Ondi Timoner discusses why WeTalk is coming at a cultural crossroads, how her past experiences prepared her to make WeTalk both a sustainable and expanding series, and what creatives and companies can do to join the conversation.
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Composer Robert Miller On "The King," Voicing a Thesis, & the Value of Empathy
Robert Miller is a prolific, award-winning composer of music for film, television and the concert hall, with a career spanning more than 20 years. We discuss the particular challenges of composing for a film that's already packed with Elvis songs, and why when crafting the score, Robert tuned his ear to the thesis of director Eugene Jarecki rather than the sounds of The King himself. Robert also offers a trove of insights into his musical process as well as advice for up-and-coming composers.
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FREDDY ARENAS ANIMATES A NEW HBO DOCUMENTARY
FREDDY ARENAS ANIMATES A NEW HBO DOCUMENTARY
HBO Docs invited WNW Member Freddy Arenas to collaborate on directing the animated inserts for their documentary Risky Drinking, directed and produced by Ellen Goosenberg. Freddy's creative contributions help illustrate the scientific facts behind the film and the hypothetical situations within it. Below, we talk to Freddy about his creative style and process, as well as the creative challenges of this brief.
Tell us a little bit about your creative background. Who is Freddy and how did he get here?
I'm an independent director focusing on animation and starting to explore the live action world.
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela where I also went to school for visual communication. I've always being interested in animation and storytelling but that wasn't my school's focus, so I tried to learn everything I could on my own by reading articles and books as well as doing software tutorials online.
As soon as I graduated I started a small motion graphics studio, which helped me put everything I've learned to practice. After two years, I decided to moved to New York, the center of the motion graphics industry. My experience in NY has been amazing. I've had the opportunity to work at some of the most interesting studios including Buck and the Google Creative Lab.
For the past three years I've been working independently directing and producing projects for clients such as The New York Times, California Sunday Magazine, Netflix, and HBO Documentaries, among others.
How would you describe your creative style? Do you recognize a signature style that links all of your projects, or do you try to excuse yourself and approach each project as its own entity?
I think there's a certain way in which I approach projects that spill over across all of my work. I tried to find the right solution for each project, but as an independent director most of the times the clients come to me for "my style" either narratively or graphically so in a way, my approach already fits the project.
I'm constantly exploring new techniques to expand my skill set and find new ways to tell stories, so I have something else to offer to clients and to keep myself motivated as a creative. I share the experiments that come out of this on Instagram and Tumblr .
How did you come to animate an HBO Doc?
Ellen Goosenberg, the producer and director of the film, had seem this piece for The New York Times and thought I would be a good fit for the documentary. She wanted to include animation within the film to explain certain scientific facts and some hypothetical situations.
Can you tell us a little bit about your process for this project? What were some of the challenges?
It was amazing working with Ellen and the rest of the people involved in the film. They are amazing professionals and the way they set up the project allowed me to developed my vision and really craft the piece to a point where I was totally happy with the final result. In the motion graphics industry things move really fast and sometimes projects leave my hands when I still feel I could keep working on polishing them.
It was challenging to translate the emotion of the film into animation. I think Ellen created a really emotional and complex film, so it was interesting to find a way to carry that mood into animation.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Just want to thank again Ellen Goosenberg for inviting me to be part of her film and to HBO Documentaries for the great platform and their interest in creating this kind of content.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
ON AMERICANA: CHRISTOPHER LANE
ON AMERICANA:
CHRISTOPHER LANE
Fun fact: WNW Member #1439 Christopher Lane came to the United States from England in 1995 to pursue a professional golf career. He ended up playing golf for the Savannah College of Art and Design, but soon after shifted his focus to photography. He's an ADC Young Gun, specializing in documentary and portrait photography, with a real draw to all things Americana.
Christopher was kind of enough to sit down with us in person and walk us through the inspiration and process behind some of his photographs. Accompanying each image is a sound clip, so you can hear Christopher's stories behind the shoot, in his own words. He's negotiated image prices with Jerry Seinfeld, developed friendships with the Ms. Senior America contestants, and bossed around President Barack Obama.
As a Brit living in the US, Christopher is particularly fascinated by Americana and the access being a photographer affords him: "The amazing thing is when you have the camera, sometimes you can end up in the White House or end up in a cell. It's pretty fascinating sometimes. That spectrum really is an amazing privilege."
ON STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Sometimes you can go around the city of New York and everyone will say, 'No, I don't want my picture taken.' But I think it's a feeling that people get from you, how approachable you are. If you’re in a happy good mood, usually people can pick up on that. It's a weird kind of aura.
