TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Monday, January 17, 2005

7:56 AM
Posted by jodi rose

well, you know the scary thing about that is finding out I actually DO know many of those media artists. hmmm/ still don't feel a part of that 'scene' though, but maybe no-one ever does. on the picnic at clovelly yesterday, friends of anns came along and knew most of them too. strange. had a really nice chat with kate richards on our walk along the cliffs, about the whole making art thing. it's quite odd, I haven't played the CD to anyone, but am releasing 500 copies in a few weeks. oh well, have had input and feedback along the way, and now I'm actually kind of confident (love all those qualifiers in that sentence) that I've got the material to where it needs to go and I can take it. also, it is what it is. a record of a journey, different experiments and interactions with bridges and people.

went along to record audio documentation at the aware masterclass for esther - had some really good conversations with the participants, and organisers for a future radio program. i like the way doing an informal interview with people lets you engage with their ideas and philosophy in ways that you don't necessarily get to in conversation.

this morning is first studio booking for musique concrete program. a little undercooked, but will sketch out a framework for the musical pieces and set up parameters, dates, definitions etc. am looking for people to interview, so if you or anyone you know has ideas about musique concrete in the 50's, or how it has influenced musical practice today - get in touch.

it's lovely and storm cloudy here. a few days at the beach - yes forced to take time off and hang out with my lovely finnish friends [ok I know they're scottish and welsh but context is helsinki] although my head is spinning at the amount of urgent work to do in the next few weeks. would like to clone myself x 5, and then supervise and oversee the clones. that or have an assistant. but it always relaxes me when the sun stops shining and you don't feel that imperative to get out there and enjoy the world.
dark, ominous, melancholic weather suits me much better.
so for anyone still asking WHY? does she want to go hang out in finland so much (mum...) that would be part of it.

trying to stay on track with creative part of your work is monumental at the moment. it's like being swirled in those washing machine waves at bronte, things just keep coming and knock you off course. good and bad.

quote from Peter Weir on that wall of photos in the Chauvel:
'It is so difficult to keep your intuition protected.
Success fouls it up.
All sorts of pressure groups can get in the way. Anything that says you should go this way, for logical reasons, when your intuition says you should go that way, even if it may seem crazy.
You should protect that curious inner beacon that knows no logic.
And [protect your] passion.
I think in a sense you have got to be on fire, to be unstoppable with the project. And it is very attractive. it attracts people to you.'

so, yes, taking time out to stoke that inner fire. think a few nights at bronte will help, especially if it's stormy.

had a marvellous conversation with norma disher, a friend of my grandparents who made documentary films with the trade union (or waterside workers federation, can't remember exactly) film unit in the 50's. talking about how they would sit down around a typewriter to plan what to do, and then had one 16mm bolex camera, a tripod and a light metre. Norma made the trim bins from calico, and they had a splicer and handheld viewer. In the years since, their work has been used by many people, documentary made about them, books written - she said their technique of creating archival footage themselves with dramatised doco style hadn't been done before (in aust at least, I don't know about the rest of the world) and people would ask, where did you get that archival footage? we shot it ourselves. very inspiring to hear about, and a reminder that you don't need all the fancy equipment and technical stuff, like the kids [and films] today with cameras that do everything, digital FX, and editing on the laptop, but maybe not enough development of concept, story, character - you need a good idea and a way to express it.
that's the rant for today. see ya.