Stop

[Orange Betsy]

Name

David Edward Keen

Location

NYC USA

Date

May 2022

 

[Maura N.]

Nice!
Why did you used black & white then colour?

 

[Orange Betsy]

Thanks! I had the disturbed state of mind in black and white and only when it calmed down could I see the full warm color of the world

 

[Oskar Kuusk]

I like the cover image. Very artsy, too. No words were used but the message was there. What inspired you to create this?

 

[Marianna Schmidt]

What equipment did you use? It looks good!

 

[Maura N.]

Thanks! I had the disturbed state of mind in black and white and only when it calmed down could I see the full warm color of the world

Now I see it! Thanks for explaining!

 

[Orange Betsy]

I like the cover image. Very artsy, too. No words were used but the message was there. What inspired you to create this?

thank you Oskar.

I'd been practicing meditation based on the idea of the benefit of quieting the mind down during the practice and concentrating on the breathing alone. I had enjoyed Thich Nhat Hanh's talks from Plum Village France during the pandemic's first months and the practice stuck with me....and my mind is certainly noisy while i'm calming down
The idea of a rock thrown into our pond (the sound effect for its impact was actually one recording of the Chelyabinsk meteor air blast with a nuclear explosion rumble mixed in for good measure)
The feeling that the noise and thoughts are carried away like the airplane, given some time, like the asteroid's waves also calm down given time.

 

[Orange Betsy]

What equipment did you use? It looks good!

Thanks Marianna. The funny thing with this is that I just bought an iphone XR so I figured I'd make a flick with that, instead of my Canon or BlackMagicPocket4K. Yeah, not even the fancy new 13 hahaha

 

[Orange Betsy]

Now I see it! Thanks for explaining!

Actually I was also inspired by Tarkovsky's changing colors in Stalker (1979)

 

[Maura N.]

Actually I was also inspired by Tarkovsky's changing colors in Stalker (1979)

Oh, that's a classic!

 

[Orange Betsy]

What equipment did you use? It looks good!

Sorry I missed this apparently. For this flick I decided to try making the whole thing with my iPhone XR, to see how it turned out. Of course it’s stuck in auto-exposure etc but I figured deep focus would be ok and I’d try to incorporate backgrounds in composition. Sort of worked out. Certainly it was lovely to have such a tiny and light camera in my pocket haha

Then in post I put on some effects. I’m a composer so the music is mine, marketing with a little waltz etc heehee

I’m back on my C100 tho! Without manual control the phone just isn’t gonna be ok (unless I somehow missed a way to manualize it!)

had to try one tho!

 

[juliadoyle]

I only saw your short film now. Through the entire film, you send a very calm vibe.

 

[Orange Betsy]

I only saw your short film now. Through the entire film, you send a very calm vibe.

Thanks Julia!

 

[Charlote Davis]

What is the story behind "Stop"?

 

[Orange Betsy]

One story is trying to welcome so-called mindfulness practice into a chaotic mind, inspired by some Buddhist ideas. Could be seen outside the realm of Buddhism, the striving to take the opportunity amidst very active messaging around us, everyday stresses, running, striving for a future hoped for reward, running from feared losses in the competition, all the things that can cause a good deal of anxiety. The stone (asteroid) lands in the pond of the mind. The airplane at the end is a symbol of the departure of everything from moment to moment, grabbing the keys available right there and making time now for stopping, breathing, choosing and committing to practicing a calmness, in my case symbolized by the Buddhist type images.