Bruce, what projects do you have planned and/or what are you working on at the moment?
I'm working on a comic book, trying to find a soundtrack for my clay animated film CAS'L',numerous screenwriting projects, various line animations, and a proposal for a potential TV series about pirates.
Have you ever worked outside of your own studio?
I worked for Frank Zappa from 1974-80.
What is the longest amount of time spent on one single shot?
I've never kept track of such things, but I am certain some clay animated shots took days or weeks, and some line animation sequences without cuts took months to do.
Your studio is set up in your house, can you explain what that is like and how you have made it efficient for yourself?
It would be easier to do a video about my archiving process than try to explain it. As far as filming, I don't have much space, but the scenes I shoot are on a very small scale involving very tiny miniatures in some cases, so I make do with the space I have.
Do you listen to music while animating?
I mostly listen to talk shows and music. Music with a fast tempo is best.
What is the most difficult thing about doing commercial work, can you share some insight or some stories from previous work you have done?
I've hardly done any commercial work - a line animated commercial, a clay animated spot for MTV Latino, and a music video. The hardest thing about these projects was meeting the short deadlines, but I managed to do it in every case.
Brett, what new projects do you have on the horizon?
I just finished a new documentary about an outsider artist/illustrator named Renaldo Kuhler. For more information, visit my website: http://www.brettingram.org/
How did you first get to collaborating with Bruce? What is your take on the future of independent film distribution?
I met Bruce when he came to a film festival in North Carolina. I helped him coordinate an animation workshop he was teaching. From there, we just stayed in touch until I decided a documentary should be made about him.
As far as the future of independent film distribution goes, I'm hardly an expert. In some ways, as a lot of filmmakers and distributors would probably agree, things look pretty bleak as with many aspects of the current economy. Due to the digital video revolution, there has been an explosion of work with so many more filmmakers out there than ever before. So, having success and getting noticed on the festival circuit is getting harder and harder.
But more and more people are finding ways of distributing their work online. How they make any money (or even break even) at it is still a mystery to me. Things are really in flux right now and who knows what the future holds, but it seems to be heading in the direction of everything being distributed online eventually, though I hope the theatrical experience never dies out completely. There's nothing like seeing a movie on a big screen with an audience. Thankfully, there are many alternative cinemas and venues like yours who dedicate themselves to screening truly original work that might not otherwise be seen.
Can you share some insight on your approach to screening Bruce's work, ie collaborating with bands. What draws you to these methods of screening/promotion?
Bruce: Because CAS'L' doesn't have a permanent soundtrack yet, and because there are a lot of bands that
want to be heard and to score films, it seems to be a good approach for now.
Brett: There is a quality of Bruce's animation that makes it work with almost ANY music. What's interesting is that with each original band/score, the film takes on a completely different mood and each experience is unique and magical.
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