Steering things in the direction of the work now. I’d hoped that keeping a journal would force me to first clarify what it is that I actually want to create, and then to make regular progress toward it. First day writing about the work properly and it’s already helped me to do that.
I need to write something longer about this, but the short version: I want to tell audio-centric stories about the Californian outdoors. It’s a love letter to this wonderful place, and to place in general. I’ll be writing, taking photographs, making short videos, and recording binaural audio, but it’s all in service of telling stories through audio, with heart.
The cool thing about having so much to learn is that I have almost no excuse to do nothing. There’s always something small to do. There are no real blockers. If I can’t get out to Point Reyes or it’s absolutely pissing it down, I probably can’t go and shoot great video of the coast, but that’s just one step of so many steps in the long creative journey.
I listened to Andrew Scott (of Fleabag etc.) read fictionalized love letters on the way to pick up a curry tonight, and it struck me that I could riff on something similar to help me learn more about mixing, scoring, microphone technique and so much more. There are zero dependencies, I’d just need to sit my ass down and actually do the work.
Taking any photos would make me a better photographer, which would serve me for this project. Writing any poetry would make me a better poet, which would serve me. Listening to the world would make me a better listener. Creative work isn’t linear, it’s messy and it’s beautiful and it’s about showing up, even on the days when it’s harder.
When I started putting some more shape around the work today, I felt that impulse that I think many people feel—to structure and sequence everything in a really neat way. It needs more structure than it has now, but I’m going to resist coming up with the perfect plan, because I just don’t believe in that. Take the detour, miss a turn, live a little.