To Shoot or Not to Shoot; to Mock or Not to Mock

Lately I feel an urge to make a movie. I have no project in mind, but I've got a talent for working with whatever limited equipment, resources, actors, and locations may be at hand. And a talent neglected will wither away or gnaw at the edges of your days. Or both.

So, I may audit a filmmaking course at my university, assuming such auditing lies within the bounds of etiquette. I have no camera, but then I never did. The Mac G4 I bought in 2000 is obsolete and, with its original processor limping along, surely incapable of handling video files. I know no actors in Oklahoma. I find the regional architecture and geography generally uninspiring, save a few buildings on campus*--where I don't really want to shoot, precisely because they're on campus. But, for me, story generates itself. I never run short of ideas. All I need is a camera.

Without one for seven years, I've left unfinished business in the mockumentary genre. Though The Office has pretty well done mockumentary to death in recent years, that show (as done by NBC) is both narrow in approach and lacking in fidelity to the genre. For instance, no matter where the characters go, the cameras follow with implausible consistency. When characters visit restaurants, other businesses, and the odd outdoor setting, no one they meet responds awkwardly, as if cameras are present. And when cast stays in the office, the editors often cut from one angle to another in a way that should reveal a camera. If the show were a real documentary, you'd see the other cameras and their operators. In other words, it would be impossible to have cameras everywhere that The Office does without seeing one onscreen. Furthermore, the writers omit all meta-considerations of the "documentarists" themselves. Who is making that documentary? What is their agenda? How is their massive project funded? Where and when does the program air? What are the effects of its airing on the office staff? Are they famous? Do viewers recognize them on the street? And so forth.

As you can see, I've given the genre a lot of thought. Despite the success and ubiquity of The Office--and don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, especially the original BBC version--there are many stones that remain unturned. Or unmocked.

But do I aspire to a career in filmmaking? Nah, not anymore. I'm not sure I ever did. Movie-making would be, perhaps, more than a hobby for me; and it would certainly answer my artistic impulse. But this would not be my vocation. Oh no, I wouldn't risk life, limb, nor pocketbook to do it. And besides, I have no idea how I'd cast my movies, should I ever get my hands on a camera. That's no small obstacle.

Just thinking aloud here....

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You can view my 45-minute mockumentary, MOCK, on Youtube (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). And here's a short I acted in, directed by Robert Vaughn:


* For whatever reason, some of the campus buildings...


...remind me of Siena, Italy:


Do you see it? Wishful thinking? Am I crazy?