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seeing and feeling and thinking about it, and "capturing" it, is harmonious and simple and direct, without doubt or hesitation. In this condition I know exactly what to do and how to do it, no questions. This state sometimes lasts for a long time before diminishing. I'm superstitious about forcing it, so when I feel it start to lessen, I stop working.
In editing, I gather material shot over a period of time and assemble it more or less in the order in which it was shot, chronologically, and then I study it until I begin to see how things belong together, what connections to make. This is always difficult. In theory, there are thousands of possible combinations, but in theory only. There is only one "right" way for it to go. It's very much as though the film were already "made" in a part of my mind, and the working is simply letting it reveal itself. This is a very painstaking process. It's frustrating and extremely exhilarating at the same time, and it's very hard work.
MacDonald:
For you, all surfaces of reality seem equal, and shadow is as real as either light or the objects making the shadows. At times in fact you seem to offer an implicit polemic about this: I'm thinking of the section in
Charmed Particles
when you explore the surface of the TV screen, elaborating what you see there, but in a way that makes clear that for you the TV is no more interesting
visually
than any other surface of comparable size. You avoid commenting about realityabout politics, social relations, whateverin favor of exploring visual surfaces. Do you see your filmmaking as an end in itselfthe production of a new set of visual experiencesor as a visual training that includes moral or political implications in the long run?
Noren:
I'm not sure I know what you mean by "reality." There is no human act that is not politicalthe "personal"
is
politicalso in that sense my films are political. I wouldn't presume to advise anyone on their moral conduct or their spiritual condition. I'm not qualified. All I can hope to do is to send out my best and highest energies. If they are received and made use of, then I'm delighted.
If I had the time and the means there are many things I would like to propagandize on behalf of, like animal rights and ecological preservation, for example. But I hardly have time to do what I'm doing already, and I honestly don't think it does much good. How can you hope to "explain" to someone why they shouldn't torture an innocent animal? I thought at one time that most of our evils were a result of ignorance and that education could bring enlightenment and change. I no longer think this is true.
MacDonald:
These days a good many filmmakers have been moving to video, either as a means of disseminating their films (videos, not films, are sent to prospective programmers) and/or as a new form capable of expressing much of what they want to express in their films, but