[ Manvel ]

Two days from now I will begin my third consecutive month in the USA; to say I am going a bit stir crazy is a profound understatement. As a palliative measure I decided to set myself a creative task: conceive, shoot, and edit a music video in 24 hours. I wanted it to give some idea of the areas where I have been spending time here in Texas: my home town, Manvel–where I’m spending time with my mom–and Galveston, a large tourist city on the Gulf Coast, about 40 miles away.

As I’ve been driving from place to place, Federico Albanese’s “The Blue Hour” has been on my car stereo, one of several new musicians I’m listening to on repeat. The quiet, haunting “Shadow Land, Part II” kept suggesting images to me, and just wouldn’t let me rest until I did something with them. That’s how this little project began.

So two nights ago I grabbed my camera, hopped in the car, shot some sunset footage near my mom’s home. Yesterday morning I loaded my gear and made a 5:00am run to Galveston, looking for some pre-dawn and sunrise footage to match; I had some ideas, but no real plan–improvising footage and driving back and forth along the seawall as the morning progressed.

I was home before lunch, and sat down to edit. The process took a bit longer than 24 hours from start to finish, but…close enough for a stranded traveler with a severe case of wanderlust.

I hope you enjoy the effort, and this small, moody taste of one tiny corner of Texas.

Namaste,
—Jim

Music:

Shadow Land, Part II
from “The Blue Hour”
Federico Albanese
© Edel Germany, GmbH

See Federico’s wonderful performance video of this piece here.