Archive for the ‘work’ tag

The small posts are the hardest

Work has been more than a challenge the last few weeks. I finally persuaded my boss to sit down with me so we could move forward on this documentary and well… I guess I got what I asked for. Everything has changed, most for the better, but it’s scary sometimes to look through my bin of old sequences.
The documentary is no longer feature length, it doesn’t even include the first concert I cut. It’s now more about the album than the tour and is cut between a really cool show from Japan. The changes to the format are fine with me, in the end I don’t have to stick to a time constraint anymore, which is nice. I just hate to think about how long this stupid project has taken. If the film had a real script or at least a concrete outline I could have banged this thing out in a few weeks. My invoices keep getting paid and I keep cashing the checks, so who cares. Every time I get called about work from someone else I secretly wish I could say yes.
I did get some encouraging feedback on Friday. I screened a full rough cut for my boss and another guy in our office. To my surprise they both really liked it. I hate watching my own work with people, at the end I probably had more negative things to say about it than they did.

I’ve been spending more time helping out my church lately. I am now mixing sound for the Sunday morning service and have joined a few other artists in concepting media for the church. Church media is usually either cheesy or way blown out of proportion. I don’t want either of those, and the talented people I’m working with don’t either. We have a script for a good little video showing a new location our church is opening. It’s simple and hip, and should do everything it needs to in a minute in a half. I’m not interested in church home movies or going to a church with a full time film studio on staff… this is somewhere in between. The team includes some very talented graphic artists, a good DP, a videographer and I get to edit. I also have to come up with a logo treatment for the church, I have an ambitious idea… so it’s really just a matter of coming up with some easier backup ideas.

I got word this week that my mother’s father has gotten an infection due to a recent surgery. The guy is over 90 years old and in the end just wants to be taken home. My prayer is that he’s comfortable and that his family is able to enjoy the rest of their time with him.

In service of the Metal God

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I haven’t posted any work lately, and that’s because I really haven’t had much to post. I am deep into a project but a couple months ago I got a break to produce a promo for a new clothing line. I went over to Orange County and shot the manufacturers with a cheap camera, came back and threw together some exploded views of the apparel designs. I think the spot turned out pretty well, though the shirt designs are what really make it.

I had a bit of an adventure on Wednesday. I was suppose to drive out to San Diego, drop off some equipment and fly back… but half way through the day everything changed. My boss decided that this was a good opportunity to get some shots of our artist in the new shirts. I was overnighted a camera and some shirts and finally made it back to Tempe late on Thursday. I don’t have to travel much for my work, but even this much gets to me. I can’t say no, and wouldn’t it, was fun at times. There is just something to be said for walking out of the office at 6:00pm and going home to sleep in your own bed. I don’t like to feel like my profession dictates my life. Thankfully I’m only asked to do this sort of thing once a month or so, I’d never survive the life of a normal business traveler.

My birthday was great, a bunch of friends and I went to my Tuesday night haunt and hung out. We were suppose to rock out but Rob the Rockband guy didn’t show up. I hadn’t been in a few weeks so it’s probably karma or something getting even. No one really minded, we had beers and a little food and just enjoyed each other company. Thanks everyone for the cards, wall posts, tweets and texts. :D

House Show

The David Bazan house show was great! A friend and I were the second to last guests to arrive at the house but David was running late so it wasn’t any big deal. He walked in a little while later and quickly took out a guitar and started playing. Just like that, someone’s living room became a venue.
There were 40 tickets sold and during conversation it seemed like a good many of the people were really from Tucson. Not very surprising, there is definitely a crowd there that is into indie music. I saw Bazan in Tucson last year even. He played just about every track from his upcoming album, a few Pedro the Lion tunes and one Headphones song. All in all it was a fun way to see a great singer song writer. A very cozy setting, it just felt like something that doesn’t happen everyday.
Between songs there were a lot of questions, ranging from why he was doing a house tour to if he still reads the bible. He said he was doing the house tour because his label didn’t want him to tour so close to the release of an album. He didn’t even hesitate to tell us that this was a way to keep up with rent and health insurance. No one minded, at $20 a ticket people still felt that this tour was something special. He also brought some of his recent DVDs to sell, it was all completely on the honor system. The proceeds from other shows still in the bag to make change with. When one person asked if he’d even take PayPal, totally on the person’s honor, David didn’t have any problem with it.
As for how often he reads the bible, he said that he has been reading it to his four year old daughter lately. He admitted that while some stories are easy, others are harder because he wants to somehow get across his doubts. Explaining to a child that a certain story to her mom is nothing but truth, and to him just a good story, is difficult. So he tries to stick to parables and such.
David Bazan lost his faith some time ago, if you listen to his music that isn’t so hard to realize. It’s amazing to me to see someone like that. For Bazan it’s undeniable that there is truth to Christianity, but he just can’t wrap his head around it. The songs were he expresses his doubts and highlights the troubling parts of spirituality have always been good for me when I have my doubts. Not because they make me doubt more, but because they remind me it’s healthy to doubt. Even if I were to lose my faith it’s obvious that it wouldn’t completely leave me. It definitely still lingers for Bazan.

Here’s a video from the show. (Facebook and RSS readers will have to follow the “original post” link below)

The release date for my project at work got pushed back. I’m not really so sure if that is a good or bad thing, but I do have more time to work on it. Things have been going well on it for the last couple weeks now, I’m excited to get it done.

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