When I was in the States during a break in film school (as outlined in last week's column, which never got sticky'd, so you may have missed it), I saw one of the last shows by Guided By Voices on their "Electrifying Conclusion" tour. It was something like a 2 hour and 45 minute show, testing the endurance of even the faithful. I consider myself a big fan, and I recognized something like 4 songs in the first hour. (And GBV aren't known for their long songs, either.)

Hopefully this electrifying conclusion will be terser. Film school is over, and so is graduation. I ended it with a three-day edit for a short film directed by ex-South Seas student Barry Duffield, who some of you may know from the Hercules TV show. He's been doing more writing and directing of late, and did a short film called "Three Way" with an all-student crew as a way for all of us to get our necessary credits. So, after I rolled off a plane from the states, I rolled right into the edit suite and started digitizing footage so that we could get started on the edit ASAP.

Of course, what this means it that I digitize the footage with time code stamps. The director then looks at the footage so that he or she can decide what he or she wants to use. After that, the director gives me the list of time codes that we're going to use. (There's a couple good reasons for this. One is that there's limited space on the editing suites, so you shouldn't bring in stuff you don't need; the other is that, in the real world, editing suites [and, for that matter, editors, or so I'm told] often cost money, and if the director's decided what takes they want in advance by watching dubs of the footage, they save lots of time in the edit suite.) Then I load that footage into the machine, along with any sound files we need (music, foley effects, et cetera), and then when the director shows up we're ready to go.

No two edits are alike, I've learned this year. (Although I reserve the right to change my mind in ten years.) Some directors are very indecisive, some directors are very hands-off, some directors cling desperately to their script even in the face of footage that doesn't map to that script. Perhaps because of his industry experience, Barry comes to authoritative decisions very quickly, and we rapidly cut together the piece in the first day. We did some fine cutting on the second day, and then I rolled into onlining, which I finished up on day three. Not bad for a 6 1/2 minute drama.

Hopefully, one day, the film will be online and you can see it for yourself. For now, I can tell you that it's a dark psychological story, and that it "creeped out" the camerawoman when she finally saw it.

And then: that's it. Well, not quite. There was the end of the year party, which was at the International Flat where I live and which actually involved togas and at which one producing student threw a bag of bottles out the window for no sane reason that I can fathom. There's graduation, of course, which was as intermittently inspirational and shambolic as you might expect from my reports of the year. And then there's the post-graduation malaise, as I catch up on film and DVD watching and try to figure out what's next.

What's next: I'm applying for residency in New Zealand. I'll hopefully know shortly whether I've passed the first level qualification, after which I need to submit another application. The whole process could take several months. I also wrote a feature that I originally intended to direct in January with students. It very quickly became apparent that this was a ill-conceived idea, both in terms of the pre-production time and in terms of the energy that students just having finished the most intense year of their life and desperate for work are able to commit to an unpaid endeavor. But the plan moves forward, just pushed back in time. In the interim, I'll be doing more writing, and maybe some more directing, and trying to get work editing. (Which won't be paid until I get residency.)

What I won't be doing is continuing the column. It's been a good two+ year run, and I'm endlessly grateful for Todd and MHVF giving me the opportunity to sound off my opinion in sometimes intelligent and sometimes embarrassing ways. (I still blush over the time I called SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS a Billy Wilder film.) And I appreciate everyone who's given a hand over the years, particularly Paul for running with the sidebar when I could no longer carry it, as well as his work as a guest columnist (alongside Dave, Drew, and Todd).

But while I won't pretend that my education is complete, I've gotten as much of it as I can without diving into the deep end and actually doing the work. I'll still be hanging around here, and if people want to hear about it I'll pipe in from time to time about whatever projects I'm up to. But for me, it's time to stop writing about film, and to start making films.

Thanks again, everybody.

Glad to hear you're not abandoning Mobius for good, Doug! Hope to hear a lot more from you in the future, even if AIE has now reached a natural terminus - and you'll have to hang around a bit longer if you want to hear me banging on about all those elusive Leconte titles (glad to know there's at least one more dedicated Lecontophile somewhere in the world...even if it is all the way in NZ!). Hmm, some incentive.

Anyway, good luck with your labour of love film project - and, of course, getting NZ residency so you can actually earn an honest crust. Keep us posted on how everything turns out...

Bravo, Doug. Hate to see AIE end, but it's perfectly understandable given your new direction in life. I know these things don't last forever. You had a fantastic run -- your thoughts were always interesting and enjoyable to read. It was my pleasure to edit and and give a home to your column.

I've cut way back on my film/DVD-related reading over the past year because it's so difficult to find writing that's not driven by publicity or economics, or not self-serving in some way. I'm just so tired of it all. That definitely wasn't the case with your column, which was totally free of any kind of agenda and just driven by whatever you happened to see or happened to have experienced during that week in your life. I hope people didn't take this kind of writing for granted, because it's scarce, if not nonexistant.

Your missives from the South Seas were just as interesting and readable, although it's a shame you felt the need to hold back towards the tail end out of fear of repercussions of voicing criticisms (although perfectly understandable).

Again, a fantastic job, and it's bittersweet to see this unique personal effort come to an end. You have a lot to be proud of, and I wish you the best and much success in your professional career as an editor. Please don't be a stranger.

Doug:

Congratulations on your graduation and I'd also like to express my appreciation for your column over the past two years. Your Letters from the South Seas series should be required reading for anyone considering film school and I'm willing to bet money (not much considering my current economic status) that you have inspired other folks to take the plunge and pursue a cinematic career.


All the best in your future endeavours.

I saw GBV a few years ago, and got drunk with Kim Deal (of Pixies and Breeders fame) in the bar for most of the show. She had just put her sister on a plane to detox and was hell bent on getting good and drunk. I can drink like a fish, but she drank me under the table. I was doing fine while it was vodka, but when she switched to tequila it was my undoing. I fell asleep in the VIP lounge, awoke abruptly in the middle of the set, went next door and ate a meal -left without paying, and took the bus home. I had forgotten that I drove, but taking the bus was definitely the wiser choice, and when I walked out my front door I was surprised that my car was not in my driveway. The manager of the restaurant was shocked when I walked in to pay him that next afernoon, he had taken me for a dine & dash.
I think the body of my story is a little different from yours, but the overall conclusion is the same and my tale is also an analogy for my time in school:

When I left school, most of that time was difficult to remember, and while I could easily recall the highlights, I really don't care to remember what I forgot. I also completely missed what I had gone there for, but came away with more than I expected when I went there to begin with. Oh yeah, and It turns out that I owed somebody some money, too.

Thanks to everybody for their kind words and well wishes. Rest assured I'll definitely be around, and hopefully amidst other projects I'll have time to throw in updates and watch the intermittent Leconte film. Have a happy and safe New Year, everybody.