"Looking Into Bars"
"A Love Letter and Molly's Face"
"San Francisco: A Love Letter and also Molly's Face"
"Most Of These Rocks Have faces"
"Earthquakes"
"More People Die From Freezing"
"The Things I didn't Film"
"The Things I didn't Film Because I was too Afraid"
"The Things I didnt Film Because i was too Afraid to Stand Where I Needed to Stand, with the Camera where it needed to be in order to film what i should have and wanted to film"
Beth says: "and maybe that will never change. Maybe you will always be afraid to film and maybe you will do it anyway. maybe you don't have to change the way you feel about it in order to change it."
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Song
"Ill Try Anything Once" by The Strokes has caused me to begin stargazing. Twice I've sat in a corner of the parking lot behind my dorm, wasting gas on the radio and the heat, listening to The Strokes saying "you like music we can dance to. Sit me down, shut me up."
I put my chin on the steering wheel and wait for shooting stars, composing inside my head, countless variations of a scene, scored by that song, in which a character, sits in their car and sings along to that song, staring at stars.
Sometimes I decide that the character, usually a twenty year old boy, begins to cry.
Often there is somewhere that he really needs to be but he is hiding, in a corner of a parking lot or pulled over on the side of a desolate forest-lined road.
He turns around to the backseat where there is an assortment of clothing and books and a toothbrush. He stuffs these things into a backpack and, turning off the car, cutting off the song mid-verse he leaves. He shoulders his pack and walks off into the trees, following no visible path, slowly loosing focus, snapping twigs.
I put my chin on the steering wheel and wait for shooting stars, composing inside my head, countless variations of a scene, scored by that song, in which a character, sits in their car and sings along to that song, staring at stars.
Sometimes I decide that the character, usually a twenty year old boy, begins to cry.
Often there is somewhere that he really needs to be but he is hiding, in a corner of a parking lot or pulled over on the side of a desolate forest-lined road.
He turns around to the backseat where there is an assortment of clothing and books and a toothbrush. He stuffs these things into a backpack and, turning off the car, cutting off the song mid-verse he leaves. He shoulders his pack and walks off into the trees, following no visible path, slowly loosing focus, snapping twigs.
Look, my socks match.
There was a blackout on campus and there were creepy flood lights all over. the one in this picture shone right in my dorm room window. It was pretty far away but still gave our room the feeling that the moon was right outside.
flashlights and forties
John's hat. John's gun. In a photo that John took.
Another photo that John took.
There was a blackout on campus and there were creepy flood lights all over. the one in this picture shone right in my dorm room window. It was pretty far away but still gave our room the feeling that the moon was right outside.
flashlights and forties
John's hat. John's gun. In a photo that John took.
Another photo that John took.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Second Star to the left and straight on till morning.
i wont grow up he says
so she tucks him into bed
and tells him stories.
she discovers that he is not crazy,
only very very young.
when he asks, she gives him back his shadow.
He begins to teach her to fly.
"think happy thoughts and they lift you up in the air!" he says
"think happy thoughts or you'll fall a hundred feet to the ground." is what she hears.
she tries and tries but falling is not a happy thought.
because no one is going to teach pirates to fly,
the pirates throw parties on the ground.
and play their music loud and shout
"join the party!" towards the boys and girls in the sky,
so Pete and Wendy begin to dance
and pete and Wendy begin to forget
because Neverland makes boys forget
only the boys.
and dont forget that birds can fly too.
and they eat all the crumbs, even the ones you leave on clouds.
and now its a different fairytale
one about two children and a candy house.
youre leaving no footprints so makes sure to remember
which star to turn at,
and which way to fly straight-on
till morning.
so she tucks him into bed
and tells him stories.
she discovers that he is not crazy,
only very very young.
when he asks, she gives him back his shadow.
He begins to teach her to fly.
"think happy thoughts and they lift you up in the air!" he says
"think happy thoughts or you'll fall a hundred feet to the ground." is what she hears.
she tries and tries but falling is not a happy thought.
because no one is going to teach pirates to fly,
the pirates throw parties on the ground.
and play their music loud and shout
"join the party!" towards the boys and girls in the sky,
so Pete and Wendy begin to dance
and pete and Wendy begin to forget
because Neverland makes boys forget
only the boys.
and dont forget that birds can fly too.
and they eat all the crumbs, even the ones you leave on clouds.
and now its a different fairytale
one about two children and a candy house.
youre leaving no footprints so makes sure to remember
which star to turn at,
and which way to fly straight-on
till morning.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
...What we were talking about.
