Happy Holidays

This is my last blog for December. From tomorrow I'm taking a month off with the family.  Thanks to everyone who has been following my musings and work. I really appreciate your time, the feedback and the work that has grown from it.  I'm looking forward to sharing more next year. Hope you all have a great Christmas. Lots of love.

Brendan

Balance vs Harmony

Mind and Flow are integral to creativity.  There is a time for thinking through the idea - conceptualising and planning. Then there is time for doing the idea - being in the flow of the work.

Take my costume sketches of the past two days as example. I begin by reading the play. Then the mind works hard and fast visualising ideas. I draw quickly. Loosely I capture those ideas as best I can. The mind exhausts quickly. It's not particularly sustainable for long periods of time.  I give it 20min to an hour then I'm done.  For the next few hours I rest the mind and get into flow. For 5 hours I work on those rough doodles. I don't tire. I focus on details, line quality, texture, shade.  Of course I'm making decisions constantly but these are unconscious rather than conscious. Less mind more doing.

The process cycles continually through my practise, weekly daily and down to the moment.

I have often heard artists suggest the importance of balance.  Balance isn't quite the right word here. Balance suggests an equality of proportion.  Equal proportion of mind and work can not be balanced. They're not meant to be.  I prefer to use the word 'Harmony' rather than balance.  It is important for an artist to have a harmony within their practise. Not a balance. Harmony means giving things their appropriate space within the composition of the whole.

This extends to all our work and lifestyle.  By always trying to achieve work/life balance we are actually fighting ourselves. We are creating unnecessary resistance. It is far better to pursue a work/life 'harmony'.

Ambition

Ambition and ego are almost inseparable from youth. With time we grow beyond a 'me' focus, become empathetic to others and put self second. As ego fades what becomes the place of ambition?

Ambition for an artist is often a distraction. Artists work best when they are in the 'flow'. Flow is when the 'act of the task' offers all the fulfilment the artist needs. Fulfilment doesn't exist in achievement or recognition later down the track. Flow is where artists make the richest creations.

What of ambition then? What is its place? Ambition is not connected to the work of the moment. It is connected to the future. It is connected to foreseeing where work will lead. For this reason ambition is important to identify and use wisely. It is naive to discard it simply as ego and render it useless.

I recently heard of 'Tohunga' or 'master practitioner' described as someone who recognises signs and events to track what future outcome lays ahead. This person is skilled in leading others along this path without explicitly giving away the path. Giving away the path would of course render the journey pointless for the student.

Connecting dots toward a future uses all the same skills we learn from youthful 'ambition'.  It is certainly a skill we have come to expect of the ambitious stock trader or entrepreneur. A master artist then is not one who is without ambition. Quite the contrary. The master artist is one who has conquered ambition.  A master artist can work in the moment, be in the flow, without distraction of the future.  In conjunction with this the master can use ambition as his tool.  This tool allows the master to see where things will lead. This tool will also lead others in their journey toward becoming a master themselves.

Recognise ambition for its worth.

'Earthquakes in London'

Toi Whakaari is producing 'Earthquakes in London' in 2013.   Oliver Morse will lead the production design and I will work alongside designing costumes.  Kaarin Macaulay will head costume construction. Jonathan Hendry will direct and lead this great team.

I had a first read of the play today.  It's a great play! Relevant and ambitious.

My background though is in spacial design. Costume is something new.  What am I doing leading a costume department?

The relation of costume to performer, set and story is new territory.  Exploring form, character, movement, colour, textiles and texture as a way in to story is not. I have drawn on these tools many times before. There's no better way to enhance the depth of my knowledge than to try these same tools in an unfamiliar field.

I have not changed, what I bring does not change but the task I bring myself to has. This shift of skill to foreign role is a great way to innovate.

Artists often specialise. Specialising is dangerous. Artists need to be feed by information but also by problems. The more diverse the problem the better for innovation.  By being open to learning and shifting our skills into new areas we can come at problems in ways others might not. What better way for everyone to learn? What better way to create exciting, innovative work that audiences haven't seen before?

Response is creation, not judgement.

Response is creation not judgement. Or at least it should be.

