Kinda funny… I was having a talk with this one guy about the this and the that of various films and filmmaking in general. You know how it goes, those who are into such things discuss the variants and the subtitles of the craft. At one point he makes the statement that he noticed how in at least one of my films the audio was not all that perfect and he had to adjust the volume on his TV as he was watching it. Immediately, “This is Punk Rock! There’s no rules! Who gives a fuck about that kind of thing,” I exclaim.
 
And, I think that that’s the thing that so many people have misunderstood about Zen Filmmaking since its inception. Me, and none of us, who make Zen Films, are attempting to make films defined by what has come before.
 
I mean, for someone like me, who came up in the beginning of punk, it was so freeing! Me, a classically trained guitarist, who was influenced by the works of virtuosos like John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola, it was an orgasm to be able to throw all that theory and technique out the window and just play.
 
That’s what Zen Filmmaking is. It’s punk, it’s freeform jazz, it’s freedom. The stories, fuck ‘em. They’ve all been told. It’s all about the visuals, the feeling, the essence. If the sound isn’t all that perfect, then that’s the perfection in itself.
 
I guess it’s just me, but I am always so surprised when people still don’t get. I’m mean, I’ve spoken and written about Zen Filmmaking for more than three decades by this point in time. Yet, all anyone tries to do is compare a Zen Film to a traditional film. It’s not! It’s a Zen Film! It’s Punk Rock!
 
Anyway…