Sundance Institute at BAM - "Great World of Sound"

Sundance Institute at BAM - "Great World of Sound"

Saturday, June 2, 2007

The Great World of Sound director Craig Zobel and BAMcinematek curator Florence Almozini

Great World of Sound, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, screened at a special series called Sundance Institute at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on Saturday. I attended with Liz Nord, director of the documentary Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land.

Great World of Sound is directed by Craig Zobel, written by Zobel and George Smith. According to its synopsis, the film is about "when a man answers an ad to train as a record producer, he’s excited by the prospect of signing undiscovered artists only to discover his new job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be."

Zobel spoke during a audience Q&A after the screening. I took the following notes:

Q: How did you find the singers in the film? [In the film, the two producers/unaware "song sharking" salesman played by Pat Healy (Martin) and Kene Holliday (Clarence) conduct auditions in the hotel rooms their company sends them to]

A: Had a script. Identified the set pieces for the auditions. Turned some production offices into hotel rooms. Posted ads in the towns and had real people come in to audition. Some were real actors, but not everyone knew what was going on. Explained it to them after.

Q: What kind of reaction did you get from the people who auditioned?

A: Some said they got "punked." We told them they didn't have to be in the film if they didn't want to. Most people were fine with it and some people were uncomfortable with it.

Q: Will you pay the people if you make money from the movie?

A: I haven't made any money yet.

Q: Where did the choice for the ambiant electronic music come from?

A: Composer David Wingo. The electronic music grew of the scenes from the beginning training sessions, like a corporate training video.

Q: What format was the film shot on?

A: Half of the film was shot in Super 16 and the other half in miniDV.

Q: How did you find the actor who played Clarence?

A: I met him and he convinced me to go to a water park with him.