- Posts tagged Inspiration
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A Primer on Skepticism
After a year of blogging it's time to reflect on the value of this rag, what it's accomplished, who it's speaking to, and what it has to say.
The answer? Beats me.
Well, I guess that's not true. I suppose one has only to look at the most commonly used tags column on the page to get an idea; science, animation, skepticism, art, and design round out the top 5. I suppose that means that the blog is about those things, but as I've tried to come clean about before, there's something nefarious at work concerning the subject matter. As a core mission, this blog aims to take mankind's unique ability to recognize and experience beauty, and to use it as the context within which to make a key point; that a naturalistic, or skeptical, view of the world is not a vacant one.
Inspiration on the Waves
Dark Side of the Lens (Video)
The following film is something truly special, and I know I say that sort of thing a lot.
Mickey Smith is an Irish surf photographer and in the following short by Astray Films, we learn his story. It's a masterfully done portrait of the people who bring us some of the most dramatic pictures to be seen - those being the spine-tingling images of wave-riding.
What's Lost in What Lapses - Second Edition
Landscapes (Video at bottom)
By Dustin Farrell
On a morning when so many people seem so very upset, at least in my neck of the woods, about the results of last night's Toronto mayoral elections, maybe it's a good time to take a different look at things.
You may have seen some of the beautiful time-lapse footage I shared previously in the post entitled 'What's Lost in What Lapses'. Well, this second installment takes time-lapse photography to the next level. In this beautiful film by Dustin Farell, in which he highlights some of his best time-lapse clips, I invite you to find some perspective on things like politics, workplace frustrations, and other such fleeting cares. I also dare you to watch this clip and not be inspired.
A Love Song for Love Songs
Note: This is the audio only version. To see the documentary that was eventually made from the podcast, go here.
Why does music rock so hard? What about it makes it endlessly interesting, utterly soul nourishing, and so thoroughly distracting from the work I'm supposed to be doing?
Come on in and enjoy a podcast you can dance to! In this episode we'll look at the value music has, where it came from, and why we should never stop wigglin' our butts.
Dance Me from the Outside
Tracee takes a no-nonsense approach to the kids, and of the 80 or so that first sign up for her program generally only 20 end up remaining long enough to make the trip to Toronto. They are required to attend almost every rehearsal, maintain good attendance and grades at school, and must give 100% while practicing their routines. After all, Tracee flies top dancers from New York up to their remote reserves, so they are expected to give it their all. Many quit, but those who don't get a chance to do something wonderful. I had the distinct honour of being involved with the night to some small degree, by doing the print and motion design work surrounding the event. That logo you see above is mine, but my contribution was small at best. My friend Colin Kelday did far more, editing a brilliant and touching series of accompanying films that played between dances - films which literally brought tears to my eyes. When the kids finally took to the stage, it seemed that every single member of the audience was moved. I know that I was.
Even my wife, someone who cries in movies far less than I do, was obviously affected. The poor gal had to be up at 3am for a shoot the next day, so was intending to leave the performance during intermission. When that intermission came however she asked how she could possibly leave when the kids had worked so hard for this night.
The cheers were loud and constant, and the smiles on the faces of these kids, many of whom have never left their reserves, were worth the price of admission by themselves. After the show, while sharing a few drinks with Tracee, I learned some of the heartbreaking back-stories associated with the performers. I won't go into the sad details, but it brought into sharp focus for me how different and difficult life can be for aboriginal peoples, often outsiders to mainstream society. I'm only thankful I learned the stories after the performance, for had I known them during I might have spent the entire show weeping.
It's certainly an endeavour I'd like to remain associated with. In fact in 2011 I intend to bully family and friends into buying tickets themselves. I hope next year brings OLI continued success, an even greater show, and a new batch of kids suddenly full of reasons to be proud of themselves.
Here's a look at the intro I did for the event.
Vacation Inspiration - Internet Encouragement
The weekend past was spent at the cottage with my boys, bro, and parents, and good times were had by all. There was much consumption of guy-food and beer, laughs were shared aplenty, and the weather was kind.
