A Different Kind of Approach
While collaborating with Ted on our newest project, I realize that you don't need to approach things in the same way. I received an email from him, yesterday, with the following message:
Wrote my dialogue for the first episode and I have a good idea of the shots to film. Friday will probably be better - Will know soon...
I realized that I don't have any dialogue or shots ready. I'm not necessarily thinking in scenes or shots that much (yet), for several reasons:
- I haven't arrived at my filming location ( my new place ) yet
- I trust on my improv skills, intuition. I feel that, as soon as I am on location, get into character and turn on the camera, the ideas will flow to me.
I also realized that Ted is a screenwriter and - even though he is open to improv himself and it's a topic that he and I love to talk about - I also know him as someone who likes to think about every detail before actually turning on the camera.
Shortly before writing this post, I walked back from the river - where I had just gone for a swim - to my sister's house. While walking through the sun - and feeling healthy and happy - I started thinking about our film project.
I pictured my character holding the humming stone and meditating with it. I thought of having the stone close to me ( not necessarily carrying it ) and talking to it, asking it questions, like:
What are you trying to tell me ( with this sound )?
I don't talk or understand stone language. I am not living in the Stone Age. The thing can hum as much as it wants, but do I get or understand what it's trying to communicate? Do I feel or sense it perhaps, rather than hear it?
No matter the answer, I imagine my character talking to it. The humming stone is my 'precious' and - how I see it now - I don't have much human contact, besides the irregular talk with Ted's character ( who is spending most of his time in the tunnels ). So much of my talking will be directed to or at least involve the stone.
So be prepared of scenes where I will be talking to a stone.
I also pictured myself underneath or close to the waterfall near my new house, holding the stone, talking to and or meditating with it. I started wondering about the sounds that it might make out there. Would it like to be out in nature, among other stones and in or near the water? Would it feel energized or - as it's a stone that has been found in a tunnel - would it perhaps prefer to be in the dark instead of out in the open?
Anyhow, Ted and I will talk on Friday. It will be fun. I'm sure it will lead to more ideas and, who knows, by then I might have thought of more scenes and/ or shots myself. Or not. No matter what, this project will be made, one way or another and - I almost forget to mention this - it might be exactly the contrast in styles ( between Ted and me, our mode of preparation and our modes of ( non ) acting ) that makes this project worth watching. As long as we enjoy the ride, I'm sure some of you will enjoy it too.
P.S. If you are wondering what I'm rambling out - with all this talk about stones - you probably haven't read my last couple of posts. It's up to you whether you read those too or just make do with chunks and bites of the creative process that I feed you here.
The image above this post has little to do with my filmmaking but it shows the bridge and river where I swam, earlier today, as well as my 4 year old nephew Miko playing at the river beach. A bunch of beautiful things, plus - I realize now - loads of stones, haha!