This morning I woke up for my first day in Dubai as I'm running a workshop for a production here. Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated with my surroundings...how things around me worked, why they worked, how they got there and why...I would always ask mum, why? Mum actually reminded me of the day I would ask her what everything ate. What do trees eat? What do leaves eat? What do houses eat? How annoying I must have been hehe...anyway, that appreciation and fascination of my surroundings is still with me today. This morning I noticed a unique lighting design in my hotel bathroom, which got me thinking.... not what it eats or how it works, but how I could recreate it and use it for something like a Calvin Klein commercial...(me planning the future). And then I got thinking even more...the new generation's phrase "do you even lift" (google it if you're old like me) refers to someone who doesn't work hard enough at the gym, and also suggests that no matter how hard you work, it's not hard enough. I like it....and now I'm applying that same tag-line/humour/message to the learning and mastering of cinematography. Look at your surroundings. Appreciate what's happening in your environment when it comes to lighting, and get inspired. "do you even look?" is what I'm going to be asking my students today. Dubai day #1 FTW ;)
