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It's important to know one's temperament, I think. To thine own self be true, to coin a phrase. (Okay, you got me; that was Polonius again.) Some people like tiramisu, others like Jell-O; some like complexity, others prefer simplicity; and some like long, drawn-out events, while others seek brevity. I've always appreciated shorter, simpler things... concertos instead of symphonies; limericks in place of epics; half hour sitcoms in lieu of multipart miniseries; short stories over novels; and almost anything rather than Lord of the Rings. Could it be that I have a short attention span, ya think? It's only natural, then, that I would gravitate towards making shorter movies. But even shorter movies should have a beginning, an end, and something in between. In a one minute movie, every second counts and every action, every word is important. I live in fear that my audience will get bored in those 60 long seconds. My best, most gratifying productions, I think, are those in which I keep my mind focused on the final scene. Every shot points to the dénouement. Each scene and every activity within each scene is a building block, a pointer to the last frame of the movie. The scenes have to be related to each other, providing the same pacing, the same texture, color and sound, the same nuance. The whole movie should feel like it was shot all at once. But each scene also has to move the story along, independently, to its conclusion. Over the years, I've made so many short movies, it's difficult to identify what they have in common, except they are almost all mercifully short. Sometimes I have an actor or, more likely, an actress at the back of my head, as I compose the movie in my mind. Other times I hear an interesting story or scenario or situation from a friend and decide to include him or her in the movie. Still other times, I read something that brings a scene or person to mind and I pursue the project based on whom I know.
I enjoy working with new people, because I know the experience will be meaningful and memorable for them. Sometimes the best way to entice a future actor is to show him or her some of my other movies. All of my efforts look a lot easier to create than they really are, so members of the audience are often likely to want to try to act for me. On the other hand, I also appreciate tried and true actors with whom I've worked before. In those cases, I know what to expect, which makes my job easier and reduces the unknown factors.
I do have a technical comment about my short, short productions, for those of you who find my discussion too philosophical: almost all of my pieces have an abrupt ending. In my earlier days, I included a reaction shot as the final one, but amateur actors are rarely up to such a shot. They are often overly expressive. The effect is ruined. No reaction is better than a bad reaction. So I now cut my movies on the actor who delivers the punch line. No one seems to miss the final reaction shot... with a little luck, the audience will provide its own! - Mark Levy
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I could do worse than start my essay with a Shakespearean
quotation. It was Polonius in Hamlet who reflected that brevity is the
soul of wit. The word "wit" was used in Shakespeare's day to mean wisdom,
humor or cleverness. For purposes of this discussion, I can be my own
lexicographer; wit will mean humor.
For
example, I enlisted a friend who owned a supermarket when I needed access
to a large fruit and vegetable stand. I know someone with a horse, someone
with a fresh water pond (and a few immodest friends), and someone else with
bagpipes. And for my latest project, I'm meeting quite a few people with
tattoos (don't ask)!
