Friday, December 11, 2009

Foolish Me

Am I clumsy because I'm a fool, or a fool because I'm clumsy?

Or am I just human?

An example of my own real life foolery, or where I get material:

I tried to pull out a cork from a bottle of wine I had opened the night before. As I pulled, I could feel the cork breaking, so I slowed down and got very careful and methodical. The cork broke anyway, leaving about a quarter still stuck in the neck of the bottle.

I contemplated pushing the rest of the cork in the bottle. But I hate doing that! So I decided to remove it using the corkscrew. The cork was pretty damaged, but I was able to secure it, and I pulled—too hard.

The cork came out, as did the wine in a fountain as if I had put a Mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke. Red red wine, all over the floor, all over the counter, all over me.

Ta Da!


Tuesday, December 8, 2009

How to Think Like a Fool Movie #2


Here is the second "How to Think Like a Fool" moving picture, Make Things More Difficult (click the link to go to YouTube and see it bigger or in high-def).

I shot this one night last week very quickly. In general, I want to make these movies simply and easily, but that's not in the spirit of this specific fool tool, so I made things more difficult by reworking and reshooting two nights later.

Sometimes I find that the first take is the best and most spontaneous, but this time I preferred the final take. I'm glad I followed my own advice.

Only 58 more to go (difficult) (foolish).


Saturday, December 5, 2009

How to Think Like a Fool Demo Movie #1


I've started to make short silent movies demoing each of the "How to Think Like a Fool in 60 Ways" concepts with the help of a fool I know.

Here is the first, Look for Trouble (the bigger you watch it, the better).

I shot the footage last spring, but didn't edit, add the titles, and frame with curtains until this fall.

The movie started as an exercise to find as many problems as I could with the props I had chosen. Only some of the troubles made the final cut. I picked props like the chair and table for their inherent problem potential.

In other words, I looked for trouble.