Observational Journal - The Man More Badass Than Me

I was in the thrift store the other day, looking for props for a movie. I noticed these awesomely badass black leather trenchcoats, which were also really cheap. One had a cowboy-style pattern on the back, and another was made out of fake alligator skin. I seriously considered buying one, but I hesitated, because I was worried that I would look like a serial killer (one of the less-unfortunate effects of the Columbine shootings is that you can't wear black trenchcoats in public anymore). However, they were still really cool, so I decided to look around some more and come back to them. So I came back, but this time there was someone else checking out the jackets. He was a legitimate Mountain Man, with a long beard and weathered skin, and he was already wearing a leather jacket with cowboy boots and totally not looking ridiculous. If I had to guess, I'd say he was at least one million years old, and he probably could have killed me with a well-placed stare. I sheepishly looked at some less-badass jackets, then I decided that if anyone should be buying those trenchcoats, it should be that guy. And I am $20 richer today because of that decision.

A Life Unguarded: Concept Worksheet 1

Short, live-action film for web/festivals

20 minutes

Visual Look: Bright, saturated colors that enhance the bright colors of a swimming pool. Deep blues, bright reds, dark greens, and blinding whites all convey the sunny, hot world of a pool. The camera movement would be slow and smooth, to emphasis the tedium of being a lifeguard.

Story Statement: An extra lifeguard is brought in to work at a pool. He hates his job, and works very hard at not working at all. He also ropes in the original lifeguard to being lazy. Eventually, he is fired by the pool manager.

Narrative Outline: Tim works at his local pool as a lifeguard. He has few ambitions, and just uses the job as a way to kill time between semesters of college. The pool manager decides to hire an extra lifeguard, and she hires Matt. Matt hates being a lifeguard, but he needs the money. At first Matt thinks he can get away with being lazy; he sleeps on the job, takes long breaks, etc. However, he never gets caught, because he always looks like he is working when the pool manager shows up. Matt teaches Tim his strategies of lazyness, and at first, Tim rejects them. Eventually, however, the boredom of the job starts to get to Tim, and he gives in. In response to complaints by customers, the pool manager begins implementing stricter rules. Matt blatantly refuses to follow the rules, and eventually the pool manager sees him doing this and confronts him. Matt explains loudly and in great detail how much he hates the job, and how they keep taking away everything that makes the job tolerable. Matt is fired and replaced, and Tim continues to work at the pool, following the new rules.

Most of the movie would be little events, such as Matt asking a lap swimmer to leave the pool and her refusing, or Matt making fun of the swimmers to Tim, which don’t advance the story so much as they convey what it is like to be a lifeguard. It also would incorporate several fantasy sequences as Matt and Tim daydream while they're staring at the water.

Why an Audience Can Share in This: Every one can relate to having a sucky job that they hate and finding ways to deal with the suckiness.

Arguments Worth Having

The most important thing you need to have in a coolaboration is trust. You have to trust your actors to do what they need to do, the actors need to trust the directors decisions, the director needs to trust that the cinematographer knows what he or she is doing, etc. This is especially difficult on super-low-budget films, because most of the time the people working for you are not being paid. This means you have to rely on them to show up on time and do the work with no incentive other than professionalism and a desire to work. A lot of the time this means that I end up doing a lot of the dirty work myself, because I don't want to ask someone else to do it for me for free.

Moral of the story: having money is nice.

Observational Journal: I Need to Stop Eating Dinner So Early

The other day I had one of the most vivid dreams I have ever had, and it was odd because it wasn't vivid in terms of image or sound. It was vivid in terms of taste. All I remember about the dream was that I was eating chocolate ice cream, and it was the most delicious chocolate ice cream I have ever tasted. It was more smooth and creamy than words can describe, and there were chunks of chocolate within the chocolate, giving it an amazing texture. It literally melted in my mouth, and I felt full for a few minutes after I woke up (after that I felt extremely hungry). It was like my brain imagined the most chocolatiest thing it could imagine and made it real for a few seconds.

