Richard's new book is available from Michael Wiese Productions.
View Richard's video, All By Myself! Many have.
Dave Watson: What do you think is the link to this video going viral?
Richard Dunn: One reason people are intrigued as much as they are is that so many people can relate to the woes of air travel. They think back to how they reacted when their plans got changed, and they now see how I reacted. I made a unique "CHOICE" in the midst of some frustrating "Circumstances" and the "Consequence" (this time) was spectacular!
DW: You’re sounding philosophical, and you have some common sense notions in your book. Where did they come from?
RD: I knew I had a platform for my video. I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy! I see so much humor out there, and thought half the people who saw my movie of a balding, overweight middle-aged guy lip-syncing would laugh and say, “What a moron!” Now, I’ve sought to make people laugh and make people forget what terrible things may be happening in the world. You could go anywhere and find horrible things happening on any day, and I wanted to uplift, make people take a break from their day and celebrate it through a story. And I proved I can do it. Remember, millions of people have been in airports.
DW: This chimes in with the three Cs in your book: circumstances, choices, and consequences. Where is this headed? Say, the life of the video?
RD: One reason people are as intrigued as much as they are is that 99% of the film is done at eye level. It’s not the quality of the shots, but how you use them. I also had a 100-foot sidewalk and 100-foot escalator to work with. When I saw the sidewalk I said, “This is phenomenal!” I could mount my camera on a ruler, put it on a suitcase, and complete the shot I wanted to. Ultimately, I had asked a mechanic that I saw standing behind a Delta ticket counter if he had some tape I could borrow. He gave me a roll of cheap, white luggage tape. I used this tape when I needed to assemble my camera “rigs.”
I taped my iPhone to a ruler I had in my bag, then taped the ruler to the extended handle of my rolling computer bag. I then placed the computer bag on a wheel chair I found and finally placed the wheel chair on the moving sidewalk. Voila! A 100-foot camera dolly!
For the escalator I did things a little different. To get the proper angle, I taped the iPhone to the ruler, the ruler to the extended handle of my bag and taped a water bottle under the computer bag to get the proper angle as it moved up the escalator. It took a number of attempts but when I finally got it, it was the crowning jewels of camera shots!!! Who uses a 100’ escalator as a crane? THIS GUY!!!
DW: In an earlier interview, one person mentioned the rise of the moving camera, or snoopy cam. Is that here to stay?
RD: I absolutely think the snoopy cam is here to stay. The fact that my video had camera movement is one of the reasons people thought this was professionally done. Matt Lauer from the Today show actually called me out and said "This was not a spontaneous thing. This was not done by one person. This was professionally done and pre-planned." I achieved the movement in 2 ways. By using the moving sidewalk and escalator I "physically" moved the camera. And then, in post production, I created some "pushes" and "pulls" while editing in Final Cut Pro. I shot the film how I saw it in my mind and that included the movement. It was a tough choice to decide to shoot a movie rather than go to sleep but it was so worth it!
DW: This ties to your dad whom you mentioned in your book. He said to see things with a different set of eyes. To see things as only you can see them.
RD: Yes! Absolutely! Being stuck in an airport is a basic normal story. Many people have said, "I was in that situation", "I was going to shoot a video", but they didn't. For whatever reason, they chose to do what was easy. To not shoot a video. I saw things differently. In the history of air travel, I am the only person to have 20,000,000 people watch me wait for my plane!
DW: Is structure that important? Your book also talks structure and the storytelling process.
RD: Completely, because what I did was with a packaged song with a beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning, there’s a crowded airport. For the middle, I’m alone, searching in the airport. The end is when I let go of a woman’s hand and it ends with me in a fetal position on the bathroom floor clearly still alone. OH, THE DESPAIR!!! Did I take the viewer on a journey of sorts? Yes. Did I make them feel? Yes.
DW: What led to you making a film? That is, what is your most memorable or inspirational cinematic moment that led you to work in this medium?
RD: Overall I like it when a movie or film takes me from one place to another. I’m a sucker for movies that leave you crying, leave you perplexed. There are moments that inspired and moved me so that I wanted to move you.
DW: Is there one scene?
RD: It would have to be from The Shawshank Redemption, where Jake the crow is released. I love Morgan Freeman’s quote…"Some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab & empty that their gone"
I was moved by this scene. I celebrate moments in movies where the director is successful in moving me from not laughing to laughing, from happy to sad. From perplexed to understanding. The scene when Jake was released moved me.
