Change of Place: Coming Home and Heading Out

Okay!  Here is my exciting personal news!  It was a rainy day in Puerto Rico, I've been taking classes last week and this week to receive my Living Foods Lifestyle certificate, I'm still working full time, and preparing to leave the Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute (for now)... so I'm exhausted.  The video may not express my excitement as well as I would like... but I'm excited!!!

(P.S. I'm becoming conscious of my "And" fillers and am working to remove those for more concise videos when I'm too tired or lazy to edit.)

Career Change: Dream Travel Job. Yes.

Hello Dear Readers,

Over the years I have traveled here and there while shooting photos and video while thinking:

Maybe one day I can be a travel filmmaker and do assignments for National Geographic or something...

But how?

Well, Viator.com has created a window of opportunity to becoming a travel videographer with their Dream Travel Job contest.  I created a video entry for Kelly and I.  They are looking for 2 more travelers or filmmakers to go on a 60 day, 20 cities, travel adventure and document it.  All expenses paid.  Not only would this be awesome, it would open doors for more travel assignments.

So please, check out my video entry and vote for it.  You need to be signed into your Facebook account and "Like" the Viator page in order to see the video.  The Vote button is bottom-left under the video.  You can vote once a day!  Thanks!

WATCH AND VOTE HERE!  THANKS!!!

Peace!

-Marty

Letting Go: Change at Work. Change of Control

[This is partly a response to my earlier post about my frustration and failure in first attempting to shoot a commercial in Puerto Rico.]

The last month in Puerto Rico flew by with lots of changes!  First off, I successfully shot a commercial in Puerto Rico!  It's a fun surf spot produced for a contest held by a brand of whisky.  I applied the lessons learned from my first failed attempt at making a commercial here:  I sought out reliable non-actor locals and gave myself plenty of time to shoot it while anticipating delays, cancelations, and/or reshoots.

I cast two surfers who I met on the beach to play father and son.  The "father" is the owner of a surf shop and the "son" was an employee.  I cast the two because they looked the part and there was already a natural chemistry between them from working together.  This meant I would be able to use less energy on trying to direct a performance.  I approached the project very much like a documentary which was a change from my recent work.  There was very little staging and very few takes.  I basically gave them simple actions to do and I would watch them and capture different moments and angles I found interesting.  

I was a one man crew with all my cameras and lenses in a backpack with a tripod strapped on the side.  It was very empowering to know that I could carry everything I needed to make a commercial in one backpack with my own two feet.  Larger productions can get so complicated once you start adding tons of gear, people, etc.  This was liberating.  Everything was shot daylight exterior so there was no need for lights which I didn't have a budget for.  A few times I used the white bottom of a body board to bounce the sunlight.

One of the most rewarding parts was just hanging out with the surfers, getting to know them, and becoming friends.

Over the past month, I've humbled myself a bit while learning to "let go" and not attempt to control so many things that are beyond me.  During the commercial shoot, I had no control whether it would rain or not or whether the swell would come in and the waves would suffice.  I also had to adapt to "Caribbean Time" where nothing or no one exists on a set schedule.  There were three days where we were suppose to shoot that fell through... luckily I was the only crew member and I had to just accept it, not stress over it, and say to myself, "Okay, I guess we'll shoot tomorrow."

The great thing about it all was that everything seemed to work out perfectly as I let go of control.  We got the waves, we got the sun, we got the shots and everything we needed in time and it all happened right before the owner caught the flu.

When I arrived in PR, I started looking for ways to make some extra travel money.  After the commercial, the one employee left to take a commercial fishing job in New York.  Now with an employee gone, and being sick with the flu, the owner who I became friends with asked me to work at the surf shack.  And thus the universe provided!

Working @ the Surf Shack is a pretty good gig.  The only real work is running 6 miles on the beach there and back everyday.

I had a really busy week while the owner was sick.  I was working in the kitchen at the health center and at the surf shack nearly every day.  I worked a 60 hour week while commuting 6 miles a day via barefoot running on the beach.  I was exhausted.

I've had some time now to rest and recover a bit.

I've adapted better to the Caribbean and am much happier with this new perspective of giving up control.  That's not to say I don't make plans and have optimistic intentions for outcomes... But rather, I don't stress or get too hung up when nature, people, or other things happen that are beyond me.  I realized I was some gringo trying to bring a whole different attitude from the film industry with expectations and scheduling that simply don't fly too well in Puerto Rico.

Also, the Surf Shack is right next to the yoga studio where I tried to cast the two people that flaked on me in the earlier failed commercial attempt.  That failure and my earlier expectations aside, they are totally nice and cool people and I see them on a daily basis.  No more hard feelings.

Now that I've changed a bit, I recognize other people who attend the health institute who bring similar expectations from busy city life.  They too would be better off if they let go a bit.

For example, the power frequently goes out here for long durations while storms pass through.  The last power outage lasted about 36 hours.  During these times I have to run the generator for a bit to power the kitchen and prepare meals.  One woman complained to me that the generator was very loud and inappropriate for the nature of the institute... She said we need to have a "sound barrier."

