The Thomas Project
Remember when I shot this?
I think it was about 3 years ago. Kind of had this half done not long after I had the footage. Then left it for a few years while other things took over. Then forgot it existed. Then took it up again recently and got this far. Every segment was just a proof of concept and it never advanced beyond that convenient excuse to not polish it. I was happy to work on it again and now I’m happy to not have to work on it any more. It’s a nice way to work.
Pardon the poor video render. I can get you a higher quality version if you like.
Jae-Ho
Nothing shatters your self-perception like actually watching yourself. Why do I sound like Kermit the Frog? Why do my eyes dart about like that? Why are my shoulders so hunched?
More thoughts to follow.
Saying a thing shattered expectations can be a great compliment, don’t you think? But in this case, any compliment like that is an ill-gotten one because…
I may have been too liberal and heavy handed with the editing for this to be taken as any kind of an instructive representation. For example, some of it is played back backwards and may have been time remapped (can’t remember what parts exactly and some of the original working material is lost). I liked the weirdness of this warping. It heightened the curiosity and fish bowl feel. But it also misrepresents since the audience is not aware of the editing liberties taken. Too subtle and too distorting. That was unintentional and unwanted. This stuff is hard.
If it exists as a document of your persona, it’s a dubious document.
Question:
Do you do stuff like this regularly? Or…how to phrase this. Do you have more examples of this? I remember you did something to Thom Yorke’s Black Swan with tai chi.
Sidenote: On a run through a park I came across a young man doing tai chi by himself. Couldn’t have been more than 12. He had a water bottle and a small pack.
Observation:
Video itself is a manipulation.
“Video itself is a manipulation.” Well put. Should never forget that. But then there’s image manipulation and there’s image engineering. The latter is probably a logical but not inevitable extreme of the former. Be mindful of the extremes.
“Do you do stuff like this regularly?” Short answer, no. But, remember, there was a three year gap where I only did one thing. I think I use to do things like this all the time. I can’t think of any examples right now. So maybe I didn’t? But I think I will.
That Black Swan thing. It’s probably lost. I imagine it’d be like looking at Little Archie.
I wonder if that young man finds any hardship in being a young man who does Tai Chi by himself in the park. Doubtful, but, unfortunately, possible. Somehow, the water bottle and the small pack add an element of deliberateness and individualism. Good observation.