Clip: The Shawshank Redemption
View Richard's video, All By Myself! Many have.
Dave Watson: What do you think is the link to this video going viral?
Richard Dunn: One reason people are intrigued as much as they are is that so many people can relate to the woes of air travel. They think back to how they reacted when their plans got changed, and they now see how I reacted. I made a unique "CHOICE" in the midst of some frustrating "Circumstances" and the "Consequence" (this time) was spectacular!
DW: You’re sounding philosophical, and you have some common sense notions in your book. Where did they come from?
RD: I knew I had a platform for my video. I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy! I see so much humor out there, and thought half the people who saw my movie of a balding, overweight middle-aged guy lip-syncing would laugh and say, “What a moron!” Now, I’ve sought to make people laugh and make people forget what terrible things may be happening in the world. You could go anywhere and find horrible things happening on any day, and I wanted to uplift, make people take a break from their day and celebrate it through a story. And I proved I can do it. Remember, millions of people have been in airports.
DW: This chimes in with the three Cs in your book: circumstances, choices, and consequences. Where is this headed? Say, the life of the video?
RD: One reason people are as intrigued as much as they are is that 99% of the film is done at eye level. It’s not the quality of the shots, but how you use them. I also had a 100-foot sidewalk and 100-foot escalator to work with. When I saw the sidewalk I said, “This is phenomenal!” I could mount my camera on a ruler, put it on a suitcase, and complete the shot I wanted to. Ultimately, I had asked a mechanic that I saw standing behind a Delta ticket counter if he had some tape I could borrow. He gave me a roll of cheap, white luggage tape. I used this tape when I needed to assemble my camera “rigs.”
I taped my iPhone to a ruler I had in my bag, then taped the ruler to the extended handle of my rolling computer bag. I then placed the computer bag on a wheel chair I found and finally placed the wheel chair on the moving sidewalk. Voila! A 100-foot camera dolly!
For the escalator I did things a little different. To get the proper angle, I taped the iPhone to the ruler, the ruler to the extended handle of my bag and taped a water bottle under the computer bag to get the proper angle as it moved up the escalator. It took a number of attempts but when I finally got it, it was the crowning jewels of camera shots!!! Who uses a 100’ escalator as a crane? THIS GUY!!!
DW: In an earlier interview, one person mentioned the rise of the moving camera, or snoopy cam. Is that here to stay?
RD: I absolutely think the snoopy cam is here to stay. The fact that my video had camera movement is one of the reasons people thought this was professionally done. Matt Lauer from the Today show actually called me out and said "This was not a spontaneous thing. This was not done by one person. This was professionally done and pre-planned." I achieved the movement in 2 ways. By using the moving sidewalk and escalator I "physically" moved the camera. And then, in post production, I created some "pushes" and "pulls" while editing in Final Cut Pro. I shot the film how I saw it in my mind and that included the movement. It was a tough choice to decide to shoot a movie rather than go to sleep but it was so worth it!
DW: This ties to your dad whom you mentioned in your book. He said to see things with a different set of eyes. To see things as only you can see them.
RD: Yes! Absolutely! Being stuck in an airport is a basic normal story. Many people have said, "I was in that situation", "I was going to shoot a video", but they didn't. For whatever reason, they chose to do what was easy. To not shoot a video. I saw things differently. In the history of air travel, I am the only person to have 20,000,000 people watch me wait for my plane!
DW: Is structure that important? Your book also talks structure and the storytelling process.
RD: Completely, because what I did was with a packaged song with a beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning, there’s a crowded airport. For the middle, I’m alone, searching in the airport. The end is when I let go of a woman’s hand and it ends with me in a fetal position on the bathroom floor clearly still alone. OH, THE DESPAIR!!! Did I take the viewer on a journey of sorts? Yes. Did I make them feel? Yes.
DW: What led to you making a film? That is, what is your most memorable or inspirational cinematic moment that led you to work in this medium?
RD: Overall I like it when a movie or film takes me from one place to another. I’m a sucker for movies that leave you crying, leave you perplexed. There are moments that inspired and moved me so that I wanted to move you.
DW: Is there one scene?
RD: It would have to be from The Shawshank Redemption, where Jake the crow is released. I love Morgan Freeman’s quote…"Some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab & empty that their gone"
I was moved by this scene. I celebrate moments in movies where the director is successful in moving me from not laughing to laughing, from happy to sad. From perplexed to understanding. The scene when Jake was released moved me.
Clip: The Shawshank Redemption
