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May 20, 2008
The Silver Spoon Of Cinema
For the past few months, I've been meaning to get this insert shot of the sun rising over a train yard; that I'm loathe to get up at sunrise was my main reason for not shooting it, but as I was pulling an all-nighter last night, I figured it was high time I got it out of the way. So at 4:30am I shook the delirium from my head and drove out to where I'd planned on getting the shot; a massive overpass in Fort Worth that looks out onto miles and miles of Union Pacific rail.
I parked my car in the nearest parking lot and, camera in hand, trecked through the grass towards the concrete swell. I paused for a moment, looking at the path before me, and it was then that I came to a newfound understanding: overpasses are not designed for pedestrians. There was no shoulder, and scarcely more than a foot of curb beneath the guardrail. I could walk on it, but one misstep and I'd be creamed - not to mention that my entire endeavors's legal standing suddenly seemed highly questionable.
On the other hand, I really wanted this shot (and, after all, getting stopped by the cops would be sort of old hat). Compelled by some iota of whatever it is that drives other filmmakers to climb live volcanoes or run through the hills with guerillas for the sake of their art, I set out on this narrow embankment as the morning commute roared past. Just don't look back, I told myself. Just get the shot and everything will be fine. For there's something about a movie camera that imparts some veil of invulnerability - some sense that the worst that could happen can't be all that bad; that the ends not only justify the means, but damn near venerate them.
By the time I got to the mid-point of the overpass and was pointing my camera over the rail down at the train yard, I'd begun to consider the fact that what I was doing was also probably a federal offense. Oh well. Had I been injured or arrested or had my camera confiscated or some combination of the above, perhaps I'd learn some lesson and cease taking unnecessary risks for the sake of thirty seconds of film. But as it was, I got those thirty seconds and got out clean, and this strange sense of entitlement, this imaginary get-out-of-jail-free card which my craft has bestowed upon me, remains intact.
Posted by David Lowery at May 20, 2008 6:33 PM
Comments
I'm going to pretend I didn't read that.
Oh wait, I just commented. Damn.
Posted by: Adam Donaghey at May 21, 2008 11:15 PM
wow, beautiful shot! i look forward to seeing this.
Posted by: tom at May 28, 2008 12:53 PM
I've made an entire life out of shaping the creative through the transgressive and--if you keep capturing such beautiful moments of light--I strongly encourage you to continue doing so yourself.
Posted by: maya at May 31, 2008 10:45 PM