In response to an earlier post by Antonio regarding the story of the film:
In retrospect: 'we didn't have a story' is untrue, but its interesting that you (Antonio) should put it that way.
A lot of the conflicts and ultimately the story itself arose from this opposing view we had of the story we were working with.
Looking back over the notes I took in the months leading up to the shoot, the story we saw eventually unfold was rooted in the development of those ideas we discussed during that time.
The main points of the story- an epic, involving a hero, who visits a foreign land, encounters obstacles, enemies and companions along the way, and ultimately moves on to a higher place, were simple, but this is the story we worked towards.
I think the methods I used to communicate the story I saw for this film were faulty to some extent because it left you (Cavallo/Antonio) reaching everywhere for a framework approaching what you thought might be what i wanted. When you hit on something and I went 'yeah yeah that's it' there was a sense of relief, and then it was on to the next part.
So in devising the story framework around the Seven Valleys (from the Sufi text) in the way we did, it simply fit the story structure we had settled on for the successful production of a film using the methods we chose. In other words, we needed a sequence of distinct segments that followed each other in ordered time, inciting incidents that determined the hero's progress.
The inciting incidents needed to be granular and simple, so that our collective filmmaking group would understand and latch on to the concepts involved with ease. Ideally they'd go "yeah, that sequence makes sense, I can see where this goes next, and I can see how both I and the hero might interact in this piece so he can get there."
In reality, the story treatment became a device containing a sequence of inciting incidents for both you (Cavallo) and the audience/participants (our "cast") to use as a support or platform for movement and development of a very simple story, which we always had.
i.e. the story was, is and always will be:
a man walks into a world, he meets people who's lives he affects and whose world affects him, then he moves onwards, to a higher place, leaving them behind.
in other words, his presence in space creates an effect, however small, in the world, and in people's hearts.
The story is about a man who makes a difference, and creates love.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
conference of the birds
I was reading some stuff about Peter Brook and his approach to theatre. We based a lot of our conversations around the film on discussions we were having about 'Conference of the Birds' and Peter Brook's excursion to Africa where he ran his actors through the mill to get some sort of collective experience going. Its seems like a very sensual process, and its designed in a way to move away from cliche or intellectual approach, so there might be something new and unified created as a result. Importantly both the actors (participants) and audience are considered equal parts of the same triangular existence. Affirmation, Negation, Conciliation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conference_of_the_Birds
and
http://www.gurdjieff.org/nicolescu3.htm
"The most spectacular illustration of the crucial, primary role of experience in Brook’s work is perhaps in the preparation for Conference of the Birds. Instead of plunging his actors into a study of ‘Attar’s poem, or committing them to an erudite analysis of Sufi texts, Brook led them off on an extraordinary expedition to Africa. Confronted with the difficulties inherent in a crossing of the Sahara desert, obliged to improvise in front of the inhabitants of African villages, the actors went inexorably towards a meeting with themselves: ‘Everything we do on this journey is an exercise … in heightening perception on every conceivable level. You might call the performance of a show ‘the grand exercise.’ But everything feeds the work, and everything surrounding it is part of a bigger test of awareness. Call it ‘the super-grand exercise.54 Indeed self-confrontation after a long and arduous process of self-initiation is the very keystone to ‘Attar’s poem. This kind of experimental, organic approach to a text has an infinitely greater value than any theoretical, methodical or systematic study. Its value becomes apparent in the stimulation of a very particular ‘quality’: it constitutes the most tangible characteristic of Brook’s work."
AND:
http://www.nancho.net/advisors/brook.html
"To ratchet that up one more level, beyond the individual performer, there are certain times in even a simply good play, when the cast will sort of congeal [Yes.] into a living, intuitive whole or awareness. [Yes!] Can you as a director intuitively participate in that unity, and what do you think of that state of group mind?
PB: That is what the director is for.
How can discipline and spontaneity be made to coexist and interact? Where does spontaneity come from? How can one distinguish true spontaneity from a simple automatic response, associated with a set of pre-existing (if unconscious) clichés? In other words, how can one differentiate between an association—perhaps unexpected, but nonetheless mechanical—with its source in what has been seen already, and the emergence of something really new?
http://www.gurdjieff.org/nicolescu3.htm
Quantum theory has its place in the ‘Valley of Astonishment’ (one of the seven valleys in Conference of the Birds) where contradiction and indeterminacy lie in wait for the traveller.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conference_of_the_Birds
and
http://www.gurdjieff.org/nicolescu3.htm
"The most spectacular illustration of the crucial, primary role of experience in Brook’s work is perhaps in the preparation for Conference of the Birds. Instead of plunging his actors into a study of ‘Attar’s poem, or committing them to an erudite analysis of Sufi texts, Brook led them off on an extraordinary expedition to Africa. Confronted with the difficulties inherent in a crossing of the Sahara desert, obliged to improvise in front of the inhabitants of African villages, the actors went inexorably towards a meeting with themselves: ‘Everything we do on this journey is an exercise … in heightening perception on every conceivable level. You might call the performance of a show ‘the grand exercise.’ But everything feeds the work, and everything surrounding it is part of a bigger test of awareness. Call it ‘the super-grand exercise.54 Indeed self-confrontation after a long and arduous process of self-initiation is the very keystone to ‘Attar’s poem. This kind of experimental, organic approach to a text has an infinitely greater value than any theoretical, methodical or systematic study. Its value becomes apparent in the stimulation of a very particular ‘quality’: it constitutes the most tangible characteristic of Brook’s work."
