Interview - Damian Morter

To celebrate 100,000 pageviews we've got a special interview for you lucky reader. Damian Morter is the director of The Eschatrilogy. Made for no money whatsoever - it was all done on goodwill - and filmed around various locations in Yorkshire, it is a film that I don't feel that I can review due to my appearance as an extra. Yep, I got to zombie around like no-one's business. So seeing as though I have a vested interest I thought an interview would be more appropriate and Damian kindly agreed. Let's crack on with it then...

The Eschatrilogy is a horror anthology, why did you decide to dip your toes into the waters popularised by Amicus in the sixties with films such as Dr. Terror's House of Horrors?

I never intended to set out to make a zombie feature film, I'm not a huge fan. Initially we shot a short zombie film called "A Father for the Dead". We wanted to shoot a short film to test DSLR cameras, I was also excited to do the special effects and gags for the film. The film was shot in 4 days in June 2011, we had over 200 locals join in to play zombies, and everyone had a fantastic time. When I began to edit the film, I felt I had made just another zombie film, it was fun and stood out with a lot of style but it lacked any emotion or heart. I started to watch the zombies shuffling around in the movie and wanted to delve more into who they were before they became zombies... this became the perfect opportunity for a portmanteau anthology, with different tales documenting different stages of the end of the world. I didn't want there to be a virus, or a chemical spill etc., it had all been done before, so that's when I came up with a vengeful demon, who throws his wrath on man by turning them into monsters.

As a zero-budget film, what issues has the lack of funding brought to the production of the film, both positive and negative?

I have full control with a micro budget, there isn't anybody for me to answer to... I can pretty much do what I want. You don't have anything to lose, I suppose, apart from your reputation, and the pressure isn't on you about over spending because there is nothing to spend! On the other hand, without any money you have to be inventive and use resources available to you... this starts as early on as the writing, I deliberately wrote the film knowing we didn't have a penny, therefore I would have to be able to replicate all this stuff with the means around me. It's also hard for people to work full time, as they have jobs which they need to live. If you cannot afford to pay people expenses it drags the film, because you have to work around people's availability. It's the reason this film took 14 months, essentially it was a 35 day shoot!

Numerous comedy moments must have happened whilst you were making the film, but if you could only tell one story, what would it be?

Too many to list!!! I suppose the Police and paramedics turning up to set in Wakefield believing there to have been a major accident, only to find zombies and a film crew was comical. It made worldwide news. A make up artist and her boyfriend were stormed in their hotel room by CO19 at full gunpoint, because blood was not washed off a car used in the film, it was sat parked outside their room... I personally would have checked the blood/corn syrup first! Props to my make up team I suppose! My personal favourite moment is when an extra called Jim O'Connor played a corpse floating in a freezing canal, we are screaming at him to kick his legs to get into frame, but his head was submerged under water and couldn't hear us, he's just floating there! Behind camera you can hear me ask if he is actually dead!

You have worn numerous hats on this film: acting, writing, directing, editing amongst others. Which has been the most satisfying?

I consider myself a filmmaker... and that covers every job involved in the craft, and I have to be capable of all of them so I understand what's happening all the time and to be able to guide others, but my main love is directing. As a director, you need to be the person people come to, the person who needs to make the decisions and take responsibility for all involved. If people come to you, trust you, and are willing to follow you into madness... then that is the most satisfying feeling in the world!

If a zombie apocalypse actually happened - as we all know it will one day - and you were stuck in a kitchen with a zombie, which would be your preferred weapon out of the following: a) a blunt butter knife, b) a china teapot or c) a rotary hand whisk? (Please describe how you would cause zombie death with your chosen implement.)

I would use the tea pot... to make a nice cup of tea as I buttered some toast with my butter knife and whisked up a bun before I walked outside into a horde of the b*@$%*ds! There's no use fighting with those poor utensils!!

Finally, can you recommend a really obscure film from any genre? 

Ink 2009 by Jamin Winans. I'm not sure its too obscure, it's a great film with a lot of imagination and courage with a minimal budget!

