Meryem Ersoz
April 23rd, 2013, 07:19 AM
Wow, it's great to see the UWOL energy still going strong and pioneering into new realms of ambition! and insanity!
also glad to hear that Chris still has the archives and can make them available...some remarkable, inspirational, unforgettable, and touching moments are in those archives....
I think that making collaborative projects is a logical and intelligent step towards developing yourself as a filmmaker. it's always great to be able to run around by yourself with your camera. collaboration, however, is a great teacher and will, by its very nature, take you all (UWOL) to new arenas of development in the craft.
Trond asked me to supply a few notes - words of advice - whatever. The more I know, the less I know but here goes:
Keep your core concepts simple. Let complexity arise from the simplicity. I cannot stress this enough. The more people you involve, the more that complexity will arise naturally - you don't need to create it.
Have core concepts which you stress often and refer back to often. Express those core commitments periodically so that you can re-commit to them. Otherwise the proliferation of opinions and ideas, which are great in the beginning when the energy is high, will create a "dispersal effect" where lots of great ideas and opinions get bandied about but nothing gets done.
A director is a good idea. Someone who holds the vision and the core concept for everyone with unflagging energy and enthusiasm. As a corollary to that - it's much harder than it sounds. What looks easy from the outside, is a lot of work, on the inside.
UWOL is lucky to have a guiding hand like Lorinda, in that regard, who keeps it light and makes it look easy - when it is not! Which she may only admit over beers (or some other weird adult beverage, in the wee hours of the night). Keeping the juice flowing and the energy directed is almost a fulltime job itself. It is a tried and true, efficient way to get things done.
That director will need core support - I was lucky, very lucky, to have Railsback and Thompson drop into my lap. I could not have asked for better teammates. We disagreed frequently and sometimes vehemently but respected each other, always, and remain bonded for life to this day, from our UWOL experiences.
So having a committee is a good idea, it keeps things collaborative but also keeps the energy centralized - at the same time.
Let your leaders and your players make mistakes. It will happen. Be forgiving. Be loving. Release judgment.
those are a few ruminations, for what they are worth. But I think, as in all things UWOL, the infamous rule #11 is always the key.
Have fun!
also glad to hear that Chris still has the archives and can make them available...some remarkable, inspirational, unforgettable, and touching moments are in those archives....
I think that making collaborative projects is a logical and intelligent step towards developing yourself as a filmmaker. it's always great to be able to run around by yourself with your camera. collaboration, however, is a great teacher and will, by its very nature, take you all (UWOL) to new arenas of development in the craft.
Trond asked me to supply a few notes - words of advice - whatever. The more I know, the less I know but here goes:
Keep your core concepts simple. Let complexity arise from the simplicity. I cannot stress this enough. The more people you involve, the more that complexity will arise naturally - you don't need to create it.
Have core concepts which you stress often and refer back to often. Express those core commitments periodically so that you can re-commit to them. Otherwise the proliferation of opinions and ideas, which are great in the beginning when the energy is high, will create a "dispersal effect" where lots of great ideas and opinions get bandied about but nothing gets done.
A director is a good idea. Someone who holds the vision and the core concept for everyone with unflagging energy and enthusiasm. As a corollary to that - it's much harder than it sounds. What looks easy from the outside, is a lot of work, on the inside.
UWOL is lucky to have a guiding hand like Lorinda, in that regard, who keeps it light and makes it look easy - when it is not! Which she may only admit over beers (or some other weird adult beverage, in the wee hours of the night). Keeping the juice flowing and the energy directed is almost a fulltime job itself. It is a tried and true, efficient way to get things done.
That director will need core support - I was lucky, very lucky, to have Railsback and Thompson drop into my lap. I could not have asked for better teammates. We disagreed frequently and sometimes vehemently but respected each other, always, and remain bonded for life to this day, from our UWOL experiences.
So having a committee is a good idea, it keeps things collaborative but also keeps the energy centralized - at the same time.
Let your leaders and your players make mistakes. It will happen. Be forgiving. Be loving. Release judgment.
those are a few ruminations, for what they are worth. But I think, as in all things UWOL, the infamous rule #11 is always the key.
Have fun!