Film journal, Jan 6, 2010

Spent a great deal of today trying to wrap my head around Shallow Glen, the first 4 hours I spun my wheels endlessly looking at the network notes and re-reading all of our outlines and notes. Finally, after re-reading the 1st chapter of the Agassi book, 'Open', we were able to have a break through...maybe the biggest yet for the script. By taking the 5 elements of tennis that Agassi says also apply to life (service, love, advantage, break, and fault) we were finally able to make think of a way to relate tennis to life. I really feel today that we learned something about our style as well. Since I have a great deal of experience in Sociology and social situations, it appears fitting that I should focus more on exposing subcultures and trends in society. Make projects from a sociologists perspective, or better yet, comedic fictional ethnography. W/Shallow Glen we hope to focus more on the 'club-life' we are so familiar with, and less on the trials and tribulations of a failed ex-pro trying to get back on the pro tour. We hope to focus on the service of a tennis club. The faults people make in tennis club life. The advantages some members/people have over others whether born or earned. The love that blossoms in tennis club life, and the origin of the expression love in tennis (actually l'euff or egg). And the breaks, whether good or bad, that can happen in life. Using these sub-heading we should hopefully be able to chapter our script. Also, after our recent trip to Mexico, and the constant hilarious dialogue from Dillon in which we would all interact and talk as different characters, it makes sense to focus on the characters we are able to bring to the table. The characters we know dwell in the tennis club environment because we can imitate them all and know them well. This script will come together...now that we have an idea of how to keep it in one location. And Andre Agassi saved out ass....at least today....and I was always a Sampras fan.

Shilas...meeting tomorrow. Going to continue to focus on the bucolic Yankee Shilas...bucolic means of country-side or rural habitat....I hope to use this word in a sentence tomorrow. Hope to get a feel for the POVs of the crew..I don't really know them all so should be fun. Plan on doing a lot of listening.

C