video portraits of my friends
Last year I had a vision for a video podcast. Something unscripted, a fly-on-the-wall kind of show, like Terrace House. My sister agreed to let me film at her cabin. I wanted to make a proof of concept, to see if it could become part of her cabin’s programming. She already knew too much about me, so the footage is dry, maybe even lifeless. But I liked its potential. The only friends I know who like the camera are too far from Los Angeles, so I shelved the project. I just didn’t want to be the host.
The idea keeps returning, like a song that’s stuck in your head. Timing matters as well, and mine wasn’t right at the time. I get this feeling that this project will slip off the shelf. So I kept thinking. Between my job, Memoriver Radio, the zines, and everything else, I kept asking what could still be possible. Something small, low-stakes.
Then I found an interview series from Hometown Journal. They felt slow, quiet, unhurried. I realized I liked that kind of pace. Introverted vibes. The intimacy.
The idea shifted.
A day in the life of a friend. A kind of home video. No formula. Just me showing up with my 14-year-old camcorder that runs on miniDV tapes, a cheap lav mic, and time. We talk. Maybe we eat. Maybe I accompany them to the laundromat. We hang out. We drift in and out of conversation about what’s on their minds lately.
We live a in a culture obsessed with the extraordinary, extracting use from every encounter. I wanted the opposite: the unremarkable, the true.
The first person I filmed was my friend Veline, and her husband, David. Two hours of tape that will become 15 minutes, more or less. I enjoyed the process. So much. Thank you both for letting me film you!
For now, here’s a quick preview that I’m using to pitch to my friends.
I’ll be reaching out to more friends in the new year!
INTRODUCING: HOT NOTICE BOARD
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On another note
Lately I’ve been preparing for a small, winter hibernation. I’ll finish what needs finishing, then step back for a while. To rest. To breathe. To make space again. For quiet days, for soft company, for time that isn’t measured by output.
Every morning, I light a candle. I journal. I read. Sometimes I have a tea ritual. Sometimes it’s coffee. Sometimes I pull tarot cards. Sometimes I take a walk to watch the sky waking up (thanks to my cats who wake me up at 5:30 am). My cadence is shifting.
Sincerely,
Stepfanie