Archive for the ‘SSLYBY’ tag

July

The best and worst parts of freelance have once again become real to me. Some projects turn out great and others never seem to turn into billable hours. Such is life.

I went back to Boise a couple weeks ago, my mother’s dad died. It was a nice funeral, full of great stories. He was remembered for his contribution to his denomination, which really irked me, but it wasn’t my funeral, so whatever. I took Cora along, which was fantastic. We had talked about her meeting my parents, it was only a matter of when. Then all of a sudden I needed to go to Boise, and privately decided to not even bring it up with her. However one night it just fell out of my mouth. I did feel bad about putting her on the spot and about asking her to take time off of work on such short notice. But it was really nice to have her there. She liked my family and they liked her, so it really couldn’t have turned out better.

I’m enjoying my days working from home. I’d still like to get back into a more normal schedule come August, we’ll see. I’m working on good projects even if the money’s not what I’d like.

I need a new personal project. I don’t have the best track record of finishing personal films, but it just seems like it’s time for a new one. I’ve got a couple ideas. At the moment I have more than enough stuff to do in a day, if I can get far enough head of my bills I’ll have the time to wade into something fun and creative.

The Grind

Working all day and going to school all night gets old pretty fast. A whole lot faster then I remember to be honest. A lot of things have changed since I last talked about my job, but it’s all changed for the better. The guy who hired me up and quit about a week later, and everything I had worked out with him went with. So I’m just freelancing for Mission E now, which is going to work out better anyway. I’ll still be making a decent amount of money but I’ll have some time off now and then. Which I’ve recently discovered, I need.

I went and saw The Visitor last saturday. It’s definitely the best movie I’ve seen so far this year. It’s about an older guy who’s life has gotten pretty plain. He is sent to New York for a conference and goes to the apartment he’s kept there for decades only to find an immigrant couple living there. He ends up befriending the man who teaches him how to play the Djembe. After a misunderstanding in the subway the man is arrested and since he isn’t a legal citizen put in an INS detention center. The man’s mother comes to New York and builds a relationship with the older man while they try to fight the man’s deportation. It’s playing in Scottsdale and I’m sure will be at The Flicks at some point, it’s a must see. Also, I swear that Steve Nash was sitting behind me in the theatre, even though the person I went with didn’t believe me :p

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin came to town on friday. I almost didn’t go to the show but I’m glad I did. I’m pretty sure that if the show wasn’t all ages the band wouldn’t have gotten in… they all looked straight out of high school. The set list was a combination of their first two albums and their encore was “I am Warm and Powerful” probably my favorite. If you haven’t heard em, check em out, they are a good time.

I saw this about a week ago and found it really interesting, not to mention that I love the way the interview was shot. (FYI: As always the linked video won’t show if you’re reading this on Facebook)

Summer is almost here and Tempe is once again quiet. ASU is now out for the summer and while that means that the streets are no longer gridlocked, it does mean that it’s not going to be in the 90s for much longer. It also means that I won’t get to see some good friends for a couple months. I’ve almost forgot what it’s like to have a summer vacation. I’ve moved past that I guess, although sometimes I think it would be nice… that is until I lookup my graduation date.

Take it easy, you know I will
David

full of possibilities, currently devoid of results

I get to go see Cloverfield tomorrow, and I am already excited. A truly American monster flick? Hells yes. If this movie is a disappointment (which I really doubt it will be) I might cry. Above is the monster, I’m sorry if I ruined it for you. The look and capabilities of the monster have been secret for months and the only images of it are drawings by people who have seen advanced screenings of the film. The film’s producer J.J. Abrams was in Tokyo with his young son and after seeing him play with a Godzilla doll he realized that American cinema doesn’t really have it’s own legendary monster. King Kong was good at heart and Godzilla is obviously stolen from Japan. So he set out to make a good old fashioned monster flick, with a new character. Cloverfield has been a closely guarded secret ever since. So if you see 3 movies a year or 30 go see Cloverfield. (holy and delicious carp did I see 30 movies last year? :checks his bank account records: O.O)

My break was good. I spent a little over two weeks in Boise, seeing friends and hanging out with family. It was nice to be home and honestly kinda nice to let someone else buy my lunches for a bit. Boise was cold and there was some snow on the ground. The weather is absolutely gorgeous in Tempe this time of year, but I really liked the change. The air is just different when it’s cold, it’s crisp.

I got an internship last week and while that doesn’t help my bank account I am very excited about the work I’ll be doing. When I went in to talk to the company about it they had changed the permitters of the position since we first talked. It went from gripping on a simple shoot to being responsible for the whole project. I really do think that they expected me to respectfully back out, but I made it known that I am up for the challenge and that I’m ready to take it head on. In the end it’s not really that complicated of a project, although I am basically doing free freelance work now. I gave them a six month commitment, and by then I’ll have some great stuff for my demo reel and maybe paid work in the future. I’m not doing much else these days so I had no reason to not take it.
The job search is on going, I’m looking at just working a normal 9-5 for a while. I am doing some freelance photo work so I’ve got some money coming in. I miss the stability of a 40 hour a week job, but I love the free time I now have to devote to school and projects. Even if I do feel lazy some days I have been able to spend a lot more time working on some productive things. If I were twice the man I am I’d just give up the job search and go on an all out search for more freelance work. I don’t need much to support myself, and I definitely have the time, skill and access to equipment.

I got my 16mm film back and the project is looking good. I really do hate that I had to act in it, but I think it’l turn out fine. I’ve got some effects work I want to do on it to clean some stuff up, I’ll post it when its done.

I’m not sure what you are currently doing with the next 52 minutes of your life. but if I may, I’m going to suggest you watch this video. Scotch Mist, A film with Radiohead in it made for New Year’s Eve, 2007.

It’s their new album performed in front of a few webcams and where it lacks production value it more then makes up in music and intensity. For just being a few boring shots over and over it’s really easy to get sucked in by the performances. You can’t help but feel their passion for their own music, it’s engrossing. So watch it, and not just the first 30 seconds, watch the whole thing… or atleast to the second song, which is my favorite :D

Today’s soundtrack is by a band named Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, which is a great name for a band. I recently bought their album and like a growing number of bands they offer their music for download (duh) on CD (its sometimes nice to have a hard copy) and on Vinyl (yes plz) and I like that. Especially for a small band on a tiny label, I can really respect going the extra mile and getting it pressed into beautiful polyvinyl chloride. Not to mention that pretty much all records these days come with some free mp3s. The song Oregon Girls (to be honest I think Oregon has ugly women, there I said it) is from their old album, but they are said to be coming out with a new one this year. So look for that… if you’re into looking for things like that.

I’ll promise it won’t be another five weeks before my next post
Dave “the thrill ride” Hildreth