As my second film project at BDFI gets underway, I find myself reflecting constantly on the first. After editing for the past few weeks, I’m getting pretty tired of it. In fact, I’m starting to hate it. All the problems stand out and the good stuff seems to have faded. I want to start over and fix the script and the framing and the lighting and the continuity and the editing. I’m wondering if I even want to show it to anyone. Then I screened it.

I showed it to a few of my cycling buddies at my home last weekend. I had to. I’ve been telling them about this project for weeks now and even had them read the script while it was in development. They demanded a screening, ready or not. And… what do you know, they enjoyed it! OK, so they’re my friends and they probably would have enjoyed anything about cycling, especially with beer and food. But still, real people were seeing my work for the first time and they reacted to it. They laughed. They wanted to know more and see more. And, of course that’s what filmmakers live for… to communicate, affect and touch others and to provoke thought and dialog. Maybe that seems obvious, but I can tell you that there is nothing purer than the inspiration and motivation you get from a viewer reaction, especially a positive one. It’s like pulling off a big magic trick. I’m motivated to do better. I’m hooked.

On to the next project!