Since I’m thinking about my home office / studio a lot these days, I thought it’d be fun to revisit the past for a quick minute. I wondered if y’all might find this remotely interesting. I like seeing how other people set up their own work space.
While working on Abandoned Allies, I had a pretty sweet lil home studio set up for a while. It’s probably not awe-inspiring but it worked for me at that time. I was pouring every cent into the film itself, which left a whole lot of nothing for studio furniture. So I improvised a lot using stuff I had. Some friends of mine were kind enough to let me borrow stuff, too.
Here are some pictures I took of my home office / studio as it looked in 2010.
Desk
The desk is not really a desk. It’s actually just the door to the room, laid out on two saw horses. I covered it with craft paper so I could doodle while waiting for video to render. You couldn’t sit heavy stuff on the desk but I loved being able to spill coffee or write on it without worrying that I’d permanently messed it up.
Seating
See the small chair on the left? That was a purchase from the state surplus store for about $2.00. I thought it was cute (sort of a vintage / industrial look) but but it made a terrible chair for editing video, where I would sit for entirely too many hours on end. So a friend took pit and loaned me the blue desk chair, which was a HUGE improvement.
Hardware
My old G5 sits in between the two chairs. It was a beast of a computer when I bought it (around 2003), but while working on the film in 2010 it could hardly keep up. I was so desperate for an upgrade but the budget wouldn’t allow it. This, my friends, is hard core indie filmmaking. That lil beast treated me so well.
There’s also a borrowed laptop sitting under the window. It’s harder to see since it blends in pretty well. But that laptop was taken to many meetings and used to scan plenty of old pictures of Vietnam. The scanner is also against that wall (by the green vase).
The monitor you see was on loan, too. My composer was kind enough to lend it to me because my 12″ monitor was so outdated and hard to use for video editing. That monitor was a gem of a loan. It helped so much!
Decor
The area rug was the inspiration for little bits of green throughout the room: vase, bin, little throw (see below), etc. It served in tying everything together well enough at that time. I still have and use a lot of the green accents. They’ve been re purposed now in the bathroom and laundry room to organize and store stuff.
Bookshelf
The wall-o-books there was pretty critical. It was full of filmmaking, design, and Vietnam War history books. I collected them in one place so I could reference quickly while blogging about the making of Abandoned Allies. (Revisit that blog here.) There are also plenty of photos, VHS tapes, and Super 8 film related to the movie tucked in there, too.
Wall art
The drawing that’s framed and hanging on the wall was something I did in college. I still really like it. Drawing takes a lot of patience so I don’t feel like I’m really great at it. The instant gratification of photography is much more suited to me. (Plus, you should see the drawings my family can do. They’re crazy talented.) So that art hangs proudly because it reminds me to step out of my comfort zone and to be a lil more patient.
Seating
The couch was critical in this room. It’s where I had people over to see the film while it was a work-in-progress. I wanted them to be comfortable, even in such a small room, so they could pay attention to the film and provide constructive criticsm. We held screenings in the living room later on, so I eventually relocated the small couch.
Planning tools
The dry erase board had the schedule for the upcoming months on it. I updated that regularly. Seeing it in plain writing helped keep me motivated. (The old photo in front of the board is one that my grandma gave me while we were in production. Her sister is in it.)
The closet door is covered with index cards. That’s a rough form of story boarding while editing the doc. I wrote out all of the themes and subjects, then put them in order under our main points. We did so much research and I got so deep “into the weeds” that it was hard to come back to a surface level. These index cards helped me do that a little faster when I got stuck.
Here’s a close up of the door:
My dog
In case you missed him, my pound puppy is in almost all of these pictures. Little Louie became a permanent part of the film editing process. I’m always thankful for his company. Here’s a close up from the first picture:
He cracks me up. Sneaking into every. single. picture. But he’s a good boy.
Studio planning
As I start planning my next studio space, it’s really helpful to look back on what I’ve done in the past. What worked well? What would I improve? What do I need this time around? (Conclusion: definitely a better desk and chair.)
Lately, I’ve been obsessing over websites, blogs, and magazines looking for inspiration. I pretty much love interior design. And I LOVE looking at how other people organize their own work areas.