...Two messages from James Laxton, photographer of my short films as well this forthcoming feature. In that reserved, yet giddy voice he saves for moments he’s burning images to film, James says, “I have a 35mm Arri III camera package, lenses, magazines, the whole kit. They’re ours for the next twelve hours.” I look to the sky above Yerba Buena Gardens, gauge how much sunlight we have left in this day (roughly three hours), then hurry to a bench to phone him.

The situation goes something like this: There’s a pivotal sequence in the middle of the film that features the natural beauty of San Francisco. Composed entirely of shots absent the main characters, it’s a moment conjured in a daydream, a bit we’ve previously decided will be stylistically divergent from the rest of the film’s imagery. One idea has been to degrade the image far below the resolution of the HD photography the bulk of the film will be shot on. The other is to surpass HD with the lush palette of 35mm. This camera package has literally fallen into our laps. All we need is a roll of 35mm film stock to make it go.

Media Distributors, San Francisco. I punch this into my phone as I step onto the sidewalk; send a text to 466453 (Google). Seconds later a reply text chirps back, the address and phone number of the place (gotta love Google). A woman answers, listens patiently as I cynically blurt my story, ending with the pessimistic quip, “…but yeah, I’m sure you don’t have anything like that.”

She puts me on hold and I unlock my bike. I’m so over the whole thing she has to ask for me twice when she comes back on the line:

“Barry? Barry, you still there?”

“Hey.”

“Barry, I have one shortend roll here and it’s 250 feet of 5201 Kodak stock.”

“What?”

“250 feet of 5201.”

“Holy sh—what time do you close?”

I check my watch: 4:52.

“You could pick it up on Monday, I’ll—”

“No I’ll be there, I’ll be there.”

To read the rest of the passage visit www.medicineformelancholy.com Also, check out the comments on that post left by both producer Justin Barber & fellow filmie Darren Hoffman. Worth your time for sure.