Sunday March 7

Wow, it's Sunday again (today is actually Sunday March 12 - I just want to recap the last week day by day). It's been just a week since I thought of this and it's been a roller coaster ride.

It all started the week before. Tricia and I had been booked to film (I'm going to write "film" as "video" just don't sound right) - booked to film George K. at Esalen. We'd did one last year and it turned out rather well.

Some jobs are better than other - Esalen is right up there at the top. The perfect location. Great food. Full of people like us (PLUs). Not forgetting the "clothing optional" spas and swimming pool.

Well it was cancelled. Poof! My week destroyed. What to do? Another week cleaning up my edit room. No way. I can do no more for Tricia on her Rough Linen Web site. I am three Production Diaries ahead of the latest published one. It was rapidly coming down to reading a book and walking the dog.

There I was in the shower last Sunday musing:

I'm a filmmaker - I should make some films. Well dah! But it was a good thought.

What's a filmmaker if he isn't making films?

So what subject? People are interesting. We have an inventor up the road, there's Burton, Susanne, Peter. Wow, I'm surrounded by interesting people.

I go to lunch. Talking to my daughter (she's interesting too). "It's got to be short. No more than 3 minutes."

I get home, test the camera and walk around to Mary's place. It takes at little convincing, "I'm not dressed for a video, the house is a mess, it's low tide... " Then she says,"Yes!" Whoah, my first victim. I wire her up and start filming.

Done. It is better than I'd hoped. Mary's personality comes across.

Filming like this looks easy - it's actually quite tricky as I try to look at Mary - eye to eye - but of course I also need to check out the camera viewfinder - and besides that I also need to see where I'm walking (I'm often walking backwards).

I return home. Sit outside on the deck with a glass of two buck Chuck. Now what? I need a name.

Hmmm... Three minute films? PeopleFlix? 180 seconds? They're awful. Terrible.

Hey! Why not a second less than 3 minutes? Two minutes and fifty nine seconds...

I go inside to my computer. Log on to Godaddy.com (an inspired name) and type in 2-59 (2:59 isn't permitted). 2-59.com - ENTER!

2-59.com IS AVAILABLE

Now to find a Godaddy discount code. 30% off. Good. $7.00 to register. Must be worth it.

Click. I've got 2-59.com. This is all too easy.

I've "got" Mary's video too, filmed in my handheld run 'n gun style. Now to edit the shoot which ran about 10 minutes - all one shot - to just 2 minutes and 59 seconds.

Run 'n gun means no lights, no tripod (or monopod) with a lot of camera movement - no sitting down interviews. If it's a person talking, I pop on a radio mike and try to conceal the wires. I perfected the style (perfected... sounds wrong, but you know what I mean) when I shot my New Orleans Stomp documentary idn 2000 and 2001. I wired up John McCusker and wandered around his jazz tour shooting.

I transfer the video to my computer. Find the start of take one. Run forward to the 2' 59" point and cut. Amazing. It's a clean hole. Exactly 2' 59" 00 frames.

I add 2-59.com to my server. Do a home page. Upload Mary. I'm there. All in a Sunday afternoon. There it is, right up there on the Web. Somethings were meant to be.