Tuesday Musings 2 - The Making of a Filmmaker
At the very first film festival I attended (not that long ago!), I was dismissed as an "anomaly" when I tried to contribute in a filmmakers' discussion; my experiences simply didn't apply to the average (young) filmmaker. I was, of course, annoyed as it came from someone who was very condescending. At the same time, however, I almost wanted to thank him for giving me a term to describe who I am in the world of filmmaking (and, actually, in many aspects of life at large). I'm also an Oxymoron (as in, an "Old Newbie") and also an Amateur in the true sense of the word (from the French for "lover of").
It's a bit strange when you "become" something quite late in life - it's almost like you're supposed to settle on one or two things as an adult and stick with those. I was kind of forced to find something to funnel my creativity into when I became ill after retirement from my job. I had to quit playing the harp (luckily, I had recorded two CDs of original music before this happened). I had to quit Iaido (Japanese sword training). I couldn't paint or draw. You know that old adage about some doors closing and others opening? I actually hate that adage, but it IS true in my case. Once we had stabilized the worst of that chronic illness, I had to find something to keep me from going mad. I found I could work at my computer for longer and longer periods. I had always had an interest in puppetry and so did some short tests of stop motion with a Godzilla action figure. That was the Eureka moment! I started playing around with software and learning the ropes. I found that many of my previous pursuits helped me a lot now; music for the films, drawing skills, costuming and puppet making, writing, etc. I developed skills in stop motion and 2D animation, mostly by the seat of my pants (hence the name of part of my filmmaking endeavours). I had found my niche, and it kept me from going crazy while learning how to deal with daily life all over again.
I now realize how lucky I am that I came to filmmaking quite late in life. Yes, you read that right. I would not want to be a young filmmaker trying to break into the business these days, especially in animation. I am also my own "boss", as it's only me working on these films; I do everything (that's also probably the control freak in me). I don't really worry about funding or distribution because mine are true shoestring projects. And it's fun. I'll still always be the anomaly at festivals, and believe me there is more than a little ageism at some of them, but you know what? I can deal with it.
So, that's me - Anomaly, Oxymoron, Amateur, Person-of-all-trades. And Filmmaker.
"22 Bones, Ep. 18: In the Doldrums" has been selected as part of the May edition of the Miami Independent Film Festival! Winners will be announced on May 28th.
"And She Rode Forth..." will be screening at the Jersey Shore Film Festival in Deal, NJ in June. We're also nominated for an award!
It's a bit strange when you "become" something quite late in life - it's almost like you're supposed to settle on one or two things as an adult and stick with those. I was kind of forced to find something to funnel my creativity into when I became ill after retirement from my job. I had to quit playing the harp (luckily, I had recorded two CDs of original music before this happened). I had to quit Iaido (Japanese sword training). I couldn't paint or draw. You know that old adage about some doors closing and others opening? I actually hate that adage, but it IS true in my case. Once we had stabilized the worst of that chronic illness, I had to find something to keep me from going mad. I found I could work at my computer for longer and longer periods. I had always had an interest in puppetry and so did some short tests of stop motion with a Godzilla action figure. That was the Eureka moment! I started playing around with software and learning the ropes. I found that many of my previous pursuits helped me a lot now; music for the films, drawing skills, costuming and puppet making, writing, etc. I developed skills in stop motion and 2D animation, mostly by the seat of my pants (hence the name of part of my filmmaking endeavours). I had found my niche, and it kept me from going crazy while learning how to deal with daily life all over again.
I now realize how lucky I am that I came to filmmaking quite late in life. Yes, you read that right. I would not want to be a young filmmaker trying to break into the business these days, especially in animation. I am also my own "boss", as it's only me working on these films; I do everything (that's also probably the control freak in me). I don't really worry about funding or distribution because mine are true shoestring projects. And it's fun. I'll still always be the anomaly at festivals, and believe me there is more than a little ageism at some of them, but you know what? I can deal with it.
So, that's me - Anomaly, Oxymoron, Amateur, Person-of-all-trades. And Filmmaker.
UPDATES!
"22 Bones, Ep. 18: In the Doldrums" has been selected as part of the May edition of the Miami Independent Film Festival! Winners will be announced on May 28th.
"And She Rode Forth..." will be screening at the Jersey Shore Film Festival in Deal, NJ in June. We're also nominated for an award!
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