my neighbour some of our location traffic cones. Neighbour is waiting for a dumpster pick up and needed the spot in front of her house clear. Four cones are better than two chairs and a string.
I got an email through my site, a brazen young filmmaker declaring his talent in a misspelled email and threatening that if I don’t use his script it will be my loss. It sure will be. Also a synopsis of a script despite the clear message on the page that we don’t accept unsolicited screenplays. I got a reasonable intern application, my last intern Rob Small finished officially in September from Loyalist College Film and stuck around until just recently. He feels like one of the team. I could take someone new for the winter, I’ll think on it.
I have been pondering and meditating on my large scale video/performance/projection mapping installations for next year. I have been able to conceptualize and visualize roughly what I want to do. Working title is MAGICK. I want to reconnect with Vincent John Vincent of Gesture tek and let him know the the first project I spoke to him about (3d projection mapping installation for a Buddhist Temple) is something I decided to move away from and MAGICK is what I’m moving toward. I will find out next years Nuit Blanche themes (chosen but not announced) and start to craft this idea in order to mesh with the city’s idea for next year. I also want to investigate the other company interested in sponsoring our venture. My sponsor, friend and cinematographer Carl Elster brought in AVW TELAV as someone we might partner with. Exciting!
There is a magician I might bring in for MAGICK, I feel the theme of Victorian magician and classic magic tricks might be the way to go. I do a google search of Victorian magician. Google image searches are a big part of my work process. I’m very visual and that is a great way to give my brain stuff to chew on. I’m going to do another 8 minute meditation now after stirring sauce.
(12:15am) I am trying to find a contact phone number for the curator’s assistant for Fashion Arts Toronto, we are looking to possibly put Queen of the Parade into this event in the spring but I’m not sure if their set up can physically support our 25 foot dress with video legs. It was made for Nuit Blanche 2013 and I am happy that it might have a Toronto gallery show before it gets sold.
563101_10153461616975521_1603103261_n

1391560_10153390828525521_1913973388_n

queen of the parade
I want to talk to someone in person at FAT to explain the weight, size and my plan on how we can hang it in a gallery. I’ll write a quick email to them to find out who I can talk to in person. Much better for me than emailing sketches back and forth.
(12:20am) I just had another inspiration for the new sound and image video study series I’m doing.I’m going to work on that for a bit, I’ll post the one I made two days ago, for those interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxGNQ6L5LXc
I am looking at projector specs, LED projectors are really coming down in price. I’m getting one for Christmas from the awesome John Taylor. There are these really cheap awesome little ones from China but the shipping isn’t awesome. John doesn’t want to risk that.

I stir the sauces. Woah they already smell and taste awesome. I just got sauce on my keyboard. I was going to make some apple carrot juice but after chopping vegetables for an hour I can’t look a carrot or apple in the face. Diff’rent Strokes is switched to a documentary called First Out of Africa. I find when I’m working I like something running. 1980s sit coms are great for the danceability every 22 minutes (the Alan Thick theme songs are the bomb). Or I like to learn things so topdocumentaries.com is great. I was tickled when last year they featured a doc that I worked on Tales of the G20. I also like to have Eddie Izzard stand up running when I’m working too.

