{"id":5461,"date":"2012-03-01T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2012-03-01T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/?p=5461"},"modified":"2012-03-05T10:00:17","modified_gmt":"2012-03-05T15:00:17","slug":"caught-on-film-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/2012\/03\/caught-on-film-8\/","title":{"rendered":"CAUGHT ON FILM"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Writer\/Director Profile: Joe Schenkenberg<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Joe1.small_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Joe1.small_.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"FILM-Joe1.small\" width=\"80\" height=\"82\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5462\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong><em>by Margot C. Lester<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nOne of the most popular films at last November\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <strong>Carrboro Film Festival<\/strong> was <em>Wiggle Room<\/em>, a stop-motion animated short that won best animation, best character and an audience award.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The film is the brainchild of local writer\/director Joe Schenkenberg. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One night my girlfriend and I were thinking about making a film and messing around with stop motion,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he recalls. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Somehow, I started talking about how I used to get creeped out by slugs on the steps of my house. My parents poured salt on them and that freaked me out. I felt bad for them. Suddenly, we had a sympathetic character that was a slug.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Sympathetic? OK. Simple? No.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Production values<\/strong><br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thought it would be a simple blob of slime moving around and that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have it done in around a week,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he laughs. Nine months later, the film was finished. Though incredibly time consuming \u00e2\u20ac\u201c frames roll, then stop, elements adjusted, frames roll again, repeat \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the painstaking attention to detail and the (ahem) sluggish pace felt familiar. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was already spending hours to get one shot right on the other stuff I was shooting, so this made sense to me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5463\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5463\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Slug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Slug.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"FILM-Slug\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Slug.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Slug-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5463\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A prototype of the slug Joe Schenkenberg created for Wiggle Room, his stop-motion animated short film. Photo courtesy of Joe Schenkenberg   <\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nThe hardest part, by far, was creating the adorable little leading man. There are a couple-dozen shots on Schenkenberg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website, moviemagicnow.com, that chronicle Little Slugworth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s evolution into the cute-if-not-cuddly character (click on the Photos tab).<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It took a month and a half just to get the slug right,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And after one second of animation, it would be deformed and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to redo it. Just the eyes could take 30 minutes to do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Compared to that, making a saltshaker appear evil was a cinch, even for a first-time stop-motion filmmaker.<\/p>\n<p>A self-described perfectionist, Schenkenberg wanted to shoot the film in an actual environment, not a diorama, which is the industry standard for this genre. (<em>Santa Claus is Coming to Town<\/em> and your other Rankin-Bass stop-motion classics were shot on mini-sets.) He painted his kitchen, procured some fun utensils and objets and started shooting. Kendall Music, the aforementioned girlfriend, co-wrote the story, helped with the lighting and donated some of her artwork for the kitchen walls. Graham Jones provided the score. <\/p>\n<p>The result is a beautifully shot film in wide-angle and full of saturated colors. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a vibrant world of opportunity and danger for the little slug who has a fun romp around the kitchen before meeting his demise.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5464\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5464\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Joe2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Joe2.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"FILM-Joe2\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Joe2.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/FILM-Joe2-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5464\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joe Schenkenberg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Wiggle Room, a stop-motion animated short, was a hit at last November\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Carrboro Film Festival.  Photo courtesy of Joe Schenkenberg<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n<strong>Backstory<\/strong><br \/>\nSchenkenberg got into movies at age 10, when he started buying movie scores and soundtracks.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t grow up watching much stop-motion,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Schenkenberg says. He found inspiration for <em>Wiggle Room<\/em> in modern stop-motion masters like Henry Selick (<em>Coraline<\/em>, <em>James and the Giant Peach)<\/em>, who uses beautiful animation to tell compelling stories. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something about stop-motion animation that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mimic with CGI [computer-generated imagery] \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that jitteriness, the imperfection. It feels real. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s enduring.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>At Appalachian State University, he took a few Adobe Photoshop classes, got a little video camera and shot some footage with his buddies. That turned into an Internet business selling stock video footage online. His penchant for finding great items at local thrift shops and reselling them on eBay not only supplements his income but also makes production design for his films a lot easier. Schenkenberg also tends bar from time to time.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a fan of great storytelling \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <em>The NeverEnding Story<\/em>, <em>Pee-wee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Big Adventure<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and escapist films, like those Pixar shorts,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They pull you from happy to sad through the film and then back to fun for the credits. <em>Wiggle Room\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em> like that. It makes you feel like a kid again.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Festival circuit<\/strong><br \/>\nSince its premiere at the <strong>Carrboro Film Festival<\/strong>, <em>Wiggle Room<\/em> has been accepted to other events, including the Indie Grits Festival (Columbia, S.C.), the D.C. Independent Film Festival and the Savannah International Animation Festival. Schenkenberg is most excited about the film\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recent selection to the Atlanta Film Festival, which is an Oscar qualifier. Winners of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Best Live Action Narrative Short\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Best Animated Short\u00e2\u20ac\u009d categories are eligible for Academy Award consideration. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the acclaim, Schenkenberg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s content to keep plying his trade in the Southern Part of Heaven, where he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lived since third grade. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrboro is a great community for film work,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153People are always working on something creative.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And that suits him. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My goal is to keep making films and keep improving.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Writer\/Director Profile: Joe Schenkenberg by Margot C. Lester One of the most popular films at last November\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Carrboro Film Festival was Wiggle Room, a stop-motion animated short that won best animation, best character and an audience award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5461"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5488,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461\/revisions\/5488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}