(Mostly) about Jack's movies

Almost posted this huge comment on Jack's blog, but since it might be of general interest, it goes here.

Every Christmas my brother and I fish out the camcorder and go through the obligatory takes: parents preparing the meal, us four eating at a nicely Christmas-decorated table, us four opening presents, plus other fun stuff that isn't really fun if you weren't part of it. This year, however, it occurred to me I'd tried something different. I was shooting my brother watching my father cut the bird, and heard dad say "see you have to cut it like this". I stopped the camera, quickly approached the scene, so the turkey was filling all the screen, and then hit record. That was the beginning of a long series of movie-like moments that night, some of them more acted than others, so that the final product was quite interesting, looking edited, but not really, since all I had was a VHS tape camcorder. Watching it was so much fun! What a thrill to see my dad walk over to the table, take out a match, making the striking match motion, and before he hits the box, a close-up of the match-striking action, and the candle being lit. That particular moment wasn't acted, dad simply had to use two matches to get the candle lit, and I walked in on his fingers on the second match-strike.

Ever since then I've been contemplating making a movie.
1) No script yet. It would be mostly me as the main character, since I don't have any friends in the area yet. I might need a short female role, and this would also be a great pickup line.
2) It would be about someone like me, since, of course, I've to work with what is available. Basically this is me wanting to see how easy/hard it is to make a believable movie.
3) Everyone has experience as a director. In other words, if you watch films on a regular basis you're bound to have a rough idea of what works. This would be my only education (so far).
4) I'm thinking of contacting the local community theater. Never tried acting, but would love to. This would be a good opportunity to start something completely new, stretch myself, and meet new people.
5) The main obstacle to this project: no camera. Ah yes. More thoughts on this.
5a) I don't mind the Dancer in the Dark feel, the camcorder feel, but I'd much rather have the film feel. You can see my level of technical expertise here... I don't know how to explain it, but sitcoms and home videos don't look as good as films. I think it has to do with the camera being used, or the film.
5b) It will have to be a digital camera, since a film camera would entail buying film and developing, and this is only a hobby. I'm a computer programmer.
5c) I bet there's a way of shooting digital video (i.e. using a camcorder) and processing it so it feels like film.
6) I've been observing actors much more carefully now. Last night I saw People You Know, the Al Pacino PR movie. He's amazing. Some people can pull off amazing performances, they immediately strike you as heavy and serious and trascendental.
7) I went to Jack's blog, hunted down the link to his movies. For those who don't know him, Jack graduated from Dordt, as most of us, and spent a semester in L.A. doing a film studies project, where he did these 3 movies. My favorite one is Perfection. Jack, this bit is for you. I think that girl is really good, especially the bit when she's on the phone. Very believable. He's too stoic for my taste, almost no emotion. There's a couple of really cool camera moments, one where the girl is on the left side of the screen, and then she's on the right side, at a different time. Cool. How did you do the bit where the camera moves from her feet to her face, rapidly moving vertically upwards? During the meal, did you have two cameras, or one? Just noticed that this girl is prettier than the one in the other movie, the widescreen one. This is, of course, subjective, but in your opinion, is it easier to be drawn to a pretty face? I mean, if she would have been ugly, would I say "she's very believable"? Maybe you have some thoughts about it. Finally, how did you do the last shot? Did you use a crane?
8) Jack, can you explain how I can get the "film" feel without $15K?

That's all for now. I might go read Sartre's Nausea now. It's about a man living by himself. Since that's me as well, it might provide some good ideas for a script.

Will post Lochcarron pictures later.

November Barcelona trip photos

If you really want more, ask, but most of them were of the Camp Nou, and as you'll see, a 3-dollar camera doesn't work well at night.


Noisy germans drinking heavily and rooting for Werder Bremen hours before the game. They lost, of course.


The Camp Nou, during the Champions League anthem. Notice the football flag being waved around, and the two teams, Werder Bremen and F.C. Barcelona, behind it. Approximately 67.000 spectators that Tuesday night.


My grandparents at their summer house, which is about an hour's trip southwest from Barcelona, in a town called Santa Oliva (Holy Olive).


View from the living room upstairs.


View from the door downstairs.

More pictures coming. Tomorrow I'll post some of Lochcarron, taken by my parents (mostly).

