There are a lot of projects on my short list, but it’s the usual excuses of too long a list, and not enough money or time.
But excuses just don’t cut it anymore, so my plan to get this documentary project going is to just do it — and structure the plan in such a way that all the shooting can be done on incredibly flexible schedules, and the budget can remain miniscule (for now, at least).
So here’s “One True Thing”. The idea is that our team sits down with someone at their preferred location, and once everything’s set up, all we do is ask for your first name, and to tell us one true thing.
It can be anything, from trivial to profound. So long as it’s true to you.
We also have some ground rules for ourselves/the project:
— First name only
— We won’t edit your response once you start on your true thing. That means once you being, we’ll run until you stop. So, no edits to make you look better, worse, or more concise.
— You can have more than one thing to say. We’ll just treat them separately.
— Don’t pressure yourself. We don’t expect Dalai Lama-league answers, so no worries. Something about your cat is acceptable…
What do WE get out of all this? Good question.
Expectations:
Sure, the first clip is three guys of various ages working in various levels of seriousness.
The real payoff should be when we reach a certain critical mass and broader themes emerge. Personally, I fully expect this to start focusing on religion, relationships and philosophy — but I could be completely wrong.
Maybe folks hone in on sports and cosmology, who knows?
If I were to point to an existing model for how I expect this to turn out, I’m going to reference one of my all-time favorite books and life guides: Directing the Film: Film Directors on Their Art, edited by Eric Sherman.
Yes, you’ll find a lot of practical advice on nearly every aspect of filmmaking by some of the greatest in the field — but that’s essentially a bonus.
What I find great is that within Sherman’s 352 pages of collected wisdom, you can read one absolutely sterling, profound and compelling piece of advice put forth by an absolute master of their craft — and on the next page, there’s another absolutely sterling, profound, and compelling piece of advice from yet ANOTHER master, completely and absolutely contradicting the first.
Example: Think about rehearsing your actors. There are a number of directors that weigh in on how their actors must be absolutely well rehearsed and prepared, so there’s no doubt about the lines, nuances or inflections before the cameras roll.
And there are a number of directors that talk about why anything beyond nominal rehearsal kills the energy and dampens the creative sparks from fresh discovery.
Who’s right? They all are. And that’s the point — the truths within this book are the truths that work for each person.
So that’s where I personally see “One True Thing”‘s potential. But we’ll see.
Technical Points:
As we add in clips, we’ll update the master video, and keep individual clips for easy reference.
We’re also COMPLETELY OPEN AND ENCOURAGING of outside submissions. So feel free to crank up your webcam or video recorder, work up a segment, and send it on.
This was an absolute blast to produce and edit, for several reasons.
I’m an Asheville, NC native, so to (finally) be part of the historic Penland School of Crafts family has a lot of personal meaning. Penland dates back to the 1920s and Lucy Morgan’s efforts to both learn native Southern Appalachian crafts and help residents market their wares. It has since evolved into an internationally-recognized center for craft education, history, innnovation and experimentation across a wide range of styles and media. Plus, its location and campus are simply breathtaking.
Penland has a benefit auction every year, with (mostly alum and faculty) artists donating pieces, and the proceeds going to help sustain the school’s mission. I basically showed up to this year’s auction (Penland’s 25th) with gear and recorded nearly everything and everyone I could. Okay, they knew I was coming, but this was a first-time experience for both of us.
The signature work — the art piece that was highlighted on all the promotional and marketing material, and the cover item for the auction book — was “Toric Knot”, a one-ton Cor-Ten steel sculpture by alumnus Hoss Haley. Early word was that Penland organizers and Haley himself would be delighted if the piece sold for its retail listing of $20,000.00.
You’ll have to watch (and listen) to the clip to find out what happens, but I believe the video captures a career-changing event in progress.
Haley sat down for an interview the day before the live auction, albeit somewhat reluctantly. He is a self-described taciturn Midwesterner, after all, and talking about himself isn’t on his Top 10 favorite things.
Still, he was a great interview subject — focused, insightful, honest and intelligent. The hardest part in editing his interview was simply cutting down and cutting out a lot of really good material — to let the truly great parts surface.
In terms of style, I also made a choice to reduce the level of polish. Most all of the transitions are simply cuts: direct and straightforward, just like Haley himself. There’s at least one dissolve, but it’s because the transition looked like a jump-cut on its own.
I also played with sweetening his audio, but the result was sterile. The interview itself took place next to a center of activity for the event, and I wanted to keep that energy and enthusiasm as a part of his discussion, even if it’s in the background.
As for the auction itself, it felt creatively “right” to stick to the opening, establishing scene and the closing/conclusion. The audio underneath the quotation cards also let viewers keep up with the progress, and build towards the final strike of the auctioneer’s gavel.
Ultimately, though, the piece is less about things — the sculpture, the selling price, the auction as event; and more about people — Haley, his wife, his real family and his Penland family.
And how on a magical weekend in August 2o1o in the mountains outside Asheville, NC, craft became art, and work became career.
I’ve been lax here after one decent inaugral bit. Shame on me; my excuse is travel and work. But that’s not even an excuse given the fact I’ve been connected most all the time. Maybe I should blame social-media fatigue and take 2010 off…
Interesting in the sense that it was punctuated by bad weather, heartbreaking football results (at least for my fantasy league standings), a detour to Oak Ridge, TN, where my Dad worked during and after WWII and then dealing with the aftermath of this, maybe one of the best “Hey turn on the camera and let’s see what happens” moments in recent history. And yes, they’re still digging out and no, there aren’t great detour options.
But at the risk of sounding like a Chamber of Commerce geek, it’s worth it to be in Asheville. Why?
Because it’s a beautiful town set in a beautiful mountain location, with a downtown that’s kept many great old buildings, and a progressive feel that translates into more cool things to do, see, eat and drink than a town this size would deserve, normally. But Asheville isn’t a normal town by any stretch.
I also feel like a whore for giving this place even more publicity, because as some stoned millionaire rock star once pointed out, “you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.”
Still, this one posting hopefully won’t bring on the next tsunami of moneyed hipster-wannabees, or drop a Starbucks on every alternate corner, or force the kids out of the drum circle. But maybe it will.
It’s a bit like announcing to your barroom friends: “I have the most awesome girlfriend in the world!” and waiting to see what happens 3 months down the road….
James Hyatt 