Mike Tarnower

Surely the most vibrant and disturbing moment I had a Park city wasn't the jarring industry "suits" who invaded the sleepy village. It wasn't the lack of sleep or the tension of being cooped up with 4 friends in a one bedroom condo for several days. no, the most disturbing and memorable moment from my week at the film festival was Mike Tarnower's short film at the No Dance fest called "15 Minute Tape." Tarnower's vision of a brutal/rape murder sparked discussion and debate between me and my friends for days afterwards. It's a monumental film.

From his homebase in Dallas, Mike was kind enough to answer a few questions that piqued my curiosity about him and his film.

Well, lessee...I grew up in Dallas during the quasi-semi-counterculture-middle-Amerika-pre-suburban experience of the 50's and 60's. Dropped out of art school at UT Austin in '73, with the idea that after I had acquired some life experience I would commit myself to painting, and moved to northern California. This was my blue-collar period. I married. She had a young boy and girl, and we added a daughter. I worked as an auto mechanic and then as a carpenter before returning to school in '78. Graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Industrial Design in 1979. Thus began my white-collar period. I designed custom aircraft interiors for corporate customers until 1985. I stopped around the time of the divorce. After a moderate depression, I regrouped and started designing specialized computer equipment. I married Susan in 1988. She wanted to become an attorney; we moved to Boston so she could attend Northeastern. Due to a bizarre confluence of events, I ended up supporting us with a job in sales. The only thing that got me through this period was the money and an agreement with Susan that after she was established, it would be "my turn". Although never expecting to move back to Dallas, a sequence of family issues did bring us back in 1995. My period of "art" began in 1997. If you want to see what kind of stuff I am doing, check this out:

http://www.mikesvideostuff.com/hey/hey-lodger.htm

It was in mid to late 1998 that I began exploring how I could express myself in video and film. After some research, I began buying stuff Then I spent a few months teaching myself how to use it. Initially, my thinking was that I'd be doing animations (and that is still my ultimate objective); however, I've concluded that to devote myself completely to animations requires more resources that I currently have available. So, even as I work on other, camera-based projects, I continue to muddle through my first cartoon. When it comes to the selection of subject matter, my overarching objective is to express my views about human nature. Even more than most people, I am awash with deeply held opinions. (If you've ever taken the time to observe ridiculously opinionated people, then you know what a truly scary thing this is...)

The punchline to the old joke is death and taxes. The real life answer is sex and violence. Which leads us to 15 Minute Tape. Check this out:

http://www.mikesvideostuff.com/15_minute_tape/trailer/straight%20dope.htm

15 Minute Tape was made for a singular purpose - to stimulate interest in the production and financing of a feature documentary on the Theatre du Grand Guignol. 15 Minute Tape is based on the theatrical principles of the Grand Guignol and emulates the thematic characteristics of a performance in a current setting with modern media. My expectation is that someone will see 15 Minute Tape, recognize and appreciate the intrinsic power and human qualities of violence, and then assist me in producing and financing the Grand Guignol project. This was chosen as the first project for two reasons; Because I've never directed actors before and I felt that this project could be effectively produced with a limited amount of directorial skill and experience, and because the surviving members of the Grand Guignol are already quite old.

I think I'd like to qualify the definition of punish. Normally I don't quibble about semantics; however, the word "punish" has a morally pejorative connotation that falls outside of my intent. The Webster definition, 2-a: to deal with roughly or harshly, fairly explains the extent to which I chose the word "punish".

5. What kind of pre-production did you do?

This was just plain lucky (for me). She and David moved in next door. It didn't take me long to figure out that they are both talented actors. After that, it was sort of a harmonic convergence thing...

I discussed the idea with Jeanette first. Basically, I asked how she felt about being brutally raped and murdered by her husband David (on film) and whether she thought he'd be comfortable with that. She felt that only David would be able to answer that question. After I explained the concept, she began to get excited about the project. Then the three of us talked it over. This would be their first time working together as actors; they have performed together on stage in improv. While both of them had reservations, they were enthusiastic about the idea of creating horror and terror that filtered primarily through the brain rather than through the eyes. They also liked the notion that an unspeakable horror would be followed by a light-hearted, behind-the-scenes view of the cast, crew and production. For more info on the actors, visit the 15 Minute Tape home page:

http://www.mikesvideostuff.com/15_minute_tape/trailer/trailer-b.htm

As indicated earlier, they had to deliver specific lines and had to improv their way to get them said. The first thing we did was to get them into character. I detailed some particular traits and behaviors each character needed to exhibit. Then I turned Rob and Jeanette loose with the video camera. Their first take, while interesting and thorough with regard to satisfying the goal of capturing this list of dialog and character actions, lasted almost 20 minutes with little usable footage. After reviewing the reel, identifying areas to focus on, and brainstorming ways to condense the time required without making it look forced, Rob and Jeanette headed out again. They managed to shrink it down to around 8 minutes. But this time, we had a couple of minutes of usable stuff. After another discussion of ways to shrink the 6 minutes into two, we were able to capture enough footage to satisfy the opening segment. In the end, I extracted and strung together 9 clips to create the look of a random assembly of camera clicks by the inexperienced owners of a new camera. The beating/rape/murder scene is nearly 12 minutes long. At the extreme far left edge of the screen, as the audience views it, on the loveseat against the wall, is a large newsprint pad propped up onto the cushions. Listed on the pad is the step by step progression, along with the allotted time allowances and key phrases. We had a couple of rehearsal walk-throughs to validate the sequencing and timing. There were two complete takes of the full scene. The first one was used for the final print. Overall, this went quite smoothly. The actors understood their roles, the sequencing, and were able to stick with their characters for the duration while allowing Mary, the make-up artist, to do her job.

The outtakes were included from the very beginning. Not only did the actors know about the outtake-blooper segment, it turns out that this feature of the project was the principal reason David and Jeanette agreed to participate. As I explained to them, as you saw, and as I hope others experience, the outtake-blooper segment provides a stark counterpoint to the relentless brutality of the dramatic narrative and establishes a rational/philosophical context for identifying, dealing with, and discussing perceptions of real vs. staged violence.

Well, I selected No Dance based on their track record -- my research indicated that 15 Minute Tape would receive fair consideration. In general, I try to limit my submissions to prominent festivals that have a history of showing harsh and edgy material. When he called, James Boyd, the No Dance director, said he really liked the film and its ability to hit him at such a gut level. He indicated that a lot of 'slasher' movies are submitted to No Dance and that, on a personal level, he's a long-time fan of horror and gore flicks. Even with that, he found 15 Minute Tape profoundly disturbing and difficult to watch because the action was so believably horrifying. Interestingly, he strongly recommended that the outtake-credits sequence be cut in favor of a straight credits roll.

I had a great time. (I'm guessing after a bunch of festivals with a couple or three different films and nothing but debt to show for the efforts, I'll be able to slip into the 'jaded skin' mentality.) I was thrilled to meet other folks who are trying to create some manner of reality with their dreams -- filmmakers, screenwriters, directors of photography, students, dot.com folks, and, of course, you and the intrepid crew from FileThirteen. No Dance, with director James Boyd, is an emerging, visionary festival and I'm thrilled to have the association. Of course, one of the main reasons for going to Park City is the industry exposure. I think if I were going to add to the legion of Sundance/Park City flicks being produced, mine would focus on transplanting LA industry folks to this small, sleepy ski resort. I can't take credit for this quote, which came from the producer of another No Dance film: "The movie business people -- well, they are movie business people...imagine a thousand used car dealers wearing black, talking in cell phones, each with a unique 'lean and hungry look'."