Stop, Children, What's that Sound

This soundscape idea is for my lifeguard movie. Pools have an array of sounds associated with them that I would use to open the movie, and to put the audience in the location. There are the sounds of water splashing and being sucked into the filters; the rythmic sounds of lap swimmers swimming back and forth; the sounds of children playing, and jumping into the pool; the occasional lifeguard whistle; the patron's conversations; and the wind as it blows through the trees. The soundscape would end with the most beautiful sound a lifeguard can hear: the sound of thunder off in the distance. This means that the lifeguards get an extra break, and it would transition the film from the black screen to the opening shot of the movie.

A STONE down by the RIVER.

This color scheme was inspired by trombones.

In middle school, I was in the school band and I played the trombone. During band class me and the other trombones would usually goof off and make snarky comments to each other (our section was in the back and in the corner, so it was pretty easy to get away with). We would also discuss episodes of the Simpsons quite a bit, because we were all fans and we all liked making each other laugh. In a way, we all bonded over our shared love of pop culture and goofing off. I don't think any of that could be turned into a movie, or even a short film, but I do think it could serve as inspiration for a group of characters or a scene within a movie.

"My Nature-Place, Part Deux"

They most obvious difference I noticed was the temperature. It was not cold, but it was cooler, with a cool gentle breeze blowing through the plant life. I could almost feel the freezing cold of winter coming, even though it was not here yet. The breeze made everything seem much more serene, which was a little ironic because I could here someone blaring death metal off in the distance. The plants had begun to feel fall's effects; the trees above me had turned a dark purple, and many of the plants were slightly browner than I remembered. Of course, this also could be because of the end of the rainy season, and I suspect that many of these plants are not native to the desert. The sun has definitely moved, because where there was once shade there was now sunlight, which was nice, seeing as it was significantly less hot. My thought was for the fish in the pond, and what will happen to them once it freezes over in the winter.

Dream Film: A Life Unguarded

Dan is a lifeguard at a local pool. He is not exactly the ambitious type, does not really have any aspirations. One day, his boss decides that the pool needs two lifeguards, so she hires Mike. Mike was a lifeguard a while ago, and has since fallen on hard times and needs the money. Mike also hates lifeguarding, while Dan is mostly ambivalent. Mike spends his days trying to do the least amount of work possible, and he usually brings Dan into his schemes. Their boss, Amber, constantly lays down new and ridiculous rules, but she is too naive and unassertive to actually enforce them. Eventually, Mike is fired/quits, and goes on to bigger and better things, while Dan continues to work at the pool.

Observational Notebook: The Man in the Old Camaro

The man is grizzled in every meaning of the word. He has grizzled white hair, his face is tan, wrinkly, and grizzled, and his dusty leather jacket is grizzled. He looks like he has been lying in the desert for 20 years, which probably is not far from the truth. The car is similar to the man. It is a late '60s Camaro, and it also looks like it has spent far too much time in the desert. It is dusty and rusted around the edges, it is still going strong and looks twice as badass because of it. In the passenger seat sits a young woman of Mexican heritage. She is not grizzled at all. How did they meet? Is she his girlfriend, his wife? I would guess that she would be his friend, except I don't think this man is capable of non-traditional male-female friendships. Eventually, I think, this man will probably be responsible for saving the world. And we won't even have to thank him for it.

Enticing Inuition

My strategy for balancing the work aspect of creating with the non-work aspects of creating is to just not worry about it. I do my work when I need to or when I want to, and all other times I do other things that I enjoy. As long as I am doing things that I enjoy, I will be creative, because being creative is something that I enjoy. I do agree that having a deadline really helps the creative process, because without a deadline there is a tendency to put off things indefinitely. However, the most important thing to remember is that writing, directing, etc. are not chores; they are all things that I really like doing. I find it much easier to get into the creative mindset when I remember this. When being creative becomes a chore, it is time to find something else to do.

