After a recent tour of the U.S., I had a chance to sit down with Kelley Baker (aka The Angry Filmmaker). Well known for his work as a sound designer on Hollywood films like My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester, Kelley left the studio system a number of years ago and has been making low-budget films ever since. Rather than relying on the notoriously fickle theatrical/television distribution arm currently in place, he self-distributes his films. Both to promote his films and to promote a message of self-reliance to other low budget filmmakers, Kelley tours around the country, teaching seminars on both Sound Design and Low-Budget filmmaking in general.
After we got done chatting about looking after 17 year old children and the fact that we generally get trounced by kids a fraction of our age in checkers and Wii, we got down to actually conversing about his tour and his mission.
JH: I understand you tour twice a year. So, how long have you been on the road this time?
KB: This tour was 10 weeks, I drove about 16,000 miles.
JH: 16,000 miles? Where did you go?
KB: I started at the end of August from my home in Portland, Oregon. I hit Lawrence, Kansas to help some friends finish up a film (I did some sound design for them), from there it was Baltimore for a screening and work shop at Creative Alliance, then to DC for The DC Shorts Festival, one of my favorite film festivals, then it was a matter of working my way home. I hit 20 states and I probably did 50-60 workshops or screenings.
JH: How long have you been touring?
KB: This is my fifth year. I used to do some short 7 to 10 day things, but now they are all 8 to 10 weeks.
JH: Wow, that must be rough. Don't you get tired?
KB: Oh hell yeah! That's a lot of driving. I hit a couple week period where I was driving 300 - 400 miles in a day and then doing a work shop or screening that night for 3 - 4 hours. Then you have your hang out time with other filmmakers. So I'd get 5 or 6 hours sleep, get up early, and do it again the next day. It got pretty crazy.
JH: Of course, you always have companionship as you take your dog, Moses, everywhere you go. Still, I imagine he doesn't take his share of the driving?
KB: It's that opposable thumb thing. I know he wants to drive and he's pretty smart, it’s just too hard to steer when you have paws.
JH: Yeah, we have a Maine Coon housecat that believes he's human. He's angryabout that same disparity, although he's managed to overcome a lot of its difficulties. So, with all the touring you've done and the myriads of meet and greets, you've got to have met some cool filmmakers. Who's the most interesting filmmaker you’ve met on your tours?
KB: Without a doubt, Danny Boyd in West Virginia. He has made low budget films for years, all types. When I met him he was in to professional wrestling (his ring name is Professor Danger), we just hit it off right away. I’ve admired his work for years and when I met him, we talked for hours about all sorts of stuff. The guy comes from a coal mining town in West Virginia, has received a couple Fullbright Scholarships, teaches at West Virginia State University, has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa and spent a season riding bulls on a rodeo circuit in addition to his wrestling. The guy is fearless without being macho. He does things for the experience, but not in a Hemingway-macho thing. He wants to try different things, he takes safety precautions and then he goes for it.
I went to shoot one of his wrestling workouts and the next thing I know I am in the ring with some guy named Death Falcon Zero getting my ass kicked and he is outside the ring with my camera filming the whole thing!
Danny and I have become really good friends over the years and whenever we get together you never know what is going to happen. You should check out some of Danny’s films. Amazing guy!