AND:
http://www.nancho.net/advisors/brook.html
"To ratchet that up one more level, beyond the individual performer, there are certain times in even a simply good play, when the cast will sort of congeal [Yes.] into a living, intuitive whole or awareness. [Yes!] Can you as a director intuitively participate in that unity, and what do you think of that state of group mind?
PB: That is what the director is for.
How can discipline and spontaneity be made to coexist and interact? Where does spontaneity come from? How can one distinguish true spontaneity from a simple automatic response, associated with a set of pre-existing (if unconscious) clichés? In other words, how can one differentiate between an association—perhaps unexpected, but nonetheless mechanical—with its source in what has been seen already, and the emergence of something really new?
http://www.gurdjieff.org/nicolescu3.htm
Quantum theory has its place in the ‘Valley of Astonishment’ (one of the seven valleys in Conference of the Birds) where contradiction and indeterminacy lie in wait for the traveller.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
email exchanges
here is an account of our brainstorming exchange, beginning after andrew saw me in a stage production of 'the graduate'
(march 8, 2007)
hey rock,
got your message. i was undergoing beauty sleep when you rang last night. yes, i wanna make a movie. will there be a script before-hand? without a script, my contract will need to be revamped to include the hours of improvisation necessary.
d a b d i d e a
(april 4, 2007)
there's an assassin coming to dublin. he's here to kill a mafia boss
lying low somewhere in dublin city. he's in love with someone and is
doing it for her. she's got herself in trouble. she's bad news. he
doesn't know it. love is blind. the thing is, he's good. he's very
good. he's a killer. he thought he left it all behind, but its come
back to haunt him. all because of a woman. it makes him mad, but damn
it he loves her. this is new terrain for him. any other time, he's
been in the company of a middle man, a direction and mediation guy, a
go-getter. All he ever had to do was pull the trigger. That's what he
was good at. He's on his own now, ready to pull the trigger but not
really sure where to point the gun. The worst thing is, word is on the
street that he's in town. And there's a lot of people in this town
that want a piece of his action. everywhere he goes he gets some sort
of attention, but this time he's trying to avoid it. Too bad he's been
id'd by the law. Something came up on the radar and there are some
people not too keen to see a bloodbath on the streets. There are also
one or two who are pretty happy about seeing this kind of play
happening on their streets. There's plenty of fancy dames and clever
snitches out there just itching to get in on the real business, to
bring the real money home. Small time players, looking to make it big.
And this guy's the ticket. After all, this is a contract, and the
thing about contracts is it doesn't matter who carries it out, as long
as it gets done. All our hero has to do is let something slip and he
loses it all. The money, the girl... his life.
(april 6, 2007)
(april 6, 2007)
[andrew sends me the tom waits song 'nirvana']
(april 7, 2007)
(april 7, 2007)
SO±
Once upon a time there was a tiger, a Battlecat on a train in Japan,
the machine rattling away shaking his sneakers, covered in Skeletor
blood. Blue lion ran away from the castle; she was not just a gear in
a space robot, she had feelings. Kuma looked for a fight with men at
the fare, running through the field to tomorrow. A little muse the
shape of an onion swamp, memories formed in an 8-bit sound chip and a
folk guitar.
OR\
A young boy trapped between warring nations stumbles through a time
rift, and upon a terrible conspiracy spanning generations! He finds
safety in the warm embrace of a tall, handsome vampire who helps him
return home and shows him how to love again. But is there anything
left of his world?
AND*
Trying to describe all the feelings, emotions and magical power
electrics that was hanging in the tense air during the night of Gordon
Strombola's first show ever in Sweden is an impossible task. Just the
presence of the legendary Gordon from Czeckoslovakia made a huge,
almost physical, impact on everyone. Afterall, this is the man who
successfully sampled vegetables in 2-bit quality by synchronizing a
number of ZX Pandas and a Lambda 83. Afterall, this is no mere amateur
we're speaking of.
These are all paragraphs used to describe "albums" recorded using an
8-Bit Process for this website: www.8bitpeoples.com
What got me thinking were the stories, which are absurd, but kind of
compelling in some weird way. They're open, allowing creative
expression around the concepts.
CONCLUSION
I propose we create a METHOD, a new METHOD of creating a FILM.
And we shall call it something untoward yet likeable:
e.g. (but not definitive of course)
8 BIT FILMMAKING
8 BIT SHORTS
THE 8 BIT METHOD
The method will be described in a manifesto.
