Sprocketbox RYAN MILLER Feb.2008

Finding Truth in
Truthsculpture
Interview with Chicago filmmaker, Ryan Miller
Interview and photos : Lydia Krupinski
Intro and design: David Downs
Screen stills and addition photography: Ryan Miller

There often comes a time in an artist's development where he/she
must find a way to use their talents in a profitable and sometimes
commercial way. This challenge is never resolved easily. How can an
artist preserve their creative integrity while marketing their abilities?
Filmmaker, Ryan Miller is trying to do just that through his
production company Truthsculpture Studios. Relying on minimal
finances, collaborations with others, and many long hours of hard
work at the computer and behind the camera, Ryan creates both short
films while compiling a commercially viable portfolio. He often finds
himself doing everything from script writing. to costume creation, to
set design, and even producing his own musical scores. His work has
been shown at Chicago Filmmakers, Heaven Gallery, Columbia
College, and the Around The Coyote Multi-media Festival. In between
all of his projects, he found time to give Lydia Krupinski this interview:

LK: What is "Truthsculpture"?
RM: It is the idea that everyone self-creates their own truth.
LK: When did you first start to dabble in the medium of film?
RM: I was going to a community college called Parkland College in Campaign, Illinois. Before that, I had been
pretty much entirely focused on electronic music, (and) DJ performance. Slowly but surely I started to feel
that this just wasn't enough. So I started to become more interested in working with image. I started seeking
out films, (and) reading from film sights so I could give myself a crash course lesson on film makers from
around the world. We had an amazing local library in Urbana that had all the greatest art films by Bergman,
Kurosawa, Van Treer, and David Lynch, of course. So I would go and pick a film maker and watch. During that
time, I was working with a little 8mm video camera, and just constructing little scenes for myself and filming
those, staring me, and doing photography. So I guess photography was were I started working with images
seriously, and film just seemed like a natural collection of my interests. I guess that's how I started getting in
to it.
LK: So now your trying to build up a commercial portfolio?
RM: I've done things that I can show off as evidence that I know what I'm doing, but it's still not in the context
of commercial work. So possibly to get more music video work, I need to finish this shot. So I want to get that
up on my website. I'm still working on the "A City to Make Me" script, which has been ongoing for awhile, but
I think every time I'm getting back into it, it's getting better. I get a little bit more precise about what I want to
do with each section of the script. It seems, at least in the world of video, the world of image making, your
spending a lot of time on the computer, and the more computer skills you have the easier it is to find work on
a commercial level.
LK: How do you stay updated on new programs, do you teach yourself?
RM: Yeah, I go buy a book, and go through the tutorials. I'm a really per-project person, where I think I learn
best when I have sort of a goal in mind.

LK: Do you have any current projects outside of the clip for your commercial portfolio?
RM: I am working on the script for the film (A City to Make Me) and as soon as I feel like that
is in a good place, hopefully in the next month, I'm going to start working on a bunch of little
commercials and media news casts that are inside that film.
LK: That's right, because it breaks up into those little pieces.
RM: They're just always going on.
LK: So you can get that part of it...
RM: Yeah, I can get that part done, I don't think it will require a big budget. It's not like I need
a returning cast for those, I just need people to come in for an afternoon and do some stuff.
LK: What are some themes that run through your work?
RM: Capitalism eating itself, I think is a big one. As a way of maintaining and structuring a
society, (capitalism) offers infinite potential along certain economic lines, but it doesn't offer a
deep foresight into how to maintain a civilization or society. It just looks at the next way to
gain wealth. I think what we're seeing globally right now is that societies that have had a more
long term view of maintaining a civilization or culture, and I'm thinking, I guess Europe or
China, I think they will either continue to do ok or continue to increase their power. Unless the
United States decides to start guiding it's own future beyond making money, or finding ways
to make money that are integrated with the needs of society, were just going to watch a slow
burn. So those themes definitely run through my work.

