Oliver Franklin Anderson is a local Los Angeles filmmaker. Originating from Appleton Wisconsin, Oliver graduated from the Experimental Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). His film, Hollow, has recently been accepted into the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Hollow is a cerebral experience with an ominous undertone that embraces viewer intrigue and wonder throughout its duration. Take a look at my interview with Oliver coupled with stills and the film Hollow.
TNC: What influences drew you to study Experimental Animation and what are your goals with it?
Oliver: The Experimental Animation Program at CalArts gives you freedom to work in any medium, you can do everything from live action film to writing interactive programs for gallery installations. I don't like being restrained by medium, my thinking is that whatever works for the project I'm working on works, so the program was a perfect fit, and it was a great place to learn and develop as an artist.
TNC: What films and which directors inspire your personal work and why?
Oliver: I really admire the works of Larry Fessenden and Woody Allen, that's an odd match. The two largest influences on Hollow in particular were La Gloire de Mon Pere directed by Yves Robert, and the 1987 BBC version of My Family and Other Animals directed by Peter Barber-Fleming. La Gloire de Mon Pere has this wonderful opening title sequence that takes you slowly floating over the beautiful hills of the south of France, this is coupled with the calls of cicada's which have been turned into a rhythmic base for sequence's score. That rhythmic calling of the cicadas inspired the lush symphony of insect calls that makes up Hollow's soundscape. My Family and Other Animals is a BBC mini series based on Gerald Durrell's semi autobiographical book by the same title about his childhood on the Greek island of Corfu, it's filled with atmospheric and beautiful natural history photography, particularly of small life forms, insects, lizards, fish and such, similarly Hollow is peppered with close up cameos of the creatures I encountered as a kid growing up in rural Wisconsin.
TNC: Could you describe the genesis of your film Hollow and the concept behind it?
Oliver: I wanted to do something beautiful and rural, with a hint of horror. The initial idea idea I had that lead to Hollow was the image of a murdered girls body in the grass, covered in morning dew and insects, the current incarnation of the film slowly grew from that image. I have a deep love for the natural world, ghost stories, and the macabre, all the elements over time meshed together perfectly.
TNC: Congratulations on Hollow's acceptance into the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival. What is the background on the festival and what it is all about?
Oliver: Thank you! Slamdance from my understanding is the rebellious younger brother of Sundance, it was formed by a pair of filmmakers who were rejected by Sundance in the mid 90's, Slamdance takes more chances and is far less commercial than Sundance, it's also limited to films with budgets of under 1 million.
Hollow from Oliver Franklin Anderson on Vimeo.