"The candy-seller had a smile on his face: he was happy, aware of what his life was about, and ready to begin a day's work. His smile reminded the boy of the old man- the mysterious old king he had met. "The candy-merchant isnt making candy so that later he can travel or marry a shopkeepers daughter. He's doing it because its what he wants to do," thought the boy.
He realized that he could do the same thing the old man had done- sense whether a person was near or far from his Personal Legend. Just by looking at them. Its easy, and yet I've never done it before, he thought."
-The Alchemist
He realized that he could do the same thing the old man had done- sense whether a person was near or far from his Personal Legend. Just by looking at them. Its easy, and yet I've never done it before, he thought."
-The Alchemist
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Danger Dreams
I've been having lots of dreams lately that take place on the wooden playground of my elementary/middle school.
There are always children in danger, I'm not one of them, I'm the authority.
here's one dream:
Large, metal allegator-like sculptures have been placed all around the playground. They remind me of the animal shaped fountains in the parks of my childhood; elephants shooting water out of the their trunks, hippos spitting fountains out of thier wide flat pink mouths.
But the allegators in the dream are not fountains. They are mostly just the allegator's backs and eyes, the tips of their tails, they are flat on the ground, as though the artist who made them wants to give the illusion that the rest of the allegator's body is under water.
Some of the allegators dont move, others slide back and forth, on tracks that must be under the ground. Their heads, snouts, are sharp. and the children get too close to them, as they slide back and forth too quickly.
I am sort of myself but i am also sort of a teacher. I am watching the children play on the bigger allegators and dare eachother to get too close to the sliding allegators. i have a bad feeling about it.
My friend comes to stand near me.
"theyre from that film set." she says. "the filmmaker donated them after the shoot was over. theyre for killing."
and then i remember. i saw that movie. it was a horror movie, an art film in which people are killed by allegators. the movie was low budget so the allegators were not made to look real, they looked like sculptures which make it more terrifying. they were these sculptures.
i go to the principle and try to convince him to remove the allegators but before i can explain to him why and how they are dangerous, i have to run back to rescue the children who, again are too close to the sliding sharp-snouted sculptures.
There are always children in danger, I'm not one of them, I'm the authority.
here's one dream:
Large, metal allegator-like sculptures have been placed all around the playground. They remind me of the animal shaped fountains in the parks of my childhood; elephants shooting water out of the their trunks, hippos spitting fountains out of thier wide flat pink mouths.
But the allegators in the dream are not fountains. They are mostly just the allegator's backs and eyes, the tips of their tails, they are flat on the ground, as though the artist who made them wants to give the illusion that the rest of the allegator's body is under water.
Some of the allegators dont move, others slide back and forth, on tracks that must be under the ground. Their heads, snouts, are sharp. and the children get too close to them, as they slide back and forth too quickly.
I am sort of myself but i am also sort of a teacher. I am watching the children play on the bigger allegators and dare eachother to get too close to the sliding allegators. i have a bad feeling about it.
My friend comes to stand near me.
"theyre from that film set." she says. "the filmmaker donated them after the shoot was over. theyre for killing."
and then i remember. i saw that movie. it was a horror movie, an art film in which people are killed by allegators. the movie was low budget so the allegators were not made to look real, they looked like sculptures which make it more terrifying. they were these sculptures.
i go to the principle and try to convince him to remove the allegators but before i can explain to him why and how they are dangerous, i have to run back to rescue the children who, again are too close to the sliding sharp-snouted sculptures.
Friday, February 4, 2011
mostly my notes are just quotes
"There are about twenty-five things that are five-hundred dollars that it wouldnt be bad to have. but i can always find a better use for five-hundred dollars." -Cinematography Professor, on camera accessories
"its actually very difficult to determine weather something is exploding or contracting." -Sculpture Professor.
"its hard to tell the value of something in a vacuum." -Writing Professor, on Context.
"pale people in dark rooms, all standing around looking dead."
-film student, on a Carravaggio painting
"candle-lit paintings."
Me: does anything happen?
Prof: things happen, but, you know, its an art movie.
"they're doing the moment of 'oh my god, you're jesus!'"
-Cinematography professor, on a Caravaggio painting.
"its actually very difficult to determine weather something is exploding or contracting." -Sculpture Professor.
"its hard to tell the value of something in a vacuum." -Writing Professor, on Context.
"pale people in dark rooms, all standing around looking dead."
