Julie Gallegos
jgallego@ucsc.edu

Project: Play

Reflections: Meditations on a documentary
1. Technological and Teamwork problems
I forgot to bring the tape that we needed to record on a few times. We had all the equipment, but not the tape and so we had to go back to my place to get it. Also, I tend to say meet at 2:00 when that really means I will be there at 2:45 or 3, so that wasn’t always great for Chris. We both aren’t the most punctual, or rushing type of people. It was important to have a good attitude, that is the most important thing when working with another person, anything can go wrong, but you will be okay as long as both of you can laugh and have a good attitude. Chris and I are excellent at this. While editing there was a time when we felt like we were going nowhere very slowly. I was so frustrated. Chris said “my mind is blank” and “I don’t know.” He looked so lost which didn’t help me at all. I was trying to get something accomplished, and thought, “well then, where do we go from here? This is a total mess? We don’t know what to do or where to go, and secondly we can’t completely figure out how to work Final Cut Pro, the editing program, so we spend hours in the lab not really doing anything. We went in three times for four hours each and progressed as far as a slug crawls, we just couldn’t agree, didn’t have an idea for the form, and got frustrated hitting so many dead ends with the program. We had this great footage, and so many ideas but once we got into the editing room everything just fell apart. We spent practically every Friday of the quarter filming, or somehow working on the project and I usually leave Fridays open so I can go on road trips, and I had to throw that idea out the window. There was a day where we filmed in front of the library and we got rejected three times in a row, asking people if we could interview them, the sound kept getting ruined by cars driving by, and trucks randomly stopping and unloading right near us, and then we ran out of tape. At this point while we were buying a new tape, we had to refocus, and Chris had his head between his hands. “Chris we need to focus on the process, not the product,” I explained to him. This became my motto, to enjoy making the film, and not to worry about what turned out at the end. To take the pressure and the focus off the film, and enjoy the making of the film.
2. Positives: What I learned about skills
One of the most valuable skills I gained from this experience was the skill of interviewing. Last time Chris and I made a film we avoided interviews, we just weren’t very interested in doing them, and felt intimidated with doing them. We were scared to do interviews, but once we started we received good reception from everyone we interviewed. I have really mastered the interviewing skill. Chris frames the shot perfectly, we know exactly which microphone to use, and how to make the person feel comfortable. This happens because we are both genuinely interested and curious about the person. We try to have as casual of a conversation as possible with laughing, joking, informal questions, and sharing stories. In the end, we made a friend every time. A friend we respected and were grateful for what they taught us. It is essential for the filmmaker to establish a good relationship with the subject because that is how accurate representation takes place. We talk to these people and understand as best we can, then try to communicate how we saw what these people are thinking and seeing while they are listening to music.
Because we care about the person and care about communicating their story, that makes the film. That feeds the desire to make a film, because there is a desire to communicate their point of view, their imaginative and well articulated ideas. It is essential to establish this connection between filmmaker and subject. It was almost as if we used the excuse of making a film to really learn and interact with people. My impressions of the headphone culture completely turned around through making this film. That is what I like about the entire process of going out into the world and asking questions.
3. What gave me pleasure about making the film
Establishing a friendship with Chris. Out of the entire process, I met some great people, made a film I am really proud of, but also made an incredible friend and found a person who I can creatively work with, who understands my point of view, where I am coming from, what I want to accomplish with the project and he understands the reasons underneath. I’ve never worked with anyone so easily before. Which is not to say that we didn’t argue, but the tension never got so thick that we couldn’t see. We practiced meditation, breathing and yoga to relieve our tension, and clear our minds. Chris and I held many a deep conversations contemplating issues not only about how we should visually show certain ideas in our film, but about deeper aspects of life. We shared an interest in film and saw a few films together that inspired us, and sparked discussion. We brought food for each other, Chris burnt me a few cds of some great music, and we were both impressed with the dedication and passion each other had for working on the film.
I also feel very lucky to have had so much freedom making the project. Shelly never stressed that things needed to be perfect, or had to fit a certain structure. We were never asked to avoid certain issues, or were censored in any way. Shelly supported our ideas from the very start, and helped us to imagine how we would visually depict the concepts we were exploring. We had freedom to do whatever we wanted. Not many film students or classes give that freedom of expression. Without knowing what other filmmakers go through, it can be easy to forget how valuable and lucky we are to have this space to document what we care about from our perspective. I talked with a friend who goes to USC, the hollywood film school, and I realized how lucky I was to be making this type of film, without having anyone to please, to not be making a film for profit, or for a resume. To make it simply to learn, to enjoy, to develop understanding and friendships.