The Art of Storytelling and Why I Love the Academy Awards

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I love the Academy Awards.  There, I’ve said it.

And not for the red carpets or the high glamor- though Sandra Bullock looked stunning and Clooney is simply fine.  No, I love the Oscars for the art behind the glamor.  I am the person who actually likes to see the editing nominees and the best sound mixing awards.  I even take notes.  I’m a geek when it comes to storytelling.

Tonight’s awards gave tribute to a film maker who had the opportunity to shape so many young minds of my generation.  We Gen X’ers came of age in the glory of John Hughes films.  I had forgotten the impact these stories had on my young formative teenage years until I saw the cameos of all his films played on the big screen for the audience.  Ferris Bueller.  What can I say.  I watched that damn movie so many times I’d memorized all the lines.  I even read the book over and over again.  Tonight, it dawned on me that the final few lines in that movie- brilliantly presented by a young Matthew Broderick- might have just implanted the simple mantra which I guides my life to this day.  “Life moves pretty fast- if you don’t stop to look around every once in a while, you might miss it.”  Brilliant.

We often forget that somewhere, someone is laboring over the scripts, the scene editing, the costume design, the cinematography and the directing that will take a writer’s story and give it a life.  Someone, somewhere is watching a scene unfold in front of their eyes and saying, “wow, this would be a great movie.” Several years ago, the screenwriter of Juno won the Oscar for her storytelling.  Prior to winning the Oscar, she was a stripper.

One of the featured directors in the short film category made a comment that just had to be scribbled in my notebook.  Short films are “the jewel box of storytelling.  The tools never make a great film, the story makes a great film.”

One of the thirty second speeches that resonated the most for me came from the winner of best musical score.  His father gave him a 8 mm movie camera he asked for at age 9 and never once told him it was a “waste of time” to use it.  And no one in his life ever told him that it was a waste of time to pursue his art.  How often can we say that in our own lives?  I was blessed enough to have parents who recognized the value of art and supported my endeavors- but not many can say the same.

John Wayne looks over my usual working spot at the local espresso outpost in Quartzsite.

John Wayne looks over my usual working spot at the local espresso outpost in Quartzsite.

Sadly, I had not seen many of this year’s nominees.  I realized that films have not been at the top of my agenda the past 6 months when many of these movies were released.  But I did see Blind Side and was rather happy to see Sandra Bullock receive the award for this movie.  And based on a true story and an excellent one at that.

But the overall winner for the evening was a movie I have yet to see and had barely heard of prior to tonight. Hurt Locker won multiple awards, including best screen play, best director and best film.  And to hear the writer stand on stage and tell of being a journalist and basing his screen play on his experience covering the Iraq War, well, that’s inspiring on many levels.  Another award acceptance that gave me goosebumps, was Monique from Precious and Oprah’s tribute to the nominee for best actress from the film.  I haven’t seen this film either, but it is now on the top of my list.

So, my little reporting excerpt on the Oscars will conclude with the focus on the story.  Hollywood merely takes our stories and the narratives we live everyday and creates art.  Even the more elaborate animations and computer generated fantasy movies all return to the simple human narratives we live everyday.

Love, pain, struggle, suffering, triumph, perseverance, death, grief, sorrow, war and peace.  These are our stories, they are our narratives.  And while this may be an unpopular sentiment with some, I applaud the Academy for awarding those artists who use their power and their talent to create movies that go beyond simple entertainment and reveal the human narrative that we experience everyday and filmmakers who tackle the issues that plague our modern society. If I want simple entertainment, I’ll rent an Adam Sandler film or watch a weekly sitcom.  I watch movies because they evoke thoughts, they stir my own emotions, they cause me to question my assumptions and they expose humanity at such a raw and intense level.  I watch movies because they are art.  And it is refreshing to see that the art of the story is still celebrated in the entertainment industry.

