Casey Neistat: one of my favorite filmmakers right now

Casey Neistat is one of my favorite filmmakers right now. I just love his style and playful view of the world. I just smile when I look his work. I love this photo by Robert Caplin because right now I am editing all day everyday and well... I guess I am shooting too- the art students.

Work in Progress: Art TV Series

Life is good. I am on lock down finishing shooting and in heavy post production on my tv series about the college of fine arts and communications at byu. It is an exciting series that explores the creative process of all kinds of art students.
I am following 8 stories in the college:
-The Chamber Orchestra in China
-Modern dancers doing a concert inspired by sculpture at Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home in Arizona
-The sculpture and ceramic students
-The folk dance department: Christmas show and touring in Europe
-The theater department putting on The Diary of Anne Frank
-Ad student doing a contest that took them to New Your City and Paris
-A student doing his final film
-Art students doing a print exchange with students from the University of Hawaii

Photo: work of Sculpture student Camila Nagata

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

I got in a few films at Sundance this year, I love that we now live around the corner and it just takes a few hours out of my day to see a film. Even though it is close I still have a tradition and have to eat at El Chubasco when I see a film.
I wanted to see as many art films as possible because I am directing this art series right now, and I just love artist profiles anyway. My 1st art film played at Sundance in 1993 and Sundance is still the biggest buzz word on my resume.
I don’t want to say too much about young Alison Klayman’s film but I loved it. Art can be seen a such a trivial thing, but this film shows Ai Weiwei’s art as a little bit of everything---thoughtful, fun, hip, trivial, mischievous and of course political. On a trivial note I love Ai Weiwei’s work because I love bikes, pottery, filmmaking and things like that. This film had a lot to say about being human, being Chinese, living in China and the Chinese government. Because I spent 3 weeks in China this year on my art series I espcially enjoyed it. That is not saying much about the film, but I feel it worth seeing.
Check out the Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry website.

Cassandra Barney: UNCUT

A clip from and experiment for a TV show.
I was going to call the show "Utah Artists in Real Time."
It was not an original idea, but i like the idea of not having to edit and all your choices were made from behind the camera.
(not sure the year but the little girl in the show is going to college next year, I bet she studies art)

Pina By Wim Wenders

The office is a buzz with modern dance. Boston, the editor, and I are cutting the modern dance section of the art/music/dance series that I am directing.
Boston keeps playing this clip for inspiration, it is nice and I love Wim Wenders so I don't mind... well really I love it.
(***Disclaimer: we had nothing to do with this clip, we just love it***)

"The Circus Project" Turning Point online now

The Turning Point that I directed about The Circus Project is now online. Check it out, watch it for family home evening, with a loved one-it will make you smile. These circus kids are amazing and Jenn, that started The Circus Project, is big hearted superstar.
Enjoy.

digging through Sketchbooks and Journals, aka Tax Time

This time of year- Sundance Film Festival, skiing and tax time. Taxes send me back through my journals figuring out expenses, days on the road and stuff like that. This year is covered in 3 messy sketchbooks. BTW Noelle does 99.99% of the taxes BIG THANKS NOELLE, she also going to get in a Sundance film tonight-It is fun living so close to Park City.

The Circus Project on TV tonight

Check out a show that I directed and shot about The Circus Project.
Also here is a little blog post I wrote about the show and info where you can see the show tonight on TV or online anytime.
This show was so fun to shoot.
These kids were legendary.
Jenn Cohen, circus performer and founder of The Circus Project, is a big hearted superstar.
Thanks Cosmic and Turning Point for letting me direct episodes of this TV show.
It has been life changing for me.
PEACE!

Stuck in HI

Missed my flight out of Hawaii, I have not missed a flight in maybe 10 years, my new iphone is great but I did not test the alarm function haha!
Okay another 13 hours of Hawaii-
A swim or 2, some Thai food maybe? some light reading? It's all good.
I hear there is 2 feet of snow at home right now.

