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What inspired you to make this piece?
My most visceral inspiration for making CLOCKMASTER was the clockworks and the hidden space in which they were housed. I was overwhelmed with the size and intricacy of the mechanism, which was bathed in the most beautiful interior light I had ever seen. At the time I had started working as a gaffer (light technician) on Independent Features, and what I saw put me to shame. It became clear that the film should, as simply as possible, relay the feeling of peace, calm, and awe that I felt as I stood in that place.
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| From CLOCKMASTER. |
Tell us a little about the process involved in making this work.
I first heard of Mr. Schneider (Clockmaster of New York City) and his clock on a call-in radio show on AM 820 [WNYC]. There was nothing really special about the interview aside from a brief mention of the hidden interior spaces where the clockworks were housed. This is what got me interested. I then wrote Mr. Schenider, who was working as an accountant for the city of New York. His title of Official Clockmaster of the City of New York was bestowed on him during the Dinkins Administration, but it was mostly an honorary position with a small stipend; he was doing this because he loves the work.
Because of this, Mr. Schenider was understandably protective over the clock. To gain his trust it was necessary to sit in on a number of windings, which happen every Wednesday. I am actually grateful for the forced slow-down in pace; it gave me a unique opportunity to become acquainted with my subject and environment. After about a month I began filming; it happened in bits and pieces over the following two months. At the time I was living in Brooklyn Heights, walking distance to the clock at 346 Broadway. It was a wonderful way to work; I was totally self-contained and could work at my own pace.
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| From CLOCKMASTER. |
Do you have any interesting and/or amusing behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?
Sorry, no interesting behind-the-scenes stories come to mind. It was a solitary, methodical process most of the time.
Is there a relationship between your work as a video/filmmaker and life in the New York metropolitan area?
Independent film is the reason I came to New York in the first place, but the people and the city itself are why I stayed. I can feed off the energy here; it is the place to find people who actually want to achieve something.
Though CLOCKMASTER was pretty much a solo project, I still needed help. Peter Schneider, a friend from school, recorded sound and donated his labor and equipment to the project. And another friend, Ilya Chalken, edited CLOCKMASTER and was instrumental in discovering the tone and structure of the film.
Being in New York is more than just subject matter, it is having access to a pool of truly talented professionals: people working in film because they see it as their calling.
How has the burgeoning independent movement affected your life and work as a video/filmmaker?
On a very practical level, the independent film movement has been my only means of financial support. First working as an AC [Assistant Camera], then a gaffer, and finally now as a producer/cameraman. But more than the "job," it is the people I have met; it seems that most everything I learned and have been able to achieve happened after I left film school. Not that film school was not worth it -- it was necessary to get me to a point where I was ready to learn.
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