Yes, it is time to meet another that walks amongst us -- filmmaker Tim Wessel -- to find out a bit about his business and pleasure. Join us as we discuss film and video, politics, and homes made out of cords of wood.
Name: Tim Wessel
Birthday: June 10th, 1967
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
From about age 10 to 16 I really wanted to be Steven Spielberg! But I ended up not liking his style at all, once I learned a little about production. I also had a running desire to be an oceanographer, because, strangely enough, of Richard Dreyfuss' character in Jaws, and someone had told me they make a lot of money (to this day I have no idea whether that's true or not).
How did you end up running a video production company?
That sounds funny to me, 'running' a company, although I suppose that's what I do. But the company is basically just me, and my wife and son who sometimes help out, and occasionally another helper.
Let's see… film school (Ithaca College) taught me that I wanted to make films, so it seemed a good thing to do what you work in the realm somehow. After college I knew I was not crazy about the Hollywood scene, nor the dog-eat-dog world of major motion pictures, so my goal was to make independent films but also somehow make a living.
After a brief period of managing movie theaters in both New Jersey and California (which was totally cool), I started in video production with a company that mostly did weddings and other painful life events. Then after a little more wandering I eventually decided to start a company of my own in New Jersey -- Videoworks.
When my family and I moved to Vermont (and after we built our house) I simply started another company, but I am trying to be a little more serious this time, with a major investment and great equipment.
Vermont Digital Productions seems a bit like our web company, where you do work for others but also for yourself. Tell us a bit about what you do for your clients...
I like to work with clients who just now are finding a need for video (or digital film if you prefer), and then work with them through concept, scripting and production. 'From script to screen' is a cute phrase I like to use, although it is certainly not original.
And I like a variety of projects -- so far it's been great because I do cable commercials, which are great fun, all the way to corporate communications, demonstration tapes, and pieces for colleges.
AND somewhere in there I try to find time to make some art, like my documentary about rfb.
So where did your interest in documentaries come from? Who are some of your influences?
I was initially attracted to documentaries by the immediacy of video production, and thought that video was a perfect medium for telling true stories. Of course in film school in the late eighties, video was still a 'lower' form of art, but now digital video can look so damn good that it is totally accepted. So documentaries appealed to me because of the real-life aspect and the quick turn around possible -- I have a short attention span and assume my viewers do too.
Oddly enough, my influences tend to be fiction storytellers, but there is much truth in fiction and even more fiction in 'truth'!
The biggest are Stanley Kubrick, John Frankenheimer, and Terry Gilliam.
I've always like Fredrick Wiseman films for their lack of commentary. Others prefer more colorful tales with voice-overs that shape what is being shown, like Michael Moore or Ken Burns. Should documentaries have narration?
Well, mine shouldn't! I can't do that -- or at least I haven't much yet, because I always want my subjects telling their stories. But that certainly doesn't mean I don't manipulate, like every other documentary filmmaker (think Robert Flaherty!).
But on the other hand I do love some documentaries with narration, especially intensely personal narration, like Blue Vinyl. I like Michael Moore's style too, but it's just not my style.
You are doing one about rfb, right? Did you expect to cover a battle with the FCC?
Well, no, frankly. I started things a month before the shutdown, thinking I was just going to profile a great community radio station with very personal interviews and perspectives on micro radio, and then suddenly I had a huge story on my hands, complete with dramatic shutdown footage thanks to Ian.
How is the rfb project coming along?
Well, aside from the fact that I have almost NO time to work on it these days, I feel it is coming along ok. But part of me wants to see what's going to happen with the FCC case, so that I'll know in advance whether it is a comedy or a tragedy.
Ha! Or mystery.... You have a radio show on rfb with your son and occasional guest hosts. Tell us about that...
"Workers' Playtime" is the name, Sundays from 3 to 5 pm. It started out being much more leftist political, leaning more towards socialism than liberalism (Billy Bragg is our patron saint), but now it has morphed more into music that I love, heavily eighties, with a little politics thrown in from time to time. The name comes from a Billy Bragg album of the same name, and Billy got it from an old English radio show -- so it's come full circle you might say.