Not a big fan of the host’s performances, though.  Can we bring back Hugh Jackman or John Stewart?  Maybe Stephen Colbert should have a shot at it next year.  Jude Law would be nice to look at for 4 hours as well.  I’m just saying.

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The Stories Just Below the Surface- finding a photo essay that’s staring you in the face

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Everyone has a story.  An overused statement, but true.  Every person has an interesting aspect of their lives and a story to tell.  Sometimes those stories are right in front of us and we just need to open our eyes and look at our surroundings a little different.

Its been a little while since I’ve actually done a documentary photography project, just for the sake of itself.  I’ve spent the last few months wandering about and I’ve run across some good stories but none that leaped out at me and said- “here I am and I’m a fascinating story!”  In fact, most of the stories to this point have been excellent as a written story, which has been a wonderful, happy accident.

But now I’ve landed in this odd little community that seems to have a story under every rock and every RV and its almost overwhelming to know where to start.  I have several story ideas that have been bouncing around in my head since my last visit seven years ago, and while I will incorporate them into the larger story, just knowing where to start and with what person or subject is a challenge.

My Aunt and her cousin playing Skip-Bo before dinner.

My Aunt and her husband's cousin playing Skip-Bo before dinner.

Several nights ago, I sat around the dinner table with my aunt and her friends playing cards and talking about their day.  My aunt had prepared the ingredients for a stir-fry but had yet to start cooking, they were engrossed in their game of Skip-Bo.  My uncle is a man who takes charge when he has a desired outcome, and for a man in his mid-eighties, this has taken him far in life.  So, he just walks over to the stove and starts turning on the burners and fiddling with the food.  My aunt is fussing at him and laughing at the same time, trying to wrestle him out of the the tiny kitchen of the single wide trailer and win her card game.  I started to take photos with my cell phone and as I was composing my pictures, it hit me.  This is my story.  Its right in front of me.

My uncle initiating dinner preparations.

My family owns an RV park in the deserts of Arizona in a town where the population swells from a few thousand to a million during January and February when the snowbirds and the swap meets and gem stone traders all converge on this tiny little town.  Its a clash of so many demographics it boggles the mind when you first arrive.  My uncle bought the RV park, named Happy J’s, many decades ago and has kept his park simple and family oriented.   The surrounding parks have all expended and embraced modernity, adding WiFi and other amenities.  The main house, or single wide trailer is where they stay and is a community gathering location for the residents of the RV park, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s.  Soup luncheons, family style dinners and coffee on the porch are a regular occurrence.  And each person that lives here, be it for a couple months in the winter or year round, has almost a century of history within them.

One of the couples left to return to their home and most of the park stopped by to say goodbye.  They had reserved this spot for many years and made it their second home.  But due to the husband’s failing health, they decided to vacate their beloved spot and return to their permanent home near their children in Colorado.  It was rather sad to watch, because for many of them, this could be their last goodbye.  I started to look at the community a little differently in watching this farewell and began to ask some internal questions.

Will the generation behind this one pick up the retirement reins and follow suit or is this the final generation that will be able to retire and live this lifestyle?  Will there be more people embracing this alternative lifestyle later in life or will they be unable to leave their lifestyles behind for this simpler way of living?  Or will my generation get fed up with the system that was created and implemented by this older generation and embrace their mode of retirement earlier in our lives?

So, my project will be about Happy J’s trailer park.  And will branch into the community through the members of the park, Jack the manager and president of the Gem and Mineral Club, Roma, the sweet little woman in the corner trailer who is a Bingo hound and loves to gamble, and the few who I have yet to meet but whose stories are fascinating- I’m sure.

I believe there is a broader story as well about the town, an essay about Quartzsite.  The Reader’s Oasis with the owner who is a nudist and wears just a hat and shoes to work, the born again christian of the Rainbow Family who bikes to every destination and has chose a life without possessions, the vendors who sell their wares at the local swap meet, the daily auction under the big tent and the desert golf tournament (desert golf involves one club and getting the ball in the giant circle in the sand that surrounds the “hole”).

