docublog

Out[put]look

This is the film as at October 27. What you see is a Final Cut Pro sequence of just over 86 minutes. The two upper rows are video tracks, the rest is audio, first the voices, then ambient sounds, then the score. In about a month or so, this sequence will look even more complex, as we will add the animations, transitions, and about 3 additional audio pairs with sounds. If we included all the stories we have edited so far, the film would be over three hours long. I'm experimenting with story placements, trying to find the overall arc, the flow, early in the morning before Josh, Grant and Lonnie come in, then it's work on the details, honing the individual stories. I don't sleep enough, but how can you sleep when every day is so exciting, when I see this film come to life?

Ode to Stuart

When I started researching the 1000 Journals Project, in December 2003, I soon realized one of the journals, #987, had recently arrived in Venice, CA. I checked on its status every day. I was hoping it would stay a while, so I could start a treatment of the documentary script, meet Someguy, and figure out if and how a film about the journals could be made. When I was ready to reach out to participants, #987 was still in Venice, kind of waiting for me. I got in touch with its keeper, the artist Joanne Warfield, who agreed to meet me. She told me about her husband Stuart Vail, who had added to and sent on his own journal, #973. This journal has disappeared, unfortunately. When I met Stuart, we hit it off straight away. And since he's also known as Stuart Balcomb, the composer, I started to dream about collaborating with him on the soundtrack… Sometimes, beautiful things have a beautiful symmetry: Joanne and Stuart were my first interviews with participants, and when Ralph came aboard in 2005, they were our first filming date too, with our brand-new "Mühle." Joanne's journal #987 was the first journal I got to see in the field. Our follow-up interview with Stuart was the very last interview we shot. The filming started and ended in their house. But I've been back often. Stuart agreed to compose the music for the film, and our collaboration has been more than wonderful. As a starting point, I put together a few temp tracks, and now we are slowly developing the main theme. Conversations with a composer can be difficult, and if it is just for the lack of words with which to describe what one hears, or would like to hear. Not so with Stuart. He got "it," and he got me. And man, he's good.

Bogie-Wogie

Our neighbor to the left has a cute little mutt who spends all day outside, on the porch. Bogie's quietly eyeing our every move, but when Josh is leaving on his bike, he goes ballistic. The green color didn't have any soothing effect. Go figure!