good art deserves to get made, or ‘help my friend scott make his cool film’
i believe very much in independent art. i believe that great or important art getting made requires protecting the space and circumstances from which that art comes. i also believe that all art is derivative, that it is in some way a product of everything that has come before it. the thing made is being shaped by everything that has sub-consciously entered the mind of the one creating it.
this is all part of why i’m trying to help support the making of ‘self-sabotage,’ a film based on my ‘feedback’ album by a great friend and filmmaker, scott brignac. as you might know, i commissioned several pieces of art that accompanied and enhanced ‘feedback’ that we distributed with the album (a series of 9 photographs by jeremy cowart and a series of 9 photographs by scott erickson). with ‘feedback,’ i felt very strongly the this be a broader artistic statement and not just one artist’s perspective. soon after hearing about the project, scott brignac from houston contacted me with an idea about wanting to make a series of short films based on the album as well. i told him that i had no budget to pay him to do this but that i would be thrilled to to see what he would come up with. but scott was so compelled by the idea behind ‘feedback’ (an instrumental composition per line of the ‘lord’s prayer’) and how a visual/film element might come alongside and provide a further depth and complexity to the experience of it that he offered to make the films with no hope of payment.
almost immediately scott was calling me from new york and elsewhere discussing metaphorical ideas for the films and their connections to the album. it started to become a film made to fit a soundtrack, rather than the more conventional other way around. scott started sending me raw clips that he was piecing together to the songs on ‘feedback,’ and i was honestly blown away. so much so that we included rough cuts of the films for two of the songs with the ‘feedback’ premium package for sale at my website.
but the more scott and i dreamed about and discussed the remaining parts of what he was making we started realizing that it was going to require some money. scott is as generous as he is resourceful, so he had managed to do an incredible amount of work on favors and on weekends. but in order to finish the project while maintaining the quality precedent that he’d set from the beginning, he would have to find some funding for the films.
and that’s where the kickstarter campaign came in. now while i have mixed feelings on kickstarter as an idea (which is content for another blog) it seemed like a great fit for this scenario. with my blessing and support, scott started the campaign less than a month ago hoping to raise $10k to completely fund and finish his film. as of this writing, there are 4 days left and a little over $1,500 to go to reach his goal.
so i’m asking you, if you at all can, to please help scott reach his goal in order that he might finish ‘self-sabotage.’ i’m very much hoping to use scott’s film as part of the live performance of ‘feedback’ all during this next year, having the film synced to the music and showing onstage as we perform the entire instrumental album at the shows. i’m also hoping to help him distribute the film digitally as a deeper experience of the ‘feedback’ music. and all that stands in the way of this happening is your voicing that you also believe in independent art by pledging support for scott’s film.
but more than anything, imagine next time it’s your idea.