So, I am going to take you on the journey with me as I document these stories.  I will post an article or essay on the days that I shoot and talk about both the process and the subjects.  I will be shooting black and white film- yes, FILM! And will also take you through that process- once the processing starts.  Join me on the journey of creating a photo essay.  could be interesting!

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7 Essential Equipment Needs for the Nomadic Digital Photographer & Storyteller

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I’ll be placing my digital nomadic visual journalist hat on for this entry.  Whew, a mouthful.

Packing is an art-form and for the digital storyteller, packing is one part art, one part physics and one part miracle.  Anyone who has had to sprint through the Atlanta concourse lugging 40+ pounds of gear in order to catch the last connecting flight home after 4 days of flying from the far reaches of the world can attest to the essential art of packing.

Carrying a Heavy Load in Sangihe, Indonesia

Carrying a Heavy Load in Sangihe, Indonesia

I’m going to look at the essential hardware elements needed to produce your visual content on the road, with weight and space as major elements of concern.

1.  The Still Camera. Obviously, this is one of the most important parts.  Let’s assume that you don’t have the shiny new 5D Mark II which makes this a non-issue. Are you more of a videographer and less of a still photographer?  Then lugging your DSLR might not be the best option for you.  Leica (go to the site and drool, just a little) and Canon both have excellent point and shoot hybrid cameras that can meet your multimedia needs without having to lug the DSLR and all her lenses around in your travels.  The more non-essential elements you can compress into one device, both in size and usability the better.

But for the DSLR shooter whose work is heavily weighted in still photography, the essential hardware will entail the camera (Captain obvious here) a wide zoom and a telephoto.  Or, if you’re shooting heavily for editorial outlets, you’ll want two bodies for each main lens.  Two bodies, a 16-35 mm zoom and 70-200 mm zoom and one portrait lens should do; plus batteries a flash and more batteries. That should fill your bags and your weight limit.  Add your laptop and you’re looking at 40+ lb.  At this point, you’ll want to debate the merits of shooting video as well and the size of your audio equipment.  Or arrange a porter/Sherpa for your destination- not likely.

I often have this camera debate, as I am conflicted when it comes to my DSLR.  I would prefer to shoot my still digital images with one camera at a fixed focal length of 28 mm.  The technology is almost at an acceptable level with the higher end point and shoots and smaller 4/3rds SLR cameras that this goal of one small multimedia device is almost attainable for me.  I would prefer to shift my limited weight capacity and space for my film SLR, my 28 mm and 20-50 rolls of BW film.
2.  The Video Gear. Assuming you’re shooting heavily on the stills, I’d stick to a small consumer camcorder that shoots HD.

I use a Canon Vixia HV30 that shoots on HD tapes and it fits well in my bag and is very light.  I am about to use this for stills as well and test out its ability to shoot small short form street multimedia videos (the Crackberry is only so fulfilling as a multimedia tool).  This topic is open for debate as is its still camera brethren.  If you are a heavy video shooter, you’re video gear will go beyond the scope of this article and you may not have any room left for all the fancy still gear from the above point.

3.  The Audio Kit. This, for me, is almost as essential as the still camera.  If you are a heavy still shooter, you can almost eliminate or minimize the video footage as long as you have excellent audio gear.  Audio is key.  Because no, you can’t just slap some music to your documentary images and have a story.  You need to put the audience in the room with your subject.  And this is done through sounds and the subject’s own words.

Marantz is still one of the best audio device producers with the Olympus Zoom running closely behind.  I have worked with both of the Marantz devices used by most journalists today and chose to invest in the smallest version.  Its not perfect, but the size is.  You will also want some excellent headphones and a shotgun mic.  These are not cheap and they take up valuable space, but they are essential to capturing quality audio.  I always bring two backup XLR cords plus adapters and a cheap backup mic.  And if I’m traveling to the remote jungles of Indonesia, I bring a backup Sony MD recorder.  Just in case.  Seriously, if you’re a multimedia storyteller and you don’t have the audio, you don’t have a story.  No, narration is not an option.  Well, it is, but not the best option.  Your subjects trusted you to tell their story, don’t screw it up by botching the audio.  Enough said.

