Printing quotes

Been getting some print quotes from various publishers. It's rather complex, especially if i want this to be not-for-profit and invest all the money i raise on the book's production.

The good news is i can get the production cheaper, but that does in turn mean not having it made to my prefered specifications.

Ideally i'd like a 30cm x 30cm hardback book with around 100 pages. Having shopped around i can make one of these for £75, which is obviously too expensive, and nobody would buy it.

However, I can get 100 copies of an A4, softcover book made with 100 pages for about £25 each, not including VAT or delivery. So for that i'd be needing to raise about £3,500.

Further, if i could raise about £10,000, then i could make the book a lot lot better. Then it would be 30cm x 30cm (square shape preferable because it has both landscape and portrait pic inside), the best quality papers, hardback imagewrapped cover, for £35 each, but i have to order over 300 copies.

Finally, to complicate things further, if by some miracle i managed to secure an order of 750 copies, then i can make use of a Chinese offset printing and get each copy made for around £15. This means having 300 copies made is about the same cost as having 750 copies made, which is fucking crazy.

Obviously id rather pay 10,000 for 750 copies than 300 copies. But it does complicate things, because the reduced cost per book means i'm suddenly profiting from the sale price.

I'm not sure how to reconcile the not-for-profit motive with my want to get the best value for money from the printrun.

Granddad's birthday present

I am thrilled. Granddad received his birthday present today. It was a book with reproductions of all his work (no words, only pictures). No expense was spared. It had the highest quality paper, a hardback cover, and the best stitching available. It weighed in at a reassuring 1.3 kilos, and looked very professional. I was very nervous about how he'd feel. He is the hardest person in the world to please. He knew i had a present for him, and knowing how he is, no doubt he too was nervous about how he could possibly pretend he liked whatever disappointing crap id purchased.

But according to mum he was the happiest he's sounded. He was amazed at the sharpness of the pictures, delighted with the production quality, and deeply touched at the effort i had gone to. He said he couldnt imagine a better present, and that it was like seeing all his work for the first time again. This in turn filled him with ideas and inspiration about how he could progress with his work. I am buzzing.

The fact he's so thrilled with the results means I can likely make another stay in England soon and get the rest of his work photographed. Can't remember if i mentioned this previously, but there were some problems with my mum making the mistake of telling him that my being away from Germany had put a strain on my relationship. This in turn made him quite uncooperative with my future plans, but i think the success of this book should soften his resistance.

The only downer is that the book cost me close to £95 to print, and that's without all the extra pages of text the finished book would have. There's no way i could ask for close to £100 for a book when this kickstarter thing gets finished. Nobody would buy into that. Of course, i could get a discount with a large number of orders, but then i'd have to dramatically raise my target and risk missing it altogether. Either way, i really dont want to compromise on the quality of the materials, so it looks like i will have to subsidise the book's production, and may even lose money for every copy sold unless i reach my high end targets.

Fortunately it seems I can get an advance on what would have been my inheritance from him, and i can plough that back into the print costs, and also toward the next photoshoot, which i'm hoping to schedule for next month. I'm really pleased to hear this as my return to Germany- where i'd hoped to save a few thousand over the summer- hasn't gone as planned at all.

Next week i'm resuming work on the minifilm thing, which may just form part of the kickstarter video if it's not looking promising. I made a new friend who works in video editing and he will help me to stitch together the many fragments of auido and video i have accumulated.

Back in Berlin, struggling to progress

I have no idea what im doing anymore. There hasnt been much i can do while im in Berlin. I dont have my computer out here, so i cant edit videos or anything like that. I also cant get it shipped over here, as i have no stable place to keep it while im unemployed. Im also having a lot of trouble finding work.

I had hoped to have some money saved by now, but im actually quite a bit poorer than when i arrived. Raising money through Kickstarter is still a possibility, although all the successful initiatives i saw on the site were accompanied by a very slick video, which isnt easy for me to make.

