Wednesday, June 25, 2003

Our Danielle has just finished her first week of film making classes. Her instructor is cool, she says, with a good sense of humor and big, stumbly feet. I checked him out. His name is Robert Banks and he’s local, with some awards and festivals to his credit. Other than hearing he’s a good teacher, I know less about him than he seems to know about us. We checked him out at http://www.opensewer.com/banks/main.htm. Danielle got nervous because she found his work “intense,” though creative. She came home the first day feeling just a bit uneasy. He recognized her and then quipped something about his not making the cut when Good Machine rolled through Cleveland, casting and hiring for “American Splendor.” She’s afraid he might want revenge. I suggested she give him an AS t-shirt. (Fine Line sent us a bunch that they’ve printed up for promos.) No. “Giving a t-shirt is an ADULT thing to do. Kids don’t give clothes to teachers.” I take a look at the first storyboard she has created, to propose a first 2-minute film as her class project. I’m knocked out. Instead of an epic, she’s going for something minimal, a small idea that fits, based on a slight observation. She has concerns about shot and angle, not making it “too big,” or “too tall.” Clearly, she has been paying attention to Gus Van Sant’s work, whose latest, “Elephant,” reminded me so much of Ozu. Mr. Banks’ stuff, however, reminds me of experimental filmmakers like Len Lye or Norman McLaren— with social consciousness. I don’t think he’s quite persuaded Danielle to start scratching on emulsion or dyeing film stock, yet. “He’s like, more into abstract and artistic,” explains Danielle when I ask her how her presentation went. “And he said there wasn’t very much going on in my storyboard.” This lifts Harvey’s ears. He’s been called, among other things, an “inaction hero.” Critics want to know where “the story” is in much of his work. We’ve picked Danielle up after class and are driving home for dinner. Danielle notices and leans over to reassure him. “I told him a story didn’t have to be BIG to be a good story. You don’t have to have a whole lot happening to be interesting, if you shoot the film the right way.” Harvey cracks a rare half smile. It’s my turn to be reassured. “My teacher and I agreed to disagree because we’re both right.” She’ll be doing her movie, her way. I want to meet this guy. 9:26:37 AM