On Editing

My stream of thought while editing my short film:

This looks incredible...

This looks awful...

Is this all we got...?

We don't have it...

This doesn't work at all...

Oh my god, now this totally works...

I am a complete failure...

I am a GENIUS...

I should have told him to do THIS...

I should have asked her to do THAT...

How the hell am I going to put this together...?

Hold on... it's starting to come together...

Is this starting to come together or am I just going crazy...?

This is going to take a little longer than I expected...

It's all just fragments of a jigsaw puzzle.

That metaphor isn't quite right, though. There are no wasted pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Editing is all about wasting pieces. Deciding what to waste. Deciding what to keep and how to use it. There is something incredible in there if you have the skill to assemble it correctly. Just as there is something awful in there if you assemble it poorly.

It's just a three minute movie but I am making progress in very small increments.

This is the Bad Version

Haven't started assembling my short film yet but this GIF is from the footage we shot. Next couple days, it should start to come together. My current computer isn't really optimized for video editing, so some of it may take a little time.

This is Audra. She came out of nowhere and agreed to be in our film and could not have been easier to work with. She was awesome.

I don't precisely know how this film is going to turn out but I loved this experience.

Knick Overdrive

Adverts for Steven Soderbergh's new CINEMAX show "THE KNICK" have been popping up all over this blessed city.

It is odd when something you've worked on—even in a completely non-creative capacity—starts entering the world. There is a peculiar sense of ownership, at least for me. That goddamn show helped me pay my goddamn bills for SE7EN GODDAMN MONTHS. It's difficult to not feel some connection, even when all you've done is helped process all its fucking invoices. Jesus, Mary and Joseph — but there were sooo many invoices!

I shot and directed a short film today. I wrote and shot and directed a short film today. I don't know how it's going to end up... but I kinda loved it. I love directing actors. I love breaking down a scene, exploring it, picking it apart, making different choices. I love the way a beautiful actress's face can fill a screen with light. This model/actress came out of nowhere and agreed to be in this short film, working with two guys she'd never met before. She was OUTSTANDING. So easy to work with, completely engaged in the process, just breathtaking on camera.

I'm blathering on too much about a short that I'm, perhaps, building up too much.

I just... miss doing these things. Working with an old friend and with this actress, it just reminded me how much I love filmmaking. How much I love directing.

Steven Soderbergh said this thing in an interview many years ago. I'm paraphrasing, but he advised aspiring filmmakers to skip film school -- to use the money they'd use for film school to MAKE A FILM. That advice has haunted me over the years. I remain critical of that advice for many reasons. And yet the underlying idea haunts me to this day...

How many times and how many WAYS can you "GO FOR BROKE"?

In some ways, I feel like I *have* gone for broke... LITERALLY... but in other ways, I feel like maybe I've never gone all the way...

BUTTS!!!

Elaine Stritch Has a Posse

Elaine Stritch
February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014
Elaine Stritch has a posse.

Now I Have a PS4

A PS4 without any games...?

Not so fun.

Everyone Loves a Good Comeback Story

New York State Office of Unclaimed Funds: Part II

YO!!!

After the role-of-a-lifetime, I've been... *busy*.

So, remember that entry you barely glanced over back in May...?

Well, I just got a muh'fuh'n check in the mail so lemme just say, THIS SHIT IS LEGIT, BITCH!!!

Iffin you're in NYS, you might wanna check this out:

https://ouf.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/

Thanks to Nick Gaffney for turning me onto the free money. Depending on when I make stupid bank and the winds of fate, I'll either pay for your children's college, masters, doctorates or wedding ceremonies. But for now... I think maybe a PS4 is in my future!