SOUND MECHANIC is an award-winning feature length documentary about Neil Feather, an artist/musician/performer/sound mechanic
who invents new musical instruments and sound making devices, frequently incorporating bicycle parts, bowling balls and sex toys. His inventions are then used in live performances and installations. My previous documentary took 19 years to complete. The one before that took 7 years. During the editing of both films, I stressed over how to fit all of the necessary story into the running time of a feature length documentary. For my next documentary, I wanted to do something different. I came up with a list of rules to follow, inspired by Dogma 95:
1). As much as possible, be productive without funding/budget.
2). As much as possible, be productive without additional crew.
3). Do not set out to tell a story unless one unfolds during shooting.
4). No talking head interviews.
5). No archival materials.
6). No more than a 2-year filmmaking process (shoot for the first year; post for the second year).
For SOUND MECHANIC, I want to give the audience a chance to hang out with Neil Feather for an hour and a half; learn some things about him; see what he does; experience his performances. I’m not concerned with telling his story. Instead, I simply want to give a fly-on-the-wall view of Neil’s world, circa now.
