I’ve been stuck in this mode of ideas, which isn’t a bad thing but I strongly believe that the key to everything in life in struggling to get to a balance. I think of these philosophical movements like existentialism (which is even a cultural movement), transcendentalism, etc.. and I realize that a little bit of all these movements have truths in them, but I find that a person cannot be heavily invested in one side because they miss out on something on the other side. For that reason it’s important to find a medium among all these things we experience and interact with, and I would express that idea metaphorically to the idea of life and what it means to be living or one aspect (it can’t just be a single subjective view point, and in its whole, finding the balance is key) of this idea of life. 

I am so thankful and grateful to have discovered cinema because it allows me to stay curious. The amazing thing about films is that it involves everything that I love from writing, to poetic visuals, to allowing people to see part of you in a film that you make (this is the foundation to why I consider it an art form), and so much more like life. I want to be able to make films that doesn’t generalize or dumbs down to be accepted but to be accepted for what it is, and for its ability to communicate orally and visually to people, not a specific demographic, gender or nationality, just people. I want my films to make people laugh and cry together. I want to entertain while illuminating moments of truth. I want them to have a sense of realism and naturalism. I want them to be in the moment and appreciating those instances of being in the moment.

Last minute thoughts for actors and directors:
Actors are problem solvers. This is an innate characteristic you need to have if you want to be a successful actor. It’s that constant persistent to solve problem that will take you far not only in your career but in life. Which is a lesson I learned from actors that I’ve studied and been able to talk to. Another thing is the ability to let go and just be in the moment which is a hard thing to do because it isn’t something we can consciously be aware of, but part of the answer is being prepared by reading and re-reading the script, you do all the work that kind of feels right (like writing a diary for the character or a biography of the character, on location field study, etc..), when you go in try not to control it. Try to get away from being aware of doing things or consciously adding things to fill some sort of gap, just let it happen because thats when you’ll get small moments of truth out. To be in the moment and let yourself be loose you have to be brave enough to be uncomfortable and not judge a moment.

This is why I think the best directors are the best at casting. They have great intuition of an actor’s (or person.. doesn’t have to be a professional) personality and abilities so that when cast right, actors will naturally produce moments of reality and truth. It’s in those moments that the long take is really at it’s peak. When you think of film techniques like the close up or tracking shot.. these things are really tools like a hammer and saw, and with that in mind you really have to think about how to utilize these tools right and how these tools can be optimized. We live in a world where we take a lot of things for granted like having a telephone, the ability to communicate with someone who is not physically next to you. It’s something that blows my mind everyday. It’s the little things we often overlook that make the biggest impacts.