Interview with Ken Volok

Ken Volok is a Santa Barbara based artist. He works in film, still photography, is a painter, writer, actor, surfer, and skateboarder. He's had the opportunity to work with and learn from amazing artists in all these mediums. He is also one of the co-founders of hE@D Magazine.

DD: How many films have you made so far in your career?

KV: As a director I've made six films and countless commercials. My last film, Land of Milk and Honey is my favorite one that's finished, but right now I'm working on Day of Wrath, which I'm excited about even more. I'm always excited about my current creation, because of its possibilities, but Land of Milk and Honey is one of my best, and Oxygen.

DD: What were your views on movies as a kid?

KV: Before I discovered surfing and skateboarding, art in general and movies specifically were inspirations and escape for me. All these things saved my life in a variety of ways. I spent a lot of my childhood in the hospital for various operations because of an auto accident. As a result I had social problems in school, compounded by an abusive father. I learned pretty early how to enrich my mind and to explore my creative impulses.

DD: Where do your films play at?

KV: Mostly up and down the California Coast. I've held a series of screenings, though they've screened around the country. And some Video On Demand and DVD sales to people in other countries.

DD: Whats your aim for in storytelling, to unsettle or reassure?

KV: Both, and more! The wider the gamut of emotion the better. But I think to successfully unsettle an audience, you need a good measure of reassurance or else it's just a one dimensional experience; and if an artist chooses that, great. But I'd hope it'd be the right decision for the film as a whole.

DD: Are you more of a technical director or more an actor's director?

KV: A combination of both because its my job as the director to know what the crew and actors are doing. I act myself so I think this gives me an advantage. Often I work in tandem with my department with the technical duties, but you have vision. Actors are an element in my overall vision and so I must be able to work with them and if needed help them give the performance we both want to achieve. I've worked with a wide variety of actors and each is different in their own way. You find out as quickly as possible the best way to communicate with each specific artist and take it from there. Then again, some people you don't bother directing because you risk spoiling the reason you cast them to begin with.

DD: As a bisexual filmmaker do you feel that its gotten better for people of all diversities to go out and successfully voice their views thru visual storytelling?

KV: Its definitely both socially and technologically easier for filmmakers and actors to express themselves in movies. Whether they're aesthetically successful is another matter.
I usually find message films a bore, because the message often becomes the focus and not the art of cinema. if you look at the most successful message films of the 1970's, like Coming Home or Network, the characters are involved in very real issues in their lives. The audience is allowed to come to their own conclusions as to the cause and the solution. But the characters also have a lot of other things happening in their lives as well, other relationships or whatnot that make them three dimensional characters. Too many modern message films are too concerned with preaching and ignoring any opportunities for forms of catharsis amongst their audience.
With the exception of Brokeback Mountain most mainstream films still put their gay characters into hetero-safe stereotypes as opposed to just everyday people. Six Feet Under is a good example of stereotype breaking. With these examples, they stand as great art. Look how gays are presented in these films: as diverse and multifaceted people. Too many films of the gay cinema genre are content to write their characters in shorthand of stereotypes, and are often just one trick ponies in terms of actual content.

DD: Have you been lumped into a typecast because of your sexual preferences?

KV: I think I have an added advantage to being able to understand and relate to desire from all angles; as well as visually celebrate the unique beauty of both genders. Perhaps this is why my work has often been described as beyond gay and I think that's how I would describe myself as well. I really don't like being put into boxes, albeit personally or artistically.
I think my attitude has given me much greater and diverse audience than pandering to those who do not think my work is gay enough and those who think my work is too gay. I must be doing something right. I've been told a sort of pan-sexuality runs through my work, I can totally dig that.

DD: How have you found crew and cast members?

KV: People I know and have worked with over the years, Craigslist is one of the great places to find emerging talent, also thru word of mouth people approach me who want to work on my projects. I've been fortunate to find good people and have made many good friends too.

DD: What movie would you say is your guilty pleasure to watch?

KV: It's not just one movie, its an entire genre. I love disaster films, specially those from the 1970s: Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, the Airport films.

DD: Who are your favorite filmmakers?

KV: Some of my favorite filmmakers probably aren't too surprising. Hitchcock, Bunuel, DePalma, Dreyer, Godard, Lynch, Araki, Eisenstein, Lang, Haynes, Woody Allen, Chaplin, Welles, Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Sophia Coppola, Vertov, Hawks. I also like the work of Todd Haynes, James Ivory, and Gregg Araki though I'm sure there are artists I'm spacing on.
Some films that are especially close to my heart are Reds, King Kong, Mysterious Skin, Gandhi, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vertigo, Days of Heaven, Carrie, Barry Lyndon, Strike!, Land Without Bread, Bringing Up Baby, and F for Fake.

DD: What is the writing process like for you?

KV: The scripts that originate from me begin with stacks of drawings, notes, and random scenes. Right now I am trying to turn notebooks of material into a logical order that will likely be my next film. But I've been contemplating, making notes, drawings of shots, camera movement diagrams, the movie in many ways is already made, I'm just the only one who can see it right now.

DD: Do you already have people in mind while writing characters?

KV: Often times yes, and sometimes that person is me! In past films I've taken my personal experiences, and even bumped them up a notch for comic or dramatic value. Incorporating them into my story or based the stories on an experience or series of experiences. It might be cheating but its so much easier writing a character for a specific actor. Other characters might be compilations of several different people.

I like to ask myself "How would so and so react if this happened?" or "wouldn't it be funny if this person did that?" These can be useful to me when creating a character. Even characters drawn from fantasy have elements of real experience in them. In my films, some characters or some parts of characters are reinventions of me and acquaintances, or thru observed behavior of strangers, and fantasy figures from my imagination. In the end, each character is an element in the story that if the character neither advances or enhances the narrative, that character is banished to another film if not forgotten forever.

When I was shooting on film I got really good at editing in-camera cause I had to save as much money as I could for starters! But also my shots went faster when I knew what I wanted walking onto the set.
I've had commissioned films in which the writer/producer felt every word was sacred. That made it tough for the actors, and the crew. Its better when they are open enough to have their idea for the writing to be a jumping off point than the end product. It creates a much richer and enjoyable piece of art, at least I'd think so.

DD: Do you have any advice for new film students going into this field?
KV: Make every movie like its your last, but make it.

DD: Finish this sentence: Film makes people...
KV: Film makes people ten pounds fatter.

Ken has a Facebook fan page to get updates on new projects.