Interview: The Dandy Dwarves' Christian Simmons

POSTED BY Wesley Scoggins, 15 September 2008

This week I was able to talk to Director Christian Simmons of The Dandy Dwarves Production Company, who've done a lot of Commercial work you might recognize. So watch Christian Simmons fantastic short film above, and check out his great interview after the break. 

_________________________________

Wes: When did you first become committed to become a filmmaker? Was there some triggering event that made you say to yourself "This is what I want to do.", or did it develop less abruptly?  

Christian: Truthfully it didn’t really hit me till college. I had a fascination with ‘Movie Magic’ shows and making my own little stop motion animations at home but it wasn’t till college that I met a friend who’d organize a film fest at the end of every quarter to showcase what our peers had been doing for the previous few months; it was probably at the VERY FIRST one of these little friend fests that I realized…okay, I love this. I knew I loved the process of making the films; it just happened to be then that I understood other people actually enjoyed the finished product.   
 

What were some of your first films? Did you start out ,like a lot of young filmmakers messing around with friends and a cheap Video Camera? What was it like taking the first steps, and using a camera for the first time? 

I wish. My family was surprisingly bad at cataloguing it’s history…through both photo and video. Hah, maybe it’s because I’m by far the youngest in the family and by then the novelty had worn off or something but I didn’t grow up around cameras of any type, really. My total fascination with stop motion animation though led me to experiment a lot; from there I went to college on the same track with my first few films being strange little short animations. When I finally started transitioning over to live action, it was funny…my style still retained an oddity and some sort of cadence or pacing that seemed to have crawled it’s way over from animation.  

A lot of your work tends towards the surreal and feature a lot of absurdist elements. What do you like so much about these styles, and what are some things that influence you in your work?  

Well it seems I’ve always been pretty much obsessed with monsters, and creatures. I remember being frightened A LOT as a kid…or maybe it wasn’t fear as much as complete fascination when I’d watch things that featured fantasy elements, creatures, or dark humor. I suppose a lot of my style is about finding a way back there, to that place of unadulterated lust for the bizarre that kept me so warm in the nightmare I didn’t want to leave.  Thank you Jim Henson.  

What would you consider the most important work in your career and why? Is it because of how hard it was to make, or because of something sentimental you felt towards it?  

Oof…tough one. I think with most artists I’m in love with all my pieces essentially because of the amount of unique work that goes into each one and the bonds that are made along the way but at the same time feeling this odd sense that I’m “over it” and ready to do better next time. It’s totally love/hate. But you ask of the piece I consider “most important”? Hmm…while living in Savannah Georgia I profiled 21 residents of a low-income housing apartment complex into a short documentary called “The Chatham Voice”. The humanity in that piece, the honesty of the residents, and the total lack of artifice on their part came together to form a really touching little piece that I still love today. 

How has technology changed while you've been making films? And what effects have these changes had on your work and what you're able to accomplish? 

In high school I remember shooting with VHS camcorders and editing on tapedecks, spinning those wheels back and forth. Even THEN I wondered what the hell I was doing still using that system…but it was for a grade so I completed my “story” on the necessity of regularly handling your baby – and moved on. In college I remember what a huge deal it was to be working with digital camera’s that could shoot simulated 24p to achieve a more filmic look, and then with higher resolution and the ability to shoot digital slow-mo things got even more exciting. We’ve most recently been shooting on the RED, and it’s a goddess…it changes things hugely. Photographers have been able to shoot RAW files for a while now but it’s only recently that this opportunity was available to us in the video field as well…and it makes manipulation in post out of this world because of the amount of information you have to work with. It’s no excuse for being lazy (though to be honest a lazy filmmaker can achieve some amazing results by just using the RED), but when you keep quality control and integrity in the piece at a max PLUS shoot with such amazing technology – you can make a stellar product.  
 

Being a filmmaker who obviously understands the certain advantages we're offered because of the age we live in, how do you see things as further changing as things continue to develop? How will increasingly cheaper cameras, more powerful computers, and more pervasive free distribution networks effect what filmmakers will be able to accomplish over the next decade or so?  

My knee-jerk reaction to this question is one of dismay – but I’ll try and work through that. It’s both negative and positive; as the tools for making films and distributing them become more accessible there’s an influx of creativity and experimentation, but the individual’s chances of being taken seriously in the field are lowered.  As is the case with many fields in the Arts, there’s always that fight to be seen as more than just a hobbyist. Personally though, while that CAN be the downside…the crazy growth of technology and it’s lowering costs are also just making the game that much more interesting. It’s important for me to keep striving for a higher and higher quality in everything I do – that’s only natural I suppose. And it’s pretty funny...the rate of evolution of some of the technology we work with (with software updates and such) actually makes it possible to do something new or try out some added feature almost every time we shoot.  
 

With things becoming easier in a lot of ways, it also lowers the bar for entry, how do you see filmmakers being able to rise above a lot of the glut of content out there, and what can they do to truly make their films exceptional on a low budget?  

