A Movie about a Singing Computer...
Spoiler Alert - If you haven't seen Dirge (and it is only 15 mins long so...) then don't read this. Yet. You should totally read it after you see Dirge. And to paraphrase a cinematic masterwork*, "watch it with a box of tissues he said."
Ok, I exaggerate, I've only had three confirmed criers since the movie released online Nov 14, 2011. But when you realize you're about to write a piece about your own work and realize you're leading said piece with "Spoiler Alert", you get a little self-conscious and feel compelled to lighten the mood. And oh, how it is a compulsion.
But now, to answer the days old questions, "Where did you get your idea?"
Well, I'm a writer. I made it up. And by making things up, I use all sorts of bits and pieces of everything I've ever watched, read, heard, felt, done, and ate to build something that feels fresh and real and inspiring to me. There are of course works or events that spark an idea or even lead one to want to do something very similar to something that had a major affect on the artist. Some things were obvious to me. Some were not. More than once during production, someone would bring up something just "knowing" that I'd based Dirge or the character of Ray or some other element of the film on whatever they were bringing up and sometimes I'd be like, "No, dude, you're crazy." Other times I'd be like, you know, I bet you're right. HAL from 2001 being a good example. However, the similarities are minimal and the design of Ray was done by someone entirely not me, and though I asked for lights and knobs and anything that looked like it belonged in an episode of the Twilight Zone or some sort of 70's era sci-fi movie computer, I didn't ask for a prominent red eye. I haven't asked Josh and Alison if that was an influence.
But, now, I'm really going to tell you where Dirge came from. It came from THIS. Click on "THIS".
What you read there, if you clicked, was a beautiful story about musician Johann Johannsson's father that inspired his album (and the prior live performance piece) IBM 1401, A User's Manual. In a nut shell: "In 1964, a computer - the IBM 1401 Data Processing System - arrived in Iceland, one of the very first computers to be imported into the country. The 1401 has been called the "Model T" of the computer industry - the first affordable, mass produced digital business computer . The chief maintenance engineer for this machine was Jóhann Gunnarsson, my father. A keen musician, he learned of an obscure method of making music on this computer - a purpose for which this business machine was not at all designed. When the IBM 1401 was taken out of service in 1971, it wasn't simply thrown away like an old refrigerator, but was given a little farewell ceremony, almost a funeral, when its melodies were played for one last time. This "performance" was documented on tape along with recordings of the sound of the machine in operation. When my father told me about this in the year 2001, I felt that, besides being a nice, touching story, it reflected many things that I was interested in. Man-machine interaction, old, discarded technology, the nostalgia for old computers, human and artificial intelligence, technological progress and human evolution, the "spirit" and the machine. I started to write music using those themes, basing it on those 30 year old recordings of the IBM 1401 computer."
I was fascinated with the story and the music. Some of the music actually includes the recordings of the computer "singing." And I loved how simple and stark it sounded. And sad and beautiful and odd and both warm and cold at the same time. So, I wanted to do a movie about a guy and his dying computer singing to him as it dies (hence the title, Dirge) as a way to comfort his friend as he leaves him all alone. And he had to be alone. What's the best setting for a man and his sentient computer to find themselves alone? A post-apocalyptic one. And how do we get away with building a computer that looks nothing like what our actual computers do or likely will ever look like? Pretend that the post apocalyptic event happened in the 70's. So that when your movie starts now, your character's in his 30's and is basically walking around during our modern times.
And better than that. Don't mention the date at all and don't even explain what happened to all the people. Why? Because this is a short film and all of that has nothing to do with what this story is about.
And we were off and running. After that, I just soaked in all of my memories (new and old) of every Twilight Zone I'd ever seen, not to mention any other classic, well crafted sci-fi story telling I'd ever ingested. Ray does have several spiritual brothers out there for sure, and if anything, he reminded me more of GERTY in Moon than HAL. But Ray was his own animal, or more, his own man. I wanted an old soul of a computer who absolutely understood love and the needs of the human heart.
And Ray, as we see him now, exceeded what I felt I was able to pull off by miles. He didn't exceed what I had hoped to create, but thanks to some brutally awesome friends and collaborators, he is a saint, likely one of my favorite characters, and already what I'd call a fan favorite.
Note to self: When you want people to truly love a character, first, make him awesome, and second, KILL HIM.
Actually, that's likely BS, but you know, "nothing new under the sun" and all that.
So, I'm done. There's the story, more or less. I'm really interested in hearing about what, if anything else, people would like to hear about the production, my filmmaking, my wicked cool team, etc.
Speaking of the team, I think my next post will likely be a little introduction to the five people (not counting myself) who's separate efforts all came together to make Ray, Ray's story, and Ray's death carry the weight that it does.
Until then,
Go watch two of these and call me in the morning:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056217/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033045/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041507/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/
*The above cinematic masterwork is no masterwork but it's still fun and better than you think it is. Maybe. And it is the second remake of a really good movie based on what I assume is a really good play. And the first one had Jimmy Stewart in it. So. Bam!