I am tweaking the master list of projects on mightybraveproductions.com. This is the first time I’ve put all my projects in one place. Not needing traditional resumes (the closest was an actor CV) I’ve never done this before. I keep remembering projects and art shows that I have forgotten. Someone I want to work is skyping me… i’m going to take the video call. I’m tickled for the unexpected contact! (12:30pm).
My mind is buzzing from the very quick online story meeting. I need to think for awhile, let this stuff cook. (12:50pm) It’s strange writing everything down as I think of it or do it. It’s actually like having an intern- I speak everything out loud that I’m thinking so they can get a good sense of my process.
(1pm) I just sent my street address to my dinner company. Turns out I got the dinner day wrong- it’s tomorrow. But the sauce will actually be better tomorrow. So now I have a free evening to do anything I want. I might venture out with my new camera and shoot the alley art, which I am obsessed with. Ok back to story thinking. I think I will lie on the floor with my dogs, stretch and think about story structure.
(1:11pm) I actually re-arranged my studio a little bit. I’m always figuring out how to make my space better for the things I do. I have my video editing area, my easel (dabbling in painting with nail polish) my table and my meditating space (mat on floor with space to starfish my limbs out). I realize that perfecting a space is an ongoing process.  Thinking about it, I do this at least 10 minutes every day I’m here. This blog is very interesting for me to write, seeing exactly where I put my focus in a day. Now going to think and stretch. And eat some meat sauce.
I stretched, with my dogs and now I’m choosing a 6 minute and then an 8 minute meditation in the tub. I love turning my phone off and being unreachable. Its feels so free to be able to jump full force into a moment. and not be distracted. I just remembered two more art shows that I had pieces in at Buddies in Bad Times. Instead of adding them to my site and possibly get pulled back into my computer, I jotted them down on my paper list. At this point, I will meditated in the tub and then I think the sauce is far along enough to turn it to the lowest setting and head out to High Park with the dogs. This walking time is my second specific creative thinking time during a day. Sometimes I listen to music, Sometimes guided meditation. More often than not silence is the way to light my imagination on fire. Ok now the hot bath water will help soften my muscles for deep relaxation.  The calmness is intoxicating and the way forward creatively for me. The excitement comes natural, the energy comes when I’m excited. It’s the calm grounded feeling that I strive for every day. This feeling is how I know I’m doing the right thing. I ate some sauce on the way to meditate- the veg is tastier than the meat. What?! (1:43pm)
(2:48pm) Woah my thirty minute meditation bath turned into an hour- the ideas were flowing so I didn’t get out. As well as the meditations I did two guided hypnosis, also from youtube. Now I’m a bit of a prune but a relaxed energized one. I also had insights into my own create process and how I want to refine it. Thanks Student from OCAD for asking me to do this. I think I might adopt a streamlined version of this to keep track of my process to keep it fresh.  I like to document through art and video, I can do words/ process too. I just stirred the sauces and ate some more. Now I am heading for about 1.5 to 2hours to the trails in High Park with my dogs. The best time of the day for my body, heart, soul and brain. After I’ll write down a streamline of my process from bath/ meditation and dog walking. I was going to jot some notes, but I am going to trust my brain to remember and synthesize my thoughts when I get back. Brain, I trust you’ll spit it out even better after it cooks. Like my sauces.
(4:15pm) I got home from the park with a cool hardwood picture frame. I stirred the sauce and am now sitting at my work table with my laptop. I just Googled “longest simmering spaghetti sauce” and found a lady who simmers her sauce for 24 hours. That sounds like a euphemism but it’s not meant as one. I do little upkeep bits on all my projects and while I’m doing other stuff my actual creative work gets done.  Here are a few notes on the status of my current projects. I nurture them most days. At least to look at the list and keep the to-do items fresh in my head.
My Favourite Mistake:  My first feature film in the white tragedy style (a name that I have given my flavour of storytelling -it borrows much from black comedy). I have made 12 short films with this story telling mandate and I’m ready to move into long form. The characters are alive in my mind and after meeting with friend and adoption agent Maureen last week for research, I got some more authentic ideas based on her experiences from families in Toronto. It’s a story that involves adoption and I wanted to check the facts. I’m starting to see the shape of the overall story and scenes. And the ending is clear to me now too. I feel like these characters are friends that I care deeply about and I think about them often.
Jazz FM TD Bank Project: I am meeting with Ab Boles and hopefully Lorraine (of underground jazz joint)  to pick their brains for a good match of jazz musician for an upcoming project at The Revue Cinema. Jazz or Swing I think is the way. I’m keen to hear their thoughts on a kind of music I know nothing about. I would be making art videos that play on the silver screen if this project lines up.
I want to re-watch footage my intern shot of The Queen of the Parade going up running. It is still tricky to really explain the installation even with photos. So I think cutting together a few minutes of video is the way to show. The footage is shaky and blurry. I do wish there had been a bit more time put into this aspect. Luckily there are hundreds of videos posted online- I might do a collage of other people’s footage to show the 25 foot Queen off to her full glory and ten foot video legs.
Website tweaking, LinkedIn and IMDb are three ongoing picky things I do on a lot of days. I also really benefit from making something every day. Digital art/ pixel painting/ self portrait/ video study or art video. I find that my creative flow eking out little bits here and there, really adds up. The first two years I was sick I created more hours of therapeutic video art than I did whilst running a small production company.  A little bit every day. I guess I’m really understanding why it’s called an art practise. And a meditation practise. There is a such a benefit to the consistency. Since 2008 I have spent countless hours editing photos and video and now I am proficient in Final Cut and Photoshop, two skills I never thought I’d have.
The Brazil US Canada Project is an ongoing online collaboration with Luiz Barcello a Brazillian filmmaker, Steve Weiss a filmmaker/programmer and Lesie Barton and artist/filmmaker like myself. We haven’t had a meeting in awhile because of our schedules, but Luiz is coming to Toronto in December and I suspect hashing him here will freshen the interest. I’m keen to see where this goes.
Art installations in the works: MAGICK (projection mapping/ performance/ interactive) NEVERWET on WHITE (technology/ performance) WE CAN BE HEROES (performance with Lisa McKewan) and this idea I have about a tin bird man.
In writing this especially, I realize my days are full of millions of moment nurturing my creative process, body, mind and projects. I used to feel a rush in my work- like I should be farther along or have done more. Now I realize that I’m exactly in the right place and the very nature of the ease of a relaxed day is where I need to be to move forward with worthwhile work.
So that what I do on the most usual boring day that I have here at Haus of Dada in the dada laboratory. For me, it’s about stretching and nurturing my brain, spirit, imagination and physical body. And a commitment to myself to continually strive to find my most authentic voice.
I’m going to read this over and call it a day. At least I think so right now… I do like to keep regular hours to not burn out. Making only films I used to think “regular hours” were 12 hours to 18 hours a day seven days a week. Six to eight hours a day will ultimately yeild more creative output than pushing hard and crashing periodically like I used to.
I just remembered another two performance based art installations I was involved in. I can’t believe I forgot about Kent Monkman’s The Art Game. I was the most prolific artist in the world. Fun! I think every artist/ craftsperson/ maker of things should make a master list like I am to remember all their work no matter how big or small.
IMG_2573
Yours truly and appreciatively
Lisa Anita Wegner.