The strongest response we gift as artists is to create something. A recent example. When I shared a piece of work with another artist they didn't respond with, 'I like it' or 'I don't like'. Their response wasn't one of judgement. They responded by describing a world they imagined. It was neither criticism or praise. Their response was to create. What followed in me was a wonderful burst of ideas. Because of their gift I immediately moved into making more work.  Would I have had the same reaction had they said, 'It's good, I like it'?

The response of creativity is the gift everyone can give, not just artists. In the practice of responding with creation we grow stronger bonds and better work.

'Liking' something on facebook or in person is of course a wonderful encouragement. So is a panel of judges selecting those with talent. This is a great thing. It has it's place. Judgment alone though doesn't take work or relationship forward.  To create better work we need judgement with a little room for creative response.

Hank The Wrestling Shark

If you get the chance check out Gerry's website and buy this great book and CD for the little one or the family this christmas. He's making wonderful work :). Finn Jade and I had a great ol' dance along to this!  Awesome to see local artist making great work!

http://www.hanktheshark.com/

Only half the story

Blogging is a wonderful tool for sharing, connecting and developing thoughts on craft and practise but it is only half of the story.  The other half is making work that inherently holds your methodology and process but stands alone as art.

Sketchbooks and tests are wonderful steps in the practise of doing. They lead toward an end product. The thing with them though is they are safe. This is important to identify...There must be an end product! A film, a book, a print, an exhibition, a performance. 

A product is the greatest gift of all for an audience. That audience take ownership of it. Share it. Creativity grows.  That is our goal. 

An end product is also the greatest gift for the artist. It focus's the artist to bring all their skill and practice together. It forces the artist to move past any walls of anxiety, expectation or ambition because they have to let the art stand alone and the artist has to stand alone.  This is the most generous gift of all. The gift of self. This is when we truly grow.

Building on work

Jamie and I got together yesterday to make work.  A few months ago I took one of my sketchbook drawings into photoshop and rendered it up. The next step was to take the composition into a live action format.  Jamie got into town this week so we thought we'd have a crack at it.  

Here are the results.  Watch the minute long video here.

https://vimeo.com/54883233.

The next step in the work is to find a place to project a looped track into a public space. Can't wait to see how scale and place effect the reading of the work.  Lots of fun :).  

It was great to take a drawing into a collaborative work like this. Working with another I became all the more aware that jumping into something without knowing where it was leading is scary. Good scary. We had to figure things out on the spot. What are we doing and why?  We didn't have a plan and sometimes thats okay.

Sonik Boom & Piers Gilbertson

Piers Gilbertson of 'Sonik Boom' led the sound capture and design for 'Night Storm' as well as performed, recorded and mixed the music.  A massive piece of work!  He is beginning work on a new website. I've just written him a short testimonial for it and wanted to share it here. His current site is below and I'll keep you posted for the newer, shinier version :).  Sonik Boom is Australian based but I for one would love to see Piers making more work back here in NZ.

"When directing a film or producing an artwork I always look for connection.  I relate to story and character through what I see. Working on set with Piers I noticed his was a different approach. Piers wasn't looking for story he was listening for it. When most were distracted by the business of a film set Piers remained focused on the subtleties. The sound of water, birds, a car door opening or bicycle peddling all became characters and voices in their own right. Piers energy was of someone discovering a sound if not a whole world for the first time. When an individual brings so much value to their craft it is infectious for the whole." 

"The sound scape of the film was an enormous challenge. The film was not following any obvious narrative structure. We entered this film as artists and poets. We would not know the film until we had it. Piers and Micheal approached this work courageously. Their design was not held in any preconceptions of the story but rather became a response to performance, movement, composition, rhythm and the shift from interior/internal to exterior space. As a director I wouldn't want to work in any other way. Their understanding of the film grew with the sound scape they created and in turn the sound took on depth. The intelligence and exploration they brought to this process was integral to forming the powerful, unsettling and lonely mood of the film."

"I am ever grateful to the contribution of Piers and Micheal to this film and look forward to making more work together soon."

http://www.sonikboom.net/

Summer Sketchbook P.3

Practise vs. Sharing

Sharing the insight or pratise of others is wonderful. We model off the way others work, write and live. Quoting someone though is not practise it is sharing. Making your own work and formulating your own thoughts (even if they align with another's) is practise.

