We snagged a few interviews at the remarkably small Pilot on the edge of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Manuel's face was drenched by the warm head lights of a looming 18-wheeler, more trucks out of focus in the distance, as he told us about his five kids in El Paso, Texas, fifteen hundred miles away.
"They grow up so fast. You miss everything..."
"Have you considered quitting?" Asked Dan.
"Quitting...? No. There are no other jobs in El Paso. Nothing else pays seventeen, twenty dollars an hour. I don't have any other options."
He took a sip from the large cup of soda in his hands and for the first time I noticed what it said in big white letters against royal blue: "The Choice is Your's." Breathlessly, I framed the close up.
Atlanta by night fall.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
First time.
We spent the night in Charlotte instead of driving through to Atlanta. We wanted to have a full day at the Atlanta truckstop, and besides, we were tired and had a place to stay here.
It was interesting, my first time filming at a truckstop, to notice the similarities between looking for interviews and looking for rides. There was a lot of waiting. As it turns out, it was actually easier getting interviews as compared to getting rides. People seem compelled to talk while they're in front of the camera, and I suppose that most of us don't really understand how the seemingly insignificant things that we say can be steeped in significance when put into the right context in the editing room.
On a personal note, Alex and I seem to be meshing in our styles quite well. I'm starting to get a sense and a greater appreciation for the subtleties of framing and filming. Each time I review the footage that Alex has shot, I get a greater appreciation for his work, and each time I chide him for not handing me a receipt, or each time I score a sweet interview, and get a great line from a subject, he thinks to tell me how happy he is that I'm on board. We're really doing good work together and I'm learning a lot about what it takes to make a film. Essentially, strange as it may seem, all of our work is meaningless unless it ends up on a couple of cents worth of magnetic tape.
Peace and Love,
Dan
It was interesting, my first time filming at a truckstop, to notice the similarities between looking for interviews and looking for rides. There was a lot of waiting. As it turns out, it was actually easier getting interviews as compared to getting rides. People seem compelled to talk while they're in front of the camera, and I suppose that most of us don't really understand how the seemingly insignificant things that we say can be steeped in significance when put into the right context in the editing room.
On a personal note, Alex and I seem to be meshing in our styles quite well. I'm starting to get a sense and a greater appreciation for the subtleties of framing and filming. Each time I review the footage that Alex has shot, I get a greater appreciation for his work, and each time I chide him for not handing me a receipt, or each time I score a sweet interview, and get a great line from a subject, he thinks to tell me how happy he is that I'm on board. We're really doing good work together and I'm learning a lot about what it takes to make a film. Essentially, strange as it may seem, all of our work is meaningless unless it ends up on a couple of cents worth of magnetic tape.
Peace and Love,
Dan
Monday, January 18, 2010
Falls Church, Virginia
We're a little less than halfway to Atlanta, Georgia, and extremely fortunate to be the recipients of unbridled hospitality from Susie B. and the family, friends of Julie, fellow traveler and baker extraordinaire. Two pies are baking in the oven and the comforting aroma saturates the cozy living room: a welcome quiet before the storm.
Nancy called. She was tweaking.
"It was good to hear from you," I said. "Feel free to call if you ever want to talk."
She almost broke down, unaccustomed to consideration. The darkness seethes and the moments crumble and I bring these gifts across the broken border to the unseen places.
Nancy called. She was tweaking.
"It was good to hear from you," I said. "Feel free to call if you ever want to talk."
She almost broke down, unaccustomed to consideration. The darkness seethes and the moments crumble and I bring these gifts across the broken border to the unseen places.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
We've lined up three bilingual interns in Ontario because word on the street is that a lot of the girls out there are Mexican immigrants; finding sympathetic characters will be a major hurdle, but the story of an illegal immigrant coming to the United States and turning tricks to make ends meet is a uniquely compelling one that adds an unforeseen dimension to the film. Following Peter's insightful suggestion, we shot a handful of interviews in midtown Manhattan in order to get the average Joe's perspective on the subject of sex workers. We plan to shoot interviews at cities throughout the country as we make our way west; I was looking forward to outright indignation but most people were surprisingly open-minded. It's New York City after all.