Tags: , , ,

February 25, 2013 inHaus creative team & the Exhaustion Hole


this is what i need to make stuff

this is what i need to make stuff

dear exhaustion: you can be a bit overbearing, like a parent grounding me when i have to rehearse and perform the lead in the school play. i appreciate the message but sometimes i have deadlines. but you know what exhaustion?  i appreciate you telling me to ease off.  even though it took about ten people’s help and you didn’t go easy on me, i managed to get everything done,  with one day to spare.  by next week the reno on my space should be finished and that will be like heaven on wheels. greased lighting wheels.  right now i am living in a cloud of construction dust, workman, cables, floor glue, and fumes. unable to locate anything and dogs barking at every workman move. that’s exhausting on it’s own.

dear ice: please cut me some slack especially when there is water on top. you’re slippery and i’m tired. i can’t fall anymore so i’m just taking main road. thanks i know you didn’t mean it.

dear technology:  i want to thank you for being my in house creative team. thank you for  always being available to me and for knowing my own creative brain . without you i wouldn’t be so creatively free.

dear brain injury you are a worthy opponent: you can kick my ass any day. any stress (physical illness, tiredness, over working) is compounded exponentially from the divine straight to the ridiculous. the trick my body is to shut my cognition down one level at a time. so  when i’m exhausted  the world doesn’t make a lot of sense. numbers, letters, sequences, passwords, phone numbers, questions, lists, addresses all lose their meaning. i feel that people are asking me things but the signal is interrupted.  just general thought process becomes extremely difficult. an example:  a task that i do every day like brushing my teeth: find tooth brush, find toothpaste, put the paste on the brush, run under tap, brush rinse what now what? ok done. these steps become challenges in themselves. preparing my toothbrush can take twenty minutes and then i’m literally in tears from the effort.