It will be a new DOGMA (see DOGMA 95)
The method will be a subplot of the RENEGADE ARTIST masterplan and the
CREATIVE ROOTS COOPERATIVE (www.renegadearts.org)
Those who take part in the PROCESS using the METHOD will be
subscribers to the method and must follow the MANIFESTO.
THE RULES:
1. There is ONE central character = The Hub.
2. One PARAGRAPH describes the STORY.
3. There is INFINITE cast.
4. STORY must succumb to RANDOM OCCURRENCES and CHAOS.
5. A SAFE ZONE exists around the central character at all times. The
camera activates the safe zone.
6. Inside the Safe Zone, EVERYTHING IS REAL.
7. There must always be a dance.
8. Shoot the MOON.
All artists taking part in the shoot must be rewarded with A PARTY and
FOOD if possible.
Films made under the manifesto shall be distributed under the Creative
Commons license by ANY MEANS POSSIBLE internationally to change the
world.
(april 13, 2007)
(april 14, 2007)
(april 20, 2007)
anto
(april 21, 2007)
andrew
(april 24, 2007)
it might be thought to fly out of paris...
no harm either way
(april 26, 2007)
(may 25, 2007)
"The further we get into the evolution of A Swarm of Angels, the more
I think we've found a third way between 'old media' and 'user
generated content'. Think of it as participative media: a model where
filmmaker and fan get closer together as part of a member-only
entertainment community.
Unlike user-generated content the director drives the process and
vision of the project, and members get to guide and input into the
creative process along the way (eg. a collaborative script doesn't
mean everyone edits it with equal weight, but everyone has the option
to submit material to it which then gets filtered and either rejected
or accepted). ''
(Matt Hanson, A Swarm Of Angels Blog)
(may 25, 2007)
How We Are Going To Make A Collective Experience Movie:
collective experience is more engaging to artists than "open source".
collective creation of art is familiar to artists from the last 10
years. open source engages on another level with nerds (respectfully-
for want of a better word) around the world. i think there are some
fine tools for use by collective artists in the open source world, but
that its important not to get carried away with the technology or even
with the very passionate and philosophical open source movement. I've
been looking into the open source filmmaking phenomenon and it's very
new but turns some people on.
check out this website:
http://www.opensourcecinema.org/
there is also a bit on this stuff in wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_movie_production
we will redefine the experience and use the octopussy methods for
creative anarchy. more on that later. the idea is to engage with
filmmakers and artists who are working outside the nerdosphere. we
also want to make a compelling movie that tells a story. to do this we
have to make as much information available to the participants as
possible. we also have to allow for everyone to contribute in a
collective way. This will be online but also ideally in the use of
workshops, discussion, improvisation and parties.
I've found a site (celtx.com) that has some filmmaking tools we could
use but i'd rather have it more organic than the traditional
filmmaking approach. this site allows script development which i don't
think we need as much as story development. i'm thinking a 'wiki' will
be more than enough if we combine it with a nice community site where
participants can contribute at will.
i am still deliberating over whether this site should form part of the
fast forward site or be a separate site.
this is not a virtual experience. people will have to be engaged
enough to look into each other's eyes, smell their sweat, see the fear
and excitement. I don't believe these projects can make a difference
to anyone unless they take place in the real world, not online. The
online world can be seen as an extension of the distribution network
we use to spread the word, release information, and eventually make
all of our work available to the world. It can also be seen as a
channel where others can use the content we create to interpret their
own versions of our movie and release new and improved movies using
our source footage and audio files. What remains separate is the 48
hours of creative process which is the basis of all of our preparatory
work and anything we do with it afterwards.
some people have already made huge steps in the world of "before and
after" open source filmmaking:
http://straycinema.com/about/
I think this is the benchmark for pre- and post- production of what is
known as an "open-source" movie. However, I think we can do a lot more
with the process of creating the movie itself over 48 hours. Using
Octopussy methods, lessons learned from the fast forward film festival
and most importantly our supreme faith in the genius of creative
anarchists everywhere, we can undertake a process of making the movie
that's never been seen before. Food, a party and some beer will be
very important in this. There must also be a dance of some kind.
i think i can build a website like the opencinema one above for our
film before release...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_movie_production
Boy Who Never Slept, a full length dramatic comedy released under the
CC-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) 2.5
license
shortbus
octopussy
real world manifestations of virtual communities: urban seeder, pod
dances/silent discos in public places, myspace group community
creative projects (the myspace movie project)
source files and audio files must be released for use by others.
(Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) 2.5 license
sold for distribution with the proviso that content is available for free.
screening anywhere anyhow
distribution methods:
http://www.solomonrothman.com/boywhoneverslept/temp-movie-download-page.php
http://www.opensourcecinema.org/
(may 25, 2007)
(may 26, 2007)
ok, nice.
you're right, i think the idea of a collective, in the flesh, is more organic than contributions online.
we need to launch the notice next week, because we should have a start up party on the monday or tuesday or wednesday of the week of the shoot. place large white-boards or pedestals with large paper for ideas to be written on. and everyone contributing will get familiar with each other before we work. and of course the party needs to be filmed. all of it. get a few cameras going, we'll call it a "warm-up" or "test-shoot" and then we can use it for the final product, where everything is shown.
speaking of which, we can allude to our finished idea by stating specifically that "everything is a part of it"; that's it. so we don't have a guilty conscience afterwards.
the project is a celebration in the spirit of filmmaking. this has not been accessible to the masses until recently. a way to spruce up that old youthful impulse "hey, wouldn't it be cool if we made a film?" "yeah, let's make a movie!" so in this way it is an extension of the fast foward film festival, just a slightly different method. we have sealed envelopes with different stages of the story. everyone arrives, and we explain that individuals, or groups, take an envelope. then they have until the beginning of the shoot to prepare what they will contribute.
it can also relate to the fast foward festival if each group has in fact a camera. then they film their contribution to the finished product. everyone will know there is one master camera, but then in a smaller way, their filming is a story in itself, to be contributed at final editing.
but what's the story!! help!!!
let me draw from my week in italy.
i had a simple motive: to observe the source. the source being my father in his home town. i didn't expect anything else. but then a story developed. i saw a play on wednesday night, hosted by a arts collective called arci. there i meet a young couple, the husband italian, the wife british. they introduce me to a cool bar and i meet a few others. one, her parents live in chicago and she is related to a good friend of my father. another is good friends with a cousin of mine whom no one in family speaks to anymore. the next day i see a concert. i recognize one guy from the theatre the night before. turns out he started arci. then i meet some musicians, and one is good friends with a friend of mine in chicago. through it all i hear their perceptions of the united states and america and of where they come from. not to mention the discoveries i make concerning my father. to see his behavior altered because of him being there and having his oldest son with him. by the end of it, i have new friends, a new view of my father, and i want to come back and make a documentary.
perhaps the idea is i want to make a movie? could we make a movie about wanting to make a movie?
somehow this project seems beyond working with a simple story and plot. i don't think we should fabricate a fictional tale for the sake of a through-line. it has to be something more.
wait wait wait!!!!!!! i just took a piss and i think i've got it:
this film IS about fast foward festival. but for the first time, each one has to connect. the simple connection? me. i appear in everyone's story as the same character. we establish what i am and what i want, then we leave the specifics to each group.
(may 26, 2007)
more:
at the pre-party we determine how many participants we have. with this information, we establish different sub-plots for each group. or we state from the get-go how many groups we will have. these separate plots will be connected like this: the sheet we give to group A, has to confer with group B on how they can connect their stories. this way, for the first time, participants have to communicate with other groups, as well as focus on their own contribution. so as not to leave out the first and last, they have to confer with each other to make the story circular. we have to establish a schedule with locations so that we can participate with each group. because there should still be one master camera.
so basically we won't sleep for 48 hours.
(may 26, 2007)
even more:
the header for the notice:
THIS TIME WE GO FOR 48
or something to that effect.
(march 8, 2007)
hey rock,
got your message. i was undergoing beauty sleep when you rang last night. yes, i wanna make a movie. will there be a script before-hand? without a script, my contract will need to be revamped to include the hours of improvisation necessary.
d a b d i d e a
(april 4, 2007)
there's an assassin coming to dublin. he's here to kill a mafia boss
lying low somewhere in dublin city. he's in love with someone and is
doing it for her. she's got herself in trouble. she's bad news. he
doesn't know it. love is blind. the thing is, he's good. he's very
good. he's a killer. he thought he left it all behind, but its come
back to haunt him. all because of a woman. it makes him mad, but damn
it he loves her. this is new terrain for him. any other time, he's
been in the company of a middle man, a direction and mediation guy, a
go-getter. All he ever had to do was pull the trigger. That's what he
was good at. He's on his own now, ready to pull the trigger but not
really sure where to point the gun. The worst thing is, word is on the
street that he's in town. And there's a lot of people in this town
that want a piece of his action. everywhere he goes he gets some sort
of attention, but this time he's trying to avoid it. Too bad he's been
id'd by the law. Something came up on the radar and there are some
people not too keen to see a bloodbath on the streets. There are also
one or two who are pretty happy about seeing this kind of play
happening on their streets. There's plenty of fancy dames and clever
snitches out there just itching to get in on the real business, to
bring the real money home. Small time players, looking to make it big.
And this guy's the ticket. After all, this is a contract, and the
thing about contracts is it doesn't matter who carries it out, as long
as it gets done. All our hero has to do is let something slip and he
loses it all. The money, the girl... his life.
(april 6, 2007)
this is what you sent me via text, soaked with wine: "you'll be like the drummer in sonic youth. respond and drive."
so this is what i started on the way to the ballet. everything should begin on the way to the ballet.
