Calling back creativity.

♬ Oh where, oh where has my crea-tiv-a-teee gone? Oh where, oh where can it beeeee? ♪

I lost my creativity. I didn't just lose it.... I killed it. Actually, I allowed creativity to be sucked right out of me. I want to blame "math mind." Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against math. In fact, I love crunching numbers. But I have a hard time balancing math and creativity.

When I was in school, one of the toughest semesters, creatively, was the semester I took math. I had a difficult time switching from math mind to creative mode. I felt like math was strangling my creativity.

Well... the last few weeks I've been sucked into math mode again. I was appointed Treasurer on the Board of Directors for Utah Women in Film (in October), and recently I spent days sorting through various receipts and matching up transactions from all the months before I came on board. When I completed that task, I moved on to our personal finances and taxes. Ugh. Taxes. I hates them!   

I had several ideas for this blog while I worked on financial things, but now I feel like my brains have been, er, taxed.

I need to find a way to meld math world and creative world together. I know it's possible. I've seen it. During my last semester of school, there was a young man in my screenwriting class who wrote hilarious scripts. He was working on a two television series, and while reading his stuff in class I laughed 'til tears squirted. So creative! So clever! Then I learned he wasn't a film major like most of us in class... he was a math major. I was in awe.

I asked him how he kept math from sucking the life out of his creative work and he told me math actually made him more creative. Hmmm. I haven't reached that point.

As I said in the beginning, I want to blame "math mind" but in reality I have to blame myself because I allowed "math mind" to suck the creativity out of me. I allowed life to interfere with what I want to accomplish. It's that same blasted mistake I keep repeating over and over. (See "Writing While Under Fire")

Please come back Creativity. I miss you.

Background Talent

Last week I worked as Background Talent for "The Mistle-Tones" (starring Tia Mowry, and Tori Spelling) an ABC family movie slated to air this December.

I did my make-up and hair at home, and when I reported to the make-up department, I was given the look-over and pronounced "perfect." Me? Me, who usually wears minimal make-up? I got it right?Wow. That felt good.

Then someone assessed my hair. Again pronounced "perfect." I am such a nerd when it comes to styling hair, so I felt on cloud nine after that.

Next was wardrobe. I had to bring three options of Christmas outfits and winter attire to wear for my role as "Shopper." The guy looked at my assortment and really liked what I was wearing, so he told me to take my winter coat off and drape it over my arm so my pretty Christmas jacket would show.

They liked my make-up, they liked my hair, they liked my clothes... I felt pretty darn snazzy!

The next day, the same thing. Perfect make-up. Perfect hair.

I wore the same outfit from the previous shoot since we were continuing the same scene, but this time a different wardrobe person browsed through my clothing options, and told me, "When you do wardrobe change, put this on...it's perfect for the 80s flashback."

Uh. Perfect for the 80s? I wore that just a few months ago. *pop*

Success for my friend and mentor!

The LDS Film Festival was last week. One of my friends, Sally Meyer, wrote the screenplay for a short film: Life According To Penny, which won First Place, as well as the Audience Choice Award, in the Short Film Competition.  

When I saw the film, it gave me chills. I've preached for so long... films can be quality, hard hitting, edgy, and intense without being graphic. This particular film fit the bill, and I wanted to applaud until my hands were sore when the ending credits rolled.   

I met Sally last June when I attended a schmooze sponsored by the Utah Women in Film. (See previous post: Birds of a Feather.) She became a friend and a mentor, always asking about my screenwriting whenever she sees me, and giving me encouragement. I am so happy for Sally and the filmmakers involved in this fantastic film! I hope Life According To Penny goes on to win awards in numerous festivals, and I hope they make many, many more.

Here's a clip:

Now I better get busy re-writing a scene in one of my screenplays. I'll see Sally later this week and I want to report progress...I don't want scolded!  :)

Images in motion.

While viewing the trailer for War Horse (2011) I literally had goosebumps on my arms. I think it was the first time I consciously decided to see a film based solely on the cinematography. The images in motion on the screen--the angles and composition of the shots--touched me deeply like beautiful music.

Some people walk through a museum and feel moved by the art. When I go to a museum I'm moved by my aching legs. Static art makes me think, and pleases my eye, but rarely touches my soul. Put a beautiful image in motion, however, and it rouses my senses and raises goosebumps. Add music to the moving images and my senses soar.

Last week I saw War Horse at a local Megaplex, and even though my decision to see the film was based on wanting to see the cinematography, I was pleased with the story too. Shoot, I didn't stand a chance. The magnificent moving images combined with a compelling story and soundtrack, the film brought me to tears.

Yep, I was one goosbumpy teary-eyed theater patron. And not once were my senses assaulted with vulgarity.

I want more films like that.