Really?  Are you serious?  You want me to make a sound barrier?

I simply apologized politely for the inconvenience.  But in my head, I'm blown away by her non-constructive feedback.  What does she expect?  My only two options are to run the generator and prepare her meal, or allow her to enjoy silence and solitude which will require her to fast.  I cannot control nature and its storms.  I cannot control power outages.  I cannot build a silent generator nor quickly organize a crew of volunteers to help me build a "sound barrier."  Come on lady!  Let go!

Although it's frustrating working without power in the kitchen, I don't mind doing without power, internet, and sufficient water pressure for a while on my own.  But this is really hard for city people...

Another lady was very sassy when we ran out of papaya.  I told her I'm sorry but the only papaya I have left isn't ripe yet.  In my head: There's some parts of nature I simply cannot control.  And I'm sure the papaya would ignore any verbal requests to ripen faster on my behalf.

Last week I started working in the greenhouse too!  I haven't practiced growing much of my own food which is one of my intentions this year.  I love it in the greenhouse and I'm learning a lot:  For example, don't wear flip flops while shoveling compost because ants will bust out with no mercy and leave you with the itchiest of bites on your foot.  Growing the wheatgrass and sunflower sprouts takes about 6-8 days so we always have to prepare for groups far in advance.  We have to be very careful because we run low at times and can't make nature grow any faster: Another lesson of control.

What I like most about the greenhouse is the occasional fresh coconut break.  The other day one of the workers chopped a bunch of cocos with a machete for each of us.  A fresh coconut water break is much healthier and cooler than the typical cigarette break most people have at work.  The world would be much better off if we replaced all cigarettes with coconuts.  I can picture myself now walking outside of a bar and a hipster asking me for a cigarette at which point I reply smugly, "No dude.  Just a coco..." And I pull out a machete and chop the coconut right in front of their face!  They then walk away with their tail between their legs realizing how uncool cigarettes are and how cool machetes and cocos are! Boom!

So, if you find yourself getting too stressed out... Maybe you should let go of some control... Or have a coconut... It helps!

Change of Place: Inspiration, Flaky Non-Actors, and Utter Disappointment

Part of my plan in coming to Puerto Rico was to take a break from film and commercial work.  But that quickly changed in less than 2 weeks.  Moving to a new place makes everything exciting.  If you've been walking down the same street, neighborhood or city for a few years or more, chances are good that you don't "see" as much anymore.  Things like grocery shopping, going to the post office, or filling your gas tank are now probably mundane.  Unless you make a conscious effort to look, or see things in a new light.

All of that is much easier when you move to a new place.  You can explore everything: The streets, the alleys, the people, the places, etc.  Everything from a stray dog taking a shit can be exciting!  And there are A LOT of stray dogs in Puerto Rico.

Needless to say, I'm already rejuvenating my creative inspiration.  However, I thought it'd take me a while to find crew and actors.  Within a week and a half, I met a fashion photographer and cinematographer who relocated from New York.  His wife teaches where I work.  That was a start.

We decided to try working together, first, on a contest for MOFILM.  I came up with an idea I really liked and kept it simple so that we could produce it within our limitations (No budget, 2 man crew, I don't have a car, no lights, short amount of time until the deadline, very small actor talent pool, etc).

The last week I've been very busy both at work and then running around trying to produce this project.  Craigslist isn't very popular on the island.  In order to find actors, I ran, literally ran on my feet, around town posting handwritten casting notices.  Meanwhile I was scouting locations, trying to borrow a truck, gather props, all while trying to make a schedule that can be realistic and simple as possible while balancing all the variables.  

Casting was appearing to be the most difficult.  The DP and I went to the market, the beaches, and around town asking strangers if they were interested in acting.  The short notice and scheduling was looking difficult.

Monday I got a call from someone who was interested.  It was getting down to the last minute.  I ran 5 miles down the beach barefoot with my backpack to meet her.  Again, my feet are my only transportation.  Not too many people ride bicycles here because the roads are narrow, there's usually not a shoulder, people drive crazy, and there's 1500 accidents on the island a week.

I meet the woman, she's a yoga instructor.  She hasn't acted, but she's enthusiastic and looks the part.  She has a husband, a surf instructor, who fits the part and is interested as well.  Awesome!  We're cast!

We planned to shoot yesterday on my day off after they get off work but I get a call the night before from the husband saying that yesterday was the only day he could have a mechanic fix his car.  No flexibility there.  Okay fine, it's gonna be a pain but we reschedule everything:  Borrowing people's truck, apartment, babysitter for the DP, my work schedule...

Everything's good to go for today.  We're shooting at 1pm.  I get off work, make lunches to cater for the "actors" and start set dressing and moving furniture from other buildings with the DP.  We have picnic tables outside wrapped in tinfoil bouncing light into the windows.  We have a janky tripod and on it we have pretty good cameras with nice lenses.  We're all set up.

