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yeah, i’m a film student now. i watch films. i write essays on them or prompts or whatever. i must consider composition like i plan for it, and map out shots before i see them. it’s a weird and new process.

for class i wrote,

“what are the major elements of composition that the coen brothers employ in fargo (1996) that give the film it’s uniquely thrilling and unsettling feel and atmosphere? more specifically, what aspect of composition—framing, staging, or photography—do they seem to rely on most to achieve this?

personally, what struck me most about fargo’s composition was it style of photography. oftentimes, the coen brothers abruptly switch between perspectives—contrasting extreme long shots with close-ups or medium shots. especially in a place so barren and lifeless as minnesota and north dakota, the prolonged extreme long shots provided the film with an even more eerie and mysterious atmosphere. not only that, but they are strangely and starkingly* beautiful—being my favorite detail of this film.”

i’m a film student now.

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“making [is the best part of my job]. and the people i am making things with.”

alex proba is a “multidisciplinary designer”. a woman of multiple mediums working with shapes and colors and form of all kinds. in 2013, she founded studio proba, where all of her work can be found — aka graphic joy.

one of her most recent projects has been her “a poster a day project” which has been ongoing for almost 3 years. it was, she writes, her way from getting unstuck — to design without really thinking but just playing around without guidelines for thirty minutes every evening.

from abstract to surreal to pattern-filled to completely minimalist, each graphic is unique.

“I can’t take each and every one too seriously and I can’t spend too much time on it. If the result of this is me not liking some, than that’s okay, as long as it still stays my visual diary. That is what makes it truthful and real.”

there’s an integral drivenness that comes with creating something once a day every day for three years. in proba’s case, it requires a drive to not only challenge yourself to create consistently but to let things settle in once they are created (sometimes). often times, i realize, i have a similar idealist/perfectionist mindset when making something.

over the past few years i’ve learned to come to terms with my “bad” art — classified usually by the fact that a) i am not proud of it or b) it just sucks overall. alex is right though: that kind of art is healthy and almost essential to becoming a better artist.

we must remember the sucky stuff we made to figure out how to do something cooler next time. i think about that daily. the sucky stuff is the most real. we made it.

happy monday.

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p.s. happy birthday, gab