Still Baltimore, now with some color.

The photo from the last post won the “city life” contest!

I have a lot of photos of Baltimore, so here’s another one in the set; I just submitted it to a photo contest, we’ll see if it makes the finals!

Continuing the Baltimore photo blog post series…

More Baltimore. Welcome to the Apex Theater.

Continuing with the Baltimore theme…

In keeping with the Baltimore theme, here’s a photo of yup, you guessed it, the sign outside Whitey’s News Stand.

While I am working on making it back to editing my film, which has been waylaid by moving out of the country, I’m going to start posting a photo every few days. Here is one from a recent trip to Baltimore.

by Jim Jarmusch | Published January 22, 2004

Rule #1: There are no rules. There are as many ways to make a film as there are potential filmmakers. It’s an open form. Anyway, I would personally never presume to tell anyone else what to do or how to do anything. To me that’s like telling someone else what their religious beliefs should be. Fuck that. That’s against my personal philosophy—more of a code than a set of “rules.” Therefore, disregard the “rules” you are presently reading, and instead consider them to be merely notes to myself. One should make one’s own “notes” because there is no one way to do anything. If anyone tells you there is only one way, their way, get as far away from them as possible, both physically and philosophically.

Rule #2: Don’t let the fuckers get ya. They can either help you, or not help you, but they can’t stop you. People who finance films, distribute films, promote films and exhibit films are not filmmakers. They are not interested in letting filmmakers define and dictate the way they do their business, so filmmakers should have no interest in allowing them to dictate the way a film is made. Carry a gun if necessary.

Also, avoid sycophants at all costs. There are always people around who only want to be involved in filmmaking to get rich, get famous, or get laid. Generally, they know as much about filmmaking as George W. Bush knows about hand-to-hand combat.

Rule #3: The production is there to serve the film. The film is not there to serve the production. Unfortunately, in the world of filmmaking this is almost universally backwards. The film is not being made to serve the budget, the schedule, or the resumes of those involved. Filmmakers who don’t understand this should be hung from their ankles and asked why the sky appears to be upside down.

Rule #4: Filmmaking is a collaborative process. You get the chance to work with others whose minds and ideas may be stronger than your own. Make sure they remain focused on their own function and not someone else’s job, or you’ll have a big mess. But treat all collaborators as equals and with respect. A production assistant who is holding back traffic so the crew can get a shot is no less important than the actors in the scene, the director of photography, the production designer or the director. Hierarchy is for those whose egos are inflated or out of control, or for people in the military. Those with whom you choose to collaborate, if you make good choices, can elevate the quality and content of your film to a much higher plane than any one mind could imagine on its own. If you don’t want to work with other people, go paint a painting or write a book. (And if you want to be a fucking dictator, I guess these days you just have to go into politics…).

Rule #5: Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.” MM

I gave this blog address to someone so now I feel pressure to update.  What have I been doing in documentary land?  Not a whole lot!  I have tape footage of a wedding in France and a sheep shearing in North Carolina and another wedding in DR Congo that are sitting in my closet. If I could just capture the footage onto my new shiny computer, I’d be golden for editing….

I’ve talked to a few documentary film makers at screenings here and there, but followed up with few of them.  Where did I put those business cards???

And I’m putting off returning an email about a project that I really do want to work on, which is based in Kinshasa.  For the moment, I would just help with research, such as monitoring UN reports, among other things.  Eventually I would like to be involved in the actual shooting and production, which should be possible as long as I can get myself there.  Fortunately traveling there is part of my job description, so that should not be too problematic.  The project is extremely ambitious but I think would be very interesting, covering different aspects of the current state of democracy in DR Congo and primarily produced by Congolese filmmakers and emerging talent.

The past couple months have been busy, but not in a film editing sort of way. I was out of town for a short getaway and then a long getaway, the latter including a friend’s wedding in France at which I was the unofficial videographer.

I may or may not have mentioned the sheep shearing video as well…

So I have a lot of footage, at least 4 60-minute tapes, that need capturing and editing. And the elin o’Hara slavick film to finish. And I would like to do something more and bigger on Kinshasa, but I think I’ll need another trip before that happens.

There are several spots that I’ve found where I can edit videos on Macs (the Carrboro Arts Center, The People’s Channel, and UNC undergrad library’s media center) for free, but it means highly prioritizing these projects and making an effort several times a week to schedule ahead, make it to the locations during the hours that they are open, and (often) figuring out how to get home after the bus stops running.

To solve these problems, I’ve decided to take the plunge and update my technology.  I have a Compaq laptop that I bought in 2000, and since my needs began to outstrip its capabilities, I’ve counted on work or public computers.  We have a tax-free weekend coming up, so I see a new computer in my future!