Camp Wood for Sale

SHOT IN Carborro and Chapel Hill, NC by a NC filmmaker with additional footage from NYC and Newfoundland and Labrador. This film would be a premier screening.

Camp Wood for Sale explores the line between work and art, reality and imagination and the creative process versus commercialism by following a worker as he cuts and chops wood to be sold as firewood. Can the simple, daily act of working be considered art? Does work only become art when it is filmed, drawn or recorded in another medium? Does the exchange of money destroy the purity of an artistic creation rendering it simply as a means to earn a living? By romanticizing the act of manual labor and juxtaposing a rural setting with images of the seemingly harsh, unforgiving city this wordless short film seeks to awaken the viewer to the possibility of art in everyday living.

  • Scott Larson
    Director
    NA
  • Scott Larson
    Writer
    NA
  • Scott Larson
    Producer
    NA
  • Scott Larson
    Key Cast
    NA
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 20, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Cannon Rebel T1i, 29mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • NA
Distribution Information
  • NA
Director Biography - Scott Larson

Myths and legends allow us to reach our full potential through self-identification with our heroes. We achieve and become what logic and inhibition tells us is impossible.
When I was young, I watched diminutive and powerful Tanzanian Juma Ikangaa battle the sleek and graceful Ibrahim Hussein on TV. Juma always seemed to come in second but he ran with a fierce determination. He ran from the front with a willful disregard for the limits of the human body. As Ibrahim pulled away, I remember thinking, "Why doesn't Juma just run harder?"
In 2001 I won the US championship at the NYC marathon. I ran out of my head, beyond my talent level. When I hit the hills of central park I tried to "run harder" but couldn't. I crossed the finish line in 13th place overall, at a jog, not even able to break the tape. No one runs 26.2 miles believing the wall exists, at least not for them, even if they've hit it a hundred times. Mark Plaatjes my coach and friend used to ask me, "Scotty, why you want to bang you're head against the wall?" Implying, rightly so, that I was stubborn and insisted on always taking the hard way. I guess if I had to answer that question today I'd say, because once the wall becomes a wall what's the point?

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I'm a former professional marathoner who has turned to writing, painting, videography and photography as a means of self-expression and to fulfill my need for concentrated action followed by periods of rest and regeneration. In my creative work I strive to find the balance between fluid movement, instinctive and uncensored, and thoughtful, intentional spacing—the calm within the chaos.
I envision the whole of my art, product and practice, as a type of poem. I hope my work elicits a feeling of active melancholy—an awareness of the transitory nature of life and the motivation to navigate the everyday with joy and humility.