Interview: James Rolfe

POSTED BY Wesley Scoggins, 03 July 2008

 Today I had the honor of talking to James Rolfe, Writer/Director/Editor/Actor/Cinematographer, most famous for his Angry Video Game Nerd persona, his videos have gotten millions of hits, and his program is one of the most popular on the internet. James has earned a massive fanbase based on his comedic explorations into nostalgia, and the quality DIY content he continually puts out, showing you don't need a huge budget to get fans, just talent and hard work. I was lucky enough to ask him a few questions that I got some answers everyone might be interested in.

So watch the video above (Advisory: Some Profanity, so cover your ears for the first 20 seconds if you're the sensitive type, I don't want to hear from any mad parents), and check the interview out below, you won't regret it. Or you will, at which point, your loss.

Wes: In Cinemassacre 200 you talked about how the internet is the best method to get your work seen. But you also confront the kind of glut of content we've seen on the internet thanks to the ease of the distribution, what advice do you have to offer to any prospective filmmakers about how to improve their own work, and how to get themselves and their work noticed apart from the tidal wave of stuff already out there?

James: I think my only advice is to try something original. Find something that hasn't been done before, as difficult as that may sound.

You've produced work in three different decades, and in Cinemassacre 200, we see how you've proceeded not only artistically, but technologically. With professional looking HD video becoming cheaper and cheaper, and computers becoming more and more user friendly and powerful, and all sorts of technologies we might not even be imagining sure to spring up in the future, where do you think things are headed for content creation? Do you think this convergence of cheap cameras, easy editing, and almost free world-wide distribution capabilities, lead to say a more top-heavy institution like Hollywood, becoming an endangered species?

It's all heading towards internet home made movies. If Hollywood would take more of a risk and stop remaking every movie/TV show/comic book/video game and just come up with something new, then yes, I do feel like big budget films are becoming an endangered species. It wasn't any more than a decade ago before everyone was starting to be able to edit non linear on their home computers. I think the biggest problem is the ticket prices for movies. With home theater systems, most people are comfortable enough watching movies in their own living room. Movies stay in the theaters for a shorter time, and they're released on DVD so fast, that it's not even worth it. I remember with VHS, you had to wait a while. Jurassic Park took over a year, between its theatrical release and eventual VHS release, and there were no bonus features back then either. I don't think any of that answers the question, but it all boils down to this. The cost & admission of rehashed movies needs to stop or else people will find alternatives and that's where we step in.

You talked about some of the aesthetic principles that guide your own work, and the kind of Do-it-yourself ethic that you operate under. What is it about the stripped down quality of your work, and a lot of the work you enjoy, that appeals to you so much? Is it because it's accessible or is it something different?

From the beginning, I worked with what I had available. I shot on video most of my life, far more than I've shot on film. Throughout the late 80's to early 2000's, I was using VHS. I was looking for places to get my movies seen, but was not successful. I submitted to some film festivals, but was never accepted. I can think of a few reasons. They were juvenile, cheap-looking, home made, silly plots, but also they were shot on video. Most filmmakers would spend a frightening amount of money to shoot on film and polish everything so that it would meet expectations from others. Where I felt "CineMassacre" came in was to forget about that and put the actual experience of making the movie in the forefront. I didn't care if the movies looked professional or not, I just wanted to make them and enjoy the process, then worry about getting it seen later, and only if I liked the final result. Today, if I make a movie, it would have higher standards, more like The Deader the Better, or Legend of the Blue Hole, but I still cut to the chase and work very fast.

There seems to be a trend towards the interactive, and the collaborative in the Internet age, how do you see things as changing in the next decade, compared to how much you, yourself have seen it change so much in the last 10 years?

I can't even imagine. I would guess in the next decade, it would be similar to how it is now, with video hosting websites being the big thing, only in HD with the latest technology.

How long does something you shoot on average take to complete? How would you compare the effort that goes into something like your AVGN pieces, to a more elaborate short film like 'The Deader the Better'?

The Deader the Better took about 2 years, between the writing and editing stage. I was also working a full time job which made it very hard to work on the movie on a consistent schedule. I also built the entire cemetery set by myself, with some help from my girlfriend. Once the actual shooting took place, it went very fast. About 5 days. The editing took several months after that. For an AVGN episode, the most important thing to me, is getting them out on a regular basis. The average episode takes about 40 hours to make. (pretty much a regular work week) The shorter & simpler basic game review style takes about 20 hours, while the more elaborate episodes take usually about 50 hours. The episodes which took the longest were the Nintendo Power and Super Mario Bros 3 reviews, both of which took about 80 hours. Nintendo Power, for the extensive reading, and Super Mario Bros 3 for the abundant special effects.

And finally, what new projects do you have coming up, do you have any news you'd like to mention about what you're going to be up to in the near future?

The AVGN series is a priority for me at the moment. The popularity and fan base continues to fuel my ambition to make more. But there is definitely more films to come. Horror, comedy, I have plenty planned and they're all different. But the next one may be a feature.

Thanks for having me.

And thank you for talking with me today, it was enlightening.

Make sure to check out his website over at: http://www.cinemassacre.com/

Where he posts all of his short films, and his AVGN shorts. Well worth seeing what you can accomplish when you apply creativity to filmmaking process instead of just throwing money at it.