Mistakes, Trailer (2 min. 2005) Directed by Sunny Paxton (age 8), shot and edited in-camera (by her dad) Lester Alfonso for a home (film) school project.
Day 24 of 360 videos from my archive. Today’s vid comes from my personal home movie collection and it means a lot to me. It was March Break and we had gone to Windsor to visit my parents for a week.
To pass the time as a fun activity with my daughter Sunny (who was 8 years old at the time), I suggested making a movie with our small video camcorder. She liked the idea and we decided on making a trailer for movie that did not exist. Sunny came up with Mistakes — about a girl who always makes mistakes, starring herself.
Prior to this moment with my 8-year-old daughter, I was already making fun in-camera films with my high school and university friends for years. These in-camera shorts (some of them truly brilliant) were fun partly because of the instant gratification of playing back the video, moments later, without having to edit. We can watch a ready-made movie shortly after shooting. There is a real art to this. Getting it done right on the first and only take is crucial because there can be no retakes.
I really appreciate those seldom noticed moments when humans use electronics in ways that the manufacturers never meant them to be used. These include creating video feedback by turning the camera towards a live monitor and in-camera movies.
I let Sunny direct and shape this story. From what I can remember, her idea started with the foot cream incident and we worked backward from there. Narration is done by myself while behind the camera. Music is done live by her mom (Tammy Foreman) while Sunny’s little two-year-old sister Georgia can be heard crying in the background at times.
The final shot was the most crucial one that we had to get just right. Using an effect that was built-in the camera, we managed to create a lo-fi illusion her meeting her “good” twin.
I’m so pleased to be able to publish this now finally so I can easily access the nostalgia I feel sometimes for the good old days. It’s true; everything they say about how childhood going by fast. I did my best to relish the moments. I can look back fondly at this as one of those times.
There is so much more to share. More soon! — LA
P.S. If you’re liking these daily posts, perhaps you can consider becoming a monthly donor for a year or making a one-time contribution. It would seriously help a lot. Your money goes directly into supporting an artist committed to continually become the best version of himself. Thank you so much! Much love, LA