Boston Camera News and Notes

8/11/06
SPEAKING IN CODE WITH AMY GRILL
For over a year, director/producer Amy Grill has traveled the globe, filming her feature-length documentary Speaking in Code. The film explores the world of electronic music, following music writers, producers, promoters, DJs, and label heads as they, according to Ms. Grill, "survive and thrive in the digital age." Boston Camera has been providing equipment to the Speaking in Code crew and, recently, Ms. Grill agreed to speak to us about the project.

photo by David Day

Speaking in Code is a feature length character driven documentary that follows a global cast. It is a techno movie that's not really about techno. It's about people.

The music, and the 'minimal' scene, is a colorful, captivating backdrop and binding force for several intersecting character driven stories. The film has a narrative arc to it based on life changing, exciting, and even funny moments that happen to these people over the course of the year and a half that we will have spent making the film.

We found many compelling characters within this global indie electronic music community. By tracking these characters, Speaking in Code discovers some very human truths about subculture, independence, DIY determination, risk, obsession and eccentricity.

Also, there are so many fascinating, wild places to explore in the indie electronic music scene. Even people who know nothing about the music can get lost with the characters in the moment. The film invites the viewer in to experience a "being there" sensation - at the club, in the studio, in a foggy forest in east Germany, climbing a hill on the way to see chalk mines near Berlin, visiting moms in the suburbs, driving through a white-out snow storm on the way to Montreal, performing at a huge festival in Amsterdam, entering a secret underground club in Boston, and on and on. We have unprecedented access and we get very close with the main characters in the film.

We have traveled to Montreal, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Barcelona, Amsterdam, many cities in Germany - Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, several villages in East Germany, Jena, and, of course, we have shot right here in Boston.

We are following a whole range of characters: a Robot builder from MIT who loves to dance and make techno; an intellectual, goofy inventor-type who makes very arty minimal music; 2 vodka loving, communist-leaning East German DJs; an icy club goddess with an indie empire; a sensitive, romantic DJ; a hyperactive bad boy production duo who are actually very close with their mothers; a minimal techno promoter who is guided by a strict techno code of ethics; an international jet set journalist; an obsessive record collector and a promoter/DJ/journalist that is practically going broke evangelizing techno in America.

Development on the project began in February 2005. We started shooting in June 2005. I expect the film to be completely edited by May 2007.

The DVX-100 is the only camera we are using. It makes perfect sense for a low budget independent feature length documentary. We are also using a Chrosziel Matte Box and Tiffen filters.

Well, I have to mention Emerson College here since I work there full time running the student television channels. They've been very flexible and also supportive. Working full time and directing a film can be a lot, so a positive and understanding work environment is a plus. My boss, many colleagues and even the Dean of the School of the Arts often check in with me about how things are going with the doc and some colleagues and students have even volunteered their time to help out.

Scott Sans is the Director of Photography. Most of the time it is just Scott and I on the road together-we are a super tight crew. We know each other and the situations well enough that we don't even have to talk to be able to effectively move through a scene - even tough character follows. He is extremely talented - we've had a lot of fun working on the style and look of the film - something we both care about very much.

David Day (Label Manager and Marketing Director, Forced Exposure / Electronic Music Columnist, Boston Phoenix) and Philip Sherburne (writer for The Wire, XLR8R, Earplug, Blogger) are both co-producers. Both David and Philip are also characters in the film and they act as industry tour guides, helping us gain access to places and people. They were especially helpful early on as advisers on the music and which artists might be interesting as characters since they know many of them personally.

Jason Redmond (Executive Director, IFF Boston) is a producer on the film advising us on marketing, finance and distribution issues. Jason has been a great knowledge resource for the project.

There is a rotating cast of volunteers, advice givers, supporters and small private investors. We also have a pretty significant online grassroots fundraising base, many people who have been following the film since the beginning on our blog (sQuareproductions.net). Some of these people have contributed financially in exchange for their name in the credits (www.sQuar3.com/contribute.php).

I get fan email from all over the world, and a few times now we've been hundreds or thousands of miles away from Boston and people have come up to us and said, "Are you the Speaking in Code crew? I read the blog all the time! We are so happy you are here." It's bizarre, but we truly have a global following for the film and we aren't even finished shooting yet!

What is the final goal with Speaking in Code? What is the purpose of the film?

We want to surprise people and perhaps change their minds about electronic music or, at least, open their minds and show them something they didn't expect. This movie isn't just for the techno-heads; it's for the hip old ladies who love character driven art house documentaries, too.

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