The digital video revolution is upon us. It is impacting the film world as you read this,  from George Lucas' continuing Star Wars saga to Lars Von Trier's "Dogma 95" to your parents re-editing the family home movies on their new PC.

No, it's not a fad. It's the beginning of what many hope is the fruition of our dreams about technology and human communication. For the first time ever, filmmakers can completely own and control the means of production and postproduction. The digital medium is opening up a whole new arena of opportunity, not only for those who have no access to professional, "accepted" filmmaking techniques and equipment or those who simply cannot afford to shoot 35mm- but for those who shun the mainstream, who are unimpressed with budgets that are spent on special effects to the detriment of character, story and cinematic integrity. For artists who simply want to express a story, a point of view. Even for artists who simply want to create art. Horrors!





Bangor Films' Obsession...

Shooting digital video is tied to our desire for true independence. It liberates us to experiment and improvise without the sticky strings of a financially spun web of restraint that so many well-known young American filmmakers find themselves tangled in at the very onset of their "careers."

(If you look at "indie" film of the past 15 years you see a lot of "one hit wonders" and missed opportunities. Directors who hit with a small art house film that move on to a big budget flop and then either poof- disappear or meander through a few uninspired B-films and poof-disppear. The problem is the focus of many of the "indie" institutions and festivals is distribution and selling. With that mentality it is very hard to grow as a filmmaker. Hence the cookie-cutter "indie film" which, unfortunately, can be demographed on its "frat-appeal.")

With total artistic control we are truly "independent", a word that is more often than not, hijacked and warped for instant "street credibility" and artsy "clout."

I make no excuses. My films are risky, experimental and convince many who see them that it is possible to make a film that they dream of making without mortgaging the soul and the house. We receive tons of emails in regard to filmmaking advice and tips. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that after Frisk I would become a sort of digital video guru or revolutionary spokesperson. But I usually do advise people not to make films if they want to get rich quick. Don't let anyone tell you how to shoot your movie. If you have a good story and the talent you can't go wrong etc. Ask yourself why you are making films. Investigate the underground, the source of most true, raw art is there and its history is diverse and inspiring.

My movies are fictional narratives that feel real because they are shot documentary-style. Actors play characters, but instead of a standard fictional recording of their performance, they are "documented."




My film  m.o. is aesthetic, which it would seem, breeds in necessity. Video speaks to us in the image and style of the evening news and the soap opera. As Americans raised in a totally televised, up-to-the minute, live global history, video is the synthesis of reality. When we see video we see "truth" in a way that film once conveyed as  newsreels once proclaimed to filmgoers. Add to this the instant gratification of the internet, with it's worldwide aesthetic and "reach out and touch someone" immediacy and you just begin to see the new avenues of expression opening up. It's happening. Watch.