Whispering Statues

Reminder.

Pierce Cook — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:02:24 +0000

Your film is like your children. You might want a child with certain qualities, but you are never going to get the exact specification right. The film has a privilege to live its own life and develop its own character. To suppress this is dangerous. It is an approach that works the other way too: sometimes the footage has amazing qualities that you did not expect.-Werner Herzog I went into this posting knowing, needing almost, that I wanted to include something from a filmmaker I respect. Reading over numerous quotes from him, as I do when things get stressful, I hope that as I continue my body of work that I can boundlessly appreciate why Werner Herzog speaks on the subject of film the way that he does.Many of his thoughts, while I fully agree with them based on my own understanding, would likely open a wider range of debate than I want to get into here. I chose this one because it really hits a nerve that I’ve been riding pretty hard.The natural growth on a project, especially a documentary, seems only second nature. If you fight it, you just throw up barriers for yourself, but if you let it roam free, you’ll never get it under control. Terms like “guidance” and “development” are preferred ways of sailing the ship. While force is sometimes unavoidable, delegation and teamwork from a Captain or leading pair, no matter how stern, will always win over your crew. In turn, experience yields necessary results from those in charge, but innovation from other team members will only help your project. Be open to it.Ideally this is just preaching to the choir, maybe I’m preaching to myself, but I know it always helps to refresh these ideas in the context of your current project.-Keeping this one short. Think on it.

A Few Thoughts

Pierce Cook — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:41:58 +0000

Film making can get pretty intense. Variables include the full gamut of worldly errors, and it would almost seem that when a film is in fact completed, that in itself is a miracle.Many people are playing key supporting roles for the production, but the day to day team is three of us. While some productions have hundreds of people working on them every day, smaller projects can have crews of sometimes twenty, ten, or less. This is not unusual, but the direct network of three individuals can be hard to manage. With the same tasks to complete as a larger motion picture, keeping yourself in check is a must.For example, coming from a narrative background, my experience tells me that the more “real” someone is with you, the better the production will go. However here, trying to remain objective with the people in our film is imperative, and that’s very hard to do when you see yourself wanting to befriend those same people.As a team we’ve done a great job of communicating thus far, and having come on the project a year and a half after David and Ian started preparing it, I’m honored to feel like a part of the team. It’s challenging, as many of their ideas and motivations counter what I know or want to do with my own directorial work, but it’s clear the whole process is working.Without overlooking this experience, I’m looking more and more forward to the next opportunity I have to direct. An opportunity, I have no doubt, that will only be empowered by the experiences I have and will continue to draw from Archiculture.On a personal note: The events surrounding Heath Ledger’s death have been both sad and touching. Like most others, I was in disbelief when I found out. Some moving comments on Heath and his death can be found from his The Dark Knight director, Chris Nolan, here, and actor Daniel Day-Lewis, here.

Big Coat

Pierce Cook — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Film making is a lifestyle.Every day begins and ends with a conversation. So much is starting to happen that entertaining tomorrows idle moments may be a capital offense. The exchange of plans becomes the exchange of actions, and the outlines on paper get discarded for improvisation. It’s one hundred percent action and reaction. Although the objective remains the same, the goals you set yesterday will rarely be the goals for tomorrow. Something is always happening. A variable is always changing.I arrived in New York on Sunday, having made the final arrangements less than a week before. One morning I was waiting to hear back about a job in Florida, and that afternoon I had a ticket to New York. While I have always found myself encouraging my friends to think outside of the box and dream big, this was one of the biggest opportunities I had been confronted with that involved me leaving home. I remember when I was young, as much as part of me loved my home, I was the one who always wanted to leave.I was one of the last to go.So far it has made me question my skills, motivations, goals, and the overall integrity of the decision to commit my life to film. Since I graduated from college I’ve done much to nurture my distractions. While I did expand my resume in those last two and a half years, I feel like I could have pushed myself harder. I’ve had the pleasure of working and learning from jobs that have ranged from Broadway shows, national television, and major feature films. Although most of these jobs were strictly supportive in nature, I’ve been yearning for something that allows me to be creative.I have had the pleasure of doing a number of feature films in a creative position, one as director and another as cinematographer. I’ve also won a few awards for my short films, but the ache for something to challenge me again has been overwhelming. I just got to a comfortable place and didn’t revel in what I was doing. Now, however, everything is different.I wake up every morning going to work with two extremely dedicated individuals. In every way, this is key. I’ve been told time and again that all I need to get moving is a good producer, someone who hires me because they really want me. This could not be more the case, and I’m looking forward to the experiences I’m about to share with my two cohorts who so openly welcomed me to New York. Already we’ve dealt with unexpected hurdles, some of which are still unresolved, but I have no doubt that by March 14th when we debut the trailer, things will keep moving. I’m excited that two of my other film making partners are excited about meeting the guys I’m working with now. There will be more work after this, with more of my friends, and new faces who are as dedicated and hard working as we are.I can already tell the partnerships we’re starting to create will lead to more opportunities. The trust we’ve placed has gone unquestioned. Honesty is key. It’s a fairy tale relationship and the only thing we have to do every day is slay dragons, build villages, and get back to the castle for a (sometimes late) dinner.I miss South Carolina already, but New York felt like home when I got off the plane.Welcome back, kid.