Editing

It's 2am, I'm editing, and I realized I haven't updated in a while...

I'm not really sure what to say about the direction of the film right now. It's changed. Again. What else is new? I really shouldn't be surprised. Throughout this film, I've had trouble finding firm ground. It's gotten harder now that I'm cutting, and I can't ignore the holes any longer. It's coming together though. It's different, but it's something.

In short, the film is now about me getting my tattoo. I feel like there is more to it than that, but until I'm done cutting, or at least quite a bit farther along, I don't think I'll be able to tell you what more there is to it.

Things I've learned/been reminded of these past few weeks:

I've still got a lot to learn. God is in control. Sometimes you've got to just deal with it (whatever "it" may be). Film isn't the most important thing in the world. Lamentations 3:21-23 is really good to remember.

Today's shoot

Today went really well. At least from my point of view. We had good conversation, and if nothing else, I now have a nice tattoo. Though I'm pretty confident I got some nice footage also. I guess I'll know for sure when I get to see the tape. I was planning on heading up to campus to capture &edit right about now, but it sounds awful outside. Since it's almost 1am, and it's at the very least insanely windy, if not storming, I'm going to stay in tonight. Which means instead of a video clip of today's shoot, I'll be uploading a picture of my tattoo taken with my webcam. I really want to work on some more editing tonight, so I'm going to dig through all my unorganized stuff and see if I can find my little sony handycam to capture what we shot today.

Overall, today was good. Noah and Lindsay were awesome. So was Johnny. I may have to go back one more time for another interview, but I'm hoping I got what I needed today.

Tomorrow

Today has been mostly a prep for tomorrow. Which if we get philosophical, most todays are prep for tomorrow... but that's not where I'm going with this. Tomorrow I'll be shooting at Orlando Tattoo again, and if all goes well, it will be my last shoot over there, and my second to last shoot for this film. It's a big shoot, and I spent most of today getting ready for it. Later tonight I'll be talking with my crew again, confirming last minute details. Earlier today I picked up the equipment. I went over the footage that I've already shot, and spent some time editing. I've got an ending. I'm sure it will change by the time I turn in my cut on March 4th, but it's a draft, and right now I like it.

Tomorrow I'll be talking with Johnny more about what led him to start Orlando Tattoo Company, and what it's been like running his own shop. I'll also be getting my tattoo, which is why I'm slightly nervous about tomorrow's shoot. Not because of the tattoo itself, but because what we shoot tomorrow will be a big part of my film, and I can't be there to look through the lens. I'm trusting Lindsay and Noah to get what I want/need. They both know what they're doing, so I'm not really worried, but it drives me crazy knowing that I'll just be along for the ride...I guess I'm a bit of a control freak.

In other news...I'm going to expand this blog to include all films I'm working on. I realized (again) while I was editing that I need to follow Johnny's advice..."if you want to do something, just do it." I think this statement has limits (you know, moral guidelines, etc. should be followed), but in general, it's good advice. I'd get a lot more done if I didn't wait around for other people to push me along.

I started working on this film when I wasn't sure if I really wanted to stay in film school. I kinda burned out last semester. Now that I know I want to stay in film school, I feel like it is fitting to expand Just Do It (the blog, not the film) to cover tracking my journey through filmmaking in general. So here we go.