Foundation, grounded.
Aloha,
If you are just joining us, welcome. Darieus Legg is an independent animator, filmmaker, and surfer.
These are journal entries about…
…making an independent animated surf documentary called, Stoker Machine.
Reader,
Pardon me while I am knee deep ingesting the latest footage from the Mexico shoot with Randal Stoker! The film is full steam ahead and all my focus is on locking up the edit. So if you don’t mind, in todays post, I’d like to share some thoughts on a subject that you might find interesting. I certainly do.
Mental nutrition.
I did a project a year ago with my friends, Kuhao Zane and Zak Noyle. I’ve known both for a very long time. Kuhao is from Hilo side. Zak is from Oahu. We focused on Kuhao’s routines, and one of them, I related too a lot. In fact, many of the things he said in his interview had me wondering whether or not our spirits are really one on some higher plane. Ku’s profession is cultural practitioner and designer. He’s a deep guy and comes up with some of the most meaningful, emotional, and fascinating clothing prints I’ve ever seen. Granted, his father is a grandmaster wizard himself, but Ku has a unique touch to his work that makes it clear he has a voice of his own. Nothing about his design choices are arbitrary. Intention goes into all aspects of the creation. Including his way of being in the world. And that’s where our spirits connect, if not are one.
Ku gets up every morning and stares at his Ulu tree in the backyard.
What is the first thing I feed my brain when I wake up? Staring at the ocean, or artwork from my favorite animators. Things I avoid feeding my brain at all costs first thing in the morning. Anything on my phone. I don’t integrate my phone into my morning until an hour after I awake. The way I connect to the world the moment I open my eyes is by being without any digital interface. No separation. This is critical to me because I feel any use of a digital device is a separation from my immediate reality. I can’t have that anymore.
This varies, because the demands of the modern world are insane. I don’t want to necessarily disconnect from the grand old opera of life. But I am acutely aware of the importance of feeding my brain art or nature first thing in the morning. It sets up my internal operating system with wonder. No limits. Curiosity. The possibilities that reside in not knowing how something is done, or made. Connection, to something way bigger than me.
A practical first step I took earlier in the year? I bought an analog clock and put it next to my bed, so I wouldn’t have a reason to need the phone near bye. This basic act changed my sleep drastically. Stripping away all digital devices before I go to sleep, and when I wake up, gave me better sleeps. It takes serious discipline, which says more about the power of my digital addiction than it does about my willpower, but it pays off in deep sleep dividends.
WHAT’S GOING DOWN:
Ingesting all the new footage shot in Mexico. Stoker Machine is thriving.
Shane Dorian gave the film and me a shout out on his Instagram. Love that man. He did so much for me as a teenager, and I still use and practice the tools he gave me in the gym, in the surf, and life.
It was my best friends birthday yesterday, Happy Birthday Marc! He turned 40.
If you missed my last blog post, give it a read, it has some fun animations.
THE CLOSE-OUT
At the beginning and end of the project we did with Kuhao, he channels a beautiful chant in Hawaiian. The chant serves as an important reminder: set your foundation and be grounded as you approach the day.
It’s practices and reminders like that, that keep me pushing forward on a documentary that seems to be a never ending up hill push.
