Watch the trailer for our latest Buffalo 48-Hour Film Project movie, The Chain.
Fantastic soundtrack written the weekend of the competition by Miranda Wilcox.
Tag: story
A Better Understanding
I was working with a new engineer at the hospital I was at… she was listening to country music…
D: Is my music bothering you?
P: No, not at all.
D: Do you listen to country music?
P: No, but I can get a better appreciation and understanding for it…
D: Understanding?
The Job
What is the cliché? Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Something else might be beyond that, but unlike the pop-culture Rom-Coms of our day, not much ever transpires after the loss. Usually after the loss, you move on. She’s not coming back. Once someone has decided they don’t want to be with you, or prefers to be with someone else, honestly, moving on is the best thing you can do for yourself.
But once in a while, it’s tough to let go. And once in a while you convince yourself that fighting for her will fix it. In those moments, it is essential that you have a friend that will slap you back to reality, and even more essential that you listen to that friend.
Before there was Hailey, there were many others. For Billy it didn’t begin with a lot of self-reflection, and exploration. No, it began with shedding who he thought he once was, and taking on a relationship that he wanted to be all about him.
COVID-19 Shutdown: Day 1
Although I haven’t hoarded toilet paper, I feel I’m fairly well prepared for this. My only concern is being between jobs and/or contracts right now, so no reliable income. People obviously aren’t going to be buying photography, and video services right now, so I need to really buckle down.
So far things are ok. Of course, we’re both coming down with a cold right now. Gigs, and events have been all but cancelled through April. New York just announced a required closure of restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters – pretty much anywhere people can gather. Didn’t hear anything on bowling alleys, but I would assumed they would fall into the same category.
My main worry is Evan, of course. He is potentially immuno-compromised on his current chemo medication, so I want to make sure he is protected. School is closed for now, so I get extra time at home with Cortney.
Off to work on home projects, and try to not get injured doing so!
Weigh-In Wednesday – Moving Forward
People look at the past, and long for the good-ol’ days. We romanticize what used to be, focusing on only the good, and forgetting how much was bad, or even worse than bad. We look at our present, and we focus on the bad, and what we want to change, then dream of a future that is only good, not imagining the negative consequences of what we’re doing today. We say, “Things weren’t like this back in my day,” but odds are, they were. People don’t have less of a respect for life today – mass shootings, and the brutality we see every day isn’t a function merely of a change of attitude toward what life is worth. Were we as a species really respecting, and valuing life when we were burning witches for baseless religious accusations? How about when indigenous peoples were being slaughtered? Gladiator tournaments? Hangings? Beheadings? Crucifixions? Monarchs ordering executions on a whim? Do these all show how we respected life? Are the 2A gun nuts really showing a respect for life by fighting harder for their right to own military grade weapons than seeking to find solutions that would stem the tides of gun related deaths we have in our nation?
Sharing Is Caring
“We can absolutely have a drink first, but we shouldn’t keep the surprise waiting too long.” Billy said has he walked to the kitchen, and started taking wine glasses out of the cupboard. He quickly uncorked a bottle of Merlot, and poured two glasses full. Hailey’s mind raced as to what the surprise could be, as she watched him deftly work toward getting a drink in her hand as quickly as he could manage. She took a seat at the dinning table, as Billy walked over to her, handing her a glass. He paused, and looked at her, and then extended his glass toward her with a tilt.
“To never ending adventures,” he said as if it were an announcement. Hailey extended her glass back to him, and clinked them with a grin.
“To never ending adventure,” she repeated. They both drank from their glasses, Hailey taking a small sip, while Billy downed half of his glass at once. She took note of the speed he was drinking, and lifted her glass to her lips again in an effort to match. Billy didn’t sit with her. He stood over her, his frame an imposing presence looming over her made her feel small, and even more submissive in the moment. She drank a bit faster, finishing her glass of wine more quickly than she normally would. Hailey swallowed the last of her wine, and placed the glass on the table. Billy turned, and walked back to the kitchen, grabbing the bottle, and bringing it to the dinning table. He tipped it to her glass, and refilled it.
“Maybe one traveler to head upstairs with?” he said with a smirk. Hailey smiled back at him, taking the hint, she picked up her glass, and followed him up to his bedroom.
Weigh-In Wednesday – The Ten Year Challenge
Our Meet The Filmmaker interview went well, but as always, the questions I anticipate people will ask about the movie are not the questions that are asked. Meet The Filmmakers will probably be released in late Spring/early Summer. Before then, however, Stages will be shown at a movie night at Buff State’s Upton Hall on Friday Dec 6 at 7PM. This is an event hosted by Mike Raisch for his recent production Smith and the Devil which I assisted slightly in helping to shoot some video elements (under water, no less). There will be a Q&A afterward, and I will be speaking about Stages, so feel free to come, and ask questions.
Weigh-In Wednesday – The Uniqueness of You
I learned in time, that’s just how it is, and I need to have patience with myself, more than patience with others. In those times when you’re stopped worrying about it, and start focusing on other things, amazing people come into your life. When you’re forcing it, less than amazing people come into your life.
Just my two-cents of my old age wisdom. Picture me peeling an apple and eating slices off the blade of my pocket knife while sitting in a porch rocker while telling you this. It might make more of an impact.
A straw hat, and denim overalls are also nice additions.
Another Day
“I want to play,” Hailey announced in that way that only drunk people would announce such a thing.
“What would you like to play?” Billy inquired back with a smirk. He knew her condition meant she would be open to anything. She loved rough play when drinking, and the more drunk she got, the rougher it could be.
“Whatever you want to play…” she said, poking Billy in the middle of his chest with an outstretched index finger. “But you know my preferences,” she continued, tracing her finger down his body.
Billy looked at her through squinted eyes, and a tilted head. She smiled, and laughed a little, and playfully asked, “What? What’s gong through your mind?”
“You might not want to know,” he responded dryly, “but you’re about to find out.”
Weigh-In Wednesday – Searching for the Sun
Sometimes, being positive isn’t about finding the silver lining in the storm clouds, or seeing the sun from behind the rain. It’s about appreciating the rain, and how refreshing it can be while it is coming down. It’s about appreciating the dancing shadows in the storm clouds as they roll, and flow. It’s about recognizing your pain, embracing it, and realizing it will pass.
Not everything is good all of the time, but even when things aren’t good, they’re useful. Flowers rarely grow from sunshine alone. It takes a balance of rain, and some lumps of shit, along with the sunshine for them to thrive.
If you spend your time trying to only be positive, not only do you fail to learn to deal with your problems, but you lose the experience of the pain your problems bring. Without being able to feel, embrace, and deal with pain, you can’t fully appreciate the happiness, and the good. As I’ve said many times, the valleys help define the mountains. The oceans help to define the land. Contrasts exist to show us what can be, what is important, what we should value, and the things, and people that deserve our greatest efforts.