(Ink is indeed pretty obscure, and funnily enough it has already been reviewed in these very pages by Doccortex. To find out more about this nosey-bonk laden Sci-Fi film have a little look at the review by clicking on this link: Ink review. Despite only receiving an average rating, I thought it was pretty impressive for a very small budget too. Many films with larger budgets would receive much lower scores, so the pounds per point ratio is not too shabby - evlkeith)

Thank you very much to Damian for taking the time to answer these questions. I agree completely with it being a fantastic time. I can remember one completely freezing day, I was covered in mud and blood, surrounded by equally cold zombie buddies and having to throw myself on to the ground for the twentieth time, thinking, "This is completely great." Top stuff. (By the way, I still think the rotary hand whisk could be useful. Sharpen up those death blades of rotation and you could cause some nasty skin abrasions on the approaching zombie horde.) The Eschatrilogy is currently playing at festivals around the country and will hopefully be on DVD relatively soon.

evlkeith

Interview - The Saw Lady

As mentioned in my previous post, the main highlight of our first year has been receiving a comment from the Saw Lady ( amazingly enough, that's not her birth name - that would be Natalia Paruz). It seemed fitting that she should be the subject of the first obscurendure review.

In England, most children's first experience of playing a musical instrument is playing the recorder (or miming in my case). Why did you decide to play the saw rather than a more traditional instrument?

I went through traditional instruments as a kid, too - started with a recorder, learned some piano & guitar, but none of the traditional instruments stuck with me. The reason why I love unusual musical instruments is because there is usually a striking visual that goes along with the sound, and also there is a degree of whimsy. Also - it's a greater challenge: the musical saw is harder to play well than say, a piano, because it's just a chunk of metal, so the satisfaction I derive from figuring out how to make it sing (there are no music conservatories you can go to to be taught how to play it - it's a process of self discovery through trial and error) is greater than just taking lessons.

Of the videos I have seen, you seem to perform the work of other composers. Do you write your own compositions for the saw or is that something you would like to develop in the future?

I enjoy taking a written piece of music, practicing it until it is "made my own". I like to interpret music rather than creating a piece of music from scratch. It's sort of like fitting myself into an existing world. I work with many composers, such as Scott Munson (www.ScottMunsonMusic.com) who composed for 'Another Earth', who write for the saw or even write specifically for me - I love these collaborations. So, no - I don't feel an urge to compose myself.

Playing a saw must be more dangerous than playing a piccolo, for example. Have you ever had any saw related injuries?

I have never cut myself (nor anyone else) but holding a saw in one's hands does command a certain respect, which is helpful when busking - all the bullies leave me alone :)
I did break two saws, though. The saw's sound comes out of the vibration of the metal, and when the temperatures are around freezing, the metal does not want to vibrate. I was busking in winter, and forcing the saw to vibrate. That's when I learned that I can break steel...

The most memorable moment for me in Another Earth was the saw playing sequence. How did you come to be involved in that project?

The director, Mike Cahill, saw me playing in the subway (see below) and that gave him the idea to incorporate a saw into his film. He asked me if I would help choose the music for the saw's scene, and record it. He also asked if I would then coach William Mapother, the actor who had to appear to be playing a saw, to act as if playing in a convincing way. It was a lot of fun for me to work with William, because it was different from what I usually do, which is teach people how to actually play. Here, the visual was important, not the sound (he never actually made a sound).

You have also worked on other film soundtracks: El Carnaval Sodoma, Dummy and I Sell the Dead. Have you any plans to work on other films? If not, is there a particular director who you would like to work with?

Right now I am working on a couple of music videos - one with director Sohail Javed who is one of the best video directors in Pakistan, and the other with director Maderling Suquet for the UK 'Danger Global Warming' project.
I would love to work with M. Night Shyamalan. He never uses stock sound effects, he insists that all audio be originally created and he always works with James Newton Howard for the musical score.

Finally, which obscure film would you recommend?

Peau d'Ane (English: Donkey Skin) - I'm not sure whether it is considered obscure by a film connoisseur such as yourself, but I loved it when I was a kid... The music is by Michel Legrand (who was in the same music class with my mother at the Paris Conservatoire).

For more information on the Saw Lady go to http://www.SawLady.com or visit her facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natalia-Saw-Lady-Paruz-musical-saw-player/129253832734


All that remains to be said, is a big thank you to the Saw Lady for taking part in this interview. I hope I haven't jinxed her into having lots of saw related accidents, after a graze-free career, now that I asked that question. Also, expect a review of Peau d'Ane at some point in the future...


evlkeith