Having no direction is very disheartening. I have tried to set aside a little time each week to write to journalists and get some statements of interest, but so far nobody has even written back. I must admit to being a bit surprised by this. I had anticipated this aspect of promotion being rather easy. I have yet to send out the high quality prints, but tbh right now im not feeling awfully confident that this wouldnt just be a massive waste of money.

Dont know where to go from here. I dont see how i could complete the project or take it forwards while stationed away from London, but i also dont know how or when i will be able to go back. Unfortunately my mum told Granddad that my staying with him had put a big strain on my relationship with my girlfriend, so now he doesnt want me to come and stay again. There's a good chance any future visits will have to be fleeting.

So yea, bit of a mess. For sure im not giving up, but im also feeling rather lost. On the plus side at least things with my relationship are looking up.

Kickstarter?

I'm totally torn on kickstarter. I could imagine it raising the cash i need, which would obviously be very helpful, but it also raises a few problems and concerns.

I think my granddad would be really unsettled by it all. He wont know what kickstarter is, but if i imagine myself trying to explain it to him i can see him having a minibreakdown. Then again, he did say i could do what i wanted in trying to ensure his paintings are looked after, only that he didnt want to know the details, so perhaps i dont even have to tell him. It's a tough call.

There are other worries. What if i pledge to complete a book and documentary, but for some reason i am unable to deliver these promises? He could die sometime during the process. He could ask details about what exactly im doing and insist that i stop. I couldnt even give my potential backers an anticipated completion date.

No chronology of his work

I realise that providing a full chronological development of Granddad’s would be difficult, if it’s ever needed. He stopped dating his work in the 60s. I've asked him why he did this and he counter-asked my why he should bother when nobody sees his work. This is how he answers a lot of questions. So everything from the 70s onwards is a bit of a muddle, and he's not very cooperative is giving it much order. In the next couple of months im looking to get him a book made of all this work, so he can see it all in one place. I'm hoping we can look through it together and that he'll have something to say about each painting, and perhaps even a rough date.

A further hindrance is that 10 years of his work was lost to vandalism. I have a really touching recording of him relaying this life event, but unfortunately i cant share it in full as a few details i'm certain he wouldnt want anyone beyond the family knowing. All i can say is that for a short time he was selling his less favoured paintings to pay rent while keeping the ones he was most proud of. At some point he ended a relationship (before he met my grandmother) and he came home to find his jilted ex had taken to his prized collection of achievements with a razor and buckets of white paint.

He tells the story much better than i do, and it's an enjoyable listen because he still has so much emotion in his voice when he relays those moments upon discovering what had happened.

Finally, the biggest hurdle is that he has destroyed most of his work. He was pretty much operating a policy of one in one out until my grandmother died. His estimates- which might be over or understated, i have no idea- is that he's destroyed around 500 paintings in his lifetime.
Anyway, decided i dont want to give up on the docu idea just yet. However, im going to need a laptop or computer that's capable of running a decent video editing programme smoothly.

Found his old scrapbook

I just found my grandfather’s old scrapbook from the 60s where he was developing the original templates that would be used in future works. I found it really interesting to look through. Sadly i only found this after the photography session, otherwise i'd have had copies made.

Post is superior to email

I had been thinking about emailing contacts instead of writing to them, but there are a couple of reasons why im still favouring the very expensive option. Firstly, my grandfather's work doesnt translate especially well on screen. The composition really needs to be as perfect as possible, and every screen will show his work looking slightly different. He also really likes to paint matt- almost dulled/muted- and a backlit screen means they never look quite as they ought to.

Secondly, i really need to maximise my chances of success when contacting these influential figures, so spending an extra 50 for sake of a 5% increased chance of catching each person's interest is totally worth it, from my point of view.
However good they look on screen, i can't imagine it comparing to physically holding an A4 high def, high quality giclee print. Not only will it be a superior representation of how his work looks, but it's much harder to ignore. A link or email attachment can be opened, closed and forgotten, while a print of this quality commands a lot more attention and will be hard to throw away.

