Back in January, I told you that we had some projects in the works around here. I’m excited to be able to share one of those projects with you, today. This one isn’t mine, it’s Eli’s. And it’s not about food – not only about food, anyway. But it does have a lot to do with what we do here, all of us, when we unfold a scribbled recipe and lay it on the counter, when we listen for the stories our kitchens tell us, pay attention, and maybe even write them down.
In September, the week that Mia was born, Eli left his job. (As all sane and normal people do when they have just become parents.) He wanted to launch something of his own, a project about video and the way we tell our stories. And so, together with his old friend Max, he got down to work on an app for your phones. It’s called Directr, and it’s almost done.
Eli worked as a software developer for the last nine years, but in college, in addition to computer science, he majored in visual arts. People used to hear that combination and say, “Oh, so graphic design!” but that wasn’t it. Eli never gave much thought to finding a connection between programming and art because, for him, they’re the same thing. It turns out that computer languages, like all languages, are not just about what you say, but how you say it. Like in writing or music, there’s an eloquence, a rhythm. The goal is also the same: to bring something beautiful into the world that wasn’t there before. Until I met Eli, I had never heard anyone talk about math and science and computers in this way, the way people talk about painting and poetry. Directr is all of this in action, and I love that.
The basic idea behind the project is that home movies are broken. They’re too long, they’re poorly shot, they have no story. Even when we do get the footage we’re after, we have to go in and edit the darn thing. In other words, creating beautiful, watchable films about our everyday lives is a royal pain. Directr seeks to change all that. It exists because there are stories all around us. When we walk to work, or paint the bedroom, sit alone at our tables with bad hair and cold cereal, or open our doors and make room for one more, we feel something happening there, something we want to hold on to. I have a feeling you know what I mean. With Directr, capturing this stuff doesn’t feel hard anymore. That’s amazing to me. And even more so that we’ll be able to do it all, from shooting to editing to sharing, on our phones. (Well, not on my phone which, because I am a weirdo, doesn’t have e-mail or internet or much of a camera at all. But I’m planning on joining the rest of you in the 21st century soon.)
Because of the way these things work, I’m not yet able to tell you the nitty-gritties. Soon, though! I can’t wait. For now, Eli and his team have set up a taste of what’s to come over at Directr.co. You’ll find a couple of films there like the ones you’ll be able to create when the app goes live. They were both shot at our place, so you’ll get a tour of our home, too! Though the launch is still a few weeks off, you can reserve your username now by signing up through the site. You can also follow Directr on Twitter and Facebook
so that you’ll know when things get rolling. There’s still much work to be done and deep breaths to be taken all around. The first half of 2012 has been kind of insane, in the best possible ways. Something tells me that the second half is going to be even crazier. Thank you for being here to be a part of it all.
