"Zig Zag Wanderer"

This is the first entry I've made about "Zig Zag Wanderer", a film by myself, about an Iraq war veteran seeking conscientious objector status.

First of all, the film is near completion, production wise. I've been shooting since February of 2005, and since then, documenting this soldier's life, as he speaks at anti-war events, spends time with friends, and speaks his mind about the war.

My approach and intentions are not to make an anti-war film, or that political of a film, but a cinematic experience, where the basic elements of film are employed. This isn't a talking-heads film, nor is it an informational documentary.

I've funded the film myself (have spent about $350 so far), and during periods of me not working, production was stopped. When I was working full time as well, I wasn't able to film as much due to time restraints.

I've shot about 55 hours of footage and my subject shot a few hours in Iraq (on his pocket sized Sony DV cam). The format is mini-DV and I shot the film on a Panasonic DVX-100 camera, which I charged on a credit card and took out a loan for. I am editing the film myself, on a 3 year old laptop, and hope to be finished by early February of 2006.

I've never made a documentary before, so my approach was no different than if I were to make a narrative film or an experimental one. I met my subject when I was working in a coffee shop, right after I finished my undergraduate degree, and I knew instantly that he was a cinematic creature, and asked if I could film him. Six months later (or more), I began filming him, as he expressed his dismay with the war, his worries about going back, and what he hopes to do with himself. Integrated into this is the subject's filmmaking, his friends (which in many cases were mutual friends of mine), the progressive movement in Binghamton, NY, the election of a progressive anti-war mayor, a Federal trial with four anti-war activists charged with conspiracy, and a series of road trips.

I hope the film will be elliptical (through visuals and sound), and be more interesting than the subject matter itself. That is every filmmaker's greatest hurdle.