it's been about a year since i've posted a drawing. i'm still working on technique, concentrating on faces. here's my drawing from this morning - graphite on newsprint
A young woman, addicted to living vicariously through the lives of her sex addicted support group members, finds herself on the verge of danger as her fantasy world drives her to the edge of reality in the real world.
Starring Leigh Myles, Veli Erturk, Adina Valerio, Danny R. Hitt, Nick Angel, Christine Little, Marissa Madsen
Music by Lillian Rogals and Moby
Edited by Michael Frost
Cinematography by Wes Cardino
Executive Producer Matthew Harrison
Produced by Andrew E. Hwang
Written & Directed by Leigh Myles
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Awarded 3rd place at the Cleveland Indie Gathering for short subject drama / comedy.
It's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since I moved to LA. That went by so quickly. The first year was really difficult. Not knowing many people, and not being in too many situations where I could meet many people. The second year was a little better, but mentally, I was still living in the Bay Area. There was also residual relationship baggage that I hadn't completely dealt with. It wasn't until the middle of last year that things really started to take off... between classes, projects, studying, hanging out with friends, and the occasional gig, I found myself busy enough to be forced to make choices about what to do with my time. So nowadays, the overall activity level here is on par with the activity level I had before I moved. But it took me three years! Was it worth it?
I guess it goes back to why I moved here in the first place. It was to surround myself with more dedicated filmmakers and to devote my life to filmmaking. To that end, I've improved my drawing skills, I've taken writing, acting, and filmmaking classes (and will be taking more), I've worked on 26 projects, including 1 feature and three 35mm short films. I wrote and directed a couple of short videos last year - for practice and experimentation - and one of them turned out okay, I think. I produced a short video this year (it's called "Certifiable" and is being submitted to festivals right now... wish us luck!), and I am in the middle of producing another one to be shot over the summer called "The Spell." If all goes well, I'll be getting a paid gig as an Assistant Director on a feature shot on the RED camera (one of the best HD cameras around) next month. And I'm working on a script. At the moment there are 4 projects in the works but nothing is being shot just yet. That's the way it goes - the actual days of shooting a film account for less than 10% of the total number of days spent working on it. All of the rest is spent in writing, rewriting, planning, coordinating, scouting, recruiting, meeting, preparing, designing, editing, tweaking, etc... btw, I've got a couple more IMDb credits on the way, for whatever those are worth. no directing ones yet. everyone and their mom down here wants to be a director. heh. anyway, enough of all the babbling about filmmaking. Progress is slower than I had hoped it would be but things are going well.
That being said, my social life here is nothing compared to what it was when I lived in the Bay. I've made some good friends and hang out with them and stuff, but they're mostly filmmakers, or film students, or film fanatics at least, and even when we go out, we usually wind up talking about film. We drink, and talk about film. Some of us get high, and talk about film. We meet new people, and they, also, talk about film. As if films were the only things that mattered in the world. Welcome to la la land. Guess I got what I wished for. I miss everyone up in the Bay Area, and actually I liked my job back at Landmark, so I'm not completely sure if what I'm doing now is better than what I was doing when I left. But at least I'm busier these days. Was it worth it? Maybe if I score that gig. or the next one. or the next one...
So here's a photo from the other half of my vacation last month.
For those of you who seem to confuse Thailand with Taiwan... (you know, uh... Austria, Australia, same thing, right? derrrr.)... What's the difference between these two countries? Well, putting aside the fact that the languages, cultures, and weather are different, it's also a matter of geography. To get from Koh Phangan to Taipei, I took a cab, a ferry, then a bus, two trains, two plane flights, and, finally, a car ride, for a total of 36 hours of traveling...
Something clicked the other day. Nostalgia and baggage of the past no longer hold me back. Hopes and fears for the future no longer consume my mind. I find myself going directly from one thing to another, fully engaged, fully present, experiencing and enjoying each and every moment. I'm in a groove... I flow.
Lately I've been battling the forces of negativity around me. Proponents of negativity label their thoughts as "realistic," "true," and "practical," claiming that positivity is devoid of such things. Well, it isn't. The appropriate word for having your head in the clouds is "idealistic," or, in extreme cases, "delusional." While a person can be both positive and delusional, a person can just as easily be negative and delusional. The same applies to realism. A person can be realistic, yet still retain a positive mental attitude. In other words, being positive vs negative and being realistic vs idealistic are two completely different things.
I guess the you could sum up the whole matter with the classic question, "Is the glass half empty or is it half full?"
That's not to say that people should always be positive or that they shouldn't be idealistic. Everything has its place. I just think that it's important to point out the distinction between the two, because, as after-school special as it is, people often forget it.
