Interview :: Andreas Von Scheele

As contributor of all sorts to FLY DVD, Andreas Von Scheele is a young talented writer, director, photographer, editor and yes... translator. He’s written, edited and directed a remarkably anti-war short story, The Lottery. In addition to revitalizing Mario Bava’s cult classic film, Rapid Dogs, he’s also worked with Cloak, Valentino and Calvin Klein for the short stories in FLY DVD. Not to mention his directorial / editorial work and collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld on Farewell to Daylight. Here, Andreas discusses with MΞ his inspirations, past, present and future... and on not wanting to die twice:

MΞ: How did you get involved with FLY DVD?

AVS: I was first contacted by a photographer named Nicola Majocchi, a friend of mine from Bormio, Italy. He needed someone to oversee the technical aspects and DP for an editorial film he was doing for Valentino (On the FLY Zero issue.) We shot the piece and I edited it. FLY at the time was just starting out and needed an editor, so they hired me to edit Tiziano Magni’s piece for Calvin Klein and Nicholas Wagner’s piece. I also shot and edited a piece for Cloak.

MΞ: Karl Lagerfeld, Cloak, Valentino, Calvin Klein… how much do the designers have a say in these short films, i.e. Parallax View, Farewell to Daylight?

AVS: The designers contribute the costumes. Everything else is FLY and the director/photographer.

MΞ: When will we see the second part to Farewell to Daylight?

AVS: I’m game, as long as I don’t have to float naked in frigid dirty water and die twice. It’s up to FLY.

Above: Scenes from Farewell to Daylight. To view all of Andreas' short films visit his website. Yes, you will also see him "floating naked in frigid dirty water". Great music on Farewell... Plus, superb editing in Rivulet (CK) and Ascendant (Valentino), also found in his website.

MΞ: Are you much inspired by fashion as you are on horror films?

AVS: To be totally honest, I’m not very knowledgeable of either. I love a good story. I’m more a fan of old classic films like La Dolce Vita or Ingmar Bergman films. I love Through A Glass Darkly, Casablanca and Chinatown. I’m mainstream in the sense that if it’s a good film I’ll watch it over and over again, even if it’s a Zombie film. I also have a pretty high tolerance to Tarkovsky type stuff.

MΞ: Are there other aspects of film making that you would like to explore?

AVS: Comedy. And, of course, making money.

MΞ: What classic and new discovered films would you suggest?

AVS: The Apartment and Bringing Up Baby are two of my favorites. People are always surprised to hear this after seeing my work. Wong Kar Wai’s Happy Together and
Wes Anderson’s films are a great joy in my life.

MΞ: Will FLY DVD change how people view designers? Will it modify main media publishing?

AVS: Yes. Watching a short film is a lot more fun then turning the pages of a magazine. It’s also much more powerful. Designers and their marketing machines don’t see the potential yet and don’t understand that they can get great work done for the same amount of money as a photo shoot. When they notice, they will start putting more money and resources into short film. I see this happening at FLY.

MΞ: Out of all of Mario Bava’s films, why Rapid Dogs? Will it be a feature film? When will it be released?

AVS: The original Rabid Dogs, was released posthumously and it’s Bava’s best story. The script to the feature film is finished. We’re waiting for money.

MΞ: Talk to us about International Media Films? Love the website.

AVS: Thanks. I actually did the website myself using LiveType, Flash and Contribute. IMF is the passion of Alfredo Leone, a truly wonderful man. Our hope is to transition out of the film library into production. We’re looking for major funding. It’s the last piece of the puzzle. Anyone out there have about 10 million to spare? ;)

MΞ: What were your major inspirations in making The Lottery?

AVS: I wanted to do an anti-war film and I felt that most war films glorified war even when they were anti-war. So I wanted to show how destructive war could be even before any fighting started.

MΞ: You seem to capture the "create-a-mood" scene very well. How challenging is it for you to work with less experienced actors?

AVS: Thank you. I’ve been really lucky that all the inexperienced actors that I’ve worked with have been very talented. And I learned very early on that if an actor was struggling in a scene or with dialogue, it wasn’t their ability to perform or act that was the problem. I realized that there was something very wrong with the scene or with the writing or dialogue. As soon as the problem was fixed, the actors had no problem with the scene.
I think, bad acting is often just bad writing.

MΞ: What school? How long have you been doing this?

AVS: I’ve been doing this since college at Villanova ten years ago. I adapted an August Strindberg play, The Stronger into a short film. I’ve been hooked ever since.

MΞ: What do you enjoy more, editing, directing, photography, writing?

AVS: I love the directing. I really hope to have more opportunities in this direction.

MΞ: Translator???

AVS: Some how I learned Italian and I translated a novel called Scosse by Ilaria Borrelli. I also translated a script called Princess of The Sparrowhawks. It’s really tough work. I’ve turned down a few jobs, because it’s a very time consuming and mind numbing process. That said, I would probably do more translating if it meant I could move to Rome.

MΞ: Besides Rabid Dogs, Is there any special project that you are working on or would like to do?

AVS: I’ve been working on a script for 3 years called Prodigal with my writing partner Justin Daly.
Thematically, it’s about creating more evil by fighting against it. It’s this vicious circle we’re in. One day we’ll finish it.

MΞ: What's your approach to integrating songs into your work?

AVS: All trial and error. I usually start with the least likely type of music to work and then work back from
there.

MΞ: Listening?

AVS: Gogol Bordello, FatLip, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Moneybrother, The Ark and forever and always - The Kinks.

MΞ: Reading?

AVS: I’m a huge George Saunders fan. I also love Cormac McCarthy, and Mark Z. Danielewski. T.C. Boyle’s early short stories.

MΞ: Hobbies?

AVS: I try to stay in shape. I did a triathlon last year and loved it. In a perfect world I would get out and swim, bike and run more. I ran track in college and I really miss it. I try to meditate everyday, but it’s ends up being more like once a week. Meditation is something that could change the world if there wasn’t such good TV on all the time.

MΞ: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?

AVS: The subway. The E train. I just don’t know how we all get through the day. It just amazes me and I want to tell everyone’s story.

MΞ: Any colleagues or newcomers you'd like to mention that are doing distinctive work?

AVS: Photographer Darrell Taunt: http://www.darrelltaunt.com/. My wife, Willa Carroll, just published her first poem in The Tin House Magazine. She’s amazing.

MΞ: Dretheviking?

AVS: I’m Swedish. I would love to do a Viking Epic film. [See photos taken by Andreas at www.flickr.com/photos/dretheviking/ ]

MΞ: Any final words of advice?

AVS: Never give up. I wish everyone happiness!

A couple of weeks ago I posted Andreas' short film for FLY DVD and collaboration with Cloak. Below is an image and you can see it again here, just in case you missed it.



FLY DVD + Andreas Von Scheele + MySpace

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