Director Victor Velle (right) on site in Kansas during filming of 8 Billion Angels
It is said that there are only six stories. Maybe twelve. It’s all been done before. And we have seen it all. What do you do to keep it fresh? Is there anything that you can do to subvert the process to keep it original?
When planning this film, I knew that we had to make something original. This truly was one of the hardest challenges I had to tackle. Our solution was tell the global story of our documentary through the lives of the people. We let the citizens of the world guide our film as we kept our objectives in mind. In doing so, we created a documentary speaking of something so much larger than us, yet through the people we meet in it, we understand that anyone can help change the world. Telling the story that way gave our thesis and story a human discussion between the viewer and the film. At all costs, we wanted to avoid making a film that imposed it’s views on the public.
What was the most important lesson you had to learn that has had a positive effect on your film? How did that lesson happen?
To this day, the most important lesson in film I have learned is: Spend months planning to the “T” what your film will be like, and the minute you are on set be ready to throw everything out the window and adapt to the situation. It may sometimes be hard to give up on the story you created for months before arriving on set, but often times, the story you feel is better than the story you picture.
What are personal attributes that make for a good filmmaker, and what do you do to foster them?
In my line of work, and especially as a director, I think that there are two crucial attributes to have. You must be ready to endure any mental or physical stress, but most importantly, you must always encourage, comfort and support your team.
What makes a film great for you? Are there certain qualities that make a film better for you?
Film for me has always been an art I was incredibly drawn to. I not only adore telling a story, but I love doing it with a team. In order to make a film, it is necessary to have extremely talented peers that specialize in different skills. Seeing everyone work together to bring their art to life as a living piece is incredible.
Most memorable moment while making 8 BA thus far?
I think that the most memorable moment of 8BA was our first shoot day in Acadia [Maine], for months we had prepared for this shoot, working day in day out to make sure the result would be the absolute best. That day we finally saw our work pay off. However, what struck me most was the incredible symbiosis our team had. Coming together was seamless. That day, our team was born.
