I produce a webseries (I Am Not Infected - www.iamnotinfected.com) and work at an independent production company (Ambush Entertainment - www.ambushentertainment.com) assisting producers on feature films.
I find stories that I want to tell and get the right people together to make the vision a reality. Graphic design is also a hobby of mine. I really enjoy working with graphics both for web and motion graphics for video. Often times, whatever I happen to be working on at any given moment, will probably pass through my hands at some point or another in this more tangible manner.
I love laughing and I'm kind of a video game/tech nerd so really any joke about video games or a nod to them would definitely tip someone off that I had a creative hand in that particular project. I also LOVE food and eating. In a short series, I wrote a character who eats something crazy in all of his scenes.
You were recently screening the web series in Indianapolis last week, correct? What was that like?
Yes, we were invited to screen at a gaming convention called "Gen Con" which takes place every year in Indianapolis, IN. They also have a film section and so they invited us to screen and speak on a few panels. It was a blast! It was great to see people enjoy what I've been working so hard on for the past 2 and a half years. The show was incredibly well received. Honestly, it's the most rewarding thing I get from it. I had people come up to me that had seen the show online and really liked it -that, specifically, was like experiencing a new emotion. I was ecstatic.
| The I Am Not Infected trailer. |
What is I Am Not Infected about? How did you come to produce it?
I Am Not Infected is about 3 idiots and another idiot trying to escape Los Angeles in the zombie apocalypse. One of my best friends from college graduated and moved out to LA a year before me. While in LA, he and 2 of my other college friends came up with the idea. I moved out a few months after that, really liked the idea and the rest is history.
I Am Not Infected is about a subject that gets treated fairly grimly in George A. Romero's works, the "28 (Time Measurements) Later" franchise, etc. But I Am Not Infected joins a new tradition of humor in the zombie apocalypse scenario... what inspired the overall tones and themes of the series?
Man, that's a great question. Well, the way we always see the zombie apocalypse is from the scary side. If you watch the opening scene from 28 Weeks Later, it's terrifying. We kind of wanted to turn the genre on its side and look at it a different way, through the eyes of 4 college idiots
both as a comedy but also as a sort of social commentary.
I like to think that I don't have a big mouth and am not opinionated in a pretentious way but living in los angeles has been an eye-opener in a few ways. There's not really a usual thing I like to comment on, it's just whatever I think is outstanding at any point in time. Whatever strikes a... drum... in my heart.
I live in an awesome house with 3 of my best friends! However, I'm also a very independent person. I can find a lot to do by myself. Running and working out is up there. I love reading Engadget and anything science and technology related. I usually check out whats on Digg and I love IGN for video game stuff.
When you worked at Apple and the film vault (the Modern Video post house), did you miss your social life?
When I worked at Apple and the vault at the post production house, I really didn't have a ton of social stuff going on. If I had any free time, usually, it went to the project- I Am Not Infected. It was hard for a little bit. After a month or so, I embraced the lifestyle and would coordinate going to the gym at 2am when I got off work. I was definitely motivated. I always told myself I'd have to do things like working 2 or maybe even 3 crappy jobs before I got somewhere better. Luckily, I loved working at Apple and the post house was in the industry I wanted to work in.
Describe the finding-a-job process?
The whole job hunt process- I never really looked at it as "finding a job." I just wanted a way to make money so I could keep making films and tell stories I wanted to. I didn't really care what it was. But I did 3 unpaid internships before I was able to land a job in the entertainment industry- vault clerk at a post production house. In order to continue working on my personal projects, I worked at Apple from 8AM to 3PM then 4PM to 2AM at the post production house. I did this for about 5 months while also producing I Am Not Infected which eventually landed me a pretty sweet job at indie production company, Ambush Entertainment where I am now.
What really inspires me are other producers. I really like seeing other work. It motivates me to make my projects better than before in any and every way possible. I'm also a huge fan of Steve Jobs. While he is an executive at Pixar, his work at Apple is what really inspires me. Apple has such a special way about them. Every one of their products is better than the last, both in design and innovation. This may be a strange comparison for some, but it's what really drives me to make everything I do better than what I did before.
What are your favorite Pixar movies? Why? How do they reflect what you'd like to do?
My favorite Pixar movies? I like all of them but definitely, The Incredibles - that's actually my favorite movie. I've seen it probably 20-30 times. When I was a kid I was huge into the super-heroes, action figures and video games. The Incredibles basically touches on all of that. The action is a lot of fun, it's funny at times and the graphics and animation is beautiful.
What does a producer do? How does a producer learn to do it?
A producer is responsible for finding the project and/or story and getting it told. This means finding the right people to help make the story in such a way that the producer thinks the audience would like. In terms of learning how to produce- really, you just need to know how films get made. Making your own films definitely helps. Once you understand the process, the business and the ass-kissing, you know what stories you like and what stories you don't. Then it's just a matter of execution down the list.