Old fashioned art

I'm a bit disheartened by the type of art most galleries focus on these days. A good 80% is very contemporary, and even when it's not, the emphasis is on large paintings. I cant imagine any of them being interested in showcasing my grandfather's 7 x 5 inch paintings. His work is very old fashioned; from a time when people didnt paint to make social or political statements.

Still awaiting photography results

So i should be getting the pictures back any day now.

Been continuing to work on compiling lists of people to contact. Made some surprising progress on this front. I consulted several 'top 100' lists of influential figures in the art world, and took more detailed notes of anyone with a presence in London. I then wrote to their HR department saying i needed a postal address to ensure *insert important art person* received a delivery of prints by post, and most of them wrote back to confirm which address i should use.

I now have a list 10 people whom i will send packages to, and have finished the custom letters each will receive. I can broaden this number if or when they dont get back to me, but i thought 10 people would be a good number to start with, not least because each package will set me back around 60 quid and funds are getting tight.

I'd previously thought each letter would be accompanied by a CD with a 15-20 minute extract of my conversations with him, and 5 small, high quality prints to showcase his work. But having looked into the costs, it would be equally cost-effective for me to send them a book instead. I can get a hardback portfolio published for around the same price. The image quality wouldnt be as good (although im told the pictures would still be sharp), but then i could also include much more content. The question is really what looks most professional and classy.

One benefit of going with prints is that they are more visible and accessible. A book can be opened, closed and forgotten. I imagine a smaller selection of prints might coerce them to give each one a bit more attention.

I really cant decide.

Working on promo packages

So i'm now cracking on with expanding my list of potentially influential people to contact. For each of these people i will compile a package which will comprise of around 3-5 small prints of my grandfather's work, a letter outlining his story and my plans, and a CD with the audio recordings i have edited. Each package will be tailored to the recipient, once i've built up a picture of their artistic preferences and background. Ideally i'd like to hand this package to them in person to ensure it isn't lost amongst all the junkmail they likely receive, but i doubt this will be easy. Anyway, i'm starting at the top- with the most prestigious institutions- and working my way down. So emails and recordings have already been drafted for the curators of the Whitechapel Gallery, the Hayward Gallery, and the Royal Academy of Arts. I know the chances of having any success with these places is virtually zero, but i figured it's surely worth trying, just in case i'm incredibly lucky.

Another angle i'm interested in exploring is making contact with wealthy collectors. The Greek billionaire Philip Niarchos, for example. He's very big on art- especially anything of Greek heritage- but i have no idea how to post something vaguely in his direction. So if anyone has any ideas or suggestions i'd be interested to hear them.

Photography not as successful as id hoped

This has been full of ups and downs. Feeling a tiny bit deflated again. Was just speaking to him downstairs about the photoshoot. Every now and then he'd point to a picture and ask 'did you get that one done?'. Every time the answer was no, i didn't. It's incredibly unlucky. I'd guess we managed to get a good 70-80% of his work photographed, but as he wouldn't tell me which ones he most wanted photographed i had to make the judgement myself. But it seems my judgement overlooked all bar 2 of the handful of paintings he most wanted copies of. It's his fault really for not telling me, but coupled with the fact i wasn't allowed to photograph many of my favourites too it's starting to feel a bit like a missed opportunity. I doubt i'll get another one while he's alive.

Just got an email from the photographer. She's sent me thumbnails of all the work done. I guess i could post a few of them now, but i'm inclined to wait a few weeks until the final copies are colour-adjusted and readied. The overview she's sent me makes them all look a lot lot brighter than they do by my eye, so hopefully she'll fix this. Then again, this might be a product of viewing them on a monitor, which naturally illuminates them and doesn't communicate the matt finish he's so keen on. This is a tiny bit problematic as it means i won't be able to send samples via email if i want curators to have an accurate impression of how his work looks. Insead i'll have to send small giclee prints via post, which will be very expensive, but perhaps i can secure some sort of discount.

