Ariel Andres
from Chile
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Interview: 10 Questions
VIP: Tell me something about your life and the educational background.
Ariel: I was born in Valparaiso, Chile in 1974 and emigrated to New York City in 1980. I went to Parsons School of Design and interned for David LaChapelle Studio. Several years later, during a period of unemployment, I contacted a friend who was building a rock club/rehearsal space in Brooklyn and moved into his home office. I started working as a construction worker/illegal bartender. It was short lived and we made very good money at night; demolition and construction work was the course of the day. My earnings in tips made allowed me to purchase my first digital video camera. Occasionally, I would step out from behind the bar and document one thing or another. I left town for San Francisco before the club’s ultimate demise and its subsequent conversion into a yoga studio.
V: When, how and why started you filming?
A: See above
V: What kind of subjects have your films?
A: They have been: friends, girlfriends, and domesticity. When those have been lacking in my life, they have been: television, film, and pop culture, which hit remarkably similar notes as the first three.
V: How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
A: With minimal editing or effects of any kind. If a concept gets too convoluted, I step back and re-examine it, suspiciously.
V: Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
A: Canon PowerShot S70 still camera with movie capability, Sony DCR-HC1000 3CCD miniDV video camera, and an early Apple PowerMac G5 Single 1.8 GHz/1.25GB RAM/80GB HD/SUPERDRIVE/NVIDIA tower which has cracked from so much cross-country transport by rail.
V: What are the chances of new media for the genre film/video in general and you personally?
A: I’m not sure what you mean by chances here. If you mean opportunities that new media can bring, then I would say distribution has been simplified greatly via the Internet. Whether that will keep people from going out for the visceral experience of sitting in a film house is to be determined. For me, the opportunities new media affords are mainly economy in production and, as with the genre in general, ease of distribution.
V: How do you finance your films?
A: 9 to 5 finances my life and work.
V: Do you work individually as a video artist/film maker or do you work in a team? If you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?
A: Individually, but I’m open to suggestions.
V: Who or what has lasting influence on your film/video making?
A: In solidarity with the working class, the technical limitations of current consumer/prosumer technology greatly influence and shape the look and sound of the work.
V: What are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
A: To live or die in L.A., and evangelicize my thoughts and ideas.