February 11th, 2011
 
Today was the last day on The Muppets.  I had to go to set because they needed me to shoot a short “to camera” intro thing with Kermit.  We got that done fairly quickly and continued to shoot  b-roll for the rest of the day.  Word spread that a special cameo was coming to set at the end of the night so I got approval to go into OT time and get an interview with that cameo.  This was the whole reason I got to be there at the very end.  The last shot.  I’ve actually never witnessed a last shot on any movie before, other than my own.  It was a special thing to be there for.  Whatever bad feelings anyone could have been harboring about each other evaporated in that moment and it was hugs all around.
 
I felt lucky to be a part of it, so it was a pretty reflective drive home.  I had one of those drives where you fantasize about your future.  Fantasies about taking steps-up in my career and doing the things I dreamt about doing when I first decided to go into this business, or more specifically, to become a filmmaker.  Then, I thought about June and I was suddenly grounded back to reality.  My fantasy devolved into the dad so focused on his career that he never sees his kid growing up.  Then as I turned the corner just before home I noticed a small groupings of candles with a picture next to them.
 
A few weeks ago a local high school teacher in Fullerton got into a motorcycle accident on the street corner near my house.  I had heard that he was in critical condition after the accident but tonight there were candles.  It turns out that he had died today.
 
I didn’t know him but some of my old teacher friends had.  Even though I’d never had any personal contact with him his death had some effect on me.  Most likely because I was home when it happened and I saw the police line.  It’s the second accident to happen on that corner in the past couple of months.  It reminded me that time is short and life is fragile.
 
Of course I was feeling very nostalgic and romantic about things but I had one of those dark feelings where you know your whole life is going to change and it won’t always be for the better.
 
I began having these kinds of feelings after my baby was born because when they’re newborns they’re so small and fragile and if anything out of the ordinary is detected you take them straightaway to the emergency room.  Your whole world becomes so much brighter the moment their born.  And it gets better and better the more they grow up.  Then suddenly you think about how much darker it could get if something bad were to happen.  Like I said, it’s a dark thought but it seems the more richness you have in your life the more risk your taking should it all be taken away.
 
But then I sigh and let it out.  Oh well.  There’s nothing I can do about it.  It’s life and it’s a beautiful thing.  As doom and gloom as these kinds of thoughts might seem it’s actually good to have them every once in a while.  It makes you appreciate the things you have now.  The future becomes less important.  Who knows where I’ll be thirty or forty years from now.  It doesn’t really matter all that much.  The most important thing is that I try my best to protect and provide for the loved ones I have around me now.
 
Sorry to get so reflective on you.  It’s just a clear memory from the evening and something I felt needed to be a part of my day on this blog.
 
So anyways, to the creative thing at hand.  I got home and had no clue what to do.  It was nearing 1 am and I was tired now.  I didn’t feel as inspired as I felt when I was first got on the road.  I thought of doing a music box composition except not thinking about the notes whatsoever, just punching out any notes I feel like at random.  That way I could get it over with quick.  Then I thought about the Muppet Show theme because it was in my head for a while today.
 
I decided, “OK, I guess I’ll put some thought into this.”  I googled the sheet music and transcribed the notes in the first 8 bars.  I punched them out of my music strip and tested it out through the music box.  Sure enough, it sounded like The Muppet Show theme.
 
I then went back into random mode and decided to almost mask the theme with all sorts of chords.  I didn’t think very much about it.  I just looked at what note there was before and punched out whatever chord I thought might work next to it.  I didn’t play it through the music box until I was completely finished with it.  I kind of wanted the results to be a surprise.
 
It turned out OK and funnily enough it had a sort of a sweet and nostalgic sound to it.  I guess it’s apropos that it turned out that way.
 
I went straight to bed.  I didn’t have the energy to get my camera all set up so I didn’t actually film the video you see below until Sunday afternoon.