Successfully completed 3 days of photography

That was a very stressful 3 days, and i'm relieved to have all the photography done now. I think it went really well, and i'm super excited to see the results in a few weeks. The photographer was really professional, and she seemed to quite like his work too. Shame i have to wait so long for the copies. Feeling exhausted now. Taking all the paintings down, carefully removing them from their frames, then putting them all back again was incredibly tiring. Clearing the room wasn't easy, and putting it all back together was even harder as i had no help. I still have a lot to do.

I really enjoyed seeing all his work in one place. Photographing each piece one at a time gave me the chance to look at them all carefully. Before the photography, i would have said i liked his largest paintings most, but i now have a greater appreciation of his smaller works. In the end we managed to get almost all of his paintings photographed, covering the full spectrum of his development as an artist. I'm very pleased to have found and photographed some of his early sketches. I think there's a tendency to sometimes assume someone who paints abstract is only doing so because they can't paint or draw representationally. Having a record of his early sketches proves that isn't the case for him.

There were a couple of small downsides, however. We made much quicker progress than i'd anticipated after the first day of photography, so on Monday night i had a scout around the flat to look for additional pieces to make good use of the time. In one of his workrooms i found a stack of maybe 10 paintings i really liked, but i thought i should check with my granddad first that he was okay with me photographing these. I kind of wish i hadn't asked, as he said no, definitely not, because those were works he was thinking of destroying. I'm gutted about this, because i really liked them (more than i like most of his work) and would like to have had copies made. I'm not sure if he understands tastes can vary, or perhaps he simply doesn't care.

Awaiting the photographer

Photographer's coming on Monday. Can't overstate how excited i am. Been trying to clear space all day. I have honestly never seen so much dust in my life. I can barely wipe an inch of any surface before i have to rinse the cloth. It's a lot more work than i'd anticipated. Tomorrow a friend will stop by to help me carry furniture out of the room, and then we're all set.

Have been feeling quite emotional about everything today. Firstly my mum keeps saying how proud she is that i'm doing this. It's always nice to hear things like this from a parent, and the tone in her voice shows she really means it. I hadn't realised that my grandmother had tried and failed on a few occasions to organise something similar, so it feels great to have made this progress. Secondly, and for the first time, my grandfather sat me down and said he was incredibly touched by my efforts, and that it really means a lot to him. I've never heard him say anything like this before. Never. Nothing even remotely similar. He's so distant and introvert that i don't think he finds it easy to show emotion for anything but his paintings. It's left me suppressing the slight urge to cry.

Photographer tells me it'll be a couple of weeks until the photos are ready. At which point i'll have something to share.

I find it interesting to talk with him about which works he is most proud of. I don't really get his taste myself. Make no mistake, i think he's done some wonderful paintings, but my favourites are not the same as his, and the paintings he likes most are often the one's i'm least fond of. As i said before, he has a very idiosyncratic palette (one of his favourite paintings is pink, brown and green), and he likes things to be very matt and flat. Anyway... you can see for yourselves in a couple of weeks.

I have no idea what Im doing

So it looks as though the photographer is already setting me back close to £600 per day, and this will leave me broke.

This process is emotionally draining and at times leaves me feeling quite deflated. He's spoken at such length about his work, his regrets, and the things he wishes he'd done. And yet here is potentially a chance to put it right and all he does is patronise me. With every passing day he gets grumpier. I'm starting to get the feeling he'd rather i left soon, and that's not nice. I don't blame him, as that's just how he is- very private and extremely neurotic about interactions being imposed on him. It's really not easy to fight an uncooperative person's cause, but it has to be done, and it has to be done by me. My siblings can't help as they all live in Bristol and work full time jobs. My mum can't help as she's in Devon, studying full time and has my sister to look after. That just leaves me. And if i don't resist his efforts to shut this all down the family as a whole is going to face an unimaginable nightmare when he's gone. Not only will there be the human loss, which will leave us all devastated, but then there's the practical realities of what he leaves behind. My mum will be crippled with grief, not just at losing her father, but also having her ties with London- the only place she calls home- severed. We will have 1 month at most to clear his flat of all his belongings and paintings. My mum is the sort of person who attaches a lot of sentimental value to objects. I just know she will want to keep everything, but she won't be able to, because her place is full. Things will have to be given away or sold, and so there's really only one chance to make this happen. I can't revisit this opportunity at a later date.