The effect of writing a blog as a practise is that each day is a new step. I build on the last. I test my thinking with an audience then allow, if not welcome, the next step. 

When I share artwork or writing of another who inspires me this is generous. It helps people see what feeds my process. The sharing act does not move me forward though. The work of formulating my own words and images is the practise that moves me forward. It is through experiencing the work that it becomes practise.

Sharing is important to craft, practise is too. Knowing the difference between the two and the gains of each is integral to an artists development.

Serendipity and the NZ Herald

Serendipity happens all the time. How often do we allow it to happen though?

The day I started this blog the marketing manager at Toi Whakaari approached me to be the subject of an article/advert for Toi Whakaari in the NZ Herald. My natural instinct is to shy away from such a thing. That very day though I stated my aim as building connection and growing creativity. Here was an opportunity to do this very thing. When serendipity happens. Let it.

The result is below. Does the article sum up me and my work perfectly. Not at all. Does it bring my work as a creative and teacher to a larger audience? Yes and with it the  potential for growth of connection and creativity.

The student I am working with in the image is recent graduate Josh Foley. Watch out for his work in the future!

Art is my Path, Film is a Vehicle

The life journey is often described as a mountain. We climb it. There are many paths. Some are easy others are hard. Iyengar says his path is yoga. I imagine each of us has a unique and different path. Sometimes our path isn't easy to identify. It is important though that we do or we might find ourselves getting off track.

I have always described filmmaking as my vehicle. In reflection I realise how apt that is. I love the ride of filmmaking. Sometimes like an 18 wheeler truck it's slow to get started but once it's going...well it's hard to slow down. So many artists come for the ride too. Its a fantastic way up the mountain!

Sometimes though it's good to get out and walk, to take it a bit slower, to put my feet back on the ground. It is wonderful to start a new sketch book this week. It reconnects me to my journey. I like to think of art and design as my path. Sometimes, like with my sketch book, I walk. Other times, like with a set design or with directing a film, I take a vehicle.

Summer Sketchbook p.2

Summer Sketchbook p.1

The Play of Conflict.

I teach design at Toi Whakaari - The NZ National Drama school.  Recently I've questioned the definition of Drama.

My thinking is that drama is the play of tragedy or comedy. Both usually revolve around a climatic event or conflict. Conflict with self, others, the environment, politics or circumstance. Not real conflict. The play of conflict.

It seems to me that the world, our culture and ourselves spend far too much time in conflict already. Do we really need a school that teaches it!?  That is where the word play becomes key. Why do we play as children? To test our limits, to see how far we can go without committing to the real thing. 

Through play we learn.  The skills the students learn at Toi Whakaari give them the tools to play.  Ideally their play will teach us all.  The stronger we become at holding conflict in play the less likely we are to enact it for real.  

Performance, the arts and storytelling is our greatest gift to avoiding conflict,  dealing with it productively when it arises and healing the scars that conflict causes.  

I often hear the mantra 'let us take the drama out of drama school'. This has some merit in referring to taking ego out of the work but I prefer to say 'let us learn from the Drama in Drama school'.

Spring Reading List

These books have been great for feeding my creativity. The thoughts I've been sharing align closely with the thinking from these writers.  If you have any suggestions of other books of interest please let me know.

Poetics of space, Space and Place and Learning from Hollywood have been integral to forming my approach to the film 'Te Hau'. You can see art and notes on my website. 

Seth Godin's book Linchpin inspired this blog. 

Drive, Blink and In Priase of Slowness have all been fantastic in helping me consider how I work. 

Joseph Campbell has been the basis of much storytelling for cinema. I took some of his thinking into my working of the Battle of Crete story.  Part of me believes that audiences are far too familiar with myth structure and hero journeys today so my interest in this avenue might end here...for now.

A book on Akira Kurosawa...well why wouldn't you?

How to look at paintings is a wonderful read and reminds us to trust our instinct as an audience and to enjoy it from our own place.

Next books on the shelf for summer reading... Tree of Yoga and Good Work.

Management kills Art!

An Art director has a unique responsibility. That is to direct Art.  How do you direct art? Tell someone what to do? No. That stops the work being art and it becomes labour. An art directors role then is about relationship.