Observational Notebook - Revealing Actions

I am watching a movie with a group of people. One of these people, who I will refer to as Jim, does not care for another one of these people, who I will refer to as Jebediah. Throughout the movie, whenever Jebediah makes a comment, Jim becomes noticeably silent and tense. Whenever Jebediah asks a question, Jim's answer is almost always a stern "no." After the movie, Jebediah suggests that we want to watch another movie, and Jim quickly turns him down. In fact, throughout the night, Jim is made noticeably uncomfortable by Jebediah being there.

Dream Journal

I am working as a lifeguard at a dinosaur-themed water park. I don't remember actually seeing any dinosaurs, I just remember knowing that the park was dinosaur-themed. I do remember that everything had sort of a Jurassic Park look to it. It is very crowded, and I am walking with another lifeguard alongside one of the pools. He we run into our boss, who asks us what we are doing. The other lifeguard successfully convinces her that we are doing our jobs, and she walks away. The other lifeguard then explains to me his method of convincing our boss that we are working when we are just wandering around the park.

10 Things Excercise, For Serious This Time

1963 Pontiac Grand Prix


I am lying underneath the car, loosening a bolt on somewhere on the undercarriage. The car is lifted up on jacks, and its wheels are missing. I loosen the bolt for what seems like an hour, but it doesn't seem to be any looser. My arms get tired, and I have to put them down and let them rest. A cool breeze blows under the car. It is a mid fall Saturday afternoon, and I am 17. Because the hood is open, I can see past the engine block and various mechanical parts through to the sky above. I can also see the top of the magnolia tree that sits next to our drive way as it sways in the wind. I look to my left. I get a close up view of the nut and bolt I unscrewed before this one. I see an ant, and I consider squishing it. My dad is at the back of the car, fixing something himself. I look at the bolt again. It is way too rusty to pull off with this wrench. Once again, some seemingly small job on this car has turned out to be way bigger than we thought.

Folk Art Festival

I am standing on a dirt road at some park somewhere in Georgia. White tents line each side of this road, filled with stupid, boring art. I am around 8 years old, and I would rather be anywhere but here. My parents are looking in one of the white tents, examining each poorly made piece of art individually. My dad remarks that one of the objects is cool, and my mom agrees. It doesn't look that interesting to me; in fact, everything at this stupid festival looks the same. There is a tent filled with figures and objects made of scrap metal behind me. Next to it is a tent full of paintings that I could probably have made myself. Above my head are the tops of the giant trees filling this park, providing well needed shade. It is summer, and it is hot. In my hand is a half-full slushy drink. All the delicious flavored water is gone, and all that is left is the ice. I eat the ice anyway because I am really thirsty. My feet are tired and I am bored. My parents finish looking at the art in the tent. If I'm lucky, we'll leave soon; at the very least, we should pass one of those tents filled with wooden handmade toys.

Lifeguarding

I am sitting in the lifeguard stand, in an uncomfortable plastic chair. Above me is an umbrella, providing the bare minimum of shade. The sun is in front of me, so the umbrella only gives shade to the top half of my body. It is the middle of summer in Georgia, and it is hot. A cool breeze blows by, giving me brief break from the heat. In front of me is the crystal blue swimming pool. A group of moms float and talk while they're kids struggle to barely keep their heads above water. One kid jumps off the side. Another group of kids have built of fort out of kickboards. I'd ask them to put the kickboards back so that other swimmers can use them, but I honestly don't care. To my left are the lap lanes, and the lap swimmers. They swim back and forth slowly, like they do every hour of every day that the pool is open, no matter the weather. Off in the distance a giant storm cloud taunts me with its lack of thunder. If it would only thunder once, I would get an extra break, and all the swimmers would have to leave. I look to my right, and see a giant group of kids approaching the pool. Great. Now the pool will be twice as crowded. I silently curse the sky.