Back from Lochcarron

This is where I was for the past 5 1/2 days:


From left to right: the old manse, the old church, the new church, my parents' house. It wasn't that sunny most of the time, actually it was sunny for 2 hours on Friday and 1 on Monday morning. It always rains in the West Coast. Not complaning though, it's a beautiful place.


Two Europe trips in less than 4 weeks! Almost excessive, feels like I haven't been around Saratoga Springs lately. Feels good to be back. I love routine, and getting one down just right.

Will probably post a new year's list later. In the meantime I'll accept suggestions for New Year's Eve. Last year I spent Christmas' Eve by myself, first preparing a special supper while listening to SAD carols on NPR, then eating supper all by myself, then reading Crime and Punishment. I quit the latter after an hour, it was making me depressed (duh).

This year I'm thinking of going to one of the Jazz clubs for the midnight hours, but maybe you people have other ideas. I could always plan a weekend camping trip in the Adirondacks, it'll only be higher twenties, which is warmer than usual.

Photograph authors: first one unknown, second one Alex Ingram, local Lochcarron photographer.

rrrrrrrr grrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, rrrrrr rrrrrrrrr rrrrrrr!

that's Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, in case you didn't speak Chewbaccan.

the best song ever totally, dude.

i hope not to become

an addict to blog-posting, you see it's been 3 in two days, but what the hell, what's one to do in upstate new york with lots of time and lots of snow, but shovel the snow and post the blogs.

Soooo.... yesterday at poker night (7pm: bible study, 8pm: poker, not kidding), after me losing two precious dollars, we played our weekly question game. Everyone gets one card, the highest card ask the lowest card a question, anything, lo que sea, everything goes. In that spirit:

If you were given wings with which to fly anywhere, where would you go right now? (Ignore eventual tiredness, or cold temperatures, for all practical purposes I could have asked where'd you like to be beamed to, but wings are more romantic than Scottie and the teletransporter).

Whaaaaaaat???????

1) Yesterday Creative announces the Zen Vision: M. On paper the specifications look impressive, beating the iPod Video with a better screen, bigger storage, better file handling capacity, and other features such as FM tuner, voice recorder, image zoom, etc.

Although this could be the definite iPod killer, or at least the device that de-stabilizes Apple's ridiculous mp3 player monopoly, I kept hearing "lawsuit". I mean, the thing looks like an iPod Video. Time for Apple's lawyers to get busy. Or so I thought:

2) Today Creative announces that it will sue Apple. Turns out that Creative filed an mp3 player menu navigation patent on January 2001. Apple released the iPod October 2001. Creative's patent application was awarded this August, while Apple's user interface patent has been rejected, also this August.

3) At $8 a share (vs. $70 for Apple), now is the time to invest in Creative stock.

N minus 1

That's right, in less than 24 hours it'll be N-Day, Narnia Day, The Beginning of A (Hopefully) Very Good Series Of Films. To be precise, 7. I really hope Disney and co. put out all of them. The BBC only did four, supposedly because producing The Last Battle would be "too Christian". Oh well. Like some reviewers say, if you're putting an obvious analogy on the big screen, better go all the way.

If you saw the BBC' mini-series, listen to the main theme. In my mind, much more evocative than any of the Lord Of The Rings themes.

