Friday, October 31, 2008

I was there and I saw you.

Every day:

Everyday we wake up wearing our matching red pajamas. We drink 2 glasses of green tea with 2 teaspoons of honey. We drink a glass of water each with a multi vitamin immersed inside. We eat clementines and yogurt together. We take a one block walk to our local restaurant which we treat as an internet cafe. They never mind because we're Americans that tip well above average. We speak flimsy German and order two more green teas. Today my time in front of my computer has been extended, because I have a full day off from shooting. Time to retouch, edit videos, print comp cards, share a meal with our new and close friend Matt and finally respond to close friends and north American agents.

I use to take for granted the time I was allowed to freely browse articles and download torrents. Looking at my inbox can sometimes feel overwhelming but days like this lessen that feeling.

The above introduction is an indication of what Berlin has done for us. Allowing new words to enter into my life like: routine and domestic. Words I never really wanted around before. Our daily lives have formed greater meaning, smaller moments can now be documented where as before my days were filled with castings, hopelessness and an influx of socializing and networking that began to feel more like work than play.

My days here are longer and require more from me. Less people are involved which makes communicating simpler. Last week Andy Kuchenmeister, myself, Maxine Suter and a hairstylist I believe was named Twiggy (but could be wrong) shot two days on a catalog job together. The days were long at 13 hours each, but they seemed more relaxed. The location was Rent One Studios and the client stayed for what seemed a majority of the time. Typically having the client there makes me uncomfortable but our needs were met and everyone was quite happy. There was nothing hectic or demanding about the job.

This seems to be the way people treat one another here.

Berlin has allowed Jamie and I to act on ideas we've had stored for the past 2 and a half years. We're finally able to create together. We're brewing up something really beautiful and soon I'll share.

We have a new friend here in the exchange program from Berkeley. Matt is going to be a part of one of our projects that I will introduce to you soon. A few nights ago we went to a gallery/showing turned party where Matt's artwork was shown, below are the shaky no-camera-flash results.

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There were many people there and it was the kind of place you find in Philadelphia (which really means it just had a fantastic used basement). There was a performance by Wooden Veil and Matt's video was available for watching and listening to through headphones. It was surprising to me how few people watched, read or cared. People did in fact drink, flirt, speak English and smoke. Is sharing that you did something better than actually doing it?

I enjoy thinking about images and the above feels similar to recent conversations I've had about pictures . I see people consumed with "what the result will be",Paying no attention to how they've gotten there, who's involved, or what they really want. "I want a picture that looks like X" seems to be the only thought that goes into making anything. "I want to sound like XYorZ" (I couldn't say X there, though many people probably do want to sound like them). "

Clearly this doesn't apply to everything or everyone, but it's an attitude that's far too common and spreading like an uncontrollable disease.

Former homes, though lovely, don't compare to the present:

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Thursday, October 9, 2008

The Mobile Theatre.

In a large abandoned parking lot in the middle of somewhere Berlin, you'll find a tent filled with wires, laptops, projectors and handmade things that spin sound in a way that makes your ears hungry.

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We filled out pockets with gummibärs and took what a very delightful german boy called "little pictures". Here are some little pictures:

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It feels good to be in Berlin.

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http://www.myspace.com/noizemachines