Hello! This time of year is peak dogwood season here in Oregon. It’s also the time of year when I wander around the neighborhood with my camera taking photos of all the pink dogwoods, using a lens with some trippy effects.
I bought the lens in 2019 before a research trip to North Dakota. I liked what I saw other people doing with it, and I thought it would make some of my footage appear as though it were filmed in the early 1900s. I won’t bore you too much with camera stuff, but I was not successful. Everything I filmed with the lens was wobbly and uncertain, or too soft around the edges. It turns out that in-lens stabilization is critical to nice-looking footage on the camera I was using at the time. And it also turns out there are plenty of post-production effects you can apply to make regular footage look like it’s old, if that’s what you want to do.
But it is a fun lens to play with every now and then! Especially when dogwoods are at peak bloom. And digging this lens out of my gear drawer reminded me of something: I owe you all an update.
You have probably forgotten, but back at the beginning of the year, I wrote about my goals for 2022. As a form of accountability, I promised I’d let you know in a few months how I was progressing on one of them: Recutting the 9-minute documentary I made in connection with my book. I want it to be good enough to enter into regional and environmental film festivals by the end of 2022.
My progress on the film project has been mixed. It’s difficult to devote time to a non-paying project that has an intangible payoff.
I applied for a prestigious nonfiction storytelling fellowship. I was hoping it would connect me with others working on similar projects, so I could build a peer group for technical expertise and creative encouragement. I had strong recommendations, including from a former fellow, but I didn’t get in. My application did make it to the final round of consideration, though, and the judges encouraged me to reapply.
I also applied for a local arts grant that would have paid for a month of my time to edit the film. I didn’t get the grant, but the organization shared with me last week what I could have done better on my application, which was helpful! It turns out the grant review panel liked the multimedia aspect. But they also thought the film was complete, based on what I showed them. They weren’t sure why I was asking for money. (That was heartening to hear, that the film looked high-quality enough to be done! It is not finished, though, not to the standards it must meet to get into film fests.) The panel also thought I needed a better explanation of how I will share the finished film – grants are big on having robust outreach and dissemination plans. Based on this feedback, I’m certain I’ll be more successful when I re-apply for the next round of funding at the end of this month.
There have been some other successes:
The Intro to Communication Theory class I taught this winter was, uh, not ideal, as many of you probably could have predicted even as I started it. However! I made enough money from teaching the class to afford a new laptop, one that’s powerful enough to recut my film with more ease. I consider that a win – even if the exploitation of adjunct life is not for me.
While cutting together a book cover reveal video, I re-familiarized myself with some of my footage, including scenes I filmed after I made the first draft of the film. It got me back into the space of thinking visually, which did wonders for my overall creativity. It also allowed me to see what is missing, and to think more about what I want the film to be in its final iteration.
So what’s next?
Over the next month, I’m carving out an hour each day to go through my existing footage, not only to categorize it and organize it, but to determine what is missing and to help me understand what I have and how I can shape it. This will help me rewrite my voiceover script.
I plan to rewrite my script during the annual #1000wordsofsummer event run by the writer Jami Attenberg to help people tackle big creative projects. I wrote three? maybe four? draft chapters of my book during the 2019 session of #1000wordsofsummer. This year’s session begins June 4, which is ideal, because I’ll be done sorting through my existing footage by then. Want to join me in writing every day for two weeks? Sign up here.
I am normally so careful, but I lost some footage I shot last summer, when a memory card went bad during an upload. I am tentatively planning a short trip to Western North Dakota in late June to reshoot a few things – and pick up anything that’s still missing after I review my footage. A lot depends on whether I can line up some other stories to report along the way to help pay for the trip. (I usually can, and I already have several ideas.) But if you know any editors who want something from eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana or North Dakota early this summer, put them in touch! (Mojie does not get to come along this time, alas.)
I still need to identify film festivals that would be good places to enter the film. Suggestions are welcome! And I might pay someone to help me with this.
And of course, I’m re-applying for one of those regional arts grants.
Sometimes it seems like a lot of trouble and expense for a 9-minute film that is, technically, probably good enough, and that certainly won’t win me an Oscar, hah. But I feel like I owe the project one final push, to get it to a place where it meets my professional standards. I want to be proud of it, you know? And I want it to be useful. I’ll update you again at the end of the summer with my progress.
Love,
Erika
THE NEWS
All the links…
“Like New.” Lululemon is getting into the resale game, by accepting gently-used garments from customers. When you trade in old stuff, you get a gift card to buy even more stuff. (It’s your yoga pants/sustainability link of the week.)
Outdoor poop etiquette is changing. I’m on board with this, after all the human waste I saw on Utah’s public lands in 2020. Pack it out!
Climate change and your well water. For Stateline, I wrote about how wildfires and extreme rain events can affect drinking water. (Kind of a downer, sorry.)
Letters to an Artist. I loved the advice for mid-career artists. Especially Alexandra Bell’s cheeky “Terms Most Useful When Applying for Art Grants.”
One in three garages has no car in it.
You can now preorder Windfall! And yes, apologies in advance. But I’ll be including pre-order links at the bottom of every newsletter through Jan. 17, 2023 – and probably well beyond. Available at Bookshop and Amazon so far. Thank you for your support!