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film verse by verse, word by 'word,' letter by letter.
Six weeks later we would meet in Toronto to line up the
soundtrack with the finished film and catch any flaws. But
Primiti Too Taa was effectively created during the hour or two
after taping the soundtrack and before Ed climbed into his car,
borrowing money for the oil and gas, to drive home to
Teeswater, Ontario, where he typed the film. By the first week
in December, Primiti Too Taa would be showing at the San
Francisco Poetry Film Festival under a poster that said, YouÕve
seen the book, now read the movie!

   Each foot of 16mm film has forty frames; a hundred feet has
4000 frames; 4000 sheets of paper for Ed to align and realign
(how many times?) to make the giant flip-book that is a two and
a half minute film. Ed Ackerman, who dreams in 70 mm, went on
to remake the film in 35mm - the version that was shortlisted
for a Gemini award - and finally built his own IMAX camera in
order to see Primiti Too Taa full-scale.

   Although I can call myself an award-winning filmmaker, I still
know very little of the mystery that changes a concept, even a
notion, into a big-screen daydream. But I'm sure this is not
the way it's done in Hollywood.,
- Colin Morton

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This article first appeared in
Descant 64 / 65  Spring-Summer 1989  Volume20, Number 1 and 2  "Filmsounds"