Survivors by Errol Morris

The filmmaking of Errol Morris never fails to amaze me.  He's responsible for some of the great innovations within the documentary form. This particular film picks up what he started with his highly underrated First Person television series. Morris' interviews are unlike any other on-camera interview you've ever seen because his subjects literally looking down the barrel of the lens, not just at the camera.  Morris has designed a device called the "Interrotron" which is a camera with a teleprompter mounted in front of the lens. Superimposed on the teleprompter is Morris' image on, creating an situation where the subject is interviewed directly by not only Morris, but the lens of the camera as well. The eye contact that is achieved with the viewer is unparalled. 

The greatest strength of Morris' documentaries, though, is his command of words and language. More than any other filmmaker he is a master of weaving and juxtaposing words together. And, the way he uses people's facial expressions as punctuation and exclamation is nothing short of masterful.         

My Life in Pictures (Pet Dynamics)

The house I live in has three pets: Stretch (hot dog), Scout (black lab), and Ralph (25lb cat). Scout and Ralph are brothers, so they get along ducky.  Stretch and Scout battle for attention and food scraps from the humans.  Stretch and Ralph don't get along at all. Thus, Ralph lives exclusively in my bedroom. It's uncanny, but whenever I leave my bedroom door open for even a second Stretch senses it and scares poor Ralph into retreating into the closet.  The most interesting part of it all is that Scout will turn on Ralph, if Stretch is after Ralph. It's almost as if Scout doesn't want Stretch to know that he's friends with a cat.  But, as soon as Stretch is out of the room Scout and Ralph will go back to inhabiting my bed together.  

There's also two animal intruders in the mix.  A stray, orange cat and an enormous, beige rat. The doors to the outside are almost always open, so occasionally the orange cat will mosey into the house only to be chased up a tree by Scout. There's been days where Scout will stand at the trunk of a tree for hours while the cat is helplessly trapped.  The orange cat has also managed to lure Ralph out of the house on two occasions.  The first time Ralph was standing locked outside the sliding glass door, bloodied and a cat claw lodged into his forehead.  The second time I came home to Ralph's collar in the front yard, a hole in my screen door, and drops of blood on my comforter.  I think it's safe to say that Ralph's a lover, not a fighter.     

Willard, the elusive, beige rat, is a whole other story (for another time)...

My Life in Pictures (The Boom Operator)

A quick lesson in film production. As my friends and I were watching an episode of Entourage last night they were laughing about all the obscure and humorous job titles on a television/film production. I.E. "Dolly Grip," "Gaffer," "Wrangler," "Best Boy," etc...  They laughed hardest about the "Boom Operator," but they laughed even harder when I told them that I've been a Boom Operator.  The Boom is the lightweight, carbon-fiber pole that shotgun (directional) microphones can be attached to.  The boom pole can extend out to 10-12 feet, so the operator won't be in the frame during wide shots.  The extent of the job is standing with the pole rested on the back of your neck and pointing the mic in the direction of the person who's speaking.  

This film particular film, "The Tailor," was an independent feature (period piece) shot entirely in the desert and Imperial Sand Dunes around the town of Glamis.  It's about two-hours east of San Diego along Highway 8.  Just about the only thing to do after work was hang out at the one and only desert bar for many miles.  It was called the Lizard Lounge and the clientele was stereotypical desert folks. One guy was a drug and alcohol counsellor in the San Diego County school system, ironically the Lizard Lounge was his solace.