Interview with Director Bruce McDonald
August 20, 2009
Bruce MacDonald and Care Failure stand on Yonge Street and plot their bank robbery.
BM: It’s a short film of how a 12-year-old Care Failure became enamoured with CFNY radio, living in her suburban house, and how it became a beacon for the real world for her. It’s about ending up on a signal of coolness you admired as a kid. A little story about the Sprit of Radio.
LL: You’ve worked with Care before and know her quite well. Did you learn anything new on this shoot that surprised you?
BM: First was an affirmation of what a beautiful voice she has. She’s a hard rock chick but when you just hear her singing with an electric guitar, solo, it’s very pretty. And also what a pro she is, which wasn’t a surprise either. She has a very solid work ethic. She’s a fighter and she cares deeply about the quality and integrity of her art.
LL: Any advice for other filmmakers on how to work within the 4-minute time limit?
BM: It’s great to have [executive producer] Bob Lang on the stick I tell you – he’s all about the story. With the ease of shooting now there’s a tendency to shorten the prep time: grab it and go! My advice is to have a strong story going in. Maybe another story comes out of but you have to have something to go back to, that 1-2-3, rise-and-fall of storytelling.
LL: How do you see the future of films made for mobile?
BM: They’re like electronic graphic novels or comic strips, a video jukebox. It’s like the singles generation but for video, short stories rather than novels, episodic over long-form. Sure, some people will watch Apocalypse Now on their cells, if they’re trapped on a long flight maybe. But with something like City Sonic, it’s like you’re waiting for a bus or on hold with Dial-a-Bottle at the corner of Queen and Bathurst and you’ve got something to watch.”
