Sunday, December 31, 2017

A Haunting Tour


"By resisting the beginner's mind, you make yourself more prone to repeat yourself than to create something new. The attempt to avoid failure, in other words, makes failure more likely."                                                                 ~ Ed Catmull - Creativity, Inc. 

On December 27, 2017, I embraced the beginner's mind. I signed up for Xanthe Berkeley's Make Films class that starts January 9, 2018.

I gave myself plenty of time to think about the class, almost a whole month, and I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I knew that I was making the right decision.

In preparation, I took this class on how to use iMovie so that I had some clue what I was doing before the class starts. I know that Xanthe will teach us on iMovie, but sometimes I get so hung up on the technical stuff that I never get to the creating part.

Thanks to that easy to follow class and a trip to Traverse City a couple of weeks ago with my husband; him for work, me for pleasure, I visited the insane asylum with my iPhone and shot some clips to put together into a short little video.



This captures a sense of the buildings that captivate me, more so than a still photograph or even a series of stills could ever do. You feel the eeriness of the broken windows, the tattered curtains blowing in the breeze, the warning signs.

I think I failed in my previous film making attempts for two reasons:

  1. I was already pretty good at photography, so I figured I should be pretty good at making films as well. When I wasn't, I viewed it as failure and quit, and went back to what I was good at.
  2. I invested money to learn, but I didn't invest time to learn.
Pride and impatience, two things that don't belong in the world, and especially in the creative world. 

17 comments:

susan hemann said...

oh well done! It was very moving!

Lynne said...

I am amazed . . . continually of your energy and learning . . .
The words themselves -insane asylum- draw me in . . .
And your iPhone movie piece continued me on a path . . .
I say . . . artistic.

Angie Lambert Photography and Illustration said...

Well done! Learning something new and adding it to the creative toolbox is always both wise and useful. This is great! You continue to inspire me.

Happy New Year, friend, xo.

Ryoma Sakamoto.Japan said...

Japan is New Year 's Eve today.
Last year was a great year for you, and I know you’ll have an even better one this year.
Ryoma.

Foteini Malli said...

Very inspiring! Wishing you a happy and creative 2018. Foteini

Rachel Weishaar said...

I loved it. Chilling and makes me want to watch more!

Roxi H said...

So glad you decided on taking the class. Looking forward to future works. It DOES take time. Especially getting the right footage. I’ve tried with my grandkids in the past and it made it more work than enjoying the moment. So I end up working with what I get. After all it’s more about the memory with them as subjects.

Karen Lakis said...

very eerie! I think this will be a fun class for you - allowing you to stretch your creativity even further!

RURAL said...

Simply wow...eerie, and invocative Sarah. Definitely looking forward to seeing more of your work when you start this course.

Jen

Cathy H. said...

Amazing, Sarah! The torn curtains blowing out the window gives such an eerie feeling. As you said, much more than a still photo would have. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your films!

Unknown said...

Nice work girlfriend! How did you get the shots inside thonwith all the warning postings?

Katie said...

Oh, good for you for taking the plunge! I'd love to go shoot at that asylum....
Hope you have a happy, happy 2018, Sarah!

Unknown said...

Very nicely done, Sarah, and I look forward to seeing more.
Happy New Year to you!

Amy said...

I'm loving the photo of the empty sort of dark room, and I think that the point in photography is to try new things and push your boundaries, think I'd be excited to do a photo shoot in an asylum.

Carola Bartz said...

I applaud you for stepping into the filming world, taking up something new. This short clip makes me want to see more. Yes, it is haunting, and the music you chose (what is that? I love it!) is so fitting to the darker mood of your subject.
Something I really appreciate about you is how you reflect on things you have done and why they worked out or not. I'm pretty sure that you will take a lot from this class. I wish I had more time (lame excuse), but most of all more courage to do this.

Suburban Girl said...

Oooh, the haunting music!

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