Past Filmmakers

Joey Ingram
Dirty Dishes

1. How did you come up with the idea for the film?
I remember pacing around my apartment trying to think of an idea for an animated short and I decided that I wanted to use something that related to my personal life.  I remember looking at the pile of dishes that had accumulated in the sink, and then I remember looking at my roommate who seemed like he could care less about the problem.  It was at this exact moment that I realized I wanted to make a film that portrayed the apathy of my roommate for doing any chores. In a way, that makes this film an inside joke between me and my roommate, but I think it's a theme that many people can relate with. 

2. How long did the production process take?
After writing the script, my friend Josh and I probably spent the next month working on character and set design alone.  After finalizing the script, we spent another month creating the set, characters, and shooting storyboards.  The animation itself was shot in a little more than three weeks, and I spent another three weeks recording and tweaking the soundtrack.  So basically, I spent the better part of a semester working on the film.

3. What challenges did you experience in the creation of the film?
There seemed to be two major challenges in the production of this piece.  The first was building armatures for the puppets.  Josh and I made two failed attempts at this, and then I finally purchased machined ball-and-socket armatures. The ball-and-socket armatures were definitely lifesavers, since they allowed us to easily tie our puppets to the set and move them about from shot to shot.  The other challenge was simply timing.  There is a lot of math involved in a 3-D animation like this.  We had to consider the frames per second in relation to the pace at which the character should be moving across the screen.  It sounds simple enough, but the pacing led to several headaches during the shoot.

4. What is your favorite memory from creating the film?
I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but this was my first animation ever, so my favorite memory would have to be playing back the first scene we shot.  I remember how incredible it felt to see that inanimate object come to life and have a personality of its own.  It is amazing to know that you just created that.

5. When someone has finished watching the film, what do you hope they take away from the experience?
Really I just want the viewer to laugh and enjoy it.  It's great if the viewer can relate to the film in any way, but in the end, I just hope people find it humorous.

6. What reaction has your film received from viewers?
Well, like I said, the film does relate to my personal life, so anyone who knows my roommate and I has thoroughly enjoyed it.  The only other audience that has viewed the film is my classmates, and I received really positive feedback from all of them.  Several of my classmates suggested I submit the film to festivals, so I guess they enjoyed it.

7. What advice would you give to aspiring young filmmakers?
 I don't know that I am in any position to start giving advice to young filmmakers since I am a young filmmaker myself, but I guess my advice would be to not get discouraged if you truly believe in an idea.  The beautiful thing about film is that it allows you to take an idea and translate it in the form of a moving image.  There will always be at least one person who dislikes or disagrees with what you have to say, but if you're passionate about the idea, you should see it through. 

8. Please tell us about the next film you plan to work on.
 Josh and I are currently working on another 3-D animation involving puppets.  This one is definitely more serious and has a much darker feel.  The setting is very surreal and the theme is basically about the way people wear social masks.  I want it to be understood that our script presents the theme in a very “non-clichéd” way.  That being said, we both feel like we learned from the mistakes we made in Dirty Dishes, and hopefully we can apply what we learned to create an even better animated film.

9. What are your thoughts on the film industry in NC?
The film industry here seems to be expanding quite nicely.  I know that at least two feature films have been shot here in the past year, one taking place during this summer. North Carolina seems to be expanding its outlets for artists—such as filmmakers—and I think as a result we will see some great films come out of our state.