FILMMAKER INTERVIEW: JASON FRALEY, CO-DIRECTOR OF “MAN WITH A BOLEX MOVIE CAMERA”
By Zander Sirlin
Recently I posted an interview with Colin Foster, one of two local filmmakers who directed “Man with a Bolex Movie Camera”. Since communicating with Foster, I have had the opportunity to get in touch with the film’s other director, Jason Fraley, who I wouldn’t want to leave out of this blog.
Fraley has co-produced the puppet series “Metro Monsters” for NBC-4, and the script for his master’s thesis film, “Liberty Road”, which won Outstanding Short Screenplay at the 2011 Visions Film Festival.
What first got you interested in film?
I started making movies at age six when my twin brother and I saw Home Alone and decide to create our own version, “Boy By Himself” (very original, I know). Like most guys who grew up in the ’90s camcorder era, we continued to make home movies by spoofing a number of films, from Batman to Indiana Jones. I guess I always knew that movies would in some way be a part of my future.
Is there any real story that inspired the making of your film?
Like Colin said, “Man with a Bolex Movie Camera” really began as a joke. We were shooting a class project on a Bolex 16 mm film camera and it was the first time any of us had shot on film. Colin cracked a joke about how porn filmmakers must have been super dedicated back in the day, because those antique cameras require so much work. That led to him writing the script; it doing well at competitions; and then him asking me to co-direct with him. I was thrilled to help out on such a funny script and tried to see how many old movies we could reference throughout the film.
How would you describe your background in film? What education or experience do you have in filmmaking?
My knowledge in film really comes from a film theory and criticism perspective. While studying journalism in college, I befriended Michael Sragow, film critic for The Baltimore Sun, who told a great story about how he wrote a paper on The Wild Bunch in 1969 that impressed his professor so much that he wrote him a recommendation for NYU film school. Wouldn’t you know it, the same thing later happened to me, only it was a paper on Rear Window for Professor Joseph Miller at the University of Maryland. From there, I applied to the masters program at American University and studied theory under Larry Engel. In my spare time, I’ve spent the last five years writing 300 reviews of classic movies. It’s a labor of love that I’m very close to turning into a film critic website, The Film Spectrum, which I hope to launch this fall. This research has honestly taught me more than any film class. So when The Washington Post wrote a piece in the Sunday Style Section about my day job at WTOP Radio, they noted: “Fraley, a film buff, is known for his savant-like ability to name every Best Picture winner in history, by year.”
What advice do you have for students interested in attending the same school?
I’d say you should find the right professors who will push you and take you under their wing. I’d also do as much studying OUTSIDE on your own, taking advantage of the free films at the library, and really learning the history of your craft. Like anything in life, you’ll only get out of the program what you put in. If you put your heart and soul in, the right teachers will repay it in kind. If you choose to coast through, you may pull it off, but you’ll have wasted your time and your money.
How would you describe the DC film scene?
I’ve long said if Hollywood were located in Bethesda, I would be the happiest guy in the world, because I love it around here. Instead, DC is mostly a documentary town, with National Geographic and Discovery here, as well as the SILVERDOCS festival at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring. The good news is that DC, Maryland and Virginia have so many historical landmarks that large fiction productions do come here to shoot (including Spielberg’s “Lincoln” this fall), but it’s really hard to get on those productions unless you are an established crew member. On the other hand, DC Shorts has emerged as one of the premiere short film festivals in the country, so you do have a good place to showcase your work there.
How has being where you are from impacted your film or filmmaking?
I am a Maryland boy, born and raised in Frederick, MD. That background has influenced me tremendously, as I actually shot my thesis film, “Liberty Road,” in my hometown at a seafood restaurant where I worked growing up. Needless to say, that film was infused with a Chesapeake Bay atmosphere. On a broader level, I really think my small-town roots have inspired my style of writing films about the family dynamic and about ordinary people in extraordinary situations.
Who or what do you cite as major inspirations for your work? This does not necessarily have to be from cinema.
I am most inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and John Ford. I am in awe of how they can play their audience for such a thrilling/entertaining ride on first watch, but leave such genius layers of art for you to unravel with each subsequent viewing. I absolutely appreciate masterpieces on both ends of the spectrum, from art classics like La Dolce Vita and Citizen Kane, to mainstream classics like Airplane! and Caddyshack. Still, there’s just something special about the Hitchcocks of the world, who can strike that perfect balance between art and entertainment. That’s just my personal philosophy.
How would you describe your filmmaking process?
On the writing side, I love lining the script with universal themes and packing it with a string of set-ups and payoffs. Once I get to the directing phase, I am a fiend for “mise-en-scene,” that is, the arrangement of all elements within the frame. I love filling the frame with symbolism, be it items hanging on the wall, color schemes of the wardrobe, light and shadow, a character’s symbolic size in the frame or a character’s blocking in relationship with his fellow characters. This is what really gets me going in the morning, and it’s something that too few filmmakers worry about. Granted, you need to take care of the pressing things first — pacing, mood and directing your actors — but then after all this is down, the FUN part begins — layering every shot with symbolic imagery and applying a different “directing idea” to each scene. It’s stuff that people will take multiple viewings to fully grasp, and for that, I love it.
What technology/programs did you use to make your film?
We shot on a Sony EX-1 with a Letus lens adapter and we edited on Final Cut Pro.
What was your film’s budget? How was it financed?
The film cost just $500 because it was shot in one location using as much free school equipment as possible. Comparatively, my thesis film cost $9,000, so looking back at “Bolex,” I am amazed how much we pulled off with so small a budget.
Did you make the film for anyone in particular? What audience did you have in mind?
We made the film for anyone looking to have a good laugh, while realizing filmmakers would get an extra kick out of it. Even so, I don’t think it’s too much inside baseball, because film novices get to experience the film through the eyes of the female lead, Chrissy, who is constantly asking questions about every little device. Aside from a few F-bombs and sex jokes, it is actually a very tame comedy that’s silly enough for anyone to enjoy.
Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers? Anything for people from your area?
Study your craft with a sick hunger for history and a desire to figure out what really makes the great filmmakers tick. The rest will fall in place. Also, allow yourself ample time for your productions, as everything will take twice as long as you think.
Where can readers view your work and learn more about you?
You can check out my website:
http://jasonfraley.org/
My film critic website will also be up and running this fall:
www.filmspectrum.org
“Man with a Bolex Movie Camera” is playing with eight other great short films in DC Shorts Showcase #16.