I had a basic idea for this essay for a long while back. Originally it was about the different forms sequels take, with a few examples of each. I’d even dug out the DVD’s to rip for footage, but as I wrote the thing, “The Matrix Resurrections” just took over. There’s so much going on with it, the other stuff just fell into the intro.
It’s something Rick Rubin mentions in the book I’m reading, “The Creative Act”, “The work reveals itself as you go”. I‘ve definitely realised this, as I hack away from scribbled notes and random concepts to bullet points and eventually a mostly-coherent essay. I hate writing and it takes weeks on end to come up with 1400 words, but they change as I go.
Even as I’m writing, the video part starts to take shape. The final edit of the text is on the timeline in Resolve, cutting and shifting lines of the voiceover. I could never just work in prose, the video illustrates what I’m trying to articulate so much more easily.
Next essay will be a way off. I’ve got the basic idea, but there’s a stack of movies to watch (plus a re-read of “Heart of Darkness”). We’ll see what it actually turns into.
In the meantime, it looks like I’ll be playing around with a poster idea in Photoshop.