I'm doing 41 things
My two juiciest documentary projects (including the one I false-started a few months ago) can’t swing into production until late summer. Meanwhile I’ve met some cool folks who are just getting off the ground doing docs on interesting local angles. Hopefully I’m going to join up with them, probably starting as the audio guy since I have more experience with mics and recording than the rest of the crew. Boom Operator is not my dream role, but getting off my ass and into doc production will be great in and of itself. And if these people are really cool to work with, who knows, a production company might materialize. Have to insert a plug for the Northwest Film Forum for providing the classes that are helping me jumpstart progress on this long-held goal. Last month’s Videography workshop with Erik Vilinskas kicked ass.
Todd Gehman's Life List
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1. care about health for a year
1 entry . 6 cheers1 person -
2. manage a low- or no-cost recording and photography studio
1 entry . 3 cheers1 person -
3. make a documentary film
2 entries . 34 cheers542 people -
4. shoot a photo essay on small-scale winemaking
3 entries . 11 cheers1 person -
5. base a Theme and Variations suite on my phone number
1 entry . 24 cheers2 people -
6. learn clever magic tricks
15 cheers143 people -
7. publish something in a respectable journal, magazine, or edited website
20 cheers416 people -
8. build an excellent piece of furniture out of wood
22 cheers99 people -
9. live in New York City for one year
30 cheers58 people -
10. drink 40 year old Bordeaux on my 40th birthday
2 entries . 28 cheers7 people -
11. go on a road trip with no predetermined destination
15 cheers18,115 people -
12. master three piano pieces by Chopin
23 cheers5 people -
13. write an artist's statement
1 entry . 6 cheers7 people -
14. make a short film
18 cheers600 people -
15. codify the rules of the jukebox drinking game
3 cheers1 person -
16. Record a solo album
1 entry . 12 cheers51 people -
17. go hang gliding
7 cheers368 people -
18. take a drawing class
17 cheers80 people -
19. design a font
10 cheers26 people -
20. Build out my entire neighborhood on 43 Places
4 cheers6 people -
21. learn to surf
9 cheers7,101 people -
22. attend a dark dining dinner
1 entry . 11 cheers1 person -
23. read at least one book a month
11 cheers242 people -
24. commission a work of art
4 cheers9 people -
25. Learn to play the cello
14 cheers740 people -
26. write a clear and concise essay on color theory for photographers
1 entry . 4 cheers1 person -
27. learn to ride a motorcycle
8 cheers1,569 people -
28. Make 43 Things Faster
2 entries . 5 cheers4 people -
29. design a t-shirt
3 cheers714 people -
30. take a photo every day for a month
6 cheers39 people -
31. learn object-oriented javascript
4 cheers1 person -
32. have my caricature drawn
4 cheers80 people -
33. upgrade to a flash portfolio site
1 person -
34. do yoga
1 entry . 2 cheers1,589 people -
35. Fund 43 microloans through Kiva.org
2 cheers66 people -
36. take writing retreats
3 cheers1 person -
37. start using test driven development (TDD)
1 entry1 person -
38. volunteer
2 cheers4,652 people -
39. make music most mondays
1 entry1 person -
40. learn Logic Pro 8
2 entries7 people -
41. Make a project for kickstarter.com
2 people
How I did it: I'm an unapologetic slob, so I had to trick myself into getting started on such a major project. I made a checklist of about a dozen small units of work that would add up (really, subtract down) to a decluttered studio, the biggest room and biggest mess in my place. I made the list on a whim one afternoon while at work. The first task seemed easy enough, so that same night I went home and completed it. Just cleaned… Read how I did it…
How I did it: Signed up for a 5-week introduction to Tango at the Century Ballroom in Seattle. It was an hour-long night class once per week. I signed up with a friend but in class they encourage people to switch partners between songs, in order to broaden your exposure to various skill levels and techniques. "Takes two to Tango" is a cliche whose validity became strikingly clear over the course of the class. Dancing with random… Read how I did it…
All of the sudden, I’m hanging a show at a friend’s bar next Monday. I have seven days to throw together my very first photography show. Holy wow.
My first sixteen-track recording went off successfully last night. The Mac Mini handled it gracefully with Logic Pro recording to a firewire hard drive. The closest thing to a problem was that, when stopping the takes between songs and then starting again, there was sometimes a five to ten second lag before the tracking resumed. I was doing a “pretend I’m not here” recording of a band rehearsal, and if they started up a new tune too suddenly, I’d lose the first few bars. In a real session I’d cue them or just keep rolling the whole time, so it’s not a major concern, but definitely a lesson learned.
I was amazed at how wildly the channel volumes veered and how fundamentally different the rough mixes needed to be to make each song sound okay during playback. It gave me a newfound respect for people who do live sound and manage to make a cohesive good sound for any band with a dynamic range.
