Just some moments from a trip down the river yesterday.
It’s a funny thing – I probably wouldn’t post this if it weren’t for NaVloPoMo. Because it’s aspiring to be something it’s not.
I wanted to do NaVloPoMo because I thought it’d make me feel more comfortable posting just *anything* without judging it too much. I wonder whether it’s having the opposite effect. Seeing all the amazing things other people are posting has made me dissatisfied with the kind of stuff I’m doing with this phone.
It’s made me realise that I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with my mobile phone’s aesthetic limitations. It shoots good *resolution* for a phone but I don’t really like the colours, the contrast, the *character* of the video it makes.
So while it’s great for capturing personal human moments and posting them in the moment, without frills, it’s not so good for taking moving snapshots of *things* that I see and want to photograph. The images just look flat, and dull.
I know that making things on my phone has got me making things and posting more often, which is great. And the aesthetic limitation has stopped me getting too hung up about what I make, which is also great.
But in NaVloPoMo I wanted to post a whole load of different types of films up, and some of them just won’t work with this phone. I want to start playing with a proper camera again.
And the truth is, I haven’t got time to. It’s already causing tension at home, the amount of time I’m spending at my computer for NaVloPoMo – and all I’ve posted are simple single-shot nothingy little snapshots. The time spent cutting the San Francisco film last week and this film today are just *too much*.
So I guess I’m stuck with my phone and its boring image quality. And that’s what I’ve got to work with this month. That’s my challenge. Fight the aspirational demons that tell me that you’re all making more interesting videos than me. Fuck it. Just post stuff. And talk. Create and connect. Kill the artist. π
And yeah, yeah, I know… a bad workman blames his tools…
I like slice-of-life videos like this. Having neither the equipment nor the talent to produce the kinds of “arty” videos that a lot of people do, this is the kind of thing that I like to make myself. It gives a good taste of what part of your life is like — but you can keep the mushy peas — had those at a G&S Festival in Buxton several years ago and I was not impressed. I like my pees petite and bright green.
Hey you. As your friend, I am going to tell you this. Dont you dare put down what you are doing. You are capturing those moments that will live forever and will be gone as memories fade. Quality means nothing when doing that. It’s the essence of the moment that is important here and by god you are successfully doing that!
If you want to make something more artistic, you are fully capable of doing it and you know how to resolve that. Besides, there already is a sense of artistry doing what you are doing and how you present it.
Rupert. Lea and I love these scenes that you show us. So do many many other people. The images are NOT flat, dull or boring. They are far from it. Quality be damned. What you do is by far some of the most interesting work that is around.
Why?
Because. It’s. Real.
NaVloPoMo is only 4 days old. You have plenty of time to do what you want to do. No need to try and fit everything you want to do with your videos in a few days. Take your time. Breathe. Enjoy life.
Would you please stop thinking about unimportant things and just post stuff as you did so far? Thank you! π It’s not the image quality we are looking for here… it’s the story.
Think about it as a good book. It can be on worst ever paper, but the content will still be great.
So please make another video and post it as soon as possible!
GG
It’s funny how we, as artists, can hardly ever see the value in our own work. David gets upset with his art and the number of views, you struggle with the “quality” of your vids, and me…well I just think I suck… π
You are capturing moments in time, helping to preserve memories….that is so important, trust me…..During my parents 2nd divorce from each other, (yes, they married, divorced, married again and then divorced again, it was a joy, let me tell you) but during that time, in an effort to “hurt” my mother, my father destroyed most of the family pictures. I was in junior high, I think…(that time in my life, tends to bled together, in my memories) anyway….I have no pictures of my childhood, well I have maybe a small handful, but birthdays, christmas’s, just random moments in time….I have none…all because my dad and mom were mad at each other….I know that there were good times in my early childhood, but they are so hard to remember because I have nothing to stimulate my memory moduales….so mostly what I remember is the bad……
I would hope you never stop, you are an artist, and you inspire me daily, no bullshit, no lie, just the simple and plain truth……
You make me laugh hard in a quite house. Running down the stairs, being late. Know that feeling all to well. Should make a remix of all the times you’re late and running, would be great.
The way you portray yourself and your family shows great love and energy. Don’t forget to share that with the one close to you (and I don’t mean the camera). Keep focused. Feel, experience life to the max together with your loved ones and push the record button ones in a while to solidify (my personal mantra) and share. DO NOT see your life as the stage for video’s or your personal ambition in the end you’ll hate yourself for it.
There’s such beauty, and depth and hilarity in these small moments. And thus artistry.
Plus you’ve achieved something truly wonderful getting NaVloPoMo off the ground. You’ve inspired a great many people to be creative on a daily basis. That’s quite an incredible achievement. And you did it. We may all have nervous breakdowns by the end of the month (well me anyway), but that’s beside the point.
If you get the chance to film other than with the n93 then do. If not, use the tools at you disposal. We’ll see the creativity, feel the passion and ogle in wonder no matter what.
Oh, and I think I saw the influence of Wan Kar Wai as you sped down the stairs and out of the house. So I’m impressed.
Something would get lost using another camera.
There’s something raw about the phone that I like.
Rupert, I second all the supportive words you’ve gotten here in your comments section. When your life is such that you’ve got the time to sit down and make the uber-artsy film you are aspiring to, then you will do that. But right now, what you have time for is showing these moments, with the modern equivalent of the 8mm camera that put film in the hands of the average dude so many years ago. I agree with David that your images are not flat and boring. And with Aaron, that there’s something in their rawness that I would miss if you switched to a “higher quality” camera. I’m so deeply moved nearly every time you make a post – by your enthusiasm and your honesty, your unabashed goofiness, and your love for vlogging and vloggers. And I’ve just fallen head over heels for little Amy – such a beautiful child. You’re inspiring all of us, making a difference in our lives. Go Rupert! Fuck work! NaVloPoMo!
