Febrero 06, 2006

Friends Working Hard On Great Stuff

It's gratifying to see so many people I know around me (figuratively, not physically) working on cool projects. And it's nice to be able to help them.

For instance, on Saturday I spent 3 hours on a Skype call with José, who lives in Madrid, discussing, with many tangents along the way, a project he's been working on for 2 years (or more, in a way) that will someday become, I suppose, an animated web-based graphic novel. Or maybe even a movie? It should be a movie. Anyway, I won't link to the site for it because I don't know if he wants the in-progress work to be public, but it's pretty cool. A sort of science-fiction allegory set in a dystopian near-future.

Another example is more disappointing. Petr just reported that he is cancelling a film project he's been working on for several months. Doesn't really give a reason. This is one of 3 or 4 films he's in the middle of and on his blog he reports every day on progress he is making on one or more of them, in addition to other artistic pursuits. It's exciting but then I remember he has yet to finish a film. Even one of the many short projects I've seen him start over the years, to my knowledge has never been pronounced "done" and made available to the world. And I've collaborated and helped out (as crewperson, sound designer, etc) on several of these projects. I wish I could break into his house and make copies of a bunch of his raw footage and then edit it into something and release it.

See, I know how to polish a turd. José and I were talking about this during our long skypecall. I told him the story I heard long ago about Stanley Kubrick, who told a fellow director that, yes, you can polish a turd - if it's frozen.

The point in this case is, life doesn't usually give you jewels. You get rough stones, or even turds, and you have to figure out how to make them shiny and nice, or at least passable. But Petr seems, sometimes, to be unwilling to accept anything but jewels, which he will then polish into superjewels, he thinks.
sigh. No! take the crap and run with it, Petr!

Posted by steev at Febrero 6, 2006 08:11 AM
Comments
Just a little clarification: I talked to Petr on Saturday about the status of "Project 9", and it seems he's just stopped filming for it, he still plans to edit it into film form. At least that was what he told me Saturday. Me, I only barely polish the turds I produce, but I'm hoping the semi-shiny droppings make an interesting constellation. Then again, my unshined turds probably reflect my laziness and attention-deficit more than any sort of perfectionism. I have at least two more "behind the scenes" Project 9 spin-off videos to edit together. Posted by: Ed Stastny at Febrero 6, 2006 01:50 PM
I was referring to his cancellation of "Project 21", not "Project 9". And also I guess I was alluding to the cancellation of the Dulca Sphere scene from Project 9. And other stuff. oh, and for these purpses, when I used the word "shiny" it didn't mean "perfect," it's just a metaphor for "done and released to the world." Posted by: steev at Febrero 6, 2006 04:44 PM