"protagonist told he could find the source in dublin. he is told via a letter from a wise old sage. perhaps we hear the voice of the letter? specific instructions. DO NOT openly inquire about this search. the clues will come. show protagonist first few hours in town. fruitless. meets no one. tries to find helpful locations. this is where the clues to the audience appear. stands in front of specific locations he thinks might be helpful to his task. so we don't spell out what he's searching for, but show it in places like, i don't know, help me out here. eventually night is falling, our hero is giving up, because no one has come to him. in fact, earlier there could be quality scenes of him trying to place himself into situations with people he thinks might help him on his quest, only to be dismissed as a loon. the first one to approach him reveals in some way that they've watched him the whole time. this gets him very curious...
our protagonist has a limited amount of time. because he's placed this time limit on himself. he is running from something he has, but doesn't want. he feels he needs these answers in the time he's given himself, because this is the only time in his life he will be able to find these answers. i don't know yet what this thing is. i see it revealed in the end, on the telephone, where everything becomes clear. it is obvious on the other end of the phone that he is neglecting something, but he begins to laugh at the whole thing. it is very sad. his mood is frantic, crazy.
there is desperation in his actions. which make it fun. he is wiling to do anything, and it increases as the quest progresses, because he is running out of time.
more later...
anto(april 6, 2007)
[andrew sends me the tom waits song 'nirvana']
(april 7, 2007)
gorgeous stuff, how did you find it, you rascal!
the latest i wrote:
looking for a mythical place. but what is making me do this? something forces me to take this leap of faith - take the time, to do something i'm not even sure exists. something is not right in my life. it needs immediacy. in four days time i have to leave. what am i going back to? or am i going somewhere new? take a personal view: i decide i have to go back to chicago, right? but then i feel it in my bones that something has to be done first. over here. i feel it is crucial to my existence. it has to be done. regret. hurry up. never get another chance. at what? freedom. absolute freedom. no bills, no responsibility; as an adult.
all these people i met here, they had no idea what i was doing here. but they all had something to tell me, to show me, to give me. because it is inherent within people to give something to someone else they feel is worthy.
i want to be there, and i want answers. i feel i have it within my power to suceed. there is a profession, a lifestyle out there for a person like me - it's unconventional, but i believe it exists. no one else believes in me, they thing i'm a kook, and that i lack responsibility. that i'm acting like a child. but that's exactly it! why can't a person live free of the burdens that most adults place on themselves? why does there have to be a divide? a rift? why can't we fuse the two together harmoniously and live in peace? religion is not the answer because it still involves a rudimentary profession. how can anyone devout ever do something outrageously creative as a profession? what's the polar opposite of what i want? what do i want to avoid? MEDIOCRITY.
(a phone conversation the protagonist has in the middle of the story with his mother. we only hear mothers voice):
"when are you coming home? everyone is excited to see you, and hear about all the exciting things you've been doing while you've been away! frank has already opened up a position for you at the machine shop. you can start as soon as you get back! well, maybe you want to take a day, you'll be tired. and we have, i set up a room for you upstairs, i washed the sheets, and there's even a t.v. in the room. grandma, i'm sure will be happy to see you. if she doesn't remember you at first, don't worry, she's sort of losing her mind a little bit, you know, they get old, you were always her favorite."(april 7, 2007)
SO±
Once upon a time there was a tiger, a Battlecat on a train in Japan,
the machine rattling away shaking his sneakers, covered in Skeletor
blood. Blue lion ran away from the castle; she was not just a gear in
a space robot, she had feelings. Kuma looked for a fight with men at
the fare, running through the field to tomorrow. A little muse the
shape of an onion swamp, memories formed in an 8-bit sound chip and a
folk guitar.
OR\
A young boy trapped between warring nations stumbles through a time
rift, and upon a terrible conspiracy spanning generations! He finds
safety in the warm embrace of a tall, handsome vampire who helps him
return home and shows him how to love again. But is there anything
left of his world?
AND*
Trying to describe all the feelings, emotions and magical power
electrics that was hanging in the tense air during the night of Gordon
Strombola's first show ever in Sweden is an impossible task. Just the
presence of the legendary Gordon from Czeckoslovakia made a huge,
almost physical, impact on everyone. Afterall, this is the man who
successfully sampled vegetables in 2-bit quality by synchronizing a
number of ZX Pandas and a Lambda 83. Afterall, this is no mere amateur
we're speaking of.
These are all paragraphs used to describe "albums" recorded using an
8-Bit Process for this website: www.8bitpeoples.com
What got me thinking were the stories, which are absurd, but kind of
compelling in some weird way. They're open, allowing creative
expression around the concepts.
CONCLUSION
I propose we create a METHOD, a new METHOD of creating a FILM.
And we shall call it something untoward yet likeable:
e.g. (but not definitive of course)
8 BIT FILMMAKING
8 BIT SHORTS
THE 8 BIT METHOD
The method will be described in a manifesto.
