David Lynchs site inspires me but its subscription based

[elbows]

I have long wanted to talk about various things that David Lynch has done that inspire me.

He has got really nice experimental stuff on his website, and theres loads of video question & answer sessions with him that contain lots of what I would describe as wisdom in the arts of creative thinking and idea realisation.

The problem is that his website is subscription only, so I will just have to waffle more on this thread sometime and hope I can give some vague idea of what the heck Im talking about.

In the meantime is anybody a fan of his work in general or specific techniques/ideas in his films?

[elbows]

Also I always wondered if he would be interested in the artistic side of VJing, because in one interview he talked about how first he was a painter. Then one day, the wind blew and the canvas moved in the breeze, and that caught his eye and got his mind going, so he got into film work.

I actually briefly mentioned VJing to him in an onlien chat, and he seemed interested but I totally flunked it by losing my nerve when I was supposed to email him further details - I am getting back on the case with this though.

[robotfunk]

ive been a fan since I saw wild at heart when it came out. very refreshing antidote to all these hollywood movies where every clue has to be dropped at least 3 times to allow even football players who went to the loo or were otherwise distracted the first 2 times to follow the plot. at least with his films you still dont totally get it after watching it 3 times :)

the thing I love most about his work is the dreamlike/subconsious elements

[elbows]

I think his use of music during those sequences and in general really does something for me.

I always felt cheated by television after Twin Peaks - I thought it was a great sign of things to come for TV, but it was a oneoff and its made nearly all tv drama unwatchable to me since lol.

I may be mad but often when I really admire an artist, I deliberately save some of their work so that Ive got something to look forward to - David has a DVD of short films that I will get one day, and I havent seen a his last few films yet.

Ive always fancied having one of those voice things off Dune, but instead of a weapon, have something that turns sounds emitted from the voicebox into visual objects. I suppose thats not very far away from sound responsive realtime content creation really, well its the same thing really, but Ive not tried using stuff like that with my voice yet. Think I will have a play this weekend. I make strange noises.

[KillingFrenzy]

I recommend logging on to the Lynch Site, subscribing, and then cancelling after you've looked at everything.

A bit vicious, but honestly the site has about $30 worth of content/interest on it. So, pay for it for a month or two, and then cancel your subscription.

I find Mr. Lynch to be an inspiring iconoclast, and a real artist in the best sense. His work does include many "in the moment" elements, and I'm sure the VJ concept would appeal to him. Set him in front of a console and give him some knobs to twiddle, and I'm sure he'd dig it. Still, I don't think we really want to distract him from making films, now do we?

The short films DVD is worth it. As is the really nice release of Eraserhead available on the website. They're a bit pricey ($40?) but they come with a fancy giftbox and a very nice fullsize art booklet.

For fans of Lynch, I'd highly recommend the Japanese directors Shinya Tsukamoto and Takashi Miike. Both are big Lynch fans, and have works that are derivitive in some ways, but moreso seem to be extensions of a similar universe. Digging back in time; I recommend the short films of Maya Deren, the dark surrealism of Jan Svankmajer animated shorts, and the kinky Noir of Kinji Fukasaku's "Black Lizard." Check out "Carnival of Souls" and Tod Browning's "Freaks." And, this might just be me, but check out "King Creole" the Elvis Noir, and tell me if alot of it doesn't jibe thematically with "Blue Velvet."

To me Lynch is the best type of artist. He studies the past, does his homework, learns his craft and is able to create something that shows a mastery of that understanding while still developing his own themes and creative interests. He's obsessive about his vision and yet open to spontaneous invention.
I find his failures more inspiring than most director's successes...

Davidlynch.com Review -
Given all that, I'd still say $10 a month is bullshit for what amounts to very little original content produced each month, and a majority of web-limited interactivity. Subscribe until you've checked things out once, then cancel your account.