I've just found this all much harder than i'd anticipated for a number of reasons. Using a camera phone for filming probably doesn't help as there's not much scope for the type of shots i film. I also don't have so many places to rest this miniature tripod, and i can't pan with the camera because the little wobbles look shit. It's hard to gauge how much of my problems filming come from a general artistic ineptitude on my behalf. I've fiddled around with laying various shots over differing bits of audio and nothing seems to look right. It's hard to have any single camera shot running for more than 8 or so seconds. Any longer just feels off. And yet 8 seconds is such a short period of time that i'm running out of interesting things to show very quickly.

Film problems. Photography booked

Haven't been able to progress much recently. Looks like the minifilm plans are indefinitely postponed, perhaps even cancelled. I have nothing to film. My grandfather is is adamant he won't be videoed, and so i don't have the content to fill 10 of film, let alone 30. This is a bit disappointing as i'd invested a lot of time and effort into it, but at the same time these were good conversations to have anyway, and so to have a record of them will i'm sure prove priceless to the family when he dies. I am still hoping to find some use for them, however, and so perhaps i can integrate these audio snippets onto the website if/when that gets made.

Photographer is booked for 3 weeks time. So not long after that i should have some pictures to put up here. I'm a bit apprehensive about it all. My grandfather is quite distressed at the thought of someone coming here, and he keeps finding new problems and reasons to get worked up. I'm a bit worried he'll shut the idea down the night before or something, and that can't be allowed to happen as i would have paid a deposit by this point. He really has to step out from his comfort zone on this occasion. Without photographs there is no hope of me persuading any gallery to exhibit his work, and if he dies without these plans in place the accomplishments of his life will be left to rot in storage or be sold on the cheap. It would be tragic for nobody to see his work or hear his story, and nobody in the family can accommodate the contents of his apartment.

I also need to find someone to assist me with moving furniture and paintings around during the shoot, which is again problematic as it's scheduled for Monday and Tuesday and everyone i know in London works a full time job.

 

Photographer found

So i've had a burst of optimism. Narrowed down my list of photographers to the best one available. She does all the documentation work for the National Gallery. She has a super impressive portfolio and lots of experience photographing artwork at high resolutions for reproduction. Managed to negotiate a small prospective discount for a full day's photography. Figured it would be better to go for someone really good, and her affiliation with the National Gallery was sure to make my grandfather a little more relaxed about letting her photograph his work.

Knowing my grandfather, i also tracked down the lady who frames his pictures. I just knew that when i suggest getting them photographed, his first objection would be that nobody would be qualified to remove them from her frames. So i asked nice framer lady if she could be present when this happens, and she agreed.

And so tonight i tentatively broached the subject with him, emphasising the benefits of having his work documented (it creates a record of all his achievements which he would get to see all in one place for the first time, and that it would be of tremendous value to the family to have a preservation of all his work if we are not able to accommodate it all when he is no longer around), and he agreed to let it happen. He's not showing much emotion, but i think a small bit of him is actually pleased to have this done.

I'm delighted. At any other time in his life he would have certainly declined this, and i was surprised how little resistance he put up. He says it's all incredibly stressful and that he'll probably have nightmares about it tonight, but he's saying so with a fraction of a smile on his face. He's quite stuck in his ways so i think he has trouble outwardly communicating that he's sort of pleased for this to be happening.

