Archive for the ‘projects’ tag

So uncertain it’s certain

There is one thing I know about my life, and that is that it changes.

I’m on a high about something one moment and lost about something else the next. I try to keep a pretty even keel but lately it’s been difficult.
I’ve got an interview… there is a lack of communication.
I’ve got time to work on projects… I have absolutely no motivation.
I make a decision… I talk myself out of it.
I feel so sure about something… I look around and have no idea what I’m feeling.
I don’t like it when my life resembles a roller coaster, I wish I could just sit everyone and everything down and just set things straight, but I can’t do that. Situations depend on more then just my whims… people don’t just do what I think is best… I can’t just tell her what to think.

I’m not trying to emo, I just want you to know that I’m feeling more unbalanced then I have in a long time. Not since I decided to get back in school have I been this conflicted, this diluted, this ineffective.

Despite my procrastination, work is getting done in my classes. I’m doing a lot of good work that should fill out the new demo reel I’ll be cutting this winter. So look out for that, I’ll have some stuff to post in the next couple of weeks.

I am looking at my travel plans for this Christmas but nothing is set in stone yet. I know I’ll be seeing my parents in Vegas but I don’t know if I’ll actually make it back to Boise this year. That’d be a very scary first.

This post’s soundtrack (facebook people don’t get that because notes are lame) doesn’t have a lot to do with anything, it’s just a song I love. Music always puts me in a better mood. Also, those Pedro fans out there will notice that this is the version from the Progress EP… the full title wouldn’t fit on the page.
David Hildreth

Two minutes and forty seven seconds.

I get to shoot my first film this week and words can hardly describe how excited I am. The main reason I switched schools was so that I could actually work with film, and after a year and a half I get to shoot 100′ of 16mm black and white reversal. While this is a big deal for me, 100′ is not a lot of film. So I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how I want to use my 4008 frames. The idea I’ve settled on is pretty cool, it’s simple yet clever and should be easy to shoot. Which is great because I’m very much use to a video work flow, and film is unforgiving at best. I get to set my focus with a measuring tape, frame my shots in an inaccurate viewfinder, and depth of field? Well, I have to consult a chart to even have a chance of controlling that. I’m proud to say I am pretty handy with a light meter these days, and my knowledge of lighting has grown to a respectable level. For most of my shots I’ll only get one or two takes though, so while I can prepare for most anything, I’ll still need a lot of luck for this project to really turn out.
Which I hope it does, because visually this has the potential to be by far the best thing I’ve shot… and that measly 100′ of film is $85.

I got to see David Bazan in Tucson on friday. I was sorta on the fence about going to the show until a few weeks ago, but I am so glad I went. It was amazing. Me and two guys made the drive down to Solar Culture in Tucson and while I wish David had been in Phoenix, the venue was worth the drive. The place is an art gallery by day and at night it has concerts on a little stage, which makes for a intimate and unique atmosphere. The acoustics were good, which can be rough at smaller places, but it was just the overall feeling of the place that really made it work. The show was only $10, and the guy at the door was just taking cash with a small money box for change, which is better then an ass hole bouncer or some huge commercial ticketing system. After getting in we looked around and saw that most people had bought in their own drinks, which the venue is totally cool with. So we went to a gas station and got a six pack and enjoyed a few cheap beers with the show. A concert sans the ~$8 beer? What’s not to love? The first act was some local guy, who was awful but after him was J Tillman. I had never heard of him, but he was really quite good. His sound is sorta Iron and Wine -esque and his voice is just off the charts. I’d definitely check him out if you’re like me and had never heard of him.
Then David Bazan took the stage, and I immediately noticed something a bit different about him. Earlier in the night I had seen a balding, bearded man making a phone call near the front of the venue. I thought to myself, “Is that David? Nah, he was shorter then I am, there is no way.” Its funny how you can sometimes idolize people in odd ways. David Bazan has always struck me as a hulking beast of a man, with a lumber jack beard and a straight face, he just seemed like Paul Bunyan with a guitar.
So to set the record straight, David Bazan is an excellent singer/songwriter, a hulking, beast of a man… who is also like 5’6”.
He played a wide variety of songs, from his solo stuff to old Pedro The Lion tunes. He also played a bit of Headphones and apologized for not playing “Natural Disaster” because he didn’t know the synth part very well. He did play “Bad Things To Such Good People” which was amazing. He played the first riff while getting himself set between songs and I (and most of the people around me) yelled in excitement. It’s a dark and complicated song, but hearing it live was great. Also I couldn’t help thinking about Luke playing it in the back yard of the Juanita House with the rest of us trying to sing along, good times.

I saw I’m Not There last night, it’s a movie about Bob Dylan where Bob Dylan is played by five different actors. Each story line follows a different time in his life or aspect of his character. While it’s not the most cohesive movie I’ve seen in recent memory it was really fun to watch. Dylan is portrayed as an old soul who is running from his past by an eleven year old african american boy. As a conflicted husband and father by Heath Ledger, a spiritual person and preacher by Christian Bale. A young poet who speaks his mind by Ben Whishaw, an old hermit by Richard Gere and finally as a jaded and misunderstood rock star by none other then Cate Blanchett. It’s a really fun watch, if you can catch it, I highly recommend seeing it.

Keep it chill, I’ll do my best too do the same.
Dave Hildreth

And then it was monday

I’ve started playing World of Warcraft again. I tried to go back through my bank account history and count how many times I’ve stopped and started one of my accounts but I gave up after 4. It’s been a lot of fun this time around though, I am making some progress on a character and am playing with some fun people. Another fun thing about WOW is how artistic and beautiful the game can be. I’ve been playing on my big 32″ tv, so while my eyes to hurt a little bit it’s nice to just walk around and admire all the years of work that went into making the game.
Last thursday I decided to capture some video as I ran around The Outlands and because I got bored on saturday I threw it together into what I am calling. An Evening In The Outlands, it includes appearances by my little guy and some friends, but the main feature is just the game itself. Sure it steals all your free time, but in addition to being a lot of fun there is also a lot of cool stuff to look at.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

And because I live for nerdy excess it’s also available in High Definition 720p

Tomorrow I get to move on to my last class for this part of the program I’m in. After that I’ll get my Associate’s Degree (who knows what the hell you could do with that) and will then get to start on my Bachelor’s. I’m already counting down the days until I am done with school. It’s been a fun 17 years but I now have a good grasp on what I want to do, at least for the next decade or so, and I am quite anxious to be able to start doing that.
The class I just finished was on PSA production and my spot turned out pretty good. I’ll probably tweak it in the coming weeks, especially the titles at the end. It’s now in the resume section of my page, feel free to check it out.

A trailer for Juno hit the net last week. It’s a film by the guy who directed Thank You For Smoking and I think it looks awesome. It did well at the Toronto Film Festival and has a really high rating on IMDB, although the US release isn’t until December so I guess It’l be a while before I get to see it myself. I hate waiting for movies, especially indie flicks, because even if you wait 3 months for it to be released there is no guarantee (especially in this silly city) that you’ll be able to see it when it’s out. I still haven’t seen Once, it played in Phoenix for like a few weeks, yet it’s still playing in Tucson, months after it got it’s “wide” release.

I’m out for now
DMH

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