Roughing it

Again, its been about a month since I last posted and I apologize for not writing more frequently. I meant to post something in this blog weekly, however, my excuse has been the intense creative process of the actual work, and the harrowing prospect of making a film that I am truly proud of and that is authentic to my vision.

However, for my efforts, I have a trailer to whet appetites in the meanwhile, which can be viewed here. I submitted a grant in March which required a work sample, and I thought the best way to show my film chops was to simply create a film trailer! Because I have not edited a trailer before, it was challenging task to get it to this point (and is by far not perfect). I admit that it is fairly typical and does not include any of the more unique/creative parts, like the use of motion graphics, animation and still photography. Thanks to Hans for his contributions to the music!!

DISCLAIMER: I feel the trailer is a bit overtly heart-tugging and sentimental in a way that I don’t think the final film will be, but in my desire to “sell” the project, I overcompensated the tree-huggery aspects of the film. In actuality, this film is less about the struggle of the Palila, and more about the struggle for existence for all creatures, including man, in the wake of climate change, globalization, political and economic turmoil in the world. The small stories get buried in the avalanche of information and news, and I question how in our oversaturated, overhyped media lives if we can hear the tree falling in forest and actually listen, when normally we only hear the loudest chatter.

You might notice I used a quote of Charles Darwin in the beginning of the trailer, the full quote as follows:

“In the survival of favoured individuals and races, during the constantly-recurring struggle for existence, we see a powerful and ever-acting form of selection.”

Recently I’ve been reading “Origin of the Species” and while the common interpretation of Darwin’s words basely explain “Survival of the Fittest,” Natural Selection, and Evolution concepts, I found his take on humanity and man’s relationship with nature to be quite profound and less scientific than I expected. Darwin’s writings are quite readable and err on the side of philosophical and sociological generalizations rather than rote data and observation. In this sense, I hope to combine my own observations and “documentation” of research and field experiences to rise above the simple nature doc and explore some of these ideological frameworks in which we describe our relationship to animal, plant and earth. A mighty grand mountain to climb, I know, but I believe it is gently sloping like Mauna Kea and through my slow plodding uphill I’ll see beyond the cloudline soon!