-film student, on a Carravaggio painting
"candle-lit paintings."
Me: does anything happen?
Prof: things happen, but, you know, its an art movie.
"they're doing the moment of 'oh my god, you're jesus!'"
-Cinematography professor, on a Caravaggio painting.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
probably nothing
in my dreams you climb the walls
slip through the window and kiss my neck
which leaves a mark
so i throw you out
you might be Puck
you know all the lines.
you cannot fly
you've learned to climb.
they whisper
clicks and squeaks that fill the room
and you can build whispers,
i decide,
out of clicks and squeaks
i am the sound man
80% of what you hear never happened
i built it for you
so you will understand.
and they whisper because of me
if i wasnt here they would speak
im trying to dream im trying to dream im trying to sleep.
slip through the window and kiss my neck
which leaves a mark
so i throw you out
you might be Puck
you know all the lines.
you cannot fly
you've learned to climb.
they whisper
clicks and squeaks that fill the room
and you can build whispers,
i decide,
out of clicks and squeaks
i am the sound man
80% of what you hear never happened
i built it for you
so you will understand.
and they whisper because of me
if i wasnt here they would speak
im trying to dream im trying to dream im trying to sleep.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
New Poet Love- Bob Hicok
PERHAPS AN ENTRY SOMEWHERE IN A BOOK
by Bob Hicok
There is a night under every one
of these stones. It could be a hundred
years old, a thousand. I used to toss them
into the future, making refugees
of shapes while thinking of words
as river crossings. I am crossing
the Seine—gate. I am crossing the Arno—
throwback. I am crossing the Roanoke—
heartwild. This has been a picture of me
wearing the memory of a house.
The impossible camera takes pictures
of both the looked at thing and the thing
doing the looking, like a dream
in which sleep is dreamed by a woman
who is awake and tearing tickets
at the movies. She gives you the half
of entry and keeps the half of tribute,
while the tearing itself dies
and with it, the music of its proof.
I am crossing perception—tightrope.
I am crossing snow—documentation.
I am crossing the threshold—welcome
to so long. I am lifting my shirt
where loss re: the conservation
of energy and loss re: the conversation
of empathy make me wonder if I
am a fishbowl with one or a fishbowl
with two orange flashings I am called
essentially to feed. The answer:
pending. Meanwhile, the skeleton
is a device for killing time.
You see this in bridges. Not falling
as prelude to falling down.
by Bob Hicok
There is a night under every one
of these stones. It could be a hundred
years old, a thousand. I used to toss them
into the future, making refugees
of shapes while thinking of words
as river crossings. I am crossing
the Seine—gate. I am crossing the Arno—
throwback. I am crossing the Roanoke—
heartwild. This has been a picture of me
wearing the memory of a house.
The impossible camera takes pictures
of both the looked at thing and the thing
doing the looking, like a dream
in which sleep is dreamed by a woman
who is awake and tearing tickets
at the movies. She gives you the half
of entry and keeps the half of tribute,
while the tearing itself dies
and with it, the music of its proof.
I am crossing perception—tightrope.
I am crossing snow—documentation.
I am crossing the threshold—welcome
to so long. I am lifting my shirt
where loss re: the conservation
of energy and loss re: the conversation
of empathy make me wonder if I
am a fishbowl with one or a fishbowl
with two orange flashings I am called
essentially to feed. The answer:
pending. Meanwhile, the skeleton
is a device for killing time.
You see this in bridges. Not falling
as prelude to falling down.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
One Liners
Movie trailers are like little perfect movies.
The first line of a good movie trailer is my favorite thing to listen to.
This doesnt include narration.
Just, the first line of dialogue, puzzle pieced out of context onto the beginning of a new tiny movie.
its like finding one word that completely explains something huge and complex and beautiful.
i was brainstorming ideas for my junior film when i got frustrated and instead began a list of the first lines of the movie trailers of movies that i love.
I think its a good writer's block exercise- made me pay attention to why the lines were perfect for the films- what is the line saying that the film is saying?- and then i could think of my own work that way. and find my one lines that mean what my film wants to mean and then, backwawrds i know, and i then, find what my film means... and then maybe i could write something.
but in the meantime, enjoy these:
"I don't really know where I am." -MirrorMask
"I didn't wanna wake you up, but I really wanna show you something." -Where the Wild Things Are
"Your aunt is a very lucky woman Angelica because she has two lives. she has the life she is living, and also the book she's writing." -The Hours
"This is a hoax right?" "I assure you, no." "Is there any risk of brain damage?" "...nothing you'll miss." "Ahhhhhh!!!!" -Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
"Excuse me sir, you're standing on my sleeve." "I might point out that you're lying under my bench." -Finding Neverland
"I wanna know what it feels like to care about something passionately." -Adaptation
"There's no story!" "make one up." -Adaptation
"Where you going?" "To sea. I'll send you a postcard." "Send me a postcard from everywhere." -The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The first line of a good movie trailer is my favorite thing to listen to.
