I have a deep respect for improvisers of all sorts, poets, musicians, comedians and more. People that are so ‘prepared’ and free that they can just ‘do’. They can adapt, they can do so quickly and yet maintain a certain quality in what they output. I am curious about them. Why do they do it? When did they realise they could just do it? How long did it take them to get to that moment? I want to learn from them and hopefully liberate myself from a tendency to find comfort in the plan and especially from a tendency to obsess over the result rather than the process. If you are afraid to look like a fool, you end up not doing anything while other people are looking at you.

I have invested in a production kit and have already booked a flight to New York City where I will start shooting an improvised feature length documentary on improvisation on the 13th of January. Not planning more than this has been extremely difficult for me. Truth be told, I am still scared by the idea. I want this project to be a liberation for myself and for its audience. All I know is that we will land in NYC on the 12th of January 2016 and we will begin shooting the next day, even though I do not know exactly what. I know I need to ‘make’ this and that I want to share the complexities of making this documentary with you and its future audience.

I need your help. Ideally, I do not want your money. I do not intend to wait on a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign to maybe be successful before starting to shoot. This is not the point. I want to connect with people that cannot resist this calling. So how can you help?

Provide guidance. We will start in NYC and we have accommodation booked from the 12th to the 19th of January 2016. Where should we go next, and why? The sooner you contact me with an idea, the more likely it is that we can make it happen within our means. I’d like to stay in North America at first, but I am willing to consider any corner of the globe. Where should I go and Why?

Provide subjects. I know what I am looking for but I do not know who will deliver it. For every improviser I will meet, I would like to record an interview and a performance. Do you know musicians, comedians, poets, dancers, painters, rappers or other kind of improvisers? Do you truly believe that they have that something special in regards to what they do? Do you know people that are obsessed with improvisation, that have studied it from a psychological or evolutionary point of view? Could you put me in contact with them? Who should I include and Why?

Provide artistic/technical support. I might end up in your neighbourhood, you might have an extra camera sitting there, you might have some spare time on your hand on that day, and you might be tempted to join us. We are traveling light and only have one camera system and a small action camera for this project. Can you join us for a shoot?

Provide sponsorship. We (Giorgio Palazzi and Sergej Bezuglov) have limited funds, some would say very limited funds. We intend to continue our exploration of improvisation for as long as we can stretch our resources. Any form of sponsorship is welcome. Discounted or free travel, accommodation and food are the main concerns. We will also need venues, where we can gather, interview and improvise. All sponsors will be thanked through our social media networks and mentioned in the final work.

Let other people know. Share this post and its content with everyone you think might be interested. Actually, share this post and its content with everyone you know. Let other people know.

How can you follow us along? You can keep track of our activities and movements on:

Blog: wanderinggio.com

Twitter: @improvdimprov @wanderinggio and @bezocean

Facebook: An Improvised Documentary on Improvisation and W(A/O)NDERING Filmmaking

Instagram: @wanderinggio and @bezocean

Youtube: w(a/o)ndering

We’re flying out today. Stay tuned.

Who are we?

Giorgio Palazzi (Producer/Director)

Born and raised in Meyrin (GE, Switzerland) from Italian parents. After various jobs and experiences on set and mainly in post-production, he transitioned to a career in Filmmaking Education, in search of a more stable life. This allowed him to live and work in Australia, New Zealand, Rome, Bangkok and the UK, teaching and coordinating for various Filmmaking Departments. He recently setup a small production company, W(A/O)NDERFILM Ltd. It seems stability is not entirely what he was after, a passion is a passion, and teaching it was simply not enough. He still ‘educates’ from time to time through his filmmaking blog, waondering.com.

Sergej Bezuglov (Director of Photography)

Born and raised in Klaipeda (Lithuania). He trained as a diver and dive instructor before embarking on various underwater jobs around the world. After visiting the reefs and wildlife of the Maldives, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, he was ‘forced’ to take a camera in his hands. It was love ‘at first sight’ and his curiosity pushed him to learn about most aspects of film and video making. He was later employed by a Filmmaking School where he mainly taught cinematography and color correction. A passion is a passion, however, and teaching it was simply not enough.

Why am I doing it?

For the last couple of years I have been stuck in preparation hell. I have been working on various creative projects and they were all at “various stages of development”. It was frustrating. It is frustrating. I feel the need to do.

I look back at when I wrote this post – Let’s Wing It: Improvisation, Film and That Something Special – It was more than a year ago. I wrote it with a lot of admiration (and a bit of envy.) What really bugs me is how little I have done since.

I have often told my students not to invest their own money in their films. I am not sure why I used to tell them so. I was told so by my teachers and I was just repeating what I was taught. In the end, it is like saying do not invest in yourself, and that does not make any sense to me anymore.

How can you contact me? You can use the channels above or write at gio@waonderfilm.com

If you would like to know a bit more about me. You can read Who is Wandering Gio as well as check out my filmmaking blog at waondering.com.

I look forward to hearing from you or even better meeting you. I have been preparing for this moment for years. Now, it has to be done…