It will be a new DOGMA (see DOGMA 95)
The method will be a subplot of the RENEGADE ARTIST masterplan and the
CREATIVE ROOTS COOPERATIVE (www.renegadearts.org)
Those who take part in the PROCESS using the METHOD will be
subscribers to the method and must follow the MANIFESTO.
THE RULES:
1. There is ONE central character = The Hub.
2. One PARAGRAPH describes the STORY.
3. There is INFINITE cast.
4. STORY must succumb to RANDOM OCCURRENCES and CHAOS.
5. A SAFE ZONE exists around the central character at all times. The
camera activates the safe zone.
6. Inside the Safe Zone, EVERYTHING IS REAL.
7. There must always be a dance.
8. Shoot the MOON.
All artists taking part in the shoot must be rewarded with A PARTY and
FOOD if possible.
Films made under the manifesto shall be distributed under the Creative
Commons license by ANY MEANS POSSIBLE internationally to change the
world.
(april 13, 2007)
andrew,
do we already have the support of the renegade artist collective? will it go up on the website?
i like the 8 bit method. it will be like a video game. safe zone is like pressing pause.
another incentive for the actors: they may be used again in subsequent scenes. it is our discretion. we should have someone taking notes on plot points throughout. so that we have some sort of thru-line.
i asked a wily old actor last night his opinion about it all. asked him what would entice actors to come out for this project. he said, simply, "if you build it, they will come."
here is something else:
"the purpose of each character is to tell the hero something he doesn't know; show him something he's never seen, give him something he doesn't have. all relative to the purpose at hand. the scene is over when the hero has a new piece of information that will help him on his quest. then each scenario fuels what follows it. the new information is related to whomever follows, and it's used accordingly. each character must grab the attention of the hero inconspicuously. the hero doesn't know what's coming to him, but he needs to retain each clue. the hero will listen to everybody, and everything they say."(april 14, 2007)
ok,
had a chat last night with mr. hugh mcbride. remember him? listen to this:
for everything we attempt with this project, however the filming turns out, whatever story we manage to string together, i think the story is actually what you and i are attempting. and that is what the film should be.
do we have access to another camera and cameraman? good, because we need him (or her)to film as well.
what will be visible to audience is the whole process. behind the scenes as well as the scenes themselves. what i am searching for is the meaning of happiness. what i don't know is the answer - laughter. but everyone else will know this because they are irish. and you know this. you tell everyone this before they approach me. the exchanges between you and participants is filmed. dialogue between you and me is filmed. anyone on the project can break the fourth wall, outside of the shooting zone, and speak to the camera. the point of the film is that two zealots, you and me, attempt to bring a message to the world about happiness. this is the story.
imagine our conversations concerning this project. imagine that the viewer is privy to them. thats part of the story. imagine you telling participants things i don't know, and the viewer seeing that. that's the story.
the key is we do not tell the participants that the whole process is the story. their focus is the scenes and making a story out of them. the whole process is seen. even them talking about what they will give to the project. so we need another camera.
the conclusion is that the process is what the goal is, not the goal itself.
wax your face, mate, because you and i are going to star in this show.
the conclusion(april 20, 2007)
andrew,
give me the name of the town again. i think it's adagir? i looked this morning, prices were a bit outrageous, so i'm going to try another tactic. i going to try arriving via the canary islands, by submarine with a neutral country. if that doesn't work, i received contact information for a band of nomads cameling up from tunisia around the time i'm due. last resort is a propeller water plane skidding into casablanca on the eve of the dance of the biblical gyspy, i can latch on as a tamborine player, so i won't make it until after the gig. but make it i will! allah!
(april 21, 2007)
if you get as far as marakkesh this town is only 3 hours away. this
keyboard is very weird so i have to keep the repartee to a minimum.
suffice to say and it goes without saying really that i would favour
the propeller water plane i feel it more practical. alert me of your
progress and i will call you soon. my houseboy abdullah will arrange
fine accommodation for you on your arrival at good price for you sir.
oh that abdullah such a merry soul
keyboard is very weird so i have to keep the repartee to a minimum.
suffice to say and it goes without saying really that i would favour
the propeller water plane i feel it more practical. alert me of your
progress and i will call you soon. my houseboy abdullah will arrange
fine accommodation for you on your arrival at good price for you sir.
oh that abdullah such a merry soul
andrew
(april 24, 2007)
it might be thought to fly out of paris...
no harm either way
(april 26, 2007)
alas, dear friend, the time is once again not right. i don't have the funds for so short a time. there are ways, but at a cost of time and money too dear for me, especially since i have to come to dublin in the very near future. set a date as quick as you can, so i can plan accordingly.
i hope some more answers have come to you in your solitude. i feel tom robbins has a part to play in all this. as well as the camels. and the houka. for my part, i'm reading "the dubliners"
anto(may 25, 2007)
"The further we get into the evolution of A Swarm of Angels, the more
I think we've found a third way between 'old media' and 'user
generated content'. Think of it as participative media: a model where
filmmaker and fan get closer together as part of a member-only
entertainment community.
