Case Study: All Good Things vs. The Jinx (13 min. 2017) Directed, written, produced, narrated, and edited by Lester Alfonso for a York University course taught by Amnon Buchbinder called Biology of Story.
Archive Upload— Day 39. This was my final assignment for Amnon Buchbinder’s Biology of Story course at York University. The point was to compare the same story told different ways. I loved that course. I got a good mark on this assignment. I was particularly excited to have to do this. I have enjoyed the video essay on YouTube before especially when it’s about movies. A few times, I have thought about turning my film reviews into scripts and becoming a bonafide YouTuber but I kept telling myself: I want more time and ambition and self-confidence before I can do that.
Years have gone by and now it’s the year 2020. I’ve learned the hard lesson that if I wait for just the right conditions to appear before I act, I’ll wait forever and nothing will get done. The turn of the new year was a wake-up call.
This is The Year of the Great Archive Upload. To eek it out one day at a time seems tedious but I feel that each video that I’m tossing into the digital tide pool deserves at least an introduction. Maybe the video ought to just speak for itself. idk
Even if no one is following this journey in real-time, someday these words could wash up on someone else’s shore and it will mean something to them. It’s not about what you write about; it’s how you write it.
Snow day. The sound scrape of shovel to pavement says hello. The view is white. The mood is mellow; a good time to watch a black and white European classic from the 50s. Like Jiri Menzel’s Closely Watched Trains on the Criterion Channel. What a lovely capture of a more innocent time!
This is my own “Criterion” editions of my stuff, for what its worth. Even if it’s just to inspire my own kids. If I’m just playing “Hollywood” in my back yard, I might as well go all the way and put up a sign on the front porch. Lemonade. 5 cents. As they say… When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. It’s my way of busking, sharing.
It’s also a way of keeping myself alive and in love. Is it aggressive? Obsessive? Is it dancing? Things are okay? KEEP DANCING. Things are rough? START DANCING. An internet meme told me that.
This is my dance! More soon! — LA
P.S. If you’re liking these daily posts, perhaps you can consider becoming a monthly donor for a year or making a one-time contribution. It would seriously help a lot. Your money goes directly into supporting an artist committed to continually become the best version of himself. Thank you so much! Much love, LA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Creepiest Things Robert Durst Says in His All Good Things DVD Commentary by Alex Palmer in Vulture, April 1, 2015
In All Good Things, Andrew Jarecki Revealed the Real Reason He’s Obsessed With Robert Durst by Seth Stevenson in Slate, March 16, 2015