Pronunciation: /ɪnspɪˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

Deep water diving into the dark abyss of footage, searching for the treasure chest of jewels. Somehow we have to carry them into the light so everyone can see them. We have to clean them just the right way so that you will see them at their best. But it is all of them together that is the splendor of a great film.

inspiration Pronunciation: /ɪnspɪˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ noun

1 [mass noun] the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative:

• divine influence, especially that supposed to have led to the writing of the Bible.

2 a sudden brilliant or timely idea: then I had an inspiration

3 [mass noun] the drawing in of breath; inhalation: crackling sounds are heard in the stethoscope on inspiration

I surround myself with healthy distractions to inject into the long durations of sitting. My phone is off, internet unplugged, and the trains continue past my window in a linear fashion. I absorb the clips into my paintbox and exhale them in a non-linear fashion- playing with time at the tip of my fingers, somehow keeping it sorted in my consciousness.

Sometimes it’s best to hold my breath while I wait for whatever instinct it is that washes over me, whenever it decides to arrive. I trust it like a guide dog. I have to believe it can see the way forward because otherwise, we’re in trouble.

I try purity; brown rice, water, greens. I try stimulants; alcohol, coffee, sugar. Each brings me fleeting moments of clarity, but not one more than the other.

A faint trilling voice interrupts. The blessing that is canine friendship grounds me to the earth again. Her needs remind me of my own. Otherwise, I’d be in danger of not ever leaving the task at hand to breath the fresh air, or listen to the birds.

I recommit to my tunnel vision with a sun salutation and a small prayer for a Muse to be attracted here. Even just for a breath. (Or is it here, hiding in the dog?)

Tide Lines

Oceangybe is an initiative that came my way shortly after completing The Immortal Beaver and after meeting Andrew Naysmith who said simply, “I have some friends who are adventurers” or something to that extent (it was many years ago now so forgive my memory)

I got excited about this project because at the time there wasn’t much being said about the Pacific Gyre, and environmental films in general are usually not very exciting. These guys infuse a youthful exuberance into a global topic that would otherwise be quite depressing and seem somewhat hopeless.

Bringing this project to television markets I was met with a similar perspective as the guys received when trying to finance the trip itself: people don’t have much faith in young people’s ability to actually pull something like this off. The television industry itself it also quite ill, and taking this kind of risk is a huge liability for the old guard that is facing bankruptcy on all fronts.

That didn’t discourage us, and I set forth to invest the money I was making on other projects to ensure that production could continue in a better capacity than they guys had been able to accomplish on their own. We hired a Kiwi cameraman to cover their departure from New Zealand, and invested a large amount into hardware such as hard drive storage for the hundreds of hours of footage being collected from documenting the trash on beaches all around the world.

On several occasions logic tried to convince me that I should move on and abandon what could be seen as an idealistic endeavor. It’s hard not to realize how small a drop in the bucket any initiative on this topic is, especially when held up next to highly funded, corporately sponsored projects in a similar tone that have since popped up all over the world. In the end though, what that points more to is the dire need for every effort to be seen through to fruition. Drop by drop, eventually we start to fill that bucket.

David and I proceeded to invest even more time and money as the adventure neared home. We drove to San Diego to cover the journey’s American chapter. I flew myself to Maui and sailed for 3 weeks to film the final leg across the great Pacific Ocean and the arrival home, to Canada. >Here’s my guest blog from the trip<

Then the real work began. Hundreds of hours of material now make up the Oceangybe film, and tackling the edit is a daunting task indeed. Andrew and I continue to contribute labour and time to move the project forward, but in light of paying projects, Oceangybe has always risked being forgotten on the back burner.

In revisiting the material we have, it’s hard not to be inspired by the potential of a project that approaches this complex issue in such an entertaining light. The characters involved are funny, passionate, and determined. This project is not going to let us forget it. It’s demanding to be made.

The worst part of filmmaking is asking for money. It is not something I have been very good at. Now we are faced with this crowd funding initiative which is doing surprisingly well. However, when I look at the list of backers I realize I don’t know any of them. My inside voice wants to scream “Not even $10 for a copy of the film?” but I know that isn’t effective in getting people onside. I can only hope that eventually the project will rise above the multitude of similar requests that flood our online lives. I can only hope that the 10 minutes of time required may materialize in my friends lives and we can hit the home stretch with this project - so close and yet so far.

>Kickstarter<