It all comes down to creativity and concept. That glut of content you speak of can really be stifling to a creative mind…don’t watch so much STUFF. The Internet has this evil allure that makes you want to ingest everything it gives you, so be careful of that otherwise you’ll find yourself all too easily losing your unique point of view. If you DO watch a lot of media, at least attempt at being informed and viewing GREAT stuff – if you’re going to be affected or inspired by anything – it might as well be something important. Concepts that come from a place of honesty and truth are much less likely to fail than ones born of someone else’s idea.    

On a typical project of yours how much would you say it costs you, and how large are your crews generally?  

I’m embarrassed to admit just how much those numbers generally fluctuate from piece to piece. Right now I’d say our budgets range from anywhere between 3k – 15k and the crew anywhere from 3 people to 12 people. We’re working our way on up though…we have a great ability to make a 3k budget look like a 30k budget…it’s not easy though – favors and pan handling aren’t fun and we’re not looking to do that for much longer. We’re hoping that romantic notion of “being discovered” becomes a reality one of these days.   

How do you usually get your work out there for prospective clients to see? Do you send your demo reel out and clients respond, or do people usually come to you and hire you? What advice can you offer for filmmakers looking to develop their own careers, and how they can go about getting started?  

Well I can’t downplay the immense help that attending college made for me. Often times your success in college has almost nothing to do with how prestigious the school you attend…but is directly related to your level of ambition. It also acts as a four-year networking tool, and by the end you’ve hopefully made some great work and learned the skills to have it seen.  No doubt the internet is a great way to have your work seen whether you have a degree or not…I truly believe if the piece is good enough it WILL find it’s audience – and hopefully garner you some attention.  One major problem is overcoming the “why bother” feelings that come with not only successfully creating, but pushing your work into a SEA of other people’s dreams – especially with the disposable and downright mean nature of the internet. If you’re lucky enough to have a solid support system in family and friends, then you’re pretty much ready brave the pitfalls (that kids are never warned greatly enough of!) in this mean, mean world.  

You've featured some really amazing props in your films, and I believe that they were created in-house, what was probably one of your favorite creations, and could you talk about the creation process behind it a little?  

PencilFace is one of my favorite props – he’s a five and a half foot tall pencil with big expressive eyes, a snake nose, and enormous buckteeth. We bought the Pencil online and then worked with a fabricator in San Francisco to design his features and unsettling expression…she did an awesome job…I often get lost in his gaze... 

Where do you get a lot of the ideas and concepts behind your films, I mentioned the surreality of  many of the visuals, but the stories seem to be similarly complex and symbolic in their nature, what is the writing and conception process like for a lot of your work?  

The conception process involves chicken-bone and tea leaf readings followed by a series of stream of consciousness writings in which I’m bound tightly in untreated leather straps and immersed in cold mountain water. This process is starting to get old.  

Hah. Many of the concepts are born of necessity – whether it be certain budgetary requirements or a specific theme or product we want to be including. It’s totally unique from project to project so there’s no one way to answer the question. Often times when I’m offered the most freedom, I make sure to spend time sitting with the concept, base idea, or music track for a while and usually late at night things really start flowing. It’s like your brain starts to let loose all associations it may have with the base element and you can begin to put them together like a puzzle, it’s a pretty magical experience. 

What is the quickest and longest shoot you've ever undertaken, and why was one so quick, and the other so long? Do you have any advice for less experienced filmmakers on how to make their own shoots more efficient?  

Well if a project is small enough and planned just perfectly (and you have enough crew) a shoot can fit into just one day. It’s nice when that happens. My longest shoot was a month long documentary in France chronicling the building of this series of environmental sculptures…I can’t say I minded the length of this shoot. Planning planning planning and then double-checking those plans is what will make a shoot efficient, build a good relationship with your talent because unfortunately a flakey actor can ruin even the most well laid-out plans. A good production is often dependent on literally THOUSANDS of elements coming together correctly so having a team you trust is huge. Don’t let some hellish productions that you just BARELY salvage turn you off when you’re first starting out; like some innate and unavoidable hazing ritual – it just has to work this way.  

What equipment do you shoot most of your work on and why? What advice do you have for how to make your image look as good as possible?  

Right now we’ve been loving the RED, but the Panasonic HVX is a sweet and accessible camera for achieving a great image. Lenses and lighting are key. Lenses allow you to achieve a higher depth of field which makes the image more cinematic while lighting turns things from flat and grey to lively and popping, or if you WANT flat and grey…proper lighting will achieve that for you in the right way.  

What is the single most important piece of advice that you have to offer fellow filmmakers?  

Oh man…I’m relatively new at this so it would be pretty presumptuous of me to offer much advice; I’m still finding my way too. But it’s super important to stay true to yourself, there’s a reason you’re a director…you have a unique vision so keep that at the forefront of your decision-making.  

And finally, what projects are you currently working on that people can watch out for? 

Well we’re just about to finish with a pretty over the top Full Throttle energy drink commercial. It features a giant hulk of a black man busting out from within a sexy Russian woman’s skin, I suppose I can die happy now. 

_________________________________ 

Thank you so much Christian! Can't wait to see your next work. 

Remember to check out The Dandy Dwarves here at: http://www.dandydwarves.com/ to see more of their work!