The Creek Behind My Elementary School

I am standing in the middle of the creek, on a sunny Spring afternoon. There is a sandbar that goes most of the way across the creek. On my left is the main stream, and on my right are several smaller streams. On the embankment on my left is the bamboo forest, and directly opposite that is the playground. Above me is the canopy of the trees, providing more than adequate shade. The creek runs in the direction I am facing, and it is filled with broken chunks of concrete and fallen trees. Somewhere is a tire filled with concrete, with a metal pole stuck in the middle, which was no doubt one half of a volleyball net at some point. My friends are next to me, building structures in the sand. We are attempting to force the stream to go where we want it to go by placing rocks, sand, and mud in its path. We build makeshift dams and structures. If we are lucky, they may still be there tomorrow. There is a tree across this part of the stream, providing a natural bridge. Along one side of the creek are the rusty remains of a fence that undoubtedly prevented kids like us from doing what we are currently doing.

Daydreaming

Just having an object in my hand can set of a daydreaming session. It does not even have to be a toy; any object that is small enough to be held in one hand, solid, and not too light or heavy will work. Pens and pencils work best, though this may be because they are usually what I have when I daydream the most (i.e. in school). I think the object serves as a sort of starting point for my imagination. It helps if the object isn't already a thing, like a toy car, because that results in free form daydreams, as opposed to daydreams centered around the object. I will admit that this results in a lot of space-related daydreams, because just about everything looks like a spaceship if you really think about it.

I tried daydreaming after reading the text. What I got was a sort of crazy music video, probably because I was listening to music at the time.

The Dreamer

In class, we talk a lot about getting out of our heads, because there's nothing original in there. It is funny, then, when the artists in the book talk about being inspired by or finding meaning in their dreams, because my dreams are even worse at being original than I am. My dreams tend to be odd collections of pop culture and actual people and places from my life. One of the most fun dreams I ever had was about me, as Neo from The Matrix, fighting Doctor Octopus, the Spiderman villain, on the yellow brick road. After I saw the movie Inception, I had more than a few Inception-like dreams. I think that dreams are just collections of ideas and images floating around in our head, which are arranged in strange and unusual ways when we sleep by our subconscious.  We do this consciously when we are awake, but we call it imagination.

Evocative Object

A Penny's Story

I am a penny. I was forged out of zinc and copper 34 years ago. I have seen this country grow and change perhaps more than any other human alive. I have traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from New York to Los Angeles, and one time I briefly crossed over into Mexico. I have spent time in the pockets of some very influential people (or so I assume, judging by the amount of $100 bills in their pocket. Those guys are so stuck up.) I have fallen out of more pockets than I can remember, and I have spent time in the streets of some of the greatest cities of this country, as well as some of the smallest. You see things when you are lying in the street for so long. All manner of people pass you by. Sometimes, they'll look at you, bend over as if to pick you up, then change their minds at the last second. One time, I fell out of a car on a country road, next to some gorgeous mountains. The views were quite beautiful, but I was certain that I would be stuck there for the rest of my existence, slowly rusting until I was one with the Earth again. After many days, however, I was found by a hiker. He seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see him. Eventually, he left me in the Take-a-Penny, Leave-a-Penny tray at a gas station. I met another penny there who claimed that he had been to China and back. I don't know what use they would have for an American penny over there. Then again, I did meet an Italian Eurodollar in some pocket in Florida. He seemed upset that he kept getting mistaken for an American quarter. Poor guy, he probably ended up on some collector's desk, unable to be spent. Another penny in that tray claimed to have been dropped off the top of the Empire State Building. I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, but one of his sides was slightly flatter than the others. A penny hears quite a few stories out there on the road.

For my object, I chose to bring in a toy version of a Lamborghini Miura. Most of the items that I own that really mean something to me are at home, in Georgia, and the Miura was the best thing I could find that I had here. I got it on a family trip to Italy, at a little toy store in Rome. I remember wanting to buy a toy Italian sports car while I was there, and I found the Miura, which is one of the coolest looking cars ever made. In that way, the toy Miura is a reminder of that trip. In another way, it is a reminder of home. In my room at home, I have a huge collection of toy cars, collected throughout my childhood. Literally every flat surface is covered by toy cars of every shape and size. I brought the Miura with me when I came here to make my dorm room feel a bit more like my room at home.