so this gets tricky when i have to keep on top of deadlines. especially because my tricky brain is shutting down and my tricky body is also trying to stop me: shooting adrenaline like i have to fight a bear.  the general tasks to run a body (eating hygiene etc) take it all out of me.  this last month i had several screenings, an larger art/film/fashion installation is starting up production, i have art showing next week and a speaking engagement. my  biggest fantasy is a day off with no workman in my house. a sleep in without wild barking at the work. being able to go to a social event without falling asleep and being able to follow a conversation.  having appetite (my appetite drops out when i have symptoms) is appealing too.

but after what felt like endless dark tunnel of tired, today there was a crack of light. after doing a few tasks and then walking tanner,  i didn’t feel like i’d run a marathon. my brain wasn’t thinking through glue. my body is only aching a burning a medium amount!  and i don’t feel overwhelmed with every tiny task. ahhh a type of heaven. it’s not the coolest feeling needing to be taken care of: not very empowering. i needed to make sure i was fed and driven to meetings and then home again. it’s hard to ask for help, especially with the basics of living.

on a side note, i am chuffed that google has accepted my work space as a “living modern art museum”  and am continually glad despite my life being such a challenge by creative brain is on fire. writing this has been tiring but i did it.

for those who follow me on facebook you can see that the harder a time i’m having, the more creative output i have. i update there everyday http://www.facebook.com/lisaanitawegner here is some stuff that got me though the last weeks: mouth music mashup

come here me speak march 6th in toronto.  “How Art Saved My Life” this week: http://wonderwomenworld.tumblr.com/Wonderfest

i feel my thinking slipping and it goes quickly. so i will bid you farewell for now. it’s been nice to be able to talk like this.

special thanks to all those who have gone above  and beyond this last month. you know who you are. thanks for the help, the food and the drives and all the support.

i really couldn’t do it without each and every one of you.

yours till the usa drinks canada dry

lisa

Tags: , , , ,

January 10, 2013 An open love letter

Dear You,

If you are reading this letter, it means that I had the balls to send it. So yay me. I realize today walking in the sun that I was going to write to you. I really don’t know how to say it, so I just will.

I have met someone.

I didn’t mean to, I wasn’t looking, it just happened. It was a perfect storm of connection. It feels big, like I have been grabbed by the heart and the brain and they have my attention. It feels like home. It feels like a tall glass of water to a parched mouth.

I realized stuff about myself: I prefer my shapes asymmetrical and my colours rich. I dig kindness and one on one communication. Meditating is my second favourite altered state and drinking coffee is my second favourite activity. I can’t get enough of hanging out with dogs and children because they are present and alive and understand the importance of fun. I declare myself a hedonistic nerd with a wild side and untamed creative drive. I trip all the time and bang into things- I’m awkward and enthusiastic. When I’m stressed I can’t eat and when I’m calm I can eat a lot. I can find myself and lose myself in my work and strive for excellent. Being in a good mood is a choice I make hundreds of times a day. I love sleeping, stretching and lounging. Authentic words, images and stories are my thing. I want to shave half my head and paint a mural on my wall.  I like some video games and can drink beer if there is Ginger Ale in it. Lord.  Me me me me. This letter is packed with self indulgent douchbaggery!

If my tongue in cheek isn’t clear: I am entering an intimate relationship with myself. I am going to practise the habit of choosing the best for me. And that is my new place of emergence. I think everybody  should snack on some radical self love and acceptance.

This post is an homage to Hank Moody’s letter to Karen in the second season of Californication. (I want to open the flow my creative tap and make/try/play with as many ideas as I can.  Blogging: where so much is written, yet so little is said. Written by so many read by so few.)

2013 is going to be the best year yet, I can feel it in my bones.