Rupert, as your wife, fan, friend and most obvious source of “tension” at home, I am going to speak up and out! All of these comments are right and you must not lose heart. As Erik says, it is hard to keep that balance of experiencing life and really being there with us (that’s me and Amy) whilst also finding the time to capture these moments but this video is a perfect example of how well you do that. I was there. I saw you, talked to you even and yet I had NO idea that you were making this video – which is a funny, dramatic and moving slice of life. If you had more equipment, this would not have been possible! You are a master in catching your life whilst living it to the full. I join in Cheryl’s chairleading – go rupert, go rupert, NaVLoPoMO (whatever that stands for – forgive me my forever computer illiteracy!)xxxxxx
I mean, no idea you were filming MOST of it (obviously, i knew when the camera was pointed at me!)but then how quickly and surreptitiously you cut it together and make it into something bigger…
Hi Rupert and all,
Great video. great life. just continue in that path. this video in particular is so so intense, and diverse, and also in your own individual style.
and this NaVLoPoMO month is your beautiful idea, and this group is off course loving it.
it’s going to be a good month for everyone and for the whole also as an intense colective experience.
… now, i am going to open up final cut and edit something nice for our NaVLoPoMO thing.
keep the magic flowing.
π
1. Rupert, you are a wonderful diarist. When I watch your stuff I feel like I’m seeing the birth of something really new. With all the first person diaristic video out there, something about your approach makes me sit up and be present. Just because you feel an urge to work with other forms, other cameras, whatever, doesn’t mean you should dis what you are doing. It is wonderful.
2. I think these Nokias are the new lomos. There is something so wonderfully weird about the almost-normal color and the lens distortion getting filtered through that EXTREME rolling shutter that makes the image bend and twist. The aesthetic is just getting started.
3. All that said, and much as I hope you KEEP GOING in the direction you’re going, the message I’m getting from participating in NaVloPoMo is DO WHAT YOU WANT. It’s realizing how much is missed by NOT following those impulses with the internal censor switched off. So whatever it is, Rupert, please do what you want and know we’re watching!
Brook
Do I have to come over there and smack you upside your head? Loosely translated this means:
Dear Rupert,
Where you live is nothing like where I live. Your are giving me the opportunity to better understand you, your family and your environment. These videos are priceless beyond your current expectation.
If we hadn’t met the videos still have a value to me because I get to see a different kind of UK than what is presented to me in the States.
It was funny that you ran to catch the ferry with the camera going full tilt and you kept the focus and made the ferry. The videos are fine, they are telling stories. We like stories. We really like the stories you are creating via the cell phone.
Now, I don’t want to put too fine a point on this but if you touch another dang camera between now and the end of the month we might have an cyber-uprising in the making. Shoot and upload, spend time with wife and kid. Sleep. Kiss wife. Shoot and upload. Repeat.
Now find a cheap medium to purge the ghost of Hitchcock out of you body and relax your head bone baby. You are doing fine. Really.
Wow, I don’t know where to start. Thank you all. Sorry, I was having a bit of an irrational freak out, due to lack of time, limited kit, abundance of inspiration and many, many beautiful films and moments being posted by other people.
I love what I do here. When I have the time and the space to think about and choose what I do, this is what I want to do, at the moment. I take great pride in it and think about how to develop it. It’s much closer than anything else to the kind of filmmaking and writing and *living* I wanted for years, but couldn’t find because there wasn’t a distribution channel or an audience.
So many things each of you have said that I want to talk about – but I won’t write another essay.
Back to life. Back to reality. Back to the here and now – YEAH π
ugh…where to begin, so many comments…..
“rupert, rupert the bear, everyone sing his name….rupert, rupert the bear, everyone come and join, in all of his games”
I’m really showing my age on that one, which NO-ONE will get I’m sure
Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, boy I miss England sometimes. Really think about moving beck there when I see shit like this.
And all that loverly grub. Real fish and chips. you dont know how much I crave REAL English F&C!!!
Amy is so adorable. you are really lucky dude. And Gaige has that exact Thomas toy. i love how toddlers have to bring their toys EVERYWHERE, restaurants and all. Gaige has a Mater (from Pixar ‘Cars’) toy that is is glued to just like that.
And I’ll chime in along with the rest and reiterate those sentiments. Dude, you are a fucking genius with this shit. Fuck quality. Quality is for ponces. For fakers. You are the real deal man. I started by trying to use my Panasonic 3 chip miniDV cam and set up lighting and focus and a monitor. And that first episode took like 3 hours to produce. Total wank. Yeah the picture was nice but so what. Then I saw you were using a cell phone and re-evaluated thiings. Got my little FLiP recorder that shoots crappy DIVX AVIs, no zoom, poor audio. But damn that thing goes everywhere with me. I’m shooting more video now than ever and it all looks like crap and I dont care π
Okay without getting too lame, you are responsible for me getting in to this crap. If I didnt bump into you on Twitter I never would be trying this out myself, and would never have found Valdez or Gogen or David Howell or Cheryl or Croma and all the brilliant work they do. Everyday I check your site to see if there is any new crazy antics posted. It’s so real and spontaneous and uncontrived, its magical.
Thanks dude, I’ll shut up now.
PS, I’m not bent and trying to bum you in the chubby π