I've spent most of the last week going over and over the same three pages of script. I'm not at the stage yet where I feel mostly frustrated, I just have yet to find how they fit together and overlap.

The three pages all deal with the moment Larry arrives at the Atlantic Ocean, in Bar Harbor, and for the first time in 4,200 miles, has reached the end of the road.

The first of the three pages was written well over a year ago, and the 2nd two are variations on the same moment from different approaches. One version focuses more on the "chain of events" perspective; that Larry's own experience will go on to influence other people's experiences, and how that relationship feeds itself at a level that often goes unnoticed.

Another page deals with the rush of emotions that come at the very end of any long adventure... all the memories associated with your trip, all the struggles and little memories seem to snap together at once and it's an overwhelming rush that comes and goes all too fast.

Some of the script tries to touch on how these memories are all filed away in your brain, how the human body works in an environment that's always changing and always challenging. There's also a layer of the anti-climatic, when you come to end of something grand and ambitious and no one around you seems to have any idea or any or interest.

I guess I just thought that writing about this might help me find what I'm looking for, and also it's been 9 days since my last post and I wanted to let people know what I've been working on piecing together. All this talk of Bar Harbor and arriving at the Atlantic has reminded me of this video Amanda and I recorded, knowing that we had finally made it to the end of production:

Bar Harbor (Aug '07) from mike ambs on Vimeo.

Also, before I sign off, I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the feedback on the Digg*athon question. I've been working on putting that together as soon as possible. Stay posted.

Labels: bar harbor, Digg, Post-Production, Writing

It didn't feel real, sitting at the ocean in Bar Harbor, Maine - waiting for Larry to ride up and reach the end of his 4,300 mile experience. It has taken so long to get to this moment that I just felt... unable to put it into words.

This last three years was just the beginning - now the real hard work begins. And I'm looking forward to it - very much actually. Last night (four days after Bar Harbor) I walked around the streets of Ann Arbor by myself, stood on the top-floor of the parking garage behind the State Theater... thinking about all the days spent there running around with a camera in my hand. I think I've come a long way - and that feels good.

Labels: Amanda, bar harbor, Blip.tv, Mike Ambs, Production, The Ocean

Yesterday, at around 1:51 pm eastern, we arrived at Bar Harbor, Maine. Which means so many things I can't even begin to go into them here and now... but I will soon enough. When I was looking out at the ocean, I twittered this from my phone: Just arrived in bar harbor... how strange to be at the end..., and these awesome people responded with:

Labels: bar harbor, Flickr, Production, Twitter