The Rough Cut is Done

After two weeks of solid editing, my rough cut for my trip to The Gambia, Africa is complete. After showing to several people, I will now complete the final edits this week and it will show next weekend at church. Pretty exciting! I have edited 25 hours of material down to 10 minutes and this week I want to get the final cut to 9 minutes.

23 Hours of Fun

Going back to work today, armed with 23 hours of mini-DV from my trip to Africa, a 1 TB external FireWire hard drive, and enough work to employ a small army. No wonder I woke up before 5:00 AM. Jet lag and a side of anxiety.

Initial Thoughts on My Trip to The Gambia

For many years, I have wanted to come to Africa. I have read about it, seen movies about it, heard songs about it, but it wasn't until I finally traveled to Africa that I realized that I really didn't know anything about Africa and why people end up living the way they do. Extreme poverty, health issues, hunger, thirst, all that things that can destroy an entire continent. Yet, these things ultimately don't stop the Gambians. They continue to live, to eat, to drink in the worst conditions; hot, dry, dirty, smelly. They work a grueling day for about $5, just enough to hopefully feed their families that night. If they didn't make anything, they would not eat. They devote themselves to a religion that doesn't help them, and they are surrounded by tourists.

In some ways, it could seem that they invite you into their misery so that they could have a taste of our good life. But what it comes down to is that they end up teaching you about sincerity, hard work, survival, contentment, and gratitude. All things that you can't truly know until you see their joy in life.

To be among the poor in America and come here, I realize that I am a "two-bob," a rich man, here in the Gambia. I make more in a month than they will in a year. And that makes me think, why does one human's life have more value than another’s? Is it only because of the country I live in, or is there something else that determines the worth of a human life?

All in all, this trip was life changing. It confirmed what I believe God has made me to do, and it showed me what contentment is all about.

Art of the Interview and Lighting Workshops

Well, it was a great weekend of learning some valuable information in the areas of interviewing people and lighting them. The lighting class was great in that it provided some fundamental lighting principles that I haven't really had the chance to play around with since I went to art school. The hands-on portion of the class was great and seeing the ways that you can manipulate and sculpt light was amazing and very exciting.

More inspiring and motivating was the art of the interview class. It lit a fire of excitement for what I do that I haven't really felt in some time. Seeing the process at which I work, and not being afraid of taking chances in asking tough questions, will hopefully push me towards some amazing moments in my upcoming trip to The Gambia.

All in all, the whole idea of a weekend of workshops is not only a brilliant idea, but you get to meet people that are doing exactly what you are, and that is worth a lot.

Jelly Beans

I took pictures of jelly beans today. That was the highlight of my day. Except for LOST of course.

Commercials

Life would be much simpler without commercials. TV shows that are supposed to be an hour would actually be an hour. Lost would be found in the missing minutes interrupted by the constant noise of consumerism. Heroes would actually save the world instead of telling me that I need to feel insecure about the 1987 Crown Victoria that I drive instead of the brand new Toyota Corolla. Do commercials exist for the sole purpose of making me feel so crappy about my life because I don't own the latest and greatest phone, car, internet service, beer, or lubricant jelly? In the words of my wife, "they do honey." Correction. "They do comma honey."

The Gambia; Workshops; Rebel Without a Crew; The Power of Inspirational Friends

My two week trip to The Gambia, Africa is steadily approaching, and I am starting to get really excited. I have had my yellow fever, hepatitis-a, and tetanus shots, as well as filled prescription for malaria medicine. I have purchased over 30 hours of mini-dv tape, a 16GB CompactFlash card, a circular polarizer, and a nice big backpack; everything that I need in order to video and photograph this trip. I'm looking forward to an interesting trip outside of my comfort zone. I have wanted to go to Africa for almost ten years now, and it is finally a reality.

As I go into this trip, I am looking forward to two film production workshops that I am taking this weekend. The first is on the art of the interview and how to draw out the story as you interview people. The second is on lighting. Two areas that I definitely enjoy learning more about.

I just purchased "Rebel Without a Crew," by Robert Rodriguez. So far I am loving what he is saying, more to come as I digest this book.

There is nothing like a friend that inspires you.

Update

This weekend I weighed in at 218. I have lost 68 pounds since I started my journey on Weight Watchers last May. My next weigh-in is on my 29th birthday this coming Saturday. Will I reach the 70 lbs. milestone?

Crazy to think that I am one year away from being thirty.