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SHORT FILM LINEUP
Holcombe is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley's documentary program, with a master's degree from the journalism school. He's lived in the Bay Area for the last 12 years, working mainly as a magazine editor and writer. During a year in Buenos Aires, he had a chance to work with a producer of a short project, and immediately fell in love with shooting and producing video. He went straight to Berkeley, where—under the expert guidance of Jon Else and Spencer Nakasako—he learned how to make films, Exit Wound being the result. Holcombe launched a Kickstarter campaign in July 2012 that proved unsuccessful; however, the film was accepted into Chicago's United Film Festival in September 2012 and now returns to SVFF.
Kirsten Strough began experimenting with video production as a sophomore at Fruitland High School, which had a good broadcasting program, so she was lucky to have access to equipment and learn from talented people. During her senior year, she was accepted into several colleges and offered good scholarships, but decided to go with Boise State University where she was offered a full ride as a Legacy Scholar through the Alumni Association. With some decent experience under her belt (for her age) and a peaked interest in the field, she decided to study Mass Communication / Journalism at BSU. The Communication Department had several media production and theory classes. By the time she graduated, they had a Cinema and Digital Media Studies certificate which she received along with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communication / Journalism and a minor in Political Science. She now works for the Bureau of Reclamation as a Visual Information Specialist shooting and editing photos and videos for the public, technical reports, archival purposes, etc.
Being a shorts filmmaker in Idaho has been somewhat difficult for her. In one respect, Boise's small filmmaking community is composed of individuals who are generally good about give and take and working on each others' projects. But the barter system can only get you so far, Strough admits, and good luck with trying to make a living as a filmmaker in Idaho! Though she concedes it's not impossible. It's just difficult to find funding and people who have the time to work on her projects. Nearly every Idaho filmmaker she knows has a day job. It is what it is. Notwithstanding, she would love to pursue a career in filmmaking, especially as a producer or an assistant director. But for now, she's enjoying her job with the Federal Government, which is allowing her to pay off the student loans she acquired from a semester studying abroad.
Voss and his film Mandrake Estate were the recipients of an Idaho Film Office film grant in 2012. My interview with him is included within my initial survey of Idaho film production, published in Fusion magazine.
Morning Mic (Director / Writer / Producer / DP: Andrew Crawford)—A popular radio DJ struggles to find meaning in life. IMDb. World Premiere.
For a more detailed overview of The Seed, visit my interview with Lybrook published on Fandor's Keyframe where both his shorts The Seed and last year's SVFF entry Crawlspace (2011) will be streaming concurrent with the festival.
MUSIC VIDEO LINEUP
Aside from his early stop-motion experiments and a couple of commercial projects, nearly all his work in animation has been in the form of music videos. Music is a major passion in his life and he's a huge fan and supporter of Boise music and has several musician friends. Motivated to make music videos is a great way for him to explore different animation techniques and media. Whether he's initiated a project or been invited by a band, knowing there is a potential audience helps him accomplish the work. As animation is time-consuming, especially when working solo, a 3-4 minute song can take up to a couple months to complete and a few of his videos have taken considerably longer. As a father with a full time job in advertising it takes Sievers a lot of late nights and weekends to get things done, but—because it's something he genuinely loves—he's enjoyed collaborating with amazing artists who are grateful and appreciative of his work. There's no question that the internet has advanced video as an important tool for bands to gain exposure and his own work has been furthered through association. Although many music videos boast big budgets, all too often they're negligible. Sievers operates under the premise that—if people can spend half a million dollars on a video that ends up being devoid of artistry or meaning—then, conversely, someone working without any budget but with a great love for the music—can turn an interesting idea into something beautiful and meaningful.
Although some of his work was shown at a Portland music video festival, being accepted into SVFF means he'll actually get to attend. Sievers doesn't have specific expectations associated with having "Benchwarmers" screen at SVFF, but is thrilled for the exposure and is grateful SVFF has seen fit to include a program of music videos, granting them credence as an art form. He's happy to be representing Boise alongside fellow Boise artist Tyler Williams. As for the pros and cons of being an imagemaker in Boise, Sievers appreciates the city's small but vibrant art community and how artists from different disciplines support each other. The downside is the lack of exposure outside of Boise and the state. On the whole, however, he loves living in Idaho and raising his family here and has confidence his work will continue to grow and evolve and, hopefully, receive some attention along the way regardless of location. He understands the allure of big cities for young artists, but claims Boise is enough of a city for him and his artistry.
“Benchwarmers” by Finn Riggins (10+1 pt. 3, fall 2011) from Jason Sievers on Vimeo.
"Done To My Love" & "East Coast Dying" by Gayze Director: Tyler T. Williams
Gayze - "Done To My Love" & "East Coast Dying" from Tyler T. Williams on Vimeo.
"You Are Minez" by Jean Sebastien Audet Director: Tyler T. Williams
YOU ARE MINEZ from Tyler T. Williams on Vimeo.
When asked how he interacted with musicians to develop a concept for a music video, he responded that typically he's approached by an artist with a specific track in mind, which he listens to for hours until an idea pops into his head. "I usually go by what sort of feeling the song makes me feel and then create characters for these feelings," he explained. "The atmosphere is then built around them." Sometimes the musicians will have a certain direction they want to go, but can't really put a finger on an actual visual that will translate correctly.
Visually, I find Williams's music videos interesting for their desaturated color pallette, even as in each video he retains some colorful element as a counterpoint: the green car in one, the blue shirt in the other, the yellow jumpsuit in the third. He couldn't quite articulate what informs that visual choice other than to say he likes "the stark contrast between these props and their characters."
I wondered why his concepts were so violent? Williams qualified that it wasn't the violence that fascinates him, but the moment his characters are driven to violence and the thoughts that might be going through their heads. It's nearly unfathomable, yet such moments of violence happen every day.
As for coordinating the visual rhythm of his editing with the rhythm of the music, he admitted the process usually involves "millions of hours" tweaking the edit repeatedly each day. One week he'll like his edit and the following week he'll hate it. So he'll cut it again and again until it reaches a point where he's finally okay with it. Sometimes he'll already have editing concepts in his mind before he's shot any footage and—once he sees what he's shot—is forced to go in a totally different direction.
Given all its beautiful locations, Williams finds Idaho absolutely fabulous. Thirty minutes outside of Boise and he's in a killer location, which is great for guerrilla filmmaking. The down side of being a short form filmmaker in Idaho is he hardly ever has a budget for a music video and/or trying to coordinate a proper crew is tough. He has DoP friends who live in LA that he'd love to work with in Idaho, but—without a budget—it's hard to get them North. Further, the lack of camera rental shops in Boise make securing equipment tough. "So I guess that it's not that Idaho is necessarily bad for filmmaking; it's just that all of the people I'd like to collaborate with live out of state." He loves making music videos even though there's no return financially. They're like building blocks for him in learning how to tell stories. Eventually, he'd like to try to tell stories through feature films.
"Breakers" by Local Natives Director: Jaffe Zinn
Local Natives - Breakers (Official Music Video) from PIASGermany on Vimeo.
"DUHNK" by Owlright Director: Owlright
"GreyHound" by Jonathan Warren and the Billy Goats Director: James Hansen Producers: James Hansen, Ben Molyneux
"When Frida Became" by Project 213 Directors: Stephanie Michelle Lokelani, Gene Eilebrecht—Combining masked dance, animation, and an impassioned title song, "When Frida Became" harkens to Frida Kahlo's redemption from pain through art.
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