Still Waiting

I've spent the last few days working on the proposal for eventual grant applications. At this point I'll be applying for finishing funds after I've already shot in Korea.

Aside from that, the proposal has really helped me to give form and structure to the film (see previous postings). I've given this beast a name, too, based on one of the poems I'd written back in 2002 after a bus ride to Ulsan from the village I lived in. At the time, I had a sense that the poem would be important, and I was captivated by the notion that living in Korea was like living in a dream, only a dream that moved - like a bus. I'll put the poem up here soon.

Getting back to the pre-prod stage - one of the common misconceptions about documentaries is that they don't have to be planned out. "I just go to an event and turn the camera on, right?" Wrong. I've taught courses in doc production before, and I've always emphasized how much time needs to be spent in pre-production.

Still waiting to hear from the recruiter with a contract. I am getting nervous. However, I looked again at the one and only bit of info I received from him back in April, and it turns out the school he was steering me towards is not in Seoul, but in P'ohang. P'ohang is an east coast city not far from Ulsan (I have to get a map up here, don't I?), which is where I lived before. P'ohang was pretty much wiped off the face of the earth during the Korean War due to its proximity to the Pusan Perimeter, but it was rebuilt as an industrial city in the 60s and 70s, with steel and shipbuilding being the major industries. I would be excited to be on the coast again, and within an easy busride of Ulsan. However, the location does provide some challenges in getting access to Chang's equipment. We shall see.

At this point I am gearing up as if everything is in place, but I know that until I have signed a contract, nothing is in stone. As I said, I'm getting nervous.