People may be confused by your radio names.. Timmy and Gobbles. Timmy is pretty obvious, but for those who don't know, what's the story with Gobbles?
Gobbles is simply a reference to South Park… there was a disabled kid named Timmy who befriended a turkey named Gobbles. My son Cal and I loved those episodes so much… it was actually his idea to be Gobbles, and I thought it was hilarious.
Tell us about the decision to have the family build a house...
We had to get out of Jersey, as it was sucking our souls from our bodies… and the traffic was a bummer. So we happened upon this land in Putney, bought it in '99, studied a lot of alternative building styles and finally made the leap in May of 2001, building all summer and not finishing until November! We were damn lucky it was a late winter. Beginner's luck.
What kind of house did you decide on?
It's called Cordwood Masonry, and its advantages include great heat retention due to thermal mass, using local and natural resources (which are usually waste products), it's easy for first-time home builders, and it's incredibly inexpensive, providing you can put many hours into it.
Here's a link for more info: cordwoodmasonry.com
We are considering being part of the solar-home tour this year. Oh I forgot to mention -- we're solar powered and we have a sawdust toilet system, so we have lots to talk about at parties.
Do you recommend that people build their own home? What advice to you have for those about to go this route?
YES! Building your home is very rewarding. You don't really appreciate it until you have recovered from the TRAUMA, but after a while it feels great. My biggest advice would be to NOT go into debt to do it, if at all possible. Rob Roy (the current guru of Cordwood Masonry) has written a book called Mortgage Free that deals with building without going into debt to your eyeballs -- I recommend reading that.
Thanks for the tip. It's an election year. Do you tend to pay attention to and be involved in politics?
Well I wouldn't say INVOLVED because I think that our current capitalist system makes that futile, except on a local level. But I definitely pay attention to the folly which is our two-party system, kind of like other people watch sporting events, for entertainment. Unfortunately, these two teams are playing with lives all over the world.
What do you think of the "anybody but Bush" mantra that led to Kerry's nomination?
It's ridiculous, and will only result in more disappointment for those on the left who vote for Kerry. I continue to point out that every election we hear the same story: Just vote for the Democrats THIS time because the alternative is SO BAD. There is so little difference between the two parties that I could never vote for the Democrats. I would feel dirty. And besides, in Vermont we have the luxury of knowing that the state will go for Kerry, which frees those of us who have misgivings to vote our conscience rather than our fears.
'Anybody but Bush' just plays into the hand of the real entities that control this country -- the corporations. The corporations win no matter who wins this next election. And we lose.
Is it necessary for the candidates to speak to us lonely Vermonters, or is it sufficient to for them to direct their messages at the swing voters in a handful of states?
Unless they accidentally make a wrong turn in Keene, there's no way in hell that one of these turkeys will come to Vermont - they are playing the numbers and will concentrate on key states. Everyone knows the Dems have Vermont locked up, so why would they bother?
Got a prediction on how the election will run its course?
Yeah -- the corporations win again and the people lose! But if you want a prediction on which millionare will be in office, at the moment I think it will be Bush. The Democrats are once again trying to be Bush-light and so seem to not be saying anything at all, and the Republicans have this 911 thing branded to their bums.
They are masters of fear, and people are trained well to be afraid.
Have you seen any of this summer's blockbuster films and, if so, should we see any of them?
Hell, yea! This was a good summer for action films. Spiderman 2 was great, I loved I, Robot too but was surprised that the critics didn't. The Bourne Supremacy sucked, though, with infuriating camera work. I thought Collateral was pretty good, although that might have more to do with low expectations and the fact that I saw it at the Drive-In, where it's more the experience that counts.
By the way, Garden State is a terrific film.
What is the secret of life?
Not sure what the secret is, but the answer is definitely 42. But seriously, I'm sure the secret has something to do with being nice to people -- compassion. And it also probably involves bowling.
Thanks for taking time with iBrattleboro.