I spent 9 days in Barcelona last month. I'll post pictures soon. It was a lot of fun: I visited my grandparents on my dad's side (he's their only son/offspring, so that side of the family is pretty small), and all the family on my mom's side (she's the second of 9, and I'm the first of ~25 cousins). It was almost like business: every day was busy (in a good way). Let's see: got there on Sunday, took a nap, ate lots of prosciutto and bread and cheese, watched a lot of soccer, as a matter of fact I drooled over Barcelona's history-defining 0-3 win against Real Madrid (they were playing while I was flying to Spain, which was unfortunate, but that Sunday all the spanish newspapers featured 10+ pages covering the game - yes, soccer IS religion, Kuyper had it waaaaay wrong). Monday: ate lots of prosciutto for lunch and supper, watched soccer again, went to the stadium to purchase tickets for Tuesday and Sunday night games, coordinated family visits on the phone. Tuesday: ate lots of prosciutto for breakfast, went to the stadium at around noon to buy a scarf (note: do not wear a Barcelona-colors scarf whilst in Barcelona, unless you're going to a game. It makes you look stupid), ate really tasty food here with grandparents, went to the stadium. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles! Words cannot explain the feeling. It was fabulous. I ate my prosciutto-and-baguette-and-tomato-and-olive-oil sandwich (grandma made it), drank beer, and saw the best soccer team in the world (according to all major sports newspapers worldwide). The stadium wasn't full, only 67.000 people, but it felt like it.
Wednesday: prosciutto and cafe-au-lait for breakfast, lunch with Edmundo, one of my uncles. He's a jeweller with indian features and a long pony tail, and recently married Dolores, a gypsy woman from Andalucia. Went to Carlos' place for supper, he's another uncle, married and with 5 kids, living in an apartment smaller than a Southview one. Also there were Mayer and Febe, Mayer's the third cousin, Edmundo's oldest, 23 (I think), Febe's his lovely wife of 11 months, he paints buildings hanging on the outside, no scaffolding, sitting on a harness. Crazy. She's a secretary for this Scientific Magazine publishing house. I don't remember all the details. Thursday morning I went to Cerdanyola, a Barcelona suburb, to Gina and Paco's place. Gina, the oldest (my mother is next) is a classical piano professor at the conservatory, and Paco is a postman with chronic something-in-his-arm so he's not working right now, on worker's comp. or the spanish equivalent. Besides their 2 girls (actually 3, but Rebeca is studying at Bob Jones - yes, the devil's lair) Elisabet and Yani, Pablo and Noelia were also there. Pablo finished the classical guitar career (all seven years) a while ago, and is now a minister (why????? gosh I would've stayed with the guitar). He's still quite amazing. Went back to Barcelona that night, and on Friday morning ate more prosciutto and brie and beer, went out to another restaurant with my grandparents (El Nou Celler, can't find the website), and talked about the civil war, Franco (that week Spain was commemorating 30 years since his death, which nicely coincided with Real Madrid's 0-3 defeat by a catalan team - during Franco's day that would have been impossible, since he made sure the referees wouldn't let any team beat Madrid), and soccer.
Friday night I went to see Ceci and Juanjo: Ceci's one of the younger sisters in my mom's family, and she teaches english in a language school, Juanjo works as a systems administrator (yuuuuk) and is finishing his computer science studies. Boy was that a depressing night! Even though they've got good jobs, good careers, a nice apartment, loving family-members, and good health, Juanjo basically hates his life because Spain is such a horrible place to live, and he wants to move here. Gosh I'll make sure not to hang out with them too much, they're bound to make anyone depressed. Well it's not Ceci's fault, she's content, but I think some of his bitterness has rubbed off on her. Unfortunate really. Make the best with what you've got, I say. I think they should fly to Peru and live there for a year, see what they say then.
Saturday we went to my grandparents' summer house in Santa Oliva, lunch in a nice beachside restaurant, talked about the Spanish civil war, Franco's death, what they did the day his death was announced (bottle of champagne), my dad's birth, their retirement, etc. Sunday morning went to the local church where we were 7. Including my grandparents and I. It's true, being a missionary in Spain is, oh, very hard. Kind of over before you start it, really.
Went to another nice restaurant for lunch, where I had tasty paella and "Bull's Blood" red wine. And to the stadium again that night, a different seat, but still a lot of fun. I am so glad I could see Barcelona play. The following morning my plane took off at 7am. And now I am here.

If you felt that food and soccer were the main themes during my visit, you'd be right: spaniards quit working at 2pm and resume at 5pm. OF COURSE you need 3 hours for lunch.

But I was glad to be back: I love my job, I love this area, I love the jazz scene. I just wish I could find a church with no P&W. Can't stand it. I've tried. It makes me laugh and cringe at the same time, which is probably not good since some people are praising God while I mock them. That's why I always make sure I'm half an hour late. Maybe I should try the Lutheran one, but the sermon is so short, fifteen minutes! I'm left wanting. Where's Herm when you need him?

And tomorrow I don't know which to see first: Narnia or Syriana. Any leftist movie that tickles the White House in all the wrong places (and doesn't resort to sensationalism a la Michael Moore) is bound to be an interesting watch. Have you people seen All The President's Men? or Wag The Dog?

I had lots of topics to discuss, like Maoist terrorist groups and lucid dreaming and Saddam (or why I'd like to slap him, not hit, slap), but that'll have to wait. It seems my writing inspiration comes in profound bursts, like a healthy case of diarrhea: swooooooooosh!