Unlike user-generated content the director drives the process and
vision of the project, and members get to guide and input into the
creative process along the way (eg. a collaborative script doesn't
mean everyone edits it with equal weight, but everyone has the option
to submit material to it which then gets filtered and either rejected
or accepted). ''
(Matt Hanson, A Swarm Of Angels Blog)
(may 25, 2007)
How We Are Going To Make A Collective Experience Movie:
collective experience is more engaging to artists than "open source".
collective creation of art is familiar to artists from the last 10
years. open source engages on another level with nerds (respectfully-
for want of a better word) around the world. i think there are some
fine tools for use by collective artists in the open source world, but
that its important not to get carried away with the technology or even
with the very passionate and philosophical open source movement. I've
been looking into the open source filmmaking phenomenon and it's very
new but turns some people on.
check out this website:
http://www.opensourcecinema
there is also a bit on this stuff in wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
we will redefine the experience and use the octopussy methods for
creative anarchy. more on that later. the idea is to engage with
filmmakers and artists who are working outside the nerdosphere. we
also want to make a compelling movie that tells a story. to do this we
have to make as much information available to the participants as
possible. we also have to allow for everyone to contribute in a
collective way. This will be online but also ideally in the use of
workshops, discussion, improvisation and parties.
I've found a site (celtx.com) that has some filmmaking tools we could
use but i'd rather have it more organic than the traditional
filmmaking approach. this site allows script development which i don't
think we need as much as story development. i'm thinking a 'wiki' will
be more than enough if we combine it with a nice community site where
participants can contribute at will.
i am still deliberating over whether this site should form part of the
fast forward site or be a separate site.
this is not a virtual experience. people will have to be engaged
enough to look into each other's eyes, smell their sweat, see the fear
and excitement. I don't believe these projects can make a difference
to anyone unless they take place in the real world, not online. The
online world can be seen as an extension of the distribution network
we use to spread the word, release information, and eventually make
all of our work available to the world. It can also be seen as a
channel where others can use the content we create to interpret their
own versions of our movie and release new and improved movies using
our source footage and audio files. What remains separate is the 48
hours of creative process which is the basis of all of our preparatory
work and anything we do with it afterwards.
some people have already made huge steps in the world of "before and
after" open source filmmaking:
http://straycinema.com/about/
I think this is the benchmark for pre- and post- production of what is
known as an "open-source" movie. However, I think we can do a lot more
with the process of creating the movie itself over 48 hours. Using
Octopussy methods, lessons learned from the fast forward film festival
and most importantly our supreme faith in the genius of creative
anarchists everywhere, we can undertake a process of making the movie
that's never been seen before. Food, a party and some beer will be
very important in this. There must also be a dance of some kind.
i think i can build a website like the opencinema one above for our
film before release...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
Boy Who Never Slept, a full length dramatic comedy released under the
CC-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
license
shortbus
octopussy
real world manifestations of virtual communities: urban seeder, pod
dances/silent discos in public places, myspace group community
creative projects (the myspace movie project)
source files and audio files must be released for use by others.
(Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
sold for distribution with the proviso that content is available for free.
screening anywhere anyhow
distribution methods:
http://www.solomonrothman.com
http://www.opensourcecinema
(may 25, 2007)
hey thomas
how's tricks?
i'm planning a film shoot on the weekend of june 15th to explore some
movie making methods we've been talking about.
I've sent this on to Antonio, who will be playing the lead role and
will serve as a kind of "hub" for the shoot. he's flying into ireland
on the 7th, when we will go to an island off the coast of Galway to
find the story.
the following weekend i will list at least 5 locations publically, set
up the camera, lights and sound and hopefully be able to cobble
together a nice story on video. people will come along and act, bring
us to their own locations, or maybe they won't. either way i think it
will be fun.
after that we'll do more.
I want to get started and get a feel for this new world.
Anyway, have a read of what i have below and let me know what you
think. you will see its heavily influenced by octopussy, renegade arts
and our discussions. its to give me clarity mainly, but its also a
first attempt at formalising this community approach.
I'll call you soon.
Andrewhow's tricks?
i'm planning a film shoot on the weekend of june 15th to explore some
movie making methods we've been talking about.
I've sent this on to Antonio, who will be playing the lead role and
will serve as a kind of "hub" for the shoot. he's flying into ireland
on the 7th, when we will go to an island off the coast of Galway to
find the story.
the following weekend i will list at least 5 locations publically, set
up the camera, lights and sound and hopefully be able to cobble
together a nice story on video. people will come along and act, bring
us to their own locations, or maybe they won't. either way i think it
will be fun.
after that we'll do more.
I want to get started and get a feel for this new world.
Anyway, have a read of what i have below and let me know what you
think. you will see its heavily influenced by octopussy, renegade arts
and our discussions. its to give me clarity mainly, but its also a
first attempt at formalising this community approach.
I'll call you soon.
