Pimpin’ Trimpin: Director of Avant Music Doc Talks
by Roger Rose
Peter Esmonde filming Trimpin at work. photo Kody WhiteakerAlthough this is his freshman outing, Peter Esmonde, the director of "Trimpin: the Sound of Invention," about an avant-garde sound artist from Seattle, has been close with the industry for a long time. In the 1980s, he was a student at Yale and the American Film Institute, where he earned an MFA and a directing fellowship. Soon after, he did sound editing on docs and features in New York, and moved into writing and producing for the Discovery Channel and PBS. To top it off, he has taught film and information design classes in New York and California (NYU, Columbia, Santa Cruz) and did time directing industrials in the jungles of corporate America!
Only now emerging as a filmmaker with diverse and densely-packed talents, Esmonde shares the creative spirit of the subject of his new film, Trimpin, an eccentric German-born inventor and sound sculptor who immigrated in 1980 and lives in Seattle.
RR: What most interested you in Trimpin as a subject?
PE: After I left the swashbuckling corporate world, I was motivated to find a creative person who'd managed to navigate their way through consumerist-driven culture. I wanted to film an artist utterly dedicated to their work; someone who didn't give a damn about improving their productivity or overall status in the art market. I also wanted someone working with sound and three-dimensional space who I could observe in different environments, with various collaborators and multiple media. I researched a number of potential subjects, but visiting Trimpin in his Santa's workshop/Frankenstein's lab studio, I couldn't help but observe what a unique, protean individual he is.
What was it like working with the artist?
Gaining Trimpin's trust was difficult. He's been burned repeatedly by local TV crews - "Now, with another look at our local mad scientist." So I just hung out with him without any recording equipment. When I did pick up a camera, the filming was strictly v‚rit‚ - no retakes or set-up shots; no pre-interviews, no lighting. Gradually, he realized that I wasn't out to do a job on him, but that I was genuinely interested in seeing his craft.
As always, money was an issue. I could barely afford a sound recordist, which was a problem, given that the subject was a sound sculptor. I couldn't pay for a DP, either. Even if I could, having a third crewmember around would have changed the dynamic with Trimpin. So I decided to just shoot the thing myself.
The film uses a great deal of Trimpin's music. Was it difficult to ask him to score the picture?
Rick Tejada-Flores and I felt strongly that we should score the film with Trimpin's own music. Trimpin, though, had no desire to provide a score. Actually, he wasn't even interested in preserving his existing music. After rooting around, I was able to unearth all sorts of things: amateur cassette recordings and 25-year-old 4-track quarter-inch tape, as well as 3/4" Umatic cassettes. Some were actually recordings by other Bay Area artists who simply enjoyed Trimpin's work. Once Rick placed some of the initial tracks, I brought on Phil Perkins as music editor and mixer. Jim LeBrecht, at Berkeley Sound Artists, worked very hard to give us a wonderful 5.1 Dolby E mix, which even Trimpin has praised.
The film premiered almost a year ago at the SXSW festival. It's still on the circuit, isn't it?
Yeah [laughing]. The Trimpin world tour has consisted of 11 months, 10 countries, 23 cities and counting, from Silverdocs to S_o Paulo. Locally, it played both the San Francisco DocFest and Mill Valley, which was nice. The Exploratorium co-sponsored a full weekend of screenings at the Red Vic; then it goes to the Smith Rafael. I'm delighted that the film is being picked up for theatrical and DVD release with a NYC premiere slated for May.
Having a documentary on such a wide festival circuit must give you some interesting perspectives on what's new in film?
Oh yeah. For better or worse, I think documentary seems to be losing much of its historical grounding in the social sciences. Margaret Mead has been replaced by Michael Moore. Still, the material that I return to over and over - what intrigues me the most - is made by individuals trying to depict a person or phenomenon they don't understand. I make films because I have questions about the subject, not because I have the answers. Posted on Mar 01, 2010 - 01:31 PM
by Roger Rose
Peter Esmonde filming Trimpin at work. photo Kody WhiteakerOnly now emerging as a filmmaker with diverse and densely-packed talents, Esmonde shares the creative spirit of the subject of his new film, Trimpin, an eccentric German-born inventor and sound sculptor who immigrated in 1980 and lives in Seattle.
RR: What most interested you in Trimpin as a subject?
PE: After I left the swashbuckling corporate world, I was motivated to find a creative person who'd managed to navigate their way through consumerist-driven culture. I wanted to film an artist utterly dedicated to their work; someone who didn't give a damn about improving their productivity or overall status in the art market. I also wanted someone working with sound and three-dimensional space who I could observe in different environments, with various collaborators and multiple media. I researched a number of potential subjects, but visiting Trimpin in his Santa's workshop/Frankenstein's lab studio, I couldn't help but observe what a unique, protean individual he is.
What was it like working with the artist?
Gaining Trimpin's trust was difficult. He's been burned repeatedly by local TV crews - "Now, with another look at our local mad scientist." So I just hung out with him without any recording equipment. When I did pick up a camera, the filming was strictly v‚rit‚ - no retakes or set-up shots; no pre-interviews, no lighting. Gradually, he realized that I wasn't out to do a job on him, but that I was genuinely interested in seeing his craft.
As always, money was an issue. I could barely afford a sound recordist, which was a problem, given that the subject was a sound sculptor. I couldn't pay for a DP, either. Even if I could, having a third crewmember around would have changed the dynamic with Trimpin. So I decided to just shoot the thing myself.
The film uses a great deal of Trimpin's music. Was it difficult to ask him to score the picture?
Rick Tejada-Flores and I felt strongly that we should score the film with Trimpin's own music. Trimpin, though, had no desire to provide a score. Actually, he wasn't even interested in preserving his existing music. After rooting around, I was able to unearth all sorts of things: amateur cassette recordings and 25-year-old 4-track quarter-inch tape, as well as 3/4" Umatic cassettes. Some were actually recordings by other Bay Area artists who simply enjoyed Trimpin's work. Once Rick placed some of the initial tracks, I brought on Phil Perkins as music editor and mixer. Jim LeBrecht, at Berkeley Sound Artists, worked very hard to give us a wonderful 5.1 Dolby E mix, which even Trimpin has praised.
The film premiered almost a year ago at the SXSW festival. It's still on the circuit, isn't it?
Yeah [laughing]. The Trimpin world tour has consisted of 11 months, 10 countries, 23 cities and counting, from Silverdocs to S_o Paulo. Locally, it played both the San Francisco DocFest and Mill Valley, which was nice. The Exploratorium co-sponsored a full weekend of screenings at the Red Vic; then it goes to the Smith Rafael. I'm delighted that the film is being picked up for theatrical and DVD release with a NYC premiere slated for May.
Having a documentary on such a wide festival circuit must give you some interesting perspectives on what's new in film?
Oh yeah. For better or worse, I think documentary seems to be losing much of its historical grounding in the social sciences. Margaret Mead has been replaced by Michael Moore. Still, the material that I return to over and over - what intrigues me the most - is made by individuals trying to depict a person or phenomenon they don't understand. I make films because I have questions about the subject, not because I have the answers. Posted on Mar 01, 2010 - 01:31 PM