Ok, I exaggerate, I've only had three confirmed criers since the movie released online Nov 14, 2011. But when you realize you're about to write a piece about your own work and realize you're leading said piece with "Spoiler Alert", you get a little self-conscious and feel compelled to lighten the mood. And oh, how it is a compulsion.
But now, to answer the days old questions, "Where did you get your idea?"
Well, I'm a writer. I made it up. And by making things up, I use all sorts of bits and pieces of everything I've ever watched, read, heard, felt, done, and ate to build something that feels fresh and real and inspiring to me. There are of course works or events that spark an idea or even lead one to want to do something very similar to something that had a major affect on the artist. Some things were obvious to me. Some were not. More than once during production, someone would bring up something just "knowing" that I'd based Dirge or the character of Ray or some other element of the film on whatever they were bringing up and sometimes I'd be like, "No, dude, you're crazy." Other times I'd be like, you know, I bet you're right. HAL from 2001 being a good example. However, the similarities are minimal and the design of Ray was done by someone entirely not me, and though I asked for lights and knobs and anything that looked like it belonged in an episode of the Twilight Zone or some sort of 70's era sci-fi movie computer, I didn't ask for a prominent red eye. I haven't asked Josh and Alison if that was an influence.
But, now, I'm really going to tell you where Dirge came from. It came from THIS. Click on "THIS".
What you read there, if you clicked, was a beautiful story about musician Johann Johannsson's father that inspired his album (and the prior live performance piece) IBM 1401, A User's Manual. In a nut shell: "In 1964, a computer - the IBM 1401 Data Processing System - arrived in Iceland, one of the very first computers to be imported into the country. The 1401 has been called the "Model T" of the computer industry - the first affordable, mass produced digital business computer . The chief maintenance engineer for this machine was Jóhann Gunnarsson, my father. A keen musician, he learned of an obscure method of making music on this computer - a purpose for which this business machine was not at all designed. When the IBM 1401 was taken out of service in 1971, it wasn't simply thrown away like an old refrigerator, but was given a little farewell ceremony, almost a funeral, when its melodies were played for one last time. This "performance" was documented on tape along with recordings of the sound of the machine in operation. When my father told me about this in the year 2001, I felt that, besides being a nice, touching story, it reflected many things that I was interested in. Man-machine interaction, old, discarded technology, the nostalgia for old computers, human and artificial intelligence, technological progress and human evolution, the "spirit" and the machine. I started to write music using those themes, basing it on those 30 year old recordings of the IBM 1401 computer."
I was fascinated with the story and the music. Some of the music actually includes the recordings of the computer "singing." And I loved how simple and stark it sounded. And sad and beautiful and odd and both warm and cold at the same time. So, I wanted to do a movie about a guy and his dying computer singing to him as it dies (hence the title, Dirge) as a way to comfort his friend as he leaves him all alone. And he had to be alone. What's the best setting for a man and his sentient computer to find themselves alone? A post-apocalyptic one. And how do we get away with building a computer that looks nothing like what our actual computers do or likely will ever look like? Pretend that the post apocalyptic event happened in the 70's. So that when your movie starts now, your character's in his 30's and is basically walking around during our modern times.
And better than that. Don't mention the date at all and don't even explain what happened to all the people. Why? Because this is a short film and all of that has nothing to do with what this story is about.
And we were off and running. After that, I just soaked in all of my memories (new and old) of every Twilight Zone I'd ever seen, not to mention any other classic, well crafted sci-fi story telling I'd ever ingested. Ray does have several spiritual brothers out there for sure, and if anything, he reminded me more of GERTY in Moon than HAL. But Ray was his own animal, or more, his own man. I wanted an old soul of a computer who absolutely understood love and the needs of the human heart.
And Ray, as we see him now, exceeded what I felt I was able to pull off by miles. He didn't exceed what I had hoped to create, but thanks to some brutally awesome friends and collaborators, he is a saint, likely one of my favorite characters, and already what I'd call a fan favorite.
Note to self: When you want people to truly love a character, first, make him awesome, and second, KILL HIM.
Actually, that's likely BS, but you know, "nothing new under the sun" and all that.
So, I'm done. There's the story, more or less. I'm really interested in hearing about what, if anything else, people would like to hear about the production, my filmmaking, my wicked cool team, etc.
Speaking of the team, I think my next post will likely be a little introduction to the five people (not counting myself) who's separate efforts all came together to make Ray, Ray's story, and Ray's death carry the weight that it does.
Until then,
Go watch two of these and call me in the morning:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056217/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033045/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041507/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/
*The above cinematic masterwork is no masterwork but it's still fun and better than you think it is. Maybe. And it is the second remake of a really good movie based on what I assume is a really good play. And the first one had Jimmy Stewart in it. So. Bam!