 

Too much material

I'm starting to feel i have too much audio material. Especially in light of the troubles i'm having with footage, which today became a little more problematic as i broached the subject of filming him. He said the very thought of appearing on film brings him out in cold sweats. He'd wipe his brow and say, "look, look, actual sweat! You have made me sweat with this request". I don't want to pressure him, but i did try to emphasise that this would mean a lot to mum and i in allowing us to preserve his methods.

He can be so perverse. So talks so frequently about how he wished he had exhibited for my grandmother, how he hopes some good comes of his work, and how he wished he'd taken opportunities which life threw at him, yet when opportunities arise he shuts them down so quickly. The conversation ended with him saying he needed a few months to think about. It's frustrating how uncooperative he can be. Hoping my mum can talk some sense into him. I haven't given up hope completely.

Unfortunately, that isn't the last of my emergent problems. I compiled a list of photographers and sent each an email. From there the list was whittled down to 6 or 7 with solid experience in photographing artwork to details and resolutions high enough for reproduction. They provided me with an outline of the conditions required to complete the job. My grandfather's insisted that no artwork leave his flat while he's still alive (i wouldn't be capable of carrying a single painting across London anyway), so i have to fork out extra for the home visit. However, all the photographers need a clear white wall and metres of space stretching either side of the artwork for an optimum set-up (they're charging £200 per hour for the first hour, then £100 per hour for each hour after that, so if i'm going to do this then it has to be done properly). This would mean i literally have to clear the whole living room of space (fuck knows where i'd put the sofa). Never in a million years can i imagine my grandfather consenting to this. The living room remains to this day exactly the same as it was when my grandmother died. It's cluttered to fuck but familiar, and he hates change. Last week he had a neurotic episode because i washed one of his 'poison spoons'. This was one of two spoons he uses for stirring his tea, and he takes a strange pride in the fact he hadn't washed them since 1967- believing the black residue which coats them is helping him build a tolerance to life's toxins. Fortunately he still has one more, otherwise i'm not sure i'd ever hear the end of it.

So anyway, lots of problems. Feeling deflated again. Can't decide which (if any) of my ridiculously implausible situations is most achievable.

Doubts

It's getting to the stage where i can't get any new recordings easily. Covering a topic twice isn't easy. In some ways this is a shame as there's some great things i'd really like to coax him into paraphrasing (original take being unusable due to background noise, my voice, or personal details being entwined which i wouldn't want to share). But at the same time at least i can start focusing on working with what i have.

I have a little bit of a panic at the back of my mind that the majority of my efforts with these recordings won't serve any useful purpose as i'll be incapable of getting footage to match. But oh well. I guess i'll find this out in time. All my filming so far is shit. At some point over this weekend i will have to broach the subject of me filming him while he works.

I've spent a lot of this week pursuing things that will likely prove a total waste of time. Got in contact with someone in charge of commissioning arts programmes for BBC Radio 4 and he seemed- although his emails were quite short- to think it was a great idea. He's forwarded all my correspondence to people who may be able to assist me. Not holding my breath as any professionals interested in getting involved will have little in the way of creative license. As my grandfather would never consent to meeting everyone, it would all have to be done through me, and i could understand people not wanting to get involved with a project where they're relying on the aptitude of a beginner every step of the way. Still, it's always good to hear when people think this is a good idea.

I also tried writing to and phoning both Taschen (publishers) and Christie's in the hope of finding out whose services they enrol when having paintings photographed for reproduction. What a bunch of unhelpful cunts. They refuse to tell me anything. Google isn't much more helpful either. Searching for art photographers yields nothing but art, photographers, or ways to do it myself, and this inevitably involves expensive equipment i can neither afford to buy nor learn how to use.

Getting his work photographed is really important. Then i can start turning up at galleries armed with prints as proof of his work's quality and deliver a more convincing proposal to any curators or directors i'm able to meet. In two weeks i go to Germany for a bit, and so i'd really hope to be at the stage where i'm making progress with regards a location for the exhibit when i return.