Sounds complex. It is. To say an art directors role is relationship means this.  An art director is a conduit of creative intent. The director has intent and so do the artists. The art directors ability to read these intentions and align them with each other is his key role. The result is not a common goal or vision, this would undermine the director. The result is achieving the directors vision with common gain for the artists.

The first thing I saw as an art director on a film set was artists making what they were told to make or what they thought was expected of them. For most the expectations were low. Few were making what they wanted. What they all wanted was to make something great!  What was stopping them?

I remember a young woman carving Roman capitals. When I suggested we go crazy with the depth of detail and accuracy I was stunned by her response.  She said 'Are we allowed to make it that good?' She proceeded to shock everyone with how beautifully she could carve. Why had this talent remained hidden?

Too often Art directors see their role as one of management. Management kills art! Art should never be managed. What artists need is creative intentions and energy that they can channel into their work. Most artists have little or no access to the director so they need a conduit to his energy. They need an art director who knows this is his role.

There is a lesson here for all management.  If we replaced a few project managers with 'project conduits' we would have a far healthier more dynamic and engaging workplace and better work as a result.

Explore

Libraries feature highly in my creative journey. When I started Uni I visited the Wellington library and the City Gallery next door almost weekly. When I moved to Auckland the Elam Fine arts Library and Auckland University Architecture library were integral to my design practise. Most recently the Nola Miller Library at Toi Whakaari in Wellington has become vital to my thinking and practise around design.

What is it about libraries that are so conducive to the way I create and learn? Surely the Internet is the only resource I need? It's all there on line. Yes it is but there is something that isn't there on line. A library allows me to connect and more importantly to connect randomly. As I walk down aisles I see books I wasn't looking for. They find me. A cover grabs my attention and I investigate. In a library my mind is activated to explore.

I recently purchased a Waccom pen on amazon to use with my drawing tablet. This is a piece of drawing tech I use for digital paintings.  The thing is now I get updates from amazon of technology they think I will be interested in.  The algorithms at Amazon and Goggle are working out what will interest me. The problem with this is that I'm not interested in more technology of this sort. The failing of this approach is that I have no idea what I'm interested in until I find it.

No website or server will ever understand me enough to do my exploration for me. For the Internet to be a useful creative tool I have to be the active member. Not the algorithm. I have to be critical of what I read and find information that is appropriate. I have to find connections and dig deeper. It is crucial that I stay open to the random opportunity. I have to stay alive to the connections that I don't yet appreciate nor understand.

In the end the person alone is the greatest tool in researching and developing a craft. Not a search engine, site or for that matter even the libraries I so cherish. When exploring is approached this way it opens exploration up to every unknown corner rather than those most familiar to us. It seems obvious of course but when so much of the media we consume and utilise is doing the exploring for us it becomes increasingly easy to become a passive member in the journey rather than an active one.

Getting it Done and Icon Textiles

I had a great conversation today with George Isles of Icon Textiles. http://www.icontextiles.co.nz

It was clear that this design supplier is excited by business structure that encourages responsible, sustainable business practise held by many rather than by individuals.  It was great to have such a rich discussion around creative practise and its application beyond the arts practitioner.

Of course this is the aim of blogging and making work. To make more connections and to see creativity grow. Getting it right is an unhelpful ambition. Wanting to get it right allows for hesitation and procrastination. Getting it done is far more important. Getting it done leads to critique, input and argument...this leads to getting it done 'Better' the next time.

Thanks George for your thinking and feedback.

Reward Art + Reward Process = Great Art

Traditional models of reward for output do not make for great art!

Key to making great art is that both artist and employer acknowledge their relationship to reward.   Artists are motivated by challenge and exploration. Making art and stories in new exciting ways is extremely stimulating. This motivation often means creatives can commit long intensive hours to making. Most though also need  time to reflect and produce no physical work at all. One half of the process is output with very visible results. The other half is input (what artists do to feed their creativity). This half is far less visible but no less valuable. In fact it is more valuable!