We're determined to come in under budget, and to further that cause, will pick up non-perishable groceries tomorrow, and maybe even cook up a storm. Dan is an outspoken advocate for anchovies and other kinds of canned and salted fish that turn my stomach, but I'll make a sincere effort to appreciate their finer points. Other culinary highlights we're looking forward to include peanut butter and bread. I'm exaggerating of course, but I think it's safe to say that Dan and I share an affinity towards asceticism, an affinity that will serve us well throughout production and without which we would never have hitch-hiked across America and "discovered" lot lizards in the first place.
All our ducks are lined up in a row, said Dan.
-A
We're determined to come in under budget, and to further that cause, will pick up non-perishable groceries tomorrow, and maybe even cook up a storm. Dan is an outspoken advocate for anchovies and other kinds of canned and salted fish that turn my stomach, but I'll make a sincere effort to appreciate their finer points. Other culinary highlights we're looking forward to include peanut butter and bread. I'm exaggerating of course, but I think it's safe to say that Dan and I share an affinity towards asceticism, an affinity that will serve us well throughout production and without which we would never have hitch-hiked across America and "discovered" lot lizards in the first place.
All our ducks are lined up in a row, said Dan.
-A
We've finalized our plans. We will leave with an old friend of mine from Martha's Vineyard, who actually contacted me in response to changing my Facebook status to read, "looking for a ride down south from New York City to anywhere between Georgia and Texas." As a result, we'll be leaving on Monday around Noon and driving first to Arlington, where we'll be able to revisit the truckstop in Jessup, Maryland. Then, it's a ten hour drive down to Atlanta, Georgia where we'll have our first encounter with one of the famed I-40 corridor truckstops. Then we will travel to Dallas, Texas and explore the truckstops on the outskirts of the city, followed by El Paso, Texas and then to Tuscon, Arizona. By week's end, we should be in Los Angeles, and the Ontario truckstop; at every stage of the trip, we will be driving through the days and filming through the nights--remaining open to the possibility that the footage we are after could come at any moment. Wish us well, and keep checking the blog. Once we get out on the road, I will start taking stills to accompany the blog entries.
Peace and Love,
Dan
Peace and Love,
Dan
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Preparing for the next round of filming
Hello everyone. My name is Dan, and I will be the Field Producer for the next round of filming. My background as a hitchhiker has, apparently, qualified me to this prestigious post. In my six years of hitchhiking, I have crossed America nine-times, and Canada--from Vancouver Island, to Montreal--once.
Right now, Alex is at the studio finishing the packing of the film equipment, while I whittle away my remaining days off-of-the-road posting on Craigslist's Rideshares to get a ride as far West as possible, or way down South to the warmth. Right now, we are anticipating that we may be hitchhiking out to Ontario, but we may take the easy way out and secure a rideshare all the way to the West Coast. In either case, we should be gone from New York by Friday of this week.
Throughout the process, we will be blogging on here with our words, and occasionally with video and audio, so keep checking back, and if we don't post for a while, shoot me an e-mail at dlivings@marlboro.edu to hold our feet to the fire. Ultimately, it's going to be an exciting adventure, and a trying one as well. Make no mistake about it, this subject matter, while fascinating and enthralling, sheds an unflattering light upon our society and its habit of demanding cheap goods on demand. The trucking industry is the lifeblood of Consumer-America, and everything that goes on at truckstops reflects upon our habits. Keep your eyes open, and your minds as well--this is sure to be an exciting month.
Peace and Love,
Dan
Right now, Alex is at the studio finishing the packing of the film equipment, while I whittle away my remaining days off-of-the-road posting on Craigslist's Rideshares to get a ride as far West as possible, or way down South to the warmth. Right now, we are anticipating that we may be hitchhiking out to Ontario, but we may take the easy way out and secure a rideshare all the way to the West Coast. In either case, we should be gone from New York by Friday of this week.
Throughout the process, we will be blogging on here with our words, and occasionally with video and audio, so keep checking back, and if we don't post for a while, shoot me an e-mail at dlivings@marlboro.edu to hold our feet to the fire. Ultimately, it's going to be an exciting adventure, and a trying one as well. Make no mistake about it, this subject matter, while fascinating and enthralling, sheds an unflattering light upon our society and its habit of demanding cheap goods on demand. The trucking industry is the lifeblood of Consumer-America, and everything that goes on at truckstops reflects upon our habits. Keep your eyes open, and your minds as well--this is sure to be an exciting month.
Peace and Love,
Dan
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