There are obvious ideas of being a spectator, which I hope I have recovered from now, which is also suggested in the title, this I think came from my interest at the time in existentialist ideas found in the outsider. Apart from this as an influence it was quite a personal film, which I am aware of now finishing college, has its pitfalls, for if the work is too precious or only understood by close friends it plays a very limited role, something I would not wish, even though it is only personal experiences and immediate surroundings that can be of real value, as source for me to comment upon with feeling.
Music
With an interest in music and a minimal knowledge of drums and bass I approached the sound track after the art—work, trying to produce a similar feeling. This really happens in a very spontaneous fashion, excepting the ironing out of mistakes. With the help of Walley Seywell who acted as engineer on a porto studio I was able to record first bass, then drums, a little flute, and finally guitar and organ as effects, minimal as it was it seemed to work in respect of the atmosphere it created.
Future Plans
I have just begun work on a film that will hopefully rely more on the drama and fantasies of characters shown, flights of imagination, seem¬ingly away from the material reality I feel can say a lot about the political struggle of every day life, as beliefs held and closeted are let loose.
In animation like dreams all things are possible, and it will be an attempt to take my work further than objective reality., into the worlds people inhabit. How well it works, or whether I manage to include all the ideas up to now remains to be seen.
This interest with personal realities and dreams has stemmed from reading a few sci-fi stories, and folk tales which have re-educated me to the symbolic imagery that appealed as a child, such stories bringing attention to the problems and hopeful solutions to the human condition I think may be a useful influence upon my work.
Originally printed in Animator’s newsletter Issue 8 (Spring 1984)