Unfaithfully yours, Lisa Anita Wegner

Image

Tags: , , , ,

December 11, 2012 nothing to see here

that kind of woman   and so the time comes again, the scotiabank nuit blanche art installation applications are due next monday at midnight. the exact minute that i will be doing my first live pixel painting projection at the drake hotel.  i am very much looking forward and here are the first images i have to show. i love being transparent with how my stuff comes together so i’m posting some steps of the work. i am excited to work with mr. brock mills at pixel flex and figure out the best use of the LED fabric. the idea really came to life when vanessa wishart of vicerra couture designed the gown for me. we will be making a patchwork of fabrics from other recycled gown and she captured the look i was hankering for. her idea to make it larger than life was when it was born.

this installation has morphed several times since it’s inception. originally called “marry the night” and then “i f##k like a man” i knew i wanted to play with the idea of the enormous fairy tale gown and i know i wanted to comment on my own sense of femininity. having been called a bad example of a woman and a bad feminist  i want to respond with this installation now called: “a woman like that “. with vanessa’s design, i thought i wanted to simplify the video content on the screen and decided to stick with representing myself through videos of different sets of legs. i am fascinated by how little you have to show to get a vibe, an image, a point across. i want to find the perfect legs/ shoes/ pants/ skirts/ walking attitudes for the video panel.

i believe i will stay with the soundtrack (those are speakers on the sides) “marry the night” by lady gaga. a mashup of the song, around lyrics and the low growling sounds.

i love the absurd, so the body proportions being off kilter struck my fancy. i am quite stoked to wear (or rather walk into) the gown. twelve hours is going to be quite something. although nothing compared to the great art installation at the moma “the artist is present”.

i am happy to have re-used my flight overalls from the film “from desert to dessert” (and my cowboy town boots from that same project) and add a gold belt and gold lettering as my costume/ uniform.  i have played around and preset my favourite effects for a good live art video hoedown for the aforementioned drake hotel event, elvis monday.

because of an unfortunate arts and crafts in my kitchen circumstance my hands and feet are covered with little cuts from broken glass. doesn’t affect editing or shooting but does hurt when holding dog leashes. sad face.

as i’m putting my installation together i realize i have to figure out how to edit video into unusual shapes and aspect ratios. hmmm, there is some noodling there. ow the glass cuts are bugging me. and so the working magic begins. i sound like an elf.

IMG_0572

here is a sample of my video pixel painting video link: beer store improv #2

yours until the usa drinks canada dry,

lisa anita wegner

September 5, 2012 rethink possible: as nuit blanche draws near

a migraine got me off track yesterday and unravelled my thinking by the afternoon. although i did get some sound creative work and some networking done early in the day. i am trying to get used to relaxing in to the cognitive unravelling and enjoy it. sometimes a few hours sometimes a few days- i am lost in the moment. now don’t get me wrong, i couldn’t be happier to have found the ability to live in the moment  that fully and now i have to blend that wonderful childlike space (which can be productive) with being reliable and deadline able. i realize this will be easier once i have more full time help again. having a place to work has really has helped and it will be christmas every day when I get back to my old production office life. i know how to streamline things now and i feel like my time will be so much better spent.

so this morning i felt clear, but my production to do lists were alphabet soup. i had a sense of the work i have to do. my next step is drinking water and i entered an online art contest- there is nothing like making a pixel painting to clear my mind. i entered a stock photo contest on deviantART.com. ok that is made and entered and i feel more clear.

last night after relaxing and a long walk, after not thinking about deadlines at all, i thought about my list and i had clear sense of everything i needed to do for the projects. simple avenues to get to the final product. next steps, who to talk to and what to do. alleluja. right now, not so much. but i know it’s there.

i just had an idea of how to keep the workflow going. i am going to think on it. i will meet with my PM sarah and download into her again to refresh and now i can give her financial info to keep things moving without me. and last time i did that i was very productive afterward. i think the human connection helps to ground my thinking. i have phone calls to make to schedule the last of my trauma therapy but phone calls are not the thing to move me forward right now. man. although i think i will drink another glass of water, stretch, look at my list so it can percolate and then procure some food. i’ll listen to some music and take it from there.