Traditionally workers have been valued for output. This model not only doesn't work for artists it goes to undermine the very output we seek from them.  Remunerating artists only on results and not on their process leads to a shift in the artists relationship to reward.  The need to output becomes paramount and in the end both the artist and the art suffers. It is integral for any artist to identify and to value both their making and their process. If employers want the best and most creative work from their employees (which they do because it is a far more valuable product) it is integral for them to identify this too.

Everyone brings art to their work. Not just painters, designers or sculptors, everyone. Whatever work we are looking to create we will deliver a far superior, more innovative and valuable product when we can value the human balance of creative output along with creative input.

Failure

'Last Patrol' has failed to gain NZFC premier shorts development. The project did meet the goals of the scheme and our team was praised for their talent. Other teams though were further along with development of feature projects in connection to the shorts they submitted. These teams were quite rightly prioritised for support.  I look forward to hearing the announcement of the shortlist in the coming weeks and wish all the best to the artists supported.

Failure is obviously a hard pill to swallow but it is an integral part of the creative process. Creativity begins with a spark. From that spark we work it in a direction. When that direction fails to gain traction it is time to take a reading of the work. The work might be wrong but creativity isn't.  Creativity is about finding solutions that make more sparks, that grow more creation.  I wonder, if not to a short film, where this spark is leading?

'The Last Patrol' (Minotaur) - 1.0

EXT. ROAD IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE SFAKIA, CRETE - 1941

Four New Zealand Soldiers make their way quickly through the mountains. Irvine and Green position themselves behind a large rock and set up the detonator. Vincent and McIntyre run the explosives up the hillside above the cliff road.

Irvine lights a cigarette and shares one with Green. Vincent and McIntyre make their way back down the mountainside carefully unraveling the detonation wire.

Vincent and McIntyre arrive behind the rock. Vincent watches Green fumble with the wires.

VINCENT 

Alright then give it here.

GREEN 

Hold on hold on I’ve got it!!

Green hooks up the wires. The three take cover as Irvine plunges the detonator. BOOM. The hillside shakes violently They’re surrounded by dust. The four stand and admire their handy work. The dust settles. The landslide has well and truly blocked the road.

GREEN (CONT’D) 

Nicely done.

Irvine turns and walks away. Green packs up the detonator with Vincent. McIntyre watches a little longer. The dust has separated to reveal the broken hillside. A large wedge of stone is missing. In the centre of the broken rock is something unusual. A large cavernous hole. It stretches open skyward like an mouth opening to be fed. Inside can be seen the distinctly man made shapes of stone hewn greek columns.

MCINTYRE

Lads.

Green and Vincent stand beside Mcintyre looking at the open cavern.

GREEN 

Better check it out then.

The four make their way up the mountain.

Filmmaking in Context

The film industry wants to make money. It is the very nature of 'Industry'. This driver leads to a large number of films being made for what audiences want, because people pay for what they want.  A filmmaker though is not an industry. He or she is a human being with a unique set of responsibilities.  Finding ways to live up to those responsibilities within a money making industry is the context filmmakers have always existed within. Finding the balance is an art.

The Master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa 'wanted a young audience, he wanted to teach, he wanted to teach morality.' This is a filmmaker who was responsible to his audience and to the greater context of post war Japan.

I wonder now that 'Star Wars' is to be revisited where and what is the context of responsibility for Disney? When George Lucas made the original films was he not showing the world the strength of independence? His example led to a proliferation of popular filmmaking outside of Hollywood and outside the status quo.

The great challenge now then is for large corporations, driving the work, to identify their context and responsibility to the world. It is hard enough for an individuals to do this. The problem is made increasingly complex when answering to large staff, investors and share holders. The problem though is not impossible.   The complexity of large group holding responsibility just as well as pioneering individuals have in the past is the context we work in today. That is everyone's challenge.

I've never seen a painting in a corner

Why is a room with a curve looked upon as designer and a room with a corner or straight sides discussed as traditional or safe?  If we consider, once again, space to be a place where imagination resides then we can start to answer the question through the mental pictures that form.  In my minds eye a corner is where a child plays alone or where a warrior makes his last stand. It is a place for intimate self to reside or for the cornered to make his last stand with sides protected and only a forward advance to defend.  The corner then is a space for one or, in an outward stance, limited to one on one interaction.

