"What I can do, however, is immerse myself in my sentences while I write, and keep my attention on the aesthetics and lyricism and coherence of each word, so that the end of one sentence cascades into the next." This is my process as well -- always reading aloud as I write, waiting for the music. I don't always know how to get it there, but I know when it IS there. Compelling article, Charles.
This is one of the reasons I make my ambient narrative short films. I get a general story and mostly a location in mind, and then I search the location for incidental imagery that fits the narrative. It takes patience and can sometimes be meditative, to stand still for a couple minutes at a time recording a single clip, of which I end up recording about 30-40. In the process things I find affect my story, and it's AFTER that I write the VO and record it. Then again as I edit the images and the VO together, ultimately the story changes and I rerecord until I have the full piece.
I always end up using all of my well-shot broll, and the results are almost always 3-5min long.
So it starts with an idea, but by the end it never really looks like or says what I thought it would.
Your description of "ambient narrative" is a good one, and I certainly can relate to the experience of watching an idea change over time. Thanks for the comment and thoughts.
There are several fine ateliers out there to teach students the traditional approach to painting. Many of these ateliers emerged (or were revived) as a corrective for the lack of traditional, representational painting and drawing instruction in university art programs, which abandoned the basics in favor of feelings and non-representational abstraction. What I’ve observed is that a little of both approaches are needed. Too much technical skill, absent feeling and experimentation, yields tight but wooden drawings and paintings. And too much personal expression without technical skill, beckons an abstract mess. Like the writer who hopes to please the reader with unexpected endings and original prose, a blend of technical competence and creative meandering may be just the ticket. And that’s one reason why I enjoy your learned yet artful writings.
That's a great point and I think it is particularly relevant for painting—though certainly not exclusive to painting. I wouldn't quite call technical skill and personal expression opposites, but they need to be in balance as you suggested. The extreme of either one is usually unremarkable, forgettable work. I'm probably more in favor of learning technique, or of studying the history of a form, than it may appear from much of my writing, so I certainly agree that it is vital. And that's especially true when someone is just beginning. Thank you very much for the kind words and the intriguing comment.
"What I can do, however, is immerse myself in my sentences while I write, and keep my attention on the aesthetics and lyricism and coherence of each word, so that the end of one sentence cascades into the next." This is my process as well -- always reading aloud as I write, waiting for the music. I don't always know how to get it there, but I know when it IS there. Compelling article, Charles.
I certainly agree that music is the right analogy—that fits my thinking too. Thank you for the comment.
This is one of the reasons I make my ambient narrative short films. I get a general story and mostly a location in mind, and then I search the location for incidental imagery that fits the narrative. It takes patience and can sometimes be meditative, to stand still for a couple minutes at a time recording a single clip, of which I end up recording about 30-40. In the process things I find affect my story, and it's AFTER that I write the VO and record it. Then again as I edit the images and the VO together, ultimately the story changes and I rerecord until I have the full piece.
I always end up using all of my well-shot broll, and the results are almost always 3-5min long.
So it starts with an idea, but by the end it never really looks like or says what I thought it would.
Your description of "ambient narrative" is a good one, and I certainly can relate to the experience of watching an idea change over time. Thanks for the comment and thoughts.
There are several fine ateliers out there to teach students the traditional approach to painting. Many of these ateliers emerged (or were revived) as a corrective for the lack of traditional, representational painting and drawing instruction in university art programs, which abandoned the basics in favor of feelings and non-representational abstraction. What I’ve observed is that a little of both approaches are needed. Too much technical skill, absent feeling and experimentation, yields tight but wooden drawings and paintings. And too much personal expression without technical skill, beckons an abstract mess. Like the writer who hopes to please the reader with unexpected endings and original prose, a blend of technical competence and creative meandering may be just the ticket. And that’s one reason why I enjoy your learned yet artful writings.
That's a great point and I think it is particularly relevant for painting—though certainly not exclusive to painting. I wouldn't quite call technical skill and personal expression opposites, but they need to be in balance as you suggested. The extreme of either one is usually unremarkable, forgettable work. I'm probably more in favor of learning technique, or of studying the history of a form, than it may appear from much of my writing, so I certainly agree that it is vital. And that's especially true when someone is just beginning. Thank you very much for the kind words and the intriguing comment.