(may 26, 2007)
ok, nice.
you're right, i think the idea of a collective, in the flesh, is more organic than contributions online.
we need to launch the notice next week, because we should have a start up party on the monday or tuesday or wednesday of the week of the shoot. place large white-boards or pedestals with large paper for ideas to be written on. and everyone contributing will get familiar with each other before we work. and of course the party needs to be filmed. all of it. get a few cameras going, we'll call it a "warm-up" or "test-shoot" and then we can use it for the final product, where everything is shown.
speaking of which, we can allude to our finished idea by stating specifically that "everything is a part of it"; that's it. so we don't have a guilty conscience afterwards.
the project is a celebration in the spirit of filmmaking. this has not been accessible to the masses until recently. a way to spruce up that old youthful impulse "hey, wouldn't it be cool if we made a film?" "yeah, let's make a movie!" so in this way it is an extension of the fast foward film festival, just a slightly different method. we have sealed envelopes with different stages of the story. everyone arrives, and we explain that individuals, or groups, take an envelope. then they have until the beginning of the shoot to prepare what they will contribute.
it can also relate to the fast foward festival if each group has in fact a camera. then they film their contribution to the finished product. everyone will know there is one master camera, but then in a smaller way, their filming is a story in itself, to be contributed at final editing.
but what's the story!! help!!!
let me draw from my week in italy.
i had a simple motive: to observe the source. the source being my father in his home town. i didn't expect anything else. but then a story developed. i saw a play on wednesday night, hosted by a arts collective called arci. there i meet a young couple, the husband italian, the wife british. they introduce me to a cool bar and i meet a few others. one, her parents live in chicago and she is related to a good friend of my father. another is good friends with a cousin of mine whom no one in family speaks to anymore. the next day i see a concert. i recognize one guy from the theatre the night before. turns out he started arci. then i meet some musicians, and one is good friends with a friend of mine in chicago. through it all i hear their perceptions of the united states and america and of where they come from. not to mention the discoveries i make concerning my father. to see his behavior altered because of him being there and having his oldest son with him. by the end of it, i have new friends, a new view of my father, and i want to come back and make a documentary.
perhaps the idea is i want to make a movie? could we make a movie about wanting to make a movie?
somehow this project seems beyond working with a simple story and plot. i don't think we should fabricate a fictional tale for the sake of a through-line. it has to be something more.
wait wait wait!!!!!!! i just took a piss and i think i've got it:
this film IS about fast foward festival. but for the first time, each one has to connect. the simple connection? me. i appear in everyone's story as the same character. we establish what i am and what i want, then we leave the specifics to each group.
(may 26, 2007)
more:
at the pre-party we determine how many participants we have. with this information, we establish different sub-plots for each group. or we state from the get-go how many groups we will have. these separate plots will be connected like this: the sheet we give to group A, has to confer with group B on how they can connect their stories. this way, for the first time, participants have to communicate with other groups, as well as focus on their own contribution. so as not to leave out the first and last, they have to confer with each other to make the story circular. we have to establish a schedule with locations so that we can participate with each group. because there should still be one master camera.
so basically we won't sleep for 48 hours.
(may 26, 2007)
even more:
the header for the notice:
THIS TIME WE GO FOR 48
or something to that effect.
recollection part 1
so, leading up to the day i was to arrive in dublin to begin our 'quest', i was handed a book by a theatare colleague of mine, julian knab of germany. he simply said "you have to read this"so i did. it was 'conference of the birds - the story of peter brook in africa'
a little ways into the book, i come across the reference to a persian fable of the same name; a sufi story about all the birds in the world gathering for a conference because they want to meet their god. along their journey, they encounter 7 valleys. i had to find this story. it took the whole day, but i found the only copy in dublin, i think. here was the framework we were looking for. i applied the essence of the valleys to our world today, and a few days later, we had a film treatment.
a little ways into the book, i come across the reference to a persian fable of the same name; a sufi story about all the birds in the world gathering for a conference because they want to meet their god. along their journey, they encounter 7 valleys. i had to find this story. it took the whole day, but i found the only copy in dublin, i think. here was the framework we were looking for. i applied the essence of the valleys to our world today, and a few days later, we had a film treatment.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
in retrospect-part 1
stepped away from the madness...sometimes it makes sense...why we did it, how we did it, what we actually did.
the process is the story. we followed what we were given. when i arrived in dublin, we still didn´t have the story. sometime shortly thereafter, we realized the story was simply going to come to us. birds and quests. stories and songs. it was already there, and we just put our fingers on it and said 'go.' it is always in front of us...all of us. just believe and it comes to life.
have a plan, and also plan to ditch the plan, for things happen that one never plans.
the process is the story. we followed what we were given. when i arrived in dublin, we still didn´t have the story. sometime shortly thereafter, we realized the story was simply going to come to us. birds and quests. stories and songs. it was already there, and we just put our fingers on it and said 'go.' it is always in front of us...all of us. just believe and it comes to life.
have a plan, and also plan to ditch the plan, for things happen that one never plans.
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