Next Big Thing


[flickr id=”6918250840″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

Well, what can I say…there have been no shortages of late nights in the world of a Columbia College Chicago Film & Video MFA student. However that’s what it takes to keep the momentum of projects going through the 2012 spring semester. We are supposed to do more than complete assignments.  We are supposed to create. We are supposed to innovate. We are supposed to be artists.

[flickr id=”6917546808″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

I’ve probably mentioned before…and I will again…that I spend a lot of time in the 1104 S Wabash building. So in some ways, that building is where I generate most of my creative ideas. So why am I telling you this? Didn’t I just finish a shoot and start shaping rough footage into a film. That answer is, “yes.”  But while I work on a current project, I still have to think about summer, fall, and independent projects.

I’m a writer by training and learned that writers write. As a directing student ,I think the same logic applies. Directors direct. So I need to develop more projects to direct. While editing my current film, I’ve been jotting down notes and outlining what I want to do next. That’s what’s key here…next. As artists, we can never be satisfied with the “now.” We need to appreciate the work, but we cannot grow stagnant.

[flickr id=”7064330215″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

The question I’ve been debating is whether I’ll do an independent study this summer. There really are few cons. It comes down to time. If there is time to devote to a project, it’s worthwhile. This is also an opportunity to apply all the things learned this semester without the distraction of extraneous papers. It’s the time to direct. If that doesn’t work out, I’m still developing projects for next semester. We have a documentary that we begin shooting next fall, and we also need to have ideas for our thesis project. So I can’t remain stagnant. I have to keep thinking and creating. I love it!

That has me thinking. This is a tangent, but I tend to go off on those…tangents that is.  As I think of new projects I think about the project my classmates are developing. They all have unique voices, and that gives me the opportunity to learn more from working with them. Awhile back, I interviewed and introduced you to my other classmates, but I never gave you the opportunity to see them in motion.

https://blogs.colum.edu/marginalia/2011/12/21/the-horses-mouth-part-2/#.T4PGXoHO2C0

I thought it would be a good idea to post the interviews I recorded. Check out the videos and hear what they have to say.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/40067930[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/40071592[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/40068276[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/40068819[/vimeo]