On Española, Darwin comes face to face with a juvenile waved albatross. These endangered birds have the largest wingspan of any bird, up to 11 feet. This one is nearing the day when it will awkwardly waddle about 200 feet from its nest to a cliff overlooking the ocean, to leap over the edge into it’s first flight.

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I’m back from an extraordinary holiday voyage around the Galapagos archipelago. My traveling companion on the journey was none other than Charles Darwin, who spoke to me from a shelf at Archie McPhee, expressing a keen desire to make a return trip to the islands he visited 175 years ago, to “see how things have evolved.”

We had many adventures together. During the rest of this month, I’ll be posting a new photo every day from our visit to the Enchanted Isles that rocked the world.

I’m also cutting a short film shot during the trip on my Canon 60D and lovely little Canon S95 with Ikelite underwater housing, which I’ll post later this month. Enjoy.

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Did you hear that big thunderclap that split the sky over Seattle last Wednesday morning? That was our first day of shooting on my first feature-length film, a participatory doc called Beyond Naked. I like to think of that moment as the film gods yelling “Action!” Herzog has his day-one, gaffer-tape-over-the-heart routine – I’ve got my thunder. I like where this is going!

Follow our progress on the film’s website at http://www.beyondnakedfilm.com, a WordPress blog that I’ll be updating frequently with stills, clips, and much more.

Here’s a few frame grabs that will give you a taste of the gloomy vibe we’re choosing to open the film with (this is Seattle in December, after all):

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I met Vincent Moon a few months ago when Northwest Film Forum brought him to Seattle for screenings of his films and a one-day workshop. I was blown away by the raw emotional power of his work, despite the fact that he breaks every rule in the filmmaking book (no narrative structure, out-of-focus subjects, made with crappy camcorders, etc.)

Moon faces the same problem faced by lots of filmmakers doing interesting (but not commercially viable) work: how to fund it. Moon has made an art of the small exchange (exchanging, for example, lodging in a foreign city for a short film about the place). But that can only take one so far. So now he’s experimenting with Kickstarter to fund the Columbia project. I’m backing it, not only because I want to see what he comes back with, but also because I’d like to understand by participating how this type of funding can work, for supporters as well as filmmakers.

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My favorite book about film editing is “In the Blink of an Eye,” by Walter Murch, in which he theorizes about why editing works. I stumbled on this extraordinary 2-part video (40 min each), recorded during a talk he gave in London in 2003. It’s just packed with the kind of thoughtful brilliance that only Walter Murch can deliver. Everyone one of us who aspires to editing film should be so lucky as to have this man’s voice in our heads, quietly reminding us, “your duty is to expect miracles.”

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I’m packing my bags for filming in the Galapagos Islands in December. That means I’m packing gear that, like the wildlife that Darwin discovered (and I’m looking forward to meeting), is adaptable to fast-changing environments. That’s why I just placed an order for one of these sweet looking mics, due to begin shipping in a week. Paired with my H1, this is the killer combo considering it doesn’t need phantom power. Bonus: the mic comes in a waterproof case. Sold!

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When you’re an indie filmmaker, you have good days, bad days, and just days. I would call this one of the good days.

I’m currently working on a project featuring James Beard award-winning chef Tiberio Simone, who uses the human body as a playground for his culinary imagination.

Thanks to La Figa Project photographer Matt Freedman for sharing this photo, and to Stella, our beautiful and tireless model.

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It’s like the people at NW Film Forum have been reading my mind lately. First, they bring Vincent Moon to town, and he puts on a workshop that blows me away. Now Miguel Gomes is in town for a screening of “Our Beloved Month of August.” I put that film on the top of my “must see” list after reading the Sept. 2 NY Times review of the film, which noted how artfully it plows the rich territory between documentary and fiction. Only, I’m not in New York, where the 2008 film opened earlier this month, and it is nowhere to be found online, so what a delight to find that not only is it playing tonight at NW Film Forum, but the director will also be present. Can’t wait. Here’s the trailer, sans subtitles:

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Jay Cheel and Josh Ligairi have launched The Documentary Blog Podcast, and look who’s talking about the blurry line between narrative and documentary! Here’s a link to download the entire episode (62 MB), totally worth watching.