 

Video Problems

Ive been having trouble deciding upon a video length. I'll have a better idea once i start trying to stitch together the visual side, which i might struggle with. I've got ideas of what i want to do but i'm not sure how well i can execute them.

I've got hours of audio to use but i'd certainly have trouble getting enough video to match it with. A lot will depend on whether he consents to being filmed. If so, i can make it longer, if not then i might have to make it 10-15 mins tops.

Got a little tripod thing. Spent most of the day up until now getting various bits of video to edit, but i've possibly encountered a big problem. My computer can't handle video on top of audio. Sound quality breaks down, there's lots of clicks, and sometimes it just completely freezes. I can't edit like this.

Not sure what to do from here.

If this is a graphics card thing then that really screws up my plans. No way can i afford an upgrade. The bulk of my cash needs to be set aside for renting wallspace, having paintings photographed and affording food in this ridiculously overpriced city.

And neither can i work with the computer stuttering this much. As i don't know the software, stitching all this together is very much a trial and error process, and right not i can't even tell editorial errors from my computer fucking up.

I could ditch the video side altogether but a soundcloud upload is hardly inspiring, let alone promotional. Perhaps it'd be a waste of time completely, but i guess i could try pitching the idea to radio 4 and devote the rest of my time to making sure the audio runs smoothly.

I'm using Reaper. Not sure what resolution the video is at. I'm filming on a Nokia Lumia phone. I'll send my girlfriend a message and ask what model and i could find out the resolution from there.

I could try editing the video without audio, but so much of making it work is seeing them running together. Trial and error needs to be small steps. Not sure how feasible it'd be to produce something remotely watchable by overlapping 20 mins of sound over 20 mins of video and then going back to make changes.

Slow Progress

This week has been tough. Had a few blocks where i achieved very little. But i did transcribe all the recordings and laid down some structure using Reaper. Sometimes i get very excited as little bits hint at how good this could be. But then other times i get very deflated at something not quite turning out the way i want and being unable to find a workaround. For example, i had a load of great conversational snippets which i couldn't integrate into the audio. There are often bits i need to cut out because he talks about something too personal to share, the background noise is too disruptive, or because my voice features. Even once those are discarded, i have to make further cuts due to certain conversational pieces- which look great on paper- being incompatible due to changes in intonation. I'm opting to separate different bits of conversation using sound effects, and right now i have the sound of cars passing, but i'll diversify this in time.

Spent a few hours trying to get video footage to put over the audio, which has led to me feeling a bit down about the prospects. I'm using a cameraphone borrowed from my girlfriend, and no matter how much i try to hold it still or tape it to something heavier, the movements i'm making result in any edit looking really cheap and crappy. So i'm going to have to buy a tripod for the phone, and/or rent a video camera. I've also come to the conclusion that only showing bits of his flat with a voice over probably wont be good enough for this to be in any way effective. There simply isn't enough material, and i really think the overall vid would suffer if i'm not able to video him going about his daily business. I think it would struggle to hold someone's interest. I'm a bit nervous about broaching this subject, as i know he'll shut me down very quickly. I dont want to put him beyond his comfort zone, but at the same time it really would be sooooo helpful if he allowed me to just get 15 or so mins of him doing various stuff with his back turned. I do have a little hope he can be persuaded.

Made some enquiries about getting his work professionally photographed. With some high res photos i was hoping to crack on with making contact with various galleries and critics, either via email, or turning up armed with prints of his work and letters outlining my plans. Not sure which is best. I figured it's good to show enthusiasm in person, but i'm also weary of mumbling and sounding unsure about what it is i want and what i hope to achieve. I can't deliver a verbal pitch to save my life. But this too has raised some problems. Namely that my grandfather has got very defensive about the idea of letting someone into his flat to take photographs. This would need to be a home visit, as he certainly wouldn't allow me to take them away somewhere, and the paintings i want to make copies of are too big to carry. I might manage to shoulder 1 by myself, but considering the expense involved i'd really like to get a few done at the same time if possible.