4.  The Laptop. Essential.  Essential.  Essential.  PC vs. Mac.  Two years ago, I would have said there was no question, but with the advent of the PC net books, I am revisiting the issue.

This all depends on the type of content you are gathering and if you’ll be producing on the road or just downloading the content to your external devices.  If you are producing video or want to work at all with video/audio content, then the Mac is essential.  Net books are great in size, but they don’t have the power for serious processing and obviously can’t run Final Cut.  Mac has reissued the smaller Macbook Pro, so that’s a plus, but they aren’t entering the net book realm, yet.  Besides, could you imagine trying to edit video on an eight inch screen?  I piss and moan when I have to edit without my second monitor, the thought of an eight inch screen makes my eyeballs hurt.  But, the thought of writing in a coffee shop on a tiny little laptop that fits in my hip bag- heavenly!

5.  Backup Storage. Another necessity!!  You must have backups for your backups.  I can’t stress this enough.  Here’s a snapshot of my digital workflow on the road and why backup is essential.

After I upload the images to Lightroom, I export them to my external hard drive.  I use a Lacie Rugged. No, you can not use your normal external desktop hard drive.  It is not meant for backpacks and hostels and will crash and burn with all your content inside.  Poof, gone.  After the content is on the Rugged, I take the top edit and export it to my thumbnail 8 gig flash drive and put it in a separate bag from the rest of my gear.  This contains only the top edit due to the size of the drive.  I then take the top edit and second edit, and depending on the internet speed of the country I’m in, I upload it to my Photoshelter account and/or my Box.net server.  This is backup for my backup.  Once the images are in the ‘cloud’ I can sleep.  If my gear is stolen or dropped in a raging Himalayan river, my images are safe in the arms of the internet.  If internet speed is a problem, I burn DVDs of the top edits and mail them home.  Yes, its anal, I get that, but I’m not traveling across the world, risking my sanity to tell a story and then lose all the images because of human error.

6.  A Bag.  Or two.  I daydream and concoct elaborate schemes to cary all the above gear in one rolling bag that converts to a backpack.  Good luck with that.  I envy the flash-packers and would love nothing more than to toss a couple shirts and pants into a backpack with a net book and call it done.  But that’s not going to happen.

I use Think Tank, love them, love their work and they make my life easier.  I am currently using the Urban Disguise 50 that holds my still, video and audio gear along with my laptop.  Its a tight squeeze, but it fits.  I also use their hip belt with a few bags connected for shooting in the field.  I try not to check bags on overseas flights, so this gets a little dicey when it comes time to pack.  I usually spend between 5-8 hours packing, repacking and analyzing every item in my bag and its relevance 48 hours before departure.  The timing also gives me time to make any last minute major equipment adjustments.  I am still reevaluating my approach and my shooting methods in order to keep the bag as light as possible.  Its a never ending process, but with advancing technology, the chore gets a little easier each year.

7.  Moleskins. Yep, Moleskins journals are essential and I never leave home without them.  Not even to go to the grocery store.

You never know when a story will cross your path, so a moleskin is just as important as the camera.  And there’s nothing more exciting then embarking on a journey with 2-3 blank journals just waiting to be filled with your brainstorms and brilliant ideas.  And don’t forget your lucky pen.  You know you have one, the pen that just feels good and inspires greatness.  Bring it.  The chewed up pen from the hostel front desk won’t do your Moleskin justice.

I’m sure I’m leaving out a few essentials and there are 1000 ways to pack for a digital storyteller.  This is just my way.  I will be revisiting this topic often in the near future!

Feel free to post your essentials below!

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