The curve of course is a different space all together. In the curve I imagine the flow of water. People moving across the space interacting with all they meet.  I can see both corner and curve as people at a party. The corner is a shy person who can only handle one on one conversation. The curve of course is mingling, conversing with as many as three or four people at one time. The curve is open and inviting, a friend to all.

When visiting the Guggenheim in NY you are met with some of the greatest art in the world but you are also welcomed by the curve, The entire structure is a spiralling interior seashell. You follow the curve all the way up through the exhibition. Like the curve at the party you are made welcome. You flow from painting to painting, guest to guest. You mingle and begin to see relationships between each work. Not one painting stands alone but is in conversation with each of the others. It is a wonderful experience, a great night out...but the next day I wonder, did I actually meet any of those paintings?

The Prado in Spain is a different experience all together. Traditional square rooms with flat walls.  In this space I stop often. I sit in the middle of each room and meet each painting one on one. The straight side might be traditional but it is also strong. This party guest doesn't mingle. He invites conversation with many but meets each eye to eye. The next day I come back and continue our conversation.

Of course where is the corner in this 'gallery' example of space.  I have never seen a painting in a corner! This makes sense of course, why would art ever want to defend itself? why would art ever want to hide? why would art ever want be alone? Art should never be in the corner.

The artist in his work though is a different story. Every time I was confronted by a painting that met me and moved me, Picasso's Guernica or Woman Ironing, Goya's Saturn eating his Son or Diego Rivera's Girl with White Lilies, the reaction has always been the same. I always wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to NZ, back to my imagined childhood corner. In this space I imagine being alone, safe in my own world, it is here that I can create my art which might one day find it's way out of the corner to rejoin the party.

Keep Going

I've been hearing the words 'Keep going' a lot. "Change is hard, I've been there, Keep going!" "What you're doing is great, Keep going!". "We need more of this, Keep going!".

They are wonderful words of encouragement and affirmation. Do these words suggest you're doing right or know what you're doing? Not at all. What these words do say though is 'I've been there' or 'I am there'. They say 'I'll be there with you' and 'I'm glad you're here with me'.

The great power of these two words is to invite relationship and community.

Keep going!

Artists be the Change

We are all quite aware that the industrial complex exists everywhere. Manufacturing, military, food, health, media and education. If we are aware of it then can the continued proliferation of documentaries informing us of the fact really effect change? No it can't. The result of this work is the spread of more fear, blame and anger.

I argue that the role of the artist is not to identify or debate the problem, nor is it to effect change. The role of the artist is to be the change.

The idustrialisation of our society has in effect made our lives easier. It has improved health and wealth of our nations but the world we have become accustomed to is not sustainable. To change now will be uncomfortable, sometimes we will look foolish, sometimes we will go without. Often we will be afraid.  This to me sounds like a fair description of an artist in their work.

The role of an artist then is not to deliver information that will insight fear and anger rather it is to show others how to work and live 'well' within that fear.

New Project, New Monster

Bit of a monster sketch! I'm planning a short film featuring a Minotaur.  I took this sketch to Gino Avecedo (Texture artist Weta) and Shane Rangi (played the Minotaur in Narnia). The conversation was so rich around what can be made practical and what might be digital. How to keep a strong human performance and the qualities of the bull in the performance. Flaring nostrils, raising chest,  bulging eyes and breath were indentified as integral elements to protect and enhance the 'bull' element in the character. Shane added great ideas around how a kiwi might take down a minotaur.  His hunting experience may well come through strong in the story yet to come:). I am very grateful for all thier support.

I have submitted the idea to Robin Scholes premier shorts pod. Fingers crossed but failing that financing I will produce an illustrated script to offer as a gift through pledge me and/or kickstarter as a way to raise some funds.  Watch this space for more work.

Being in the Work

The best conversations and relationships are not formed around work, they are formed by being in the work. Often the best discussions we have are when we are physically busy. Consider how freer the conversation is when doing dishes, gardening, driving the car, going for a walk, drawing, building. Like in the practice of yoga or meditation when we are more in our bodies we are less in our minds. In these moments our conscious thought is less likely to get in the way of our creativity.

