Friends, Family, and other readers of 'The London Scene': you may have noticed that I still haven't posted anything in ages, but there are two very distinct reasons why: 1. Since my laptop broke, I've barely been online. My replacement laptop came in about a week ago, but it's painfully slow, making me avoid computer usage unless absolutely essential. Instead, my nights have consisted of intense "Lost" and "Queer As Folk" marathons. 2. We've been working really hard over the past 6 weeks on our documentary for one of my courses here at Westminster University. Many hours spent filming, scripting, and editing. Far too many. But, it's been worth it because we're finally done!
The documentary is called "Passing Clouds", and it's about an alternative arts club--hidden in a back alley in East London--with the same name. In a nutshell:
"Fed up with present-day commercialism, a group of people from different countries gather to build what they believe is a better way of living. They created a place called Passing Clouds, in London, to introduce a more communal and responsible lifestyle."
And you can watch the documentary here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp35ZCoYwMo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01]
In terms of production, there were three of us working on it. I initially found out about this place from a blurb on Time Out. After making contact with the organizers, we filmed over a period of three days.
I did a lot of the camera work, as well as editing (though we all took turns with different tasks, and worked together closely to produce this final version).
This was the first documentary I've worked on since the Nicaragua one ("Mano Por Mano") that I produced for USF in 2008. I forgot how much work goes into such a little amount of time, but I love doing it.
So what are your thoughts on the documentary? Would you visit a place like Passing Clouds? Do you agree with their way of life? Do you think it's better to live a more communal, rather than individually-minded, lifestyle?
Leave comments with your thoughts!