I walk around the campus to see if the a actors are lost.  I give the husband a call.  I say, "Hey this is Marty for the commercial."  I get a "Hey, what's up man!"  No indication, recognition, or apology that they are 30 minutes late.  Then I realize I dialed his house number and not his cell phone.  Uh oh.  "Are you guys on your way soon?"  "Hold on a sec."  I wait for about 2-3 minutes of silence and then the wife picks up.  She quickly tells me how "crazy" things have been for them and I get a list of eight excuses or more.  She asks if we could shoot next week.  I remind her, as I told her before, that the final deadline for submission is Monday.  Insert more excuses.  My mind and body become a bit numbed from disappointment.

I kindly explain to her how much goes into the schedule and planning for a film or commercial project.  I explain how important it is that when you tell me you are available, then you have to be available.  Otherwise, it's important to tell me that you're not available.  It makes sense to most professionals, especially producers and those in film.  Apologies.  Good bye.

Burned.

I sit down with the DP and share the disappointment.  We talk it over, try to think of alternate casting, but we really don't have anything.  I say let's think about it for 10 minutes to give time for a creative alternative or solution.  Ten minutes go by.  We call it off.  It's done.  A lot of planning and work for nothing.  Or rather, a lot of work for the lesson learned.

Back in Michigan, with my network of both actor talent, crew, and other resources, I could have pulled this off.  Not in Puerto Rico. Not yet at least.

I still feel a little numb.  I wish I wasn't working on this the last few days and I could have rested more.  Oh well, it was a great first lesson to approaching future projects here.  I'll need plenty of time for pre-production and casting to find real actors or reliable people.  I'll also need enough wiggle room for cancellations and rescheduling.  I'll forget about people being on time in the Caribbean.  Unless they're surfers, we're shooting a surf spot, and a good swell is coming in.

I'm gonna go take an afternoon nap, swim in the ocean later, and get over this one.

Change of Place: Moved to Puerto Rico

I made it Puerto Rico! I’ll be here for the next 3-4 months doing a work exchange at the Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute in Aguada where they teach the Living Foods Lifestyle created by Dr. Ann. I live in the men’s dormitory where there are 6 beds and, currently, 2 other participants staying. I work in the kitchen and will be producing videos and marketing materials in the near future. I eat a very simple diet here in the program which is living, raw, vegan. 

I wake up early every morning- something I’ve not been good at in the past- and walk 50 yards to the beach. I run barefoot and usually head south to the town of Rincon. I listen to Spanish audio lessons on my iPod. When I turn around and run back to Aguada, the sun starts to rise. It has an amazing warm glow as it parts the palm trees and reflects in the ocean mist. When I get back to Aguada, I go for a swim and then head up for breakfast. 

There’s typically lots of papaya and bananas for breakfast along with almond milk and sprouted buckwheat cereal. For lunch, there’s sprout salads, avocado, and energy soup along with ferments like sauerkraut or seed yogurt. For dinner, always energy soup, which is blended sunflower sprouts and lentil sprouts with vegetables, rejuvelac, and dulse. For people new to the diet, or rather lifestyle, energy soup may be difficult to palate at first. I really like my energy soup though! If you mix in the blended papaya, blended ginger, and limes that are served with it, I think it tastes pretty good. I was warned by people who have come to AWNHI that although the food is very healthy and healing, it can be rather bland. Few seasonings are used and there’s no salt. Dulse, a sea vegetable, and celery are used for sodium. There’s basil, parsley, and other herbs in the garden. Throughout the day, I drink lots of coconut water, water with limes, wheatgrass shots, and rejuvelac- a fermented drink we make from quinoa or cabbage. 

I’m not sure why I didn’t move to the tropics earlier… but I’m happy to be here now. The majority of foods I love, that is the tropical fruits, are here: Bananas, lemons, limes, mangos, coconut, avocados, and more. I didn’t know there were other varieties of avocados! The ones we had at lunch today were huge! Papaya wasn’t my favorite fruit for a while, but I like it now. There’s also a lot of almond trees, but they’re different here. The nuts have a richer flavor and are much softer and skinnier. I learned to crack the fallen shells with a rock yesterday. 

I’m trying to keep my computer use to a more controlled minimum: Once in the morning and once in the evening. Technology can do some great things… but in the past, I would often find myself distracted by the internets and unable to concentrate. Perhaps I’ll get my computer use to only once a day or less. Regardless, it’s much nicer to use my computer at the picnic tables outside where the wind flies while carrying the sounds of the ocean. 

I’m very happy thus far to be at the AWNHI in Aguada. It took a few months of persistence to secure a position. At one point, back in Michigan, I felt like I could have let this opportunity slip by. I thought of moving somewhere else or pushing harder on my career in film. At that time, I began to feel a certain sensation in my gut or body, a physical response to these mental ideas. It felt similar to the physical feeling that can come after an emotional loss or pain. I’ve been getting better at listening to my “gut” feeling. In this case, I began to interpret it as telling me the right thing to do while allowing me to feel the pain and regret that I might experience if I were to let this opportunity pass. I needed to follow this new interest in food and find some personal growth. I’m not sure exactly where I’m heading but I feel as though I’m on the right path. Either way, I’m on the beach in Puerto Rico and I’m happy! 

Boom!