Oh, the places we will go
BY ROBBY BROWN, TEMPE AZ - In less than a week, the crew will be in Zambia, and production for the feature, BAD T!MING, will begin. VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION is already underway and will continue. But it will be different. Obviously. We have been filming our meetings and various moments here in Mesa and it's been going good. I was filming our great meeting we had on Monday and had fun doing it. I already love filming and editing and when I think about how in a week I won't be filming the students listening intensely while Cyndi and Jabbes prepare us, I'll be filming a featured film being made and a very tight American crew adjusting to very different cultures and life styles.
It's amazing! What an opportunity! Zambia is such a beautiful place and I am absolutely thrilled about capturing that beauty and letting the rest of the world see. As one of the cinematographers for the documentary it will be my job to capture significant/interesting moments. I have to help capture the full drama of the experience, moments that are happy, sad, scare, mad, and, no doubt, stressed. I need to be right up in there getting it. What I've noticed is that the crew, along with myself, will have to get used to having a camera follow them around. Especially in their moments of weakness, everyone resists being recorded then. I believe everyone will be so busy in Zambia, they won't even notice the cameras are there.
Every night I take a moment to prepare, to relax and reflect on everything in my life. What I do is I grab a lemonade and take my long board (It's a skate board, but longer ... and easier) for a spin around the neighborhood. I usually wait til late at night when the streets are dead. I'm off work and it's not 100 degrees outside. I picture what it will be like in Zambia, all the different things I'm going to see and experience. We won't have the luxuries we're used to having here in America. I think that will be a nice change of pace. By the time I'm rolling back into my driveway I am overwhelmed with excitment.
Jobs, commitments, relationships, my "old" LIFE will be put on hold for 4 weeks+ to make room for the "new life" that will allow me to make these films. For Cyndi and Jabbes this started a long time ago. And there is no doubt in my mind that these films will be succesful each in their own way. I think, so what if they don't win best film at SUNDANCE, so what if we don't get distribution. Of course that would be absolutely wonderful but what we're doing is so much bigger than just that, it's so much bigger than all of us. Our goal is that this is making a difference in a country and helping improve the lives of the the people we meet and giving the crew an amazing experience and unbelievable "resume." Fame and money that may come with the making of the films will only be temporary. This experience, on the other hand, will stick with us and effect us for the REST OF OUR LIVES. Such a great learning experience.
Don't call them student films. We are professional filmmakers with a passion for film. We also happen to have attended and been blessed with the tremendous support of a truly AMAZING community and college -- we're lucky to found each other at Mesa Community College.