I ask a lot of questions like, "What did you dream last night? And what's the greatest invention in your lifetime?"
ON NAILING THE SHOT
It was pretty amazing when we asked Jerry to perform. He did the shot where the coffee is spilling out. It was the the first shot, the first time we tried it. We sort of got it in one take and he saw that. Jerry was like, "Great, we got it!" It's always nice to do a few but I didn’t want to destroy the studio too much.
ON PHOTOGRAPHING THE PRESIDENT
When he arrived, I wasn’t ready. He says, “You’ve got 10 minutes and you can do whatever you want." I did push the boundaries a bit. But I think it was good.
Before you go into a shoot, do you already have an idea of the essence you want to capture?
I’m finding nowadays there’s a lot more art direction, a bit too much even. Before, they’d let you do whatever you liked. With creative freedom, I used to do a lot of research, looking at paintings, going to museums, looking at old newspapers and magazines. I used to kind of be a hoarder and collect old New York Times Magazines. Inspiration comes from everywhere. I like to look at a lot of older photographs. One of my favorite photographers is August Sander.
How do you adjust your approach to match your subject's energy?
It's a lot more controlled these days. I frequently find the subject will say, “I’m not going to do this, I’m not going to do that.” So I find it's important to have several ideas and there will always be one that they’re willing to do. Sometimes you just have to go with what you’re given.
ON NOT GETTING STAR-STRUCK
I find it's a lot easier with actors since they’re used to the camera, to the performance. A lot of times you only have a few minutes with the subject, especially celebrities. It's rare that you get more than twenty minutes, sometimes you literally get 20 seconds. So you have to have something ready to go. It depends if they’re willing to interact with you as well.
Do you get nervous photographing celebrities, or does nothing phase you at this point?
I think they’d pick up on the nervousness. I guess you become a little bit heightened, but it's important not to get nervous and to make them as comfortable as possible. It's the one time that they’re not in control, and you get to boss them around. If you’re confident about doing that in the nicest way, I think they actually appreciate it. Basically everyone’s kissing their ass. So they do live in this kind of fantasy bubble and it’s nice just to have that reality check and just be a bit more normal to them.
ON PERSONAL PROJECTS
I like to at least do one or two personal projects a year. I feel you get the most reward out of doing your own personal work. It’s so hard to do especially when you’re bombarded with commercial work, but I think it’s always the most gratifying for me and it’s where I can be the most artistic as well. I don’t have to answer to anyone, no deadlines and I don’t have to get the images the next day. I can relax and then can really enjoy the subjects.
I usually find inspiration from going out onto the street and especially in New York it’s pretty amazing. If you’re stuck for ideas, just to walk down 5th Avenue and see all the different characters. I always find it’s really good just to walk with the camera to find different subjects or different ideas for a new project.
ON MS. SENIOR AMERICA
It's for 60+ ladies who like to have a good time. It's a bit like the dog show, but for seniors. I went down on a whim but then I became friends with some of these ladies and they wanted me to come back.
Ms. Nebraska did this charity thing where she rode a bicycle from Nebraska to New Jersey and she got run over by a garbage truck... she nearly didn't make it.
ON PHOTOGRAPHY AS DOCUMENTARY
The prison system has become a Wall Street corporation. It's easy to get prisoners, and there's a dollar bill on their head. People are making profits out of this. They use the prisoners as circus acts, they make them do bull riding. So six or seven times a year they put on these performances where the prisoners are the bull riders. But they’re horrible bull riders since they never get to practice. And many of them end up injured or in the hospital... they risk their life. But I think they can earn over a $100 or $500 which in prison, is like winning the lottery.
Photographs taken at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us.
NOT WORKING: LIVE FAST, DRAW YUNG
NOT WORKING:
LIVE FAST, DRAW YUNG
WNW Member #3500 Stacey Lee is close to finishing her documentary about our favorite 7-year-old hip hop portraitist, Yung Lenox, and has turned to Kickstarter for help getting it done. Check out the trailer above and head over to the Kickstarter page for "Live Fast, Draw Yung" to show them some love. A little more about the project from Stacey and her co-director Anthony Mathile below:
Described by the LA Weekly as the “foremost doodler of rap”, Yung Lenox is a hip hop portraitist specializing in marker drawings of iconic rap albums, from 2 Live Crew's Nasty As They Wanna Be, to ODB's Return to the 36 Chambers. He’s sold hundreds of prints, been commissioned for record sleeves, custom apparel and had his artistic debut at the Frieze Art Fair in New York. Unfortunately, Lenox did not attend that show. It was past his bedtime. He was six.