by the end of the day i will have accomplished some list items. i can smell it in the air and taste it my coffee.

lisa anita wegner

Tags: , , , , , ,

March 18, 2012 animated me / discombobulation

>

i am looking forward to the following things:
becoming more involved with the revue cinema society; my first gallery show; watching the rest of the prints be done; finishing post production on “one desert, two desserts” and seeing it on the silver screen; looking further into 259 mcdonnell as a shared studio and workspace; shooting something cool with carl elster and his wicked camera package; making my wife happy, getting my dog trim and fit; spending time with John Bertram; catching up on the post production of “plane crazy”; writing out the treatment for “my favourite mistake”; choosing a new inspiring intern; working more fully with arts planner sue edworthy; getting my first hdslr camera; getting a new macbook pro; and drinking the first delicious marbled cup of coffee of the day.

Amen.

October 31, 2011 being in a zoo/ the inspiration perspiration balance

his is a double blog post about the last two creative projects i was involved in.

how it must feel being in a zoo:

i had the pleasure of working as a performer with artist Kent Monkman for THE ART GAME,  an installation at the Toronto Art Fair. 
i played the most prolific artist in the world. the piece is a fun house with a side show feel. i was in a windowed room painting in a twelve armed outfit.
hundreds of people walked by the window in the time i was in there. and apparently if there is a piece of glass between audience and performer, the audience thinks you can’t hear them.


favourite overheard comments:
child: does that painter use all her arms to paint? father: (exasperated) people have two arms.
she’s not painting
she’s not real
she’s not dipping the brush
an hour ago she was a man
this is bullshit
i don’t want her to paint me
i don’t want her looking at me like that (I wasn’t even looking at that person)
bang bang on glass get to work
and the cake taker: a guy who started taking his clothes off and rubbing his nipples the evening of the gala. classy.
i’m making a little video about how it felt being in a box and watched. i’ll post it soon.
***
the inspiration perspiration balance:
i recently had the pleasure of working on a music video for Jane Siberry’s latest album the THREE QUEEN’S TRILOGY.
this was the first time i generated creative content -by myself- for a project for someone else. running my own production company i was usually the overseer of the creative and had the final say with the director. in this case, i did have the excellent Ingrid Veninger as creative consultant which was terrific. this was my first hands on everything gig and boy did i love it.
the video is comprised largely of pixel paintings and animation generated by laptop, which is under equipped for such endeavours.
i started pixel painting when i was recovering from illness, i came up with the process during my art therapy. when i experienced waves of anxiety i would pixel paint to calm myself down. i literally would sit down at my computer, go out of myself and make something without any deliberate thinking whatsoever.
so this art creation was a far cry from my usual film maker workflow. and i had abundant faith that it would work out, but i wasn’t sure how. especially with a ten day deadline.
to prepare i listened to the whole album and specifically the song WHEN WE ARE A VAMPIRE. when i felt ready i sat down an made something. something to send in. a starting point. looking back that first cut was pretty balanced and flowed okay but was entirely images of me. so i start afresh with some notes from Ingrid and some pictures of Jane.
the second cut and the third cut felt less inspired and less artistic. i didn’t like what i was making.
i lost the effortless flow when i had to factor in the other parameters. and then all of a sudden, my worked kinda sucked. so here i was three cuts later, with three days to deliver and i had nothing. so i guess this is what my panicking directors felt like. not being inclined to panic myself, i broke it down like i would for helping a director.
i made steps and i followed them myself. i listened to the music without thinking, i re-read all the notes i had from my other versions, and took some time away and stay focused and relaxed.
i sat down with all these elements in my head and i started. i came up for a breath and the cut was almost done. it was coming today. yeah! i sent it in and got positive feedback.
from there it was familiar again, taking notes and finessing. i did it! the video is being launched today on hallowe’en and it came together.
i once told someone we were a faith based company and they though i meant religious. but meant faith in the project and faith in the process. faith in oneself and faith in ones creative ability.
amen.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,