tech-savvy

it's one of those weekends when i feel vindicated; like all the work i put into my studies really pays off- it's hard to see how certain skills apply when you're restricted to classrooms. this weekend i really got to stretch my arms and do some stuff for fun.

in high school, i loved working with the theatre. i never really acted (i was always in the chorus) and i never really did tech, just some set building and flat moving, but i was always in love with the magic of the stage. after senior year i never expected to be involved with it again, but luckily, i am. lexi hubb has been directing the "vagina monologues" for the past three years, and i've run tech for the past two. it's a small play, and the tech is as simple as it gets, but i still have the chance to sit in the catwalks and watch the whole thing unfold. it never gets old. recently, i also got to sit in on an MFA theatre project and critique the work in progress. i don't know very much about theatrical theory, and i'm fairly sure that my ignorance showed, but it was still interesting to experience.

film is quickly becoming my passion. over the past two years i've grown obsessed with movies- how they're made, what they mean, what i can do. i've never had a production class, but i've been trying pretty hard to learn through contact. today i learned that clothespins on set are called "bullets," that lightposts are called "c-stands," and that a tiny tripod is called a "high-hat." this is probably basic stuff for EMF kids- i'm jealous that i'll never get to learn it all officially. being a PA on set was great- clipboard in one hand, clapper in the other, light meter around my neck, tools in my pockets. it's a great feeling. i even got to do a rack focus on the camera!

i was initially called onto set for props, and sergio used many of my paintings in all of the shots. he also needed a sculpture quite suddenly, and i sculpted a bust for him in half an hour.

two days of shooting for a ten-minute film... it's a lifestyle i could easily love.