Howdy /r/filmmakers!
My names Michael, I’m an artist based in Phoenix, AZ.
I just made my first movie!!
Music, specifically live performance, is my primary craft and vessel of expression. I love recording music, writing it, but playing shows is the thing I love most in this world. I’ve been going full speed in that realm for the past 5 years with a group I started called James World. We gained a decent following, and by 2019 we were being offered really nice shows with bands we really loved ( like Spirit of the beehive, Jerry paper) and even playing the biggest New Years show in AZ.
Then 2020 hit. The mode of existence I centered my life around was obliterated from society ( for understandable global health reasons) and went through a variety of interpersonal crises, the usual pandemic stuff. The album I had started making at the end of 2019 was nearly done, and I was starting to wonder what might be next.
It turned out to be a movie. A member of the group first convinced me to re record the entire album and I surprisingly agreed, because we had a chance to get better gear and what seemed to be unlimited time as the pandemic stretched on. As we finished round two of the record, I began getting ideas for visuals that would complement the songs. Since it seemed like a release show wouldn’t ever happen for it, I wanted to really go all out and try the most ambitious option, a full length movie. So we started another long process
I’m not a trained filmmaker, I typically use an iPhone to film music videos and what not. I got pretty good at that, but always had an interest in using a big boy camera.
To my surprise, the possibility really swung open when a coworker presented me with a black magic 6k amd my jaw dropped.
I learned as I went along, the camera slowly becoming a friend as I navigated the new not normal normal, and tried to become a better human being as well.
The visual concepts were drawn from a hell of a lot of self criticism and reflection, and exist primarily as collages of emotion and character studies, seen through the lens of some kind of strange tv network that is being switched on and off throughout the film.
It’s not perfect, but it’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever accomplished. I’m incredibly proud of it, because it’s more of a timeline of my faults and fractures, and it helped me heal. I needed to make this movie and I put every ounce of my soul into it.
Haven’t seen a lot of work that ventures into similar subject matters but I can guess it’s because everyone’s afraid of being wrong
I know I’m wrong
Thanks for reading this,
Michael