Happy Birthday Hye Jin

While at University of Hawaii this Korean guy comes up to me and asks if I will help him out. "What do you have in mind" I say. He tells me that it's his girlfriend's birthday in Korea and asks if I will write a note and let him snap a photo of me holding the note, "Yes definitely" I say. Then when it was all done I asked him if I could snap a photo of him holding my sign and he was happy to do it. I like this kid's style and again,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HYE JIN!

The Art Students

Spent the day hiking, looking at art and swimming- a good day. This photo: the BYU art students, next we meet the University of Hawaii art students and the collaboration begins.

In Hawaii

In Hawaii to film an art project with art students from the University of Hawaii and BYU. Today no cameras- a hike with friends Shane and Mia.

Ed of BAADS

Spend the day with Ed of The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS). He told great cool stories about going blind, sailing and helping others, I will let you know when the TV show comes out. Also I am doing research on BAADS to help start an organization for disabled sailor is Utah, more about that later, but there are about 20 different voices whispering in my ear that I should help with that.
OK here is a trivial thing (I am whining here and should be slapped), San Francisco is a great restaurant town, we were in and out of the city so fast we could not stop to eat, haha!
Today packing my bags and in a few hours heading to Hawaii for an art project with the legendary Fidalis Buehler.
Peace

Snowbird again

Another good day on the mountain. Snowbird, by the way, is a serious mountain. We did more work with Wasatch Adaptive Sports, tomorrow we will film cycling with them. Lately I am very happy with all the documentary project I am doing. I love working with all these big hearted people that are doing big hearted stuff, thank you, thank you, thank you all!

Waffle Bike

Thing are so good right now, there is a lot going on, but for now a little art/documentary break. I love this “art film” (***I had nothing to do with this video, I just love it)
Why do i love this video? ...because:
I love art,
I love cargo bikes
I love Tom Sachs
l love the Neistat Brothers
I love sculpture
I love goof ball/wise guy art
I love playful art
This will make you smile.
Have a good week, tomorrow I’m off to Snowbird again for more skiing and work with Wasatch Adaptive Sports, Lucky!

Wasatch Adaptive Sports

I just started another documentary for TV. It is about the Wasatch Adaptive Sports center and the guy that started it. Today we got to film 2 amazing people ski thier brains out. This photo is us filmming a girl nicknamed “Rush” that lost her legs in a train accidenty only 4 months ago, she skis like a champ, fast and smooth and her world view is inspiring.

Frederick Wiseman in Salt Lake City, Utah 1-5-2012

Saw Frederick Wiseman talk in Salt Lake City tonight . It was good to hear him. I sometimes like to look at his work. He is interesting but he is a man alone, no one does it like he does and no one probably should do it, it's his thing- no music, no interviews, no narration just pure "cinema verite." Tonight I came up with a term that I will use to describe his work, "POLITICAL ART FILMS." He showed clips of "Law and Order" (1969), "High School" (1968), "Basic Training" (1971) and the sardine scene in "Belfast, Maine" (1999). It is always good to get out and hear real filmmakers and see old and new filmmaker friends out for the night. There is a healthy art and film scene in Salt Lake City.

New Years Resolutions for Filmmakers by Scott Macaulay

Happy New Year. My New Years resolution this year was going to be NO New Years resolutions, then I read this, so I am regrouping and will modify it to my nonfiction world. OK nothing written down but I want to make more art, bettter art, read more about my art and read in general, watch more art, and when I say art I mean art and film. Also more family time and art with the family, last year me and my daughter when to Europe for 2 weeks on a documentary trip, it was epic, gotta do more of this!
Photo: a still of Maria Falconetti from Carl Dreyer’s film The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), mentioned in Scott's article. This photo is amazing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year! It was a great holiday with skiing, ice skating, swimming, food, and family fun. I look forward to an awesome 2012 full of film work, art, collaboration, family, and travel. After many years of filmmaking it only gets more exciting. There will more and more documentary moments in 2012, stay tuned.
Peace