Big Shiny Robot!: How did you get involved with this film and how did you secure Alan Moore’s involvement?

Dez Vylenz: It’s a long story, most of which I explained in the DVD booklet or in the extras if I remember correctly, but it comes down to my early fascination with the comic book medium, his mastery of storytelling and the university thesis about the narrative in comics, film and literature that made me appreciate his craft and far out imagination even more.

I contacted him by fax with a treatment and explained that the intention was not to make a documentary about comics, but rather a psychedelic experience, a visual essay. The artist as contemporary shaman was the main theme. At the time most of the magazines seemed to talking only about comics and you got the sense that his interest in concepts like magic were seen as too “esoteric” for public consumption. He called me back after the weekend and we took it from there.

BSR!: What prompted you to make this your first film?

DV: It really was all there, his powerful vision, the impressive body of work, but most of all it was a feasible guerrilla film project. It was the perfect vehicle to experiment with my interests in spoken word, music, film, comics and literature and at the same time explore the connection between art, magic, science and the current mindset.

I was fortunate that from my early years on there were always these philosopher types and scientists around who would discuss things. I try to keep that in mind, that an audience should be treated as intelligent in the same way that you wouldn’t talk baby language to a child if you want them to learn something. So I agree that the film is quite dense, but there were a lot of things I had to get out of my system.

Also, I don’t believe in jumping ahead of yourself. Even if I was given a big budget at the time I don’t think I was ready to handle a bigger feature film. So this documentary was also a perfect transition to more elaborate fiction narratives.

BSR!: How much preparation did you do in order to interview Moore?

DV: A lot. I should still have whole files in our archive. Somebody showed me a review of the film a while ago that said something like “an unconstructed voyage etcetera”. Complete rubbish, because if you study it closely, you’ll notice that there are clearly three acts and the film is structured around the principle of the Big Bang and the Big Crunch being connected by a wormhole, in other words everything existing at the same time. But the film obviously is experienced linearly with Moore getting closer than disappearing until the end.

BSR!: Being a fan of his work, even reading it can be a little intimidating, how was it actually interviewing him on camera?

DV: In terms of working with him, I don’t see where people keep saying he’s difficult. Things went really smooth and once you’re on the job you just do your work as is required and engage as deep as you can into different subjects.
It’s only literally when we wrapped up the camera, lights, sound and the whole circus that we whipped out all our comics from the bags and politely asked to have them signed. So yes, at the end we did have our brief fanboy moment.

BSR!: Where did the interview take place?

DV: In his house in Northampton. It’s called Seaview and has a beautiful wooden door with two snakes, double helix style carved into it. He did offer to visit some other locations, local churches and so on, but time was short and in the end it was important to focus on the content and create a comfortable environment. We even rigged up a blue screen against one of his library walls, because with Act 2 you actually get closer to him and the integrated world behind.

BSR!: What was your shooting ratio?  I can imagine that Alan Moore had a lot more to say than what you were able to fit into the film.

DV: Hey, I don’t get that question a lot, you must have a filmmaking background. Shooting ratio scarily was nearly 1:1 or 1:2 with the occasional retake if needed. Almost everything we shot ended up in the film, for the simple reason that it was all tightly structured and planned out. When you’re shooting on film it can get expensive and changing rolls takes time, but I think restrictions are sometimes good. They force you to stay sharp and lean.
Also, I don’t believe in the Kubrick thing, I’ve worked with actors who said they really had to do 98 takes or more just walking down the stairs when doing Eyes Wide Shut.

I find that wasteful, as a director you also have an obligation to be efficient with the budget coughed up by the investors.

I guess the parallel with martial arts that I try to apply in my approach to film, is that preparation is key, you do all the practising beforehand, but once you have to execute, there should be no hesitation. And when you work with a solid film crew and a solid performer in this case, you know you can’t go wrong.

BSR!: Could you talk about why you made some of the B roll choices you did?  Sometimes they seemed spot-on and other times it seemed oddly disparate…

DV: If you mean the DVD extras, they were deliberately focusing on the creative process. On Disc 1 they are all film related, making of material. On Disc 2 it’s leaning more about the artists who draw comics and the collaborative process, in particular with Alan Moore. For both newcomers to the medium, academics and fans I thought this would be fresh material. The mainstream media usually don’t pay much attention to these extremely gifted artists who each have such unique styles. When you see Kevin O’Neill’s crosshatching technique up close in the original artwork of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you really piss your pants.

BSR!: How did you get involved with Disinformation for the North American release?

DV: They contacted us when we actually had already released the film on the Internet and were gearing up to the UK release in May 2008. The designer told me that they were a highly respected alternative culture label, so decided to meet with them.
Mind you, this is after I dealt with a lot of distribution companies that expressed interest, but things never materialised or they didn’t seem to fully understand the nature of this film, which obviously is leaning towards a cult niche. The film in the end is not really about comics, it’s about a writer, a creative force, a thinker who happens to work mostly in that medium.

But it’s also a film about the power of the Idea and how that is formalised in magic, art and science. A sort of anti-thesis to the mechanistic worldview the contemporary mindset seems to have embraced since Descartes mumbled his “I think therefore I am” and Newton started to break down the universe in small predictable units.

Anyway, once I started talking to Gary and Ralph, I realized they really grasped the whole concept of the film and had a genuine passion in bringing it out there. So there immediately was that mutual respect that is crucial to business or any kind of relationship. Guess it was just one of those things that you could call destiny. Things clicked and we took if from there.

BSR!: What has been the response to the film among Alan Moore fans?

DV: Overwhelming most of the time, we get emails all the time of people who said it really inspired them or broadened their outlook on life. Of course we also get criticism from some hardcore comic fans who expected a more detailed overview of all his works. This is impossible in 78 minutes. And with this form and monologue you can’t push the attention span longer than that without breaking the current hypnotic rhythm of the film.

But the whole point is, they already know all of this comic book stuff, this is not about anecdotes or pop culture trivia. Truth is, you simply can’t please everybody and do test screenings.

Anyway, 95% seems to really embrace the film and take something away with them and many of them are not even comic book fans.

BSR!: What did you take away from Alan Moore in the process of making this film?

DV: A free copy of Promethea ; )

Besides that and all the machinations of the film industry, a more refined sense for the film craft, a more profound understanding of narrative, magic, mysticism and art in general.

But most of all, working with a gentleman like Alan Moore your learn that as an artist you have to remain humble and true to your heart, with of course a sense of pride in what you do, while grinding away in the trenches. Which is what authors have to do most of the time. I’m still out in the field way too much though.

BSR!: What’s next for you? And when can we expect it?

DV: Keeping in mind that film finance is a fickle and shaky thing, 2009 is the projected shoot for my next feature film “Burning” a Caribbean mystical neo-realist thriller. It’s Part 2 of the Shamanautical series and I’m fired up to shoot it, as it’s a much more visceral expression of my own ideas, background and exploration of life into both the urban and jungle settings in Suriname.

The release depends on sales agents, distributors and so on. Talks are going on here and there with potential investors just as the monetary manure is hitting the fan right now but I won’t let any economic recession stop me. With a compact and solid crew, victuals, a camera and stock, a few guns and ammo, but most of all with a tightly planned script under the belt you can come a long way.