What kind of stories do you like finding?
You know, for being such a computer/tech/video game nerd you'd think I'd have a huge boner for sci-fi. I don't. I like sci-fi, a lot, but I really love coming of age stories. The Sandlot, Freaks & Geeks, That 70s Show, The Wonder Years. I think growing up is a story that will never get old. Everybody, at some point will be able to relate to it and it has such potential to touch an audience in a way that most movies and TV shows don't and can't.
Why do you think people love watching coming-of-age stories? Do they enjoy watching the choices a character makes? Do they enjoy watching failure and overcoming failure? Why do we find it funny?
I think people like watching coming of age stories because almost everyone can relate. If you're a kid watching The Sandlot, you can usually relate for the obvious reason s- but if you're an adult, you relate for different reasons. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's because you love baseball.
I love The Wonder Years. I used to watch it when I was in middle school and I could relate because I was basically living that, you know? But I remember my mom liking it because it reminded her of when she was a kid.
For me, it's not so much the choices a character makes or them overcoming an obstacle so much it's about the experience they have and the adventure they go through.
What makes watching coming of age films, particularly the ones that are comedy, kind of funny? In that time of our life, we tend to take our adolescent problems and status seriously. Is retrospect part of the humor?
You are just bangin on all cylinders with these questions! This is a good one.
I think we, as a viewer, subconsciously remove ourself from the protagonist when things go bad and seeing something ridiculously bad happen to someone else can be funny. If you watch Billy Madison, every time something bad happens to Adam Sandler we detach ourselves and laugh.
Retrospect is definitely part of it.
I think that whenever we watch one of those movies we relate to a character as if we are them but when something bad happens to them we remove ourself subconsciously and laugh at them. The character isn't us anymore. We're looking at them in the third person. It's all psychological. If you watch That 70s Show- you want Eric Foreman to succeed. He's our protagonist and at least for me, the one I relate to. It's hilarious when his dad Red makes of him though and so we all laugh. It's serious for the character but I guess we enjoy watching people fall in the light setting that is comedy.
I also play drums in a band - Barbed Wire Radio. I've been playing the drums for about 14 years. I played in a punk band in high school. I just wanted to play music in front of people. So when I moved out here, I wanted to find someone to rock out with, ya know? A friend put me in contact with a guitar player, we played every week for about a year, added a bassist and now we've been playing live for 3 months.
Music is a very, very big part of my life and playing in a band is a great way for me to release certain creative energy that I can't when making a film or designing a graphic. There's just somethin' about having a couple shots of tequila, grabbing a Red Stripe and rockin' out on drums in front of a crowd of people. The shows coming up will be kind of last minute because our priority is recording right now.
What works for you to keep you motivated? What would you encourage others to bear in mind? Also, how do you find satisfaction on a regular basis while the bigger dream is still distant?
Being motivated isn't difficult for me. In fact, for most artists in this industry, I don't think it is. If I'm working on a project, usually, I have a personal connection to it and I just want to do it all the time. I just want to finish it and work on it. It's mine.
How do I stay satisfied until the dream is real? No matter what anyone does, there's always something that can be done better whether it's the entire project or parts of it and so even if I won the lotto and could make a 100 million dollar film, I'm sure that there would still be things about it I wish I'd done better. So I try to focus on certain things. That's not to say I neglect other aspects of my projects - not at all.
I'm a perfectionist who's accepted that nothing's perfect. So for the things I work on now, I do the best I can in the time I'm given with the money I have.
What are some ways we can see your work?
You can check out my webseries at iamnotinfected.com, and you can check it out on youtube - www.youtube.com/iamnotinfected. You can check out Ambush Entertainment's website - ambushentertainment.com. You can also follow me on twitter - @deanmozian, and my personal website - http://www.deanmozian.com, which needs a serious overhaul!
When should we check back in on you?
Probably in a couple of months. You should check back in late September, early October. We're currently crewing up to shoot the finale of the show!
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| "Greenlit" website, with The River Why's Zach Gilford (Dare, Friday Night Lights). http://www.greenlit.org/ Designed by Dean. |
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| The Super website, a new film from Ambush Entertainment starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, and Kevin Bacon. Dean also designed this site. http://www.thecrimsonbolt.com/ |
To see more episodes of I Am Not Infected, go to IAmNotInfected.com.
Wow, Dean, I had no idea you were involved in so many projects, way to go! Overall a very well rounded interview that shows many sides of the artist.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the perspectives on nostalgia (in how we relate to movies) and on being passionate about what you are doing. Looking forward to checking out the I am Not Infected webseries.
i really relate to the comment about finding a job. i feel the same way sometimes, where it doesn't matter where i work just as long as i can make money to fuel my art. that is the most important thing to me as well.
ReplyDeletethe interview really got across the mega amounts of energy dean has! my goodness, band, video, graphic design. that is awesome to try on so many hats!
great read! :)