In design the best way to meet a director is by being in the work. We do this with a drawing that can be scribbled on, a model that can be pulled to bits and remade or even better walking around a set or location with a crew that can shift and change it's elements. Once we get into the physicality of the space or the hands on nature of making the ideas flow far more freely and constructively.

Jamie Irvine

Jamie Irvine shared with me some links of his recent auditions. I'd like to share them below.

JamieIrvine_Shopping
JamieIrvine_BoardwalkEmpire
JamieIrvine_Showreel

Jamie gave a fantastic performance in my short film, 'Night Storm' in 2011. His leadership and craft extended far beyond the performance on screen to the culture he created amongst the entire crew. His approach to the work became a strong foundation for everyone else to build upon. It is apt then that when Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) responded to the film he praised the 'Solid actors!'

See also his Performance in 'Night Storm' here. I am ever grateful to Jamie's continuing contribution to my art.   http://www.brendanheffernan.com/Night-Storm-Film

Being in the Zone

We've all experienced some time or another 'being in the zone'. Athletes speak of it often. Artists experience the same. Weeks, months or years of practise, research and experience leads to a moment where all that work seems to slip away. Stripped bare of the preparation the thing you seek comes naturally, almost unconsciously. Pure joy, pure art, the zone. 

It is easy to identify this place because it has been a goal. We've worked toward it, wanted it. So when we are there, we know it. Often from that moment we dedicate our lives to pursuing it. It's like a drug.  

What about getting into the 'zone' though down a path that we haven't prepared? Can we identify ways into the zone that we haven't sought? Do we see the art in the things that we didn't expect? Often we are so caught up in reliving the thing that brought us so much joy that we miss the opportunity that comes as a result of the experience. 

Part of the reason we miss the boat is our anxiety toward the unknown. Overcoming that anxiety is the path back to the creative space, back into the zone. You cannot return by retracing the steps that got you there the first time. Overcoming anxiety is not a mountain to climb it is a habit to form. It is the creative habit.

Generosity leads to Innovation

Whenever working with an eager creative team it is obvious when the room is bursting with energy and generosity. People are watching out for each other, lending a hand, making sure each other member of the team is adequately supported. Questions, problems and solutions are shared openly. Ideas grow quickly and simultaneously to a result often far beyond expectation. The benefits of generosity is immeasurable. When artists feel safe and supported by people and infrastructure they can take the real risks they need to make, risks with their art.  In that risk lies the path to innovation.

Imagine the benefits if we could capture this culture of generosity more often. Not just at the peak of a project. We can think this way toward all our work and practice. Instead of measuring how hard I work on a scale of how many hours I put in, why not measure by how generous I have been? How generous have I been to myself and to the work? In this scenario we are more likely to identify when the jobs are done and when it's time to take a walk, read a book, try a new method or technique or visit a client rather than feeling chained to a desk to meet the perceived 'obligation' of hard work. When the culture of the group improves through a generous sharing of ideas and problems so does the relationship to the work. This ultimately leads to innovation and art we've never seen before.  I want to see that art.

Rooms for the Imagination

When designing we must consider performance, historical accuracy, story, budget and place. With so much for the designer to consider it is easy to forget to leave space for the audience to do their work. The work we ask of the audience is to imagine and to create.  A strong design allows space for this to happen. Space for the viewer to build from the image of a few elements to imagine a whole world.

The simplest example I can give is the monster movie.  Monsters are far scarier before we actually see them on screen.  Absence of the monster early in a film is immediately filled with the audiences visions of how horrible it must be. Often the real thing can never live up to that imagination.  A designers job then is this: To inspire an audience to imagine and create through every frame of the film.  Knowing what to leave in and what space to leave open is key to a successful design.

I like to think this way toward all my work. When bringing concepts forward through conversations or made things I try to leave a little bit of space. Space for my collaborators to create. This allows the work to grow far beyond my own creativity. Most people think design is about making rooms for people. This is not true.  Design is about making rooms for the imagination.

