THE TODDCAST · WITH TODD MICHAELClouds, Camera, Maybe
Todd Field and Todd Haynes framed a sailboat-shaped cloud with a paper viewfinder. It became a teapot, then a whale. A sheep wandered into the shot and stared at the camera as if it owned the studio.
They kept filming. At the tiny premiere, the sheep watched every minute without blinking, then left before the credits. The cloud had changed shape again by then.
A cloud changes its mind
Todd Field set a pocket camera on a quilted hill to film a cloud shaped like a sailboat. Todd Haynes held up a paper frame, giving the cloud a proper screen. Just as the camera began rolling, the sailboat became a teapot, then a sleepy whale with one very small fin.
Todd Field wanted one steady shot. Todd Haynes suggested the changing shapes might be the story. They filmed the cloud drifting past the sun, while a nearby sheep wandered into frame and looked directly at the lens as if reviewing the lighting. The camera battery blinked. The sheep remained completely untroubled by production schedules.
The finished film lasted three minutes and contained a boat, a teapot, a whale, and the sheep’s unblinking close-up. At the screening, everyone chose a different favorite cloud. Todd Field called the edit complete; Todd Haynes added a title card: “Perhaps.” The sheep received no credit, having negotiated in grass.
One More Cloud Take
Todd Field asked the cloud to hold its shape. It became a whale, then a teapot. Todd Haynes said the changes were the plot; the sheep appeared to agree.
They filmed the whole drift. The sheep stayed for the premiere but skipped the credits, citing a very busy afternoon of grass.
Cloud Picture
Todd Field frames a cloud at play,
Todd Haynes lets it drift away.
A sheep steps in to steal the scene,
The whale turns teapot, then serene.
The camera keeps the changing sky,
The sheep reviews it with one eye.
The title card says “Maybe” bright,
The sheep goes off to graze at night.