However, in the midst of this near utopia something else was going on. My brother and I used the weekend together to continue developing an idea we had started fleshing out a few nights previous. It's a movie concept based loosely on an idea I had when I was 17 years old, and while I won't go into the specifics of what that idea was, I will say that to us it was an idea worth staying up until sunrise for.
We talked and imagined and got very excited about where the story could go, and then we eventually took it there. By the conclusion of our final brainstorming session (aka the drive home) we had laid out what we think is an exciting and impactful story with a solid beginning, middle and end. If we have the first clue what audiences respond to, we're thinking this one could work. It's action packed, dramatic, fantastical, sad, poignant, and shocking.
Now don't worry about me hurting my arm with all the self administered back-patting. There's some other points to consider. For example, here's point A: It's entirely possible that we don't have a clue at all.
The plan we discussed is to develop the details a bit further, formalize the structure, and then lock me in a room with a copy of Microsoft Word. Then I am to turn our movie idea into a book, (although I'm still debating the direct-to-screenplay avenue) which is an endeavour I can imagine being beset on all sides by the perils of hard work. That's point B.
A + B = a high probability of either an incomplete or substandard product, and that's the kind of math that scares me.
I have a great ability to start things and not finish them, exceeded only by my talent for just never beginning them at all. Equations like I mentioned leap readily into my mind, and more often than not prevent me from taking the very first steps towards trying to accomplish something. Surely it's a phenomenon unfamiliar to few, so hopefully there's some sympathy to be had from some of you. Nevertheless, the common reaction to this admission is more akin to something like "Just write it!" or "What do you have to lose?" It seems people are way better at giving advice than taking it, and I suppose that's not an earth shattering revelation in and of itself.
No matter what degree of coaching I were to receive, whether or not this idea goes any further depends on the outcome of a personal struggle. I'd like to think it will happen, and if the ideas continue to flow as freely as they have so far I don't really doubt that it will. Nevertheless, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that once the initial creative rush wore off I started asking myself questions. "Who am I to try such a thing? I can't write like that. I wonder if the idea isn't as good as we thought?" Such questions need not defeat you, but they certainly aren't encouraging.
Then I stumbled across Pioneer One. It's an indie series made on the cheap by some aspiring filmmakers, the first (and thus far only) episode of which was posted recently for all to enjoy, free of charge. The creators decided to fund the pilot themselves and seek donations towards the eventual production of the whole series, meaning the show could be largely free for everyone and distributed over the internet. It's very low budget, as anyone can tell by looking, but at the end of the day it has something going for it that nobody can take away. It's good!
My previous blog-post is a copy/paste of their own write up, so I won't bother attempting to summarize the film here, but I did walk away from it entertained and inspired. It's well written and performed, and has a cool premise at it's heart. It made me wonder if these folks could commit so much time, effort, and money to a story they thought was worth telling, couldn't I at least write mine down? Their film, while admittedly not as 'out-there' as ours would be, is a testament to the wonder of this information age.
That wonder is this; for every bone-headed opinion monger with his own blog, such as yours truly for example, there exists an equal number of talented people missing only an outlet. The world of media I grew up observing was an exclusive club, and it left those who didn't know the secret handshake on the outside looking in. The folks on 'Pioneer' knew the chances of their idea being seen by anyone but their mothers was incredibly slim, so they boldly sacrificed their own resources to get it out there. The internet provided them the outlet they needed to ensure that their sacrifice would at least be seen.
Now I'm not willing to go as far as making my own film from the material we've developed, and I know myself too well to believe that this one shining example could provide me enough energy to see through the long process of simply writing it. I may not even start the thing for some time. But it at least gives me the inspiration to not give up just yet - to keep the dream alive. I'll plug away at the ideas and refine them, write when I can, and try to keep in mind that in this day and age, anything is possible.
It's certainly worth staying up for another sunrise or two, and finding out a little bit more about where our imaginations might take us.