LK: How would you describe your videos to someone who hasn't seen
them?
RM: The work that I've done explores themes of power, God vs. man, or
concepts of God, concepts of power over "other". My first film, "Serum" a
black and white silent film is about this idea of the perceived gain through
the destruction of other. In the film, scientists were experimenting on and
killing small animals. So this idea of being able to gain knowledge and
increase ones well-being through the destruction of other is... It's a very
simple concept. Anytime you kill a food source, you are basically making
that decision, but just exploring that reality visually, and seeing the whole
process of that. Then in my last short narrative film, "Stranger" I think I
was trying to dive into how the society I was seeing on certain levels felt.
Like walking around these environments in the city and seeing people that
had fallen through the cracks, and wondering if they had any insights into
life and the nature of our society that maybe I could garner some
inspiration from. The characters are a psychologist, a schizophrenic
woman, and a homeless man. I think the nature of power is examined a
little bit, and the idea of denying someone some kind of assistance, that
you would have power to give, based on professional motivation.
LK: Like the psychologist helping the schizophrenic woman.
RM: Or not helping her out because she didn't have insurance.
LK: Do you write the characters and have actors perform them, or do you
choose actual people with these problems?
RM: I like to find people who can really bring something personal into that
role, and fill it out in a way that becomes more self-expressive for them.
I've written dialogue and I've written actions for a character, but if I meet
someone who seems to make it there own, then I just assume, within the
context of the project, let them express themselves and let me capture it.
LK: You give them a lot of directorial control...
RM: What they're saying, sure. It just needs to be full. I feel like at that
point I'm just more of an editor, where I'm saying, "Can you steer it in this
direction or that direction?" But in general, I like to feel that I'm working
with able artists. Some actors, to be honest, are not able artists and need
a lot of precise technical direction about how they are saying things and
what they're eye movements are doing, and everything relating to their
performance in front of the camera. But there are just some absolute
natural actors who just live through it all, and will just excise their demons
in front of you, and all you have to do is hit record.
LK: Where do you find actors?
RM: In Chicago there's a magazine called, "Perform Inc.", an actor's
publication, or Craigslist. Mostly online.

LK: Are you originally from Chicago, and where else have you lived?
RM: I grew up in Morris, Illinois until I was twelve. Moved around
Illinois for a few years, then ended up in Colorado for highschool,
and then came back. I lived in Prague for six months and then
moved to Chicago.
LK: How do feel about Chicago's art community as far as finding
collaborations here opposed to other places you've been?
RM: Well, I seem to see it working really well from a long lense. I've
found great collaborators in spurts, usually when I'm getting a
project organized and start really putting out my feelers to find
people. I certainly see other people doing the same on varying
levels. So I think that, like anything, when you start down a path and
start finding people to work with, you'll find them. Or they'll find you.
(laughs)
LK: How in touch do you feel with Chicago's art community?
RM: Uh, not as in touch as I could be. There's always something
going on in Chicago, some event or some small gallery space that's
doing something. I think there's a feeling that there's not... I think
there's a lot of people interested in art here, and a lot of people
interested in making art here and checking out what other people
are doing. I think it sometimes lacks a certain degree of scale, in
terms of financial scale. Are the people who are buying art and
funding art looking to create a commodity out of an artist's work?
Are they patrolling Chicago, are they looking for artists to support,
or new innovative ideas? I think there's a real lack of those people
here. What ends up happening is people who need that or want to
take their work to the next level end up moving away to L.A. or New
York. So, in terms of the money that comes into Chicago to support
creative arts is mostly in the worlds of advertising and then into a
handful of institutions, whether, maybe the Art Institute or people
who've created their own connections through commercial work. To
a certain extent, I think that's a microcosm of what happens
everywhere.
LK: Have you had any positive experience with film festivals in
Chicago and groups that are pro-actively trying to unite artist
communities?
RM: Yeah, I've had good experiences. Good and bad with festivals
here in Chicago. There seems to be, very much, an inside circle for
getting your work shown here in Chicago even at the "Underground
Film Festival". I've been denied to every film festival in Chicago and
even a handful of the galleries I'd previously shown work at. I don't
know why, exactly. My first answer would be that I don't personally
know these people. To them, I'm just a number, and they pack their
schedules full of people who have John Cusack in their film, or have
connections to the people involved, or have a more commercial
appeal, or come recommended from some other large institution. I
haven't really tried European festivals yet. I've heard that I might find
more acceptance there for the films I have done, so far. But, also to
a degree, how hard do you push a short film? I've kind of reached
the point where I want to go do the next thing.
LK: So where would you ideally like to be in your film making?
RM: Well, ideally right now, I'd just like to be working on
commercials and music videos, so I would not have to live month to
month and I could put money into my next film project. Nobody told
me as a filmmaker, "Look, your bread and butter is probably going
to be doing commercials."
LK: Nobody wants to admit to that.
RM: I always thought that you develop your vision, you get your film
in Sundance, and then everybody wants you, and your on your way
to making feature-length films, and you make one every five years,
and that's good enough. You budget your million or two million every
year, and life goes on. But the bread and butter seems to be doing
commercials or ad spots, and so I need to figure out how to get into
that world. Or, find some gallery that has a steady supply of rich
patrons that would pay me to do my own personally expressive
work. Which could happen, but...

For more information about Ryan Miller and Truthsculpture, visit his
website at www.truthsculpture.com.