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What compelled you to make this piece? How does this work address issues that are important to you or close to your heart?
DREAD NIGHT FOLK began as super-8mm verite documentation of nocturnal urban events and often surreal night life. My desire to utilize the footage towards a narrative story, in combination with research into folklore and mythology having to do with the night (origins of the moon and stars, nocturnal creatures, etc.) lay the foundations for the film.
The issues/areas I was interested in exploring were those of an intergenerational relationship (between an elder black man and young black boy), immigration, death, the realization and/or deferment of dreams, and the idea of dream and spirit worlds existing alongside "reality."
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| From DREAD NIGHT FOLK. |
How does living in the New York metropolitan area affect your work?
Living in the New York metropolitan area affects all aspects of my work, which is based on the audio/visual stimuli unique to New York and its people. The downside is that it can be very difficult to sit down, relax, and write.
In including your work in REEL NEW YORK, do you think your piece in any way pushes the medium of television, or the viewing audiences' expectations of that medium?
I try to tell unconventional stories in unconventional ways through non-linear narrative, alternative story structure, and non-standard subject matter. I try to push the television medium beyond the confines of the half-hour sitcom, hour-long drama, or TV movie of the week, and have the work resonate with the viewer long after the credit roll.
What about access to the tools of production and post-production?
Depending on the project, access to the tools of production can be extremely difficult. One can always get through a production making do with what one has. Much of DREAD NIGHT FOLK was shot with silent bolex cameras and some bumped up super-8mm. Problems really arise in post-production, especially sound studio mixing/sweetening and laboratory work. You can always borrow a friend's camera, but you can't borrow the developing tank or the lab's printer.
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| From DREAD NIGHT FOLK. |
Why did you become a film/video artist/maker?
I fell into film/video through a range of interests which are all used towards the medium. They included photography, drawing, painting, animation, and music composition.
Do you feel the New York independent film/video community has changed in recent years? Do you find support living and working in such a large community of artists?
The best thing about the New York independent film community is that artists can help each other out on various projects, bounce ideas, and trade experiences with equipment, people, vendors, etc.
Do you have any interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?
DREAD NIGHT FOLK required moths as part of the young boy's insect collection, and the metaphor for the old man's death. Since shooting took place in winter, moths were unavailable, so butterflies had to be Federal Expressed from Florida. We hand fed them with honey water, and tried to control their flight by using UV bulbs, separating males and females, tying filament to their legs, etc. Butterflies don't take direction. We also tried to capture a cocoon hatching, but finally gave up (I ended up using stock footage for the hatching).
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