Untitled #1, 1981. Directed by Mark Allen. Starring Mark Allen. 8-mm; 2 minutes, 29 seconds; color; silent.

Here’s a movie I made in 1981 where I painted a TV set, then I painted a bathroom mirror, then I cleaned the mirror with Windex. The plot of the film was planned, and intentional—and also includes an unplanned cameo by Jack Klugman. While other kids were outside playing football or discovering sex and drugs, I was in my bedroom laboring over art projects like this one. I actually saved my allowance to buy the film, set everything up, used my parent’s ancient 8-mm camera, rode my bike to get it processed, etc., etc. When it was done I had a screening for my family and friends. If you wanted to guess what kind of kid I was in middle school, you’d probably be right.