“Even though I do famous artwork, only the kids in my math group know.” - Lenox
“Live Fast, Draw Yung" is an intimate and entertaining tale about Lenox and his Dad, Skip, a graffiti artist, copywriter and silent collaborator behind the Yung Lenox brand. As we bear witness to their unconventional after-school hobby, we discover an endearing friendship forged through creativity; a Dad teaching his son about coloring, shading, and the heroes of his youth. Through Instagram and press attention, what starts as a hobby turns into a lifestyle and a business. Soon, the two are hanging with Cam’ron backstage with Action Bronson, in the studio with Kool Keith, chilling with "Uncle Raekwon", and on a plane to LA for Lenox’s first solo exhibition.
Through Lenox’s eyes and ears, the film offers an innocent and hilariously honest entry point into the often explicit and idolized culture of hip hop. It reconsiders the age old parental advisory debate and the realities of a kid growing up in an adult world. As Skip is forced to confront his intentions and parenting skills, Lenox remains unfazed. He isn’t listening to any of it. In his world, art is “medium important” as opposed to school, legos and Minecraft. And that’s what makes the kid everyone’s favorite artist.
Are you a WNW member with new work to share? Email us.
NOT WORKING: IN CONEY ISLAND
NOT WORKING:
IN CONEY ISLAND
Amy Nicholson • Art Director • New York, NY
Zipper: Coney Island's Last Wild Ride, the third documentary by WNW member #453 Amy Nicholson, opens a one week engagement at IFC Center this Friday, August 9th. The film follows the struggles of a small-time ride operator and his carnival contraption as they fall victim to the battle over the future of Coney Island. We asked Amy about her process of making Zipper over the past six years and how she transitioned from art director to director. If you can't make it to the IFC Center, Zipper will be available on iTunes August 9th and opens in LA August 30th. Check out the trailer above and get more info at zipperfilm.com.
What drew you to Coney Island?
I’ve been going to Coney Island since I moved to New York back in the 90’s. It’s really some of the best people watching in the world. It’s one of those places where you feel like anything can happen. It smells like the ocean and sausages and candy, it’s loud, there are freaky people – what’s not to love?
And the Zipper was my favorite ride as a kid. Before the world was plugged into the web, you went to the carnival to escape your boring middle class life. Every carnival had a Zipper and it was a mean machine. I loved that they still had one in Coney Island. When I read it was leaving, my heart sank.
Did the story change at all from what you originally expected to capture?
That’s the understatement of all time. Yes. I set out to make this homage to my childhood and just make a short with the Zipper leaving. The guy who owned the Zipper ended up getting one more summer, so we kept filming through the summer of 2007. That fall, it was still bothering me that I didn’t really get what was happening politically. I kept digging and before you know it, it was a really big hole!
How was this different than making your last documentary, Muskrat Lovely?
Muskrat Lovely was dreamy. First, I was shooting in a remote town on the Chesapeake where the people we went to interview made us lunch and got mad if we didn’t wave to them while we were out getting B roll. The whole shoot schedule was 2 ½ weeks. And it was a contest, so you have a definitive beginning, middle and end. Zipper involved getting interviews with high-powered politicians, sneaking in to City Hall, dealing with crazy crack head carnies, schlepping to Kansas twice and then to Honduras, and trying to unravel a really complicated land use issue. Then for fun we told a parallel story and monkeyed with the timeline of events. Sheesh.
Many creatives have aspirations of making films. Did you find the transition from working as an art director to a director difficult?
It’s amazing how many skills you have that you don’t realize you have. There’s so much writing and promotional stuff to do, so it’s really helpful to already know how to do all that. Plus you are telling a story – something you have done a million times. The difficult part is that it is 7,000,000 times more work than you think it will be and you will basically have 2 full time jobs for the length of the project unless you take a big hunk of time off.
Did you direct anything in advertising first before moving onto your own projects?
No. When I first started freelancing I took the summer off and went to NYU and did their core curriculum for first year film students. Out of that came my first short, Beauty School. I made Muskrat Lovely a few years later. After that, I was signed to direct for a while, but it was at the height of the recession and A directors were taking C boards, so I certainly wasn’t getting anything. But I did do a few small projects for no money and it was a blast. I might try again…we’ll see. I don’t want to be a crappy director pooping out Vagisil commercials.
What's the weirdest thing you saw on the Coney Island boardwalk?
Not something I saw, but I’ve watched it a million times and it is the epitome of why Coney Island is magical and why I love it so much. My pal Charlie Denson from the Coney Island History Project shot it one day at Cha Cha’s, back before the city sterilized the boardwalk and they got kicked out. (Fun fact: Cha Cha’s tagline? Fun for the Hole Family)