This doesnt include narration.
Just, the first line of dialogue, puzzle pieced out of context onto the beginning of a new tiny movie.
its like finding one word that completely explains something huge and complex and beautiful.
i was brainstorming ideas for my junior film when i got frustrated and instead began a list of the first lines of the movie trailers of movies that i love.
I think its a good writer's block exercise- made me pay attention to why the lines were perfect for the films- what is the line saying that the film is saying?- and then i could think of my own work that way. and find my one lines that mean what my film wants to mean and then, backwawrds i know, and i then, find what my film means... and then maybe i could write something.
but in the meantime, enjoy these:
"I don't really know where I am." -MirrorMask
"I didn't wanna wake you up, but I really wanna show you something." -Where the Wild Things Are
"Your aunt is a very lucky woman Angelica because she has two lives. she has the life she is living, and also the book she's writing." -The Hours
"This is a hoax right?" "I assure you, no." "Is there any risk of brain damage?" "...nothing you'll miss." "Ahhhhhh!!!!" -Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
"Excuse me sir, you're standing on my sleeve." "I might point out that you're lying under my bench." -Finding Neverland
"I wanna know what it feels like to care about something passionately." -Adaptation
"There's no story!" "make one up." -Adaptation
"Where you going?" "To sea. I'll send you a postcard." "Send me a postcard from everywhere." -The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Remember When We Made This?
Remember When We Made This? from katie oscar on Vimeo.
A while ago, Soli, Hanako and I were in my room with my webcam and some stars.
I found the footage today and edited it.
The Lullaby in the background is By Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie. He wrote it for "Pretty Swift" but I didnt end up using it for that so I used it for this instead.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Final Scene of the Semester
Pretty Swift from katie oscar on Vimeo.
Based on Aimee Bender's short story:
"The Girl in the Flammable Skirt"
The nameless protagonist has a father in a wheel chair and a boy locked in her attic.
One night she finds her dad attempting to lift a backpack full of stones.
she takes it from him and he tells her than now she cannot put it down.
"this backpack has to be worn. thats the law."
One day, while she is feeding the boy in closet as usual, he grabs her hand, pulls her into the closet and kisses her.
Shot on miniDV on a consumery handycam
dear family
i might want to unplug twitter for christmas.
maybe for christmas we can write the tweets down on construction paper stars and wrap them up and give them to eachother in boxes.
id like that.
we can do it all day.
also im going to paint everyones faces.
also im going to take pictures.
maybe for christmas we can write the tweets down on construction paper stars and wrap them up and give them to eachother in boxes.
id like that.
we can do it all day.
also im going to paint everyones faces.
also im going to take pictures.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
My Mother's Computer
The 'e' and the 'a' and the 's' keys are not only blank, they are indented
As well as the spot where my pinky touches the SHIFT key.
There is a rectangular sticky label near where my wrist sits,
it says, in purple pen, with no spaces: "wizardofozmonster"
there is usually a active skype window, that shows
an empty room with a black poster on a white wall...
or, more often, Max's face, in london.
he likes imitating the different accents.
"in-it" Max says "is what they say instead of 'like.'"
My high school english teacher,
at the school where we werent allowed to watch tv,
had a theory about 'like.'
He said we say things are "like real." not "real"
because often we are referring to something on television or in a movie,
something that didint "actually happen. " it "like, happened."
As well as the spot where my pinky touches the SHIFT key.
There is a rectangular sticky label near where my wrist sits,
it says, in purple pen, with no spaces: "wizardofozmonster"
there is usually a active skype window, that shows
an empty room with a black poster on a white wall...
or, more often, Max's face, in london.
he likes imitating the different accents.
"in-it" Max says "is what they say instead of 'like.'"
My high school english teacher,
at the school where we werent allowed to watch tv,
had a theory about 'like.'
He said we say things are "like real." not "real"
because often we are referring to something on television or in a movie,
something that didint "actually happen. " it "like, happened."
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