Over 15 musicians and video artists will be teaming up to participate in Cinemusica at the Arena Grand on October 15th. To give you a taste of what's to come, we've interviewed musicians Tony Belleau and Aaron Quinn and filmmakers Corey Aumiller and Dan Gerdeman about what they've been working on.
TONY BELLEAU
Can you give us a teaser of what we can expect to see from your team at Cinemusica? Can you tell us anything about the plot, genre, or style you will be using?
"We’re playing four songs for the event; two in response to videos by Andrew Ina and Matt Meindl, respectively, and echoing that with two pieces that Alex Trimpe and Adam Henderson will be presenting to songs we’ve written already. Our approach to writing for the event was really to be opportunistic with respect to the environment, audience and other artists we’re playing with. The songs are short, so we wanted to be cognizant of the dynamics, and to make them very different in feeling from each other."
What are the challenges of creating something that must pair with another artist's work? What about the pleasures?
"I think being open-minded with your medium can naturally compliment other art. Art is that (dwindling) place we can make/share that is truly as limited as your willingness to push it. It’s not without challenges, though. In a perfect world, we would’ve had a year to work together with the filmmakers on this project. It ended up being a couple of months of very loose collaboration, and in that I suppose there’s a unique creation that would look much different if we’d all spent so much time together."
How have you structured your collaboration?
"Our collaboration with the filmmakers was largely a handoff for both parties. There’s a real interest from both camps to see how their work will be responded to in a vacuum, and I believe the live performance will be the first time we’ll all see our work together."
Are there any composers or musicians that you are looking to for inspiration?
"We approach songwriting much like scoring anyway, so for us the narrative element is always something we’re aware of when writing. We’ve never approached a song from a singular source of influence, and writing to film was no different in that sense. More than anything, the challenges of sounding bigger than three people is something that inspires us to do more, and carry more."
AARON QUINN
Can you give us a teaser of what we can expect to see from your team at Cinemusica? Can you tell us anything about the plot, genre, or style you will be using?
"For Cinemusica, I'm working with two artist who i'm super pumped to work with: Dan Gerdeman and Corey Aumiller. So far, it seems the films are based on the concept of discovery, and how that is articulated in the growth of a person. Dan's film utilizes a child for his main character while Corey uses an older guitarist to emphasize this idea. Dan's film is silent, while Corey's film utilizes ambient sound and the actual actor playing some guitar. Due to the ambient sound aspect of the films, (one silent, the other not), the challenges that lay ahead are going to be great, and super exciting."
What are the challenges of creating something that must pair with another artist's work? What about the pleasures?
"One of the main challenges for creating a soundtrack to pair with an artist work is really simple: not sucking. They are such wonderful artist, and as the composer for their films, my goal is to only enhance their work, not get in the way or mangle their interpretations of their original idea. Corey's film is going to be a real challenge due to the use of sound in the film. Intermingling these two elements is what I feel, separates the "men from the boys/women from the girls" in this genre. With Dan's film, it is the exact opposite: the lack of sound provides a blank canvas which can corner the composer into one of two things: 1. I can do whatever I want (freedom has a certain responsibility) 2. What the hell am I going to do?!? The pleasures are obvious, I get to work with two great artist who's work i've seen all around town/internet/album covers, and I get to help them/they help me create something that can push our creativity further. I think that's pretty sweet."
How have you structured your collaboration?
"The internet is a great thing."
Are there any composers or musicians that you are looking to for inspiration?
"With Dan's film, due to where it was filmed and the main character's age, I'm writing for string quartet. The main composers that are really helping in this scenario are Maurice Ravel, Bernard Hermann, and Alfred Schnittke. Specifically the timbres and use of musical form. As far as melodic/harmonic material, I would say my themes are kind of all over the place. There is definitely some Mira Calix, Morton Feldman and Jon Brion in there but....I don't know, see what happens.
"I collaborated with filmmakers Brandon Reichard and Matt Meindl to create the film. It was the first time the three of us have worked on a narrative project together, but we all have such similar philosophies about film that the learning curve was really small.
As for the music, Aaron Quinn is planning on an acoustic folk soundtrack for the film. The guitar plays a central role in the story, so each character will play music as well. Aaron is joining us on set to get a feel for mood and tempo. In our conversations, we’ve both been rather flexible which has let the project form itself organically."
Are there any filmmakers that you are looking to for inspiration?
"I was really moved by the final scenes in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas where a man finds his estranged wife in a house of ill-repute and he talks to her through a one-way glass window. Those long silences really has an impact on me when I saw them. I’m always trying to create something original by way of borrowing from my heroes. The difference between homage and plagiarism is a tightrope all artists must walk, and I think I’m doing it well."
What is it like to work with Dan? How would you compare/contrast your working methods?
"Dan worked up a sweet story about childhood and I played his lead character’s imaginary friend. Essentially, I got prosthetics attached to my face and then ran around barefoot with his son in their hug backyard. Dan’s directing style is quick and dirty; just shoot the shot and move on. My own shoot has been much slower and more methodical. That is to say, it is taking forever and everyone involved wants to murder me. I hope they wait until after the screening.
The moods of our films are different, but Dan and I have our hearts in the same place. We both believe in the power of the human spirit. I think that will show in both pieces."
Dan Gerdeman
Can you give us a teaser of what we can expect to see from your team at Cinemusica? Can you tell us anything about the plot, genre, or style you will be using?
"This movie is about imagination and the outdoors. I am the father of a nine year old boy. He would opt for an easy, sedentary lifestyle if I would let him. I don’t want to see him caught up in the “reality” of technology and it’s easy access and easy gratification. There is a false sense of self that comes from that inundation(as a high school teacher I see it everyday in my classroom). Real life and living come from real life and living, not a social network or 5 star rating as a colonel on a video game. This movie is what I hope and know exists for my three children. A life of adventure and imagination spurred by the necessity of play and the outdoors. On a side note, I have become my father, regularly screaming “Get outside” to my children."
What are the challenges of creating something that must pair with another artist's work? What about the pleasures?
"The pleasures and challenges are the same… What will Aaron create to compliment/improve what I have shot? I can’t wait to hear it opening night."
How have you structured your collaboration?
"I invited Aaron Quinn to our shoot so that he could get a taste of what we were up to. It allowed him to see what we were doing, to get a sense of place, of where we would be shooting. I also shared my storyboards with him(for a pacing guide). I will be sending him my finished work about a month before opening night. If we were working on a feature it would be different, more structured. This is wide open.
My wife, Judy Chesnut Gerdeman is a costume designer and my greatest critic. She is easy to work with and always honest about my loose ends. She and my children distressed the costume Corey wears. One of my former students is local makeup artist Tommy Pietch. He rocked out some amazing makeup on my lead character."
What is it like to work with Corey? How would you compare/contrast your working methods?
"I am pretty old school and dreamt of making movies as a boy and young man but technology and money weren’t on my side. Thus, I am a lo-fi dinosaur who loves to shoot and let things happen. Corey is a wonderboy film maker, with a sly sense of self and humor(and a great actor). His technical grace is a balancing act for my clunky DIY ethic.
Our sensibilities are very close to one another. We like to laugh a lot and avoid being serious whenever possible. It is a great working relationship. We started a film festival in Hilliard 10 years ago(he was my student at Hilliard Davidson High School) that has helped define the art community in the area and beyond. We believe in the power of goodness and hard work. I don’t think there is a mentor/mentee thing with us anymore. Our friendship is one of artistic support and respect."