An Untapped Market for NZ Filmmakers

In the last few weeks I have serendipitously bumped into two NZ directors working in low budget range of filmmaking. The conversation was rich around film, what we like and what we’re making.  On both occasions though, and only briefly, the conversation touched on the ever-growing divide between low budget film making and extremely large budget filmmaking. It seems we in New Zealand have taken very little ownership of the film market ‘in between’.  At one end of the spectrum we make low budget uniquely NZ films which are well received at European festivals. If we are lucky these films become widely successful like ‘Whale Rider’, ‘Piano’ or ‘Once were Warriors’. At the other end of the spectrum we have Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Cameron’s Avatar films.  Surely then the ‘in-between’ is a massive untapped market for the NZ film industry to utilize.   

It is easy enough to identify the films that rule this market. These films are thrillers, horrors, supernatural thriller/action, comedies or uplifting community/sports films. They are films that utilize an identifiable figure or character, be they witches, vampires, zombies or Marilyn Monroe or Margaret Thatcher. The Weinstein’s continue this approach this year with a film about Hitchcock.  These films look to make use of a recognizable brand that is rights free. In theater when you can’t afford the rights to a popular contemporary play you can always do Shakespeare.  This market has a similar strategy. These films focus on a few central characters and generally a fairly standard three-act story.  Place becomes central to this scale of film. Whether it be set in a house, on a football field or in a forest the physical place of a films setting becomes an extension of the characters and story. If then we can clearly identify the type of film that sits in the medium budget range as well as have the know-how to make it, Why aren’t we?

Six years ago Rob Tappert decided to give it a try in NZ. He extended beyond Hercules and Xena with the 30 million dollar ‘30 days of Night.’ As well as the lower budget ‘Boogie Man’. Both films were successful in the box office but not successful enough. Tappert’s focus returned to long running TV with ‘Spartacus’ and ‘Legends of the Seeker’, both extensions on the successful Hercules model.  This leads to some questions. What return on 15 – 30 million dollars is deemed successful?  Once this is identified who has a track record in investing in this scale of film? Who distributes them and into what market?  Fortunately for NZ crews Tappert has decided to try again with the remake of ‘Evil Dead’.

At times investment has obviously come fast and strong to NZ. Investors and filmmakers have been attracted to our locations and talented crews. But these attractions do not sustain an industry. As soon as the dollar value shifts or tax incentives in other regions become more attractive those investors move on. What can hold an investor to NZ? Peter Jackson has proven that the greatest resource we can develop is intellectual property. Strong scripts at the inception of the process and world-class tech at the delivery end. 

With this knowledge in mind I have begun my approach into the business of filmmaking. An experienced NZ playwright is writing ‘Te Hau’. He holds a Masters in screen writing from Victoria University. He represents the tip of the iceberg of a number of extremely qualified and talented commercial writers in NZ. If together we can successfully get ‘Te Hau’ made we will look to build on its success. This ‘building’ will bring together a larger pool of writers to develop a number of screenplays.  Through having a number of scripts potentially we can better meet the expectations of investors as well as market trends. Once we attract investment in great scripts we have no shortage in NZ of great directors, crew and state of the art post production facilities.

Draw what you 'See' not what you 'Think'

It is impossible to teach someone to draw unless you have first taught them to see. It amazes me how many people set about making a drawing only to be disappointed in the result.  The drawing doesn't look like what they were drawing.  The issue is not their drawing skill but rather their ability to really see the elements in front of them. Too often we draw what we 'think' we see rather than truly seeing. Once we look beyond the impression we create in our mind we can see the world very differently. Objects stop being isolated elements in space and take on relationships to one another. These relationships inform us of the space that they exist within.  Only once we see this way can we begin to compose an image.

It might be said that too often in our every day lives we look but don't see. If we relate to the world only through the way we imagine it to be we fail to see the beauty and connection that truly exists.

First Step

After reading Seth Godin's book 'Linchpin' I've decided to take the plunge and connect more. Through every avenue.  Through art, actions and through this blog. Of course the question that is immediately raised is what is the best way to connect? with what? about what? Do I blog my drawing practise? Film development?...health routine? 

The answer is I don't know. But I know how to start. With a first thought and a first step. The form that will follow will reveal itself.  Some words below that inspire...

Do not internalise the industrial model. You are not one of the myriad of interchangeable pieces, but a unique human being, and if you've got something to say, say it, and think well of yourself while you're learning to say it better.

David Mamet

Seth Godin, Linchpin p. 6