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I attended this workshop a year ago, and took my interviewing skills to a whole ‘nother level. Etheredge is a real master who share skills he’s learned from more than 1,500 interviews with cultural figures from Charlie Kaufman to Chuck Palahniuk. This Art of the Interview workshop begins in Seattle on Monday, September 13th at 6pm. Here’s the details from the event page:

“Warren Etheredge is an extraordinary interviewer — one of the best in the country. He’s incredibly prepared for each encounter — and has an uncanny ability to absorb complicated material and distill it for audiences. He also has a terrific sense of humor that makes the interviews feel less like dutiful graduate seminars and more like a late-night talk show. Indeed, I think it’s only a matter of time before some media executive wises up and gives Warren his own show.” — Daniel H. Pink, author of DRIVE and A WHOLE NEW MIND

“Warren is the most knowledgeable and engaging interviewer and commentator on film that I have ever been engaged with. His insight and criticism are tempered with a keen sense of humor and irony. To be the subject of one of his filmmaking classes was both intellectually stimulating and a whole lot of fun.” — James Foley, filmmaker (GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS; AT CLOSE RANGE)

“…I found [our] conversations about 4 times more fun and thought-provoking than any other moderated talks in which I’ve participated.” — David Benioff (screenwriter, THE 25TH HOUR; THE KITE RUNNER; WOLVERINE)

“Warren Etheredge is one of the most probing and thoughtful interviewers–not to mention the wittiest!” —David Grann, author of THE LOST CITY OF Z

Tuition for this intensive workshop is $100. ($75 for graduates of TheFilmSchool’s Summer 2010 session.)

I am always flattered by the (unsolicited!) feedback I receive from the folks I interview. I am thrilled they appreciate the spirit with which I approach interviews. (Owen Schmitt , formerly of The Seattle Seahawks, refers to my style as “chill”… and who am I to argue with the 6’2″, 247 pound fullback?)

Now you can learn how I prepare for interviews and how I respond to the different challenges presented by questioning folks on tape, on camera or before an audience. And, I’ll share insights and a little bit of gossip from the 1,000+ interviews I’ve conducted with the likes of Woody Allen, Amy Sedaris, Calvin Trillin, Naomi Watts, Robert Duvall, Mariel Hemingway, Salman Rushdie, Nora Ephron,Michael Pollan, Charlie Kaufman, Augusten Burrough, Andy Samberg, Vincent Bugliosi, Nicolas Cage and others.

You’ll learn why documentarian Peter Esmonde says: “I was more relaxed being interviewed by you than anyone before or since. It’s so clear that, aside from being attentive and intelligent, you know [your stuff] — and that makes the interview more of a conversation with a compadre.”

The venue for this special intensive will be the Phinney Neighborhood Association (6352 Phinney Ave N, Seattle WA 98103)

Tuition for this exclusive, 3+ hour workshop is only $100. You may mail check or money order (made payable to Warren Etheredge) to: 1752 NW Market St #118, Seattle 98107. Or, pay using PayPal, sending money to warren@thewarrenreport.com

Space is very limited, so please reserve your seat today and indicate you’ll be attending on Facebook.

About me… As founder of The Warren Report (www.thewarrenreport.com), Warren Etheredge — America’s premier cultural conversationalist — curates and hosts over 200 events every year, a podcast and television series. The Warren Report promotes “slow culture” through commentary, outreach, events and education. He is the host of The High Bar, a television series that airs weekly on SCANtv. Warren has conducted over 1,500 interviews — in print, on camera, on stage — with a wide range of filmmakers, personalities and smarties including Amy Sedaris, Darren Aronofsky, Michael Pollan, Charlie Kaufman, Naomi Watts, Salman Rushdie, Robert Duvall, Alexander Payne, Nora Ephron, Augusten Burroughs and Chuck Palahniuk. Additionally, Warren is one of the founding faculty of TheFilmSchool, along with Tom Skerritt, Stewart Stern, Rick Stevenson and John Jacobsen. For six years, Warren served as the Curator for the 1 Reel Film Festival (at Bumbershoot), before that, he worked with the Seattle International Film Festival. Warren has staged over 40 plays in New York, published five books, written countless magazine articles and recently completed a feature-length documentary, HUMOR ME. He is the host of Words & Wine, The Good Life and the Biznik Innovators Series, conversation series with A-list authors, and is a regular contributor to Seattle’s premiere public radio station, KUOW. He speaks at festivals and conferences nationwide including The Screenwriting Expo, The NAMAC Conference, The International Food Bloggers Conference, The Austin Film Festival and Conference and Bastyr University’s Founders Weekend.

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