I can feel

Just last night I was feeling a little bit depressed for various reasons. I think more then anything I was coming down from the extreme pressure and stress related to the final three films I shot this weekend for Scottsdale Community College. Unfortunately, I was asked to be cinematographer on all three films, and in some cases asked to do a little bit more. It was a very stressful and trying situation for me and I spent many a moment thinking to myself, “I really wish I was hanging out with my friends right now or doing something else”. Thankfully, that was the last batch. Unless I film something with Gabe and Josh, I’m done putting my eye through a diopter for the rest of the year.
But like I said, the pressure, my required presence and the anti-climatic letdown after the shoot all served to dampen my spirits. I ended up spending the rest of the evening listening to the last two songs on Grandaddy’s Sumday, ‘The Warming Sun’ and‘ The Final Push to the Sum’. They’re not terribly dour songs, just vaguely self-critical. And when I get depressed I seem to self-criticize.


However, there is a beacon of hope. Yes, there is something else behind this shell of blank-eyed youth. Something driving his visage throughout the glum and sun-drenched dust of this week’s harshness. The Glove Box. Oh yes, I’ve been waiting for quite some time to see the final cut put together by Gabe and Josh, and very soon the wait will be over. This Thursday at the Valley Art Theater I’ll (hopefully) get a chance to see their final product on the big screen, along with a plethora of other short films put together by local visionaries. Just last night Gabe told me that they extended the submission deadline for the contest, which only serves to prove just how big Phoenix’s local film scene has gotten. And it’s a close-knit community as well. When I was filming one of the student films, an actor on the set began chatting with the crew about the contest and mentioned that he put together a film with none-other then our former screenwriting teacher. What a hoot! The premise he described sounded very cool as well. So I’m looking forward to that.
I guess the other thing that has begun to lift my spirits has been the recent acquisition of freedom: freedom from work, freedom from commitments, and freedom from student films. Now I can spend the rest of the year editing my own work and focusing my mind upon whatever subject I choose. Sure, papers will be due, and I’ll have to attend class, but that stuff is null in comparison. I think I’m most looking forward to getting to work on my next screenplay. And I’m also pleased to be able to spend time with my friends and family.

Oh yes, and I’ll get to blog more. Right? That’s got to be an upside.

On a side-note, I checked out that new U2 song Vertigo today. Yeah, I actually bought it from iTunes just because of their commercial hype. But get this: I actually liked it. I didn’t love it, but I thought it was a great deal better then anything found on their previous album “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”. In answer to your question, no, I didn’t pay for that self-indulgent tripe. My cousin burned it for me. But I was still equally dissatisfied by their lurid tunes and glitter-littered pop rock. This new song Vertigo is a little bit better and a little bit more like my favorite U2 tune, "Sunday Bloody Sunday". But then again, I’m not a big fan of U2. My appreciation for them comes about because of borrowing War from Gabe and realizing that some of my favorite bands, like Radiohead, borrowed a great deal from the Irish group.
Moving on…

I’m anxiously looking forward to checking out Ted Leo’s new album, “Shake the Sheets”. It hasn’t gotten very favorable reviews, but I’ll decide for myself if it’s a valid Leo album.

And that’s that.