Norwood Check

Norwood Cheek is an inspiring filmmaker with a wealth of fabulous ideas. Watching one of his films, which was filmed with actors taking phonetically backwards and walking backwards so that it would progress through its storyline correctly when played backwards in post production, was watching absolute genius. I have never seen a film that pushed the technical boundaries of filmmaking more- which is the very thing that is so exciting about him as a filmmaker. He pushes his, and every one else's limits. This was clearly apparent in the Cucalorus event 10 * 10 which I attended to watch the music videos created for 10 bands with the catch that filmmakers made the films in less than a week. This turned out to be quite appropriate for the genre because this helped the videos reflect an energy and intensity that only desperation and sleepless nights can fully capture. This energy is the very thing that characterizes the music video genre as a whole.
I guess my favorite video was made by the filmmaker Kruel because it had such a fun, infectious vibe. It really made me get caught up in the playfulness of the piece, I felt like I was watching a kid have so much fun playing dress-up that I wanted to join in. Unfortunately, I was unable to spend much time at the festival (I generally try to get passes to film festivals in this town but this semester has been quite hectic). I barely made enough time to pencil in this screening at City Stage and did not get to stick around to chat with all my fellow filmmakers and film-lovers which is really my favorite part of film festivals but I am so glad I made this event. The energy was fabulous- probably because of the unusual nature of the film "assignment" combining with the end of the festivities in general. But it was disappointing in a way because it reminded me of all the other screenings that I had passed up.
Having Norwood back in his native North Carolina was such a treat- I am so glad our class got a chance to speak to him before the Cucalorus events because he provided us with such an encouraging positive atmosphere that made it seem more feasible to be an experimental filmmaker in this commercial age. It also helped me realize that I need to practice editing with straight cuts to improve my timing skills as an editor because they help bring inadequacies to light. I also enjoyed watching his cut-out animation which was very encouraging for me personally because I am currently working on a very time intensive animation which I hope will be as worth the effort as his piece. Because after the sweat and tears are long forgotten- art remains. I also enjoyed his style using a super 8 camera to film Zoey Deschenel's music video with a more gritty and even historic vibe. He has such a wide range of styles and abilities and his mastery over the different visual styles of his films are evident in his work itself. You can always tell when a filmmaker is legitimate when he allows his work to speak for him. Norwood was so humble and down-to-earth. He did not self-engrandurize his status because he does not need to. His light shines too bright for him to need to tell anyone about it. Some things and some people just stand alone. Norwood's unique filmmaking style puts him in a category that is not only his own, he created it to begin with.