I had a book due at the library. It was an inter library loan that had to be returned at the branch where it was delivered, the Pasadena Central Library, four miles from home. By veering only slightly off the most direct pedestrian route, I could make stops at two of my favorite watering holes–coffee shops–one each way. The World Cup was over. And, although temperatures were threatening to climb into the high nineties, I could leave early to avoid the midday scorch. In short, I was out of excuses; after a long period of relative inertia, I left the house on foot.

This wouldn’t be worth noting if we didn’t live on the edge of a city known for its roadways not its pathways. A city, a collection of villages connected by massive six-lane freeways some would say, so vast in surface, so spread out, it makes walking it almost impossible. A city where you are what you drive and where riding public transportation is a lack-of-status symbol, where you can tread for an hour in residential areas without ever having to share the sidewalk with anyone. I know, I’ve been there, done that. The more affluent the barrio, the more deserted. I’ve greeted more gardeners, construction workers, maids and housekeepers in La Canada, East Altadena, or Brentwood than homeowners. If you’re into people watching and the social beehive activity levels of more compact urban landscapes–New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Rome, Tokyo, etc..–don’t walk in LA., or rather, drive to one of its hubs–downtown, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Westwood–park and then take in the scene. Of course then you’ll be surrounded by other people taking in the scene, in a carefully manicured, decorated and managed environment developed for that very purpose. People staking in the scene watching people taking in the scene. Fun. But I digress.

The very familiar round trip to the library also provided an opportunity to think about method. Since I started this series of videos the method has been simple: see something, film something. Just slap, throw or drip some paint on the canvas and see what works afterwards, you can always erase, or paint over. But what if you can’t? What if, like a jazz musician, you jump off the cliff in every tune, or like a stage actor, there is no turning back once the curtain’s lifted. Could I strip the process even more? The answer is this and other videos in the ‘unedited’ series, sequences of clips presented exactly as they were shot, and in the order they were shot. Like putting a foot in front of the other and seeing where it takes me, I walk and look, i notice, I film and have a good laugh when I play it back.

They say you learn from your mistakes right?

 

 

 

Walking Project 124_pasadena – up(hill) – unedited #03 from chris worland on Vimeo.