I am very happy to say that today I have completed the first stage of “The I Love You Project.” For this project I directed friends and family to close their eyes and say “I love you” over and over. The result is something special. This work could not have been done without the support of many people. To my family and friends who gave their hearts to this project, you have my greatest thanks.

In order to get the lighting for the project to match what I saw in my imagination I spent a month studying lighting with James Heck over at the Northwest Film Forum to learn how to get the lighting the way I wanted it. I learned a lot about my video camera. I shot the first 12 people on super-8 to get an idea of the difference between film and video.

I’ve edited the hours of footage down to three movies, a long 11 minute movie with most people, a short 3 1/2 minute movie with just a few people who transition well together, and a companion movie documenting some of the responses and reflections that participants had after their performance.

I feel that this project is still in it’s baby stages. I would like to diversify the performers to include a broader range of hair and skin colors, ethnic backgrounds, and I need to include more women to create a gender balance. I see this project as a growing database of the human expression of love.