How did you discover the Outdoorsmen?

An actor I’ve cast in a few of my other films went to high school with a few of the guys in the movie. He’s a pretty beefy guy, short, but beefy, and a few years ago one of the Outdoorsmen tried to recruit him. Probably because he thought my friend’s beefiness would translate perfectly into their competition. Instead, I think it translated into sheer and utter fear of possibly breaking his bones or dying of alcohol poisoning. Whatever reasons he had, he finally decided he did NOT want to compete… but he did think it would make a good documentary. He told me about it and I jumped on it.

Why did you decide to do this as your first documentary?

I’m really a narrative guy. I did not want to do a documentary at all. BECAUSE DOCUMENTARIES ARE BORING AND DEPRESSING… aren’t they? (insert laugh here) At least that is the popular stigma. But the events and the guys involved in The Outdoorsmen sounded so compelling and hysterical to me, I just kept imagining the movie in my head, and it was hilarious. I was hearing about events like the BLIND MAN’S BEER, and DEATH RACE 3000, guys named Jonny Love and Eastside Hair. I couldn’t pass it up. And we did shoot the whole movie like it was a narrative film. I really concentrated on composition and style, scoring and such. I planned and plotted relentlessly with my DP, Alex Naufel, to give each event and all the characters in the film their own look and feel. We did some great sound design to really heighten that feeling of actually being there. Stuff that film nerds like myself really get off on in a big way. And sadly, most of that stuff is what I feel gets neglected in a lot of documentaries. There are a lot of documentary filmmakers and critics out there that feel like scoring a documentary is an unforgivable sin. I don’t share that view. Regardless of whether or not you’re shooting a narrative or documentary, you’re still shooting a FILM. If scoring, or filming style/language, helps tell the story, why the hell wouldn’t you utilize those tools? I try to make the best movie possible every time I make one, and to do that I really think you have to pay attention to every aspect of what actually makes a great film great.

Was it hard to get funding for the film? Did you have to dig deep to get it made?

Normally, I would say that funding is definitely the hardest aspect of making a movie. The Outdoorsmen was an odd exception to this. Basically, I met a producer who had seen some of the short films I did and wanted to find a project we could work on together. I told him about the Outdoorsmen and he pitched it to the Executive Producer of a short film he had just finished. A month later we were in production. It really was that simple. I wish that all my productions could get off the ground that easily. Though post wasn’t so easy, but that’s another story.

The super 8 footage made these crazy events seem poetic and timeless. Where did the idea come from to use super 8?

I love Super 8 film. I would make out with it if I could. That’s how kinky I am for Super 8. I always feel like I have a connection to whatever it is I’m watching when it’s shot on Super 8. It creates instant nostalgia. And shooting it in slow motion adds that poetic touch, like you’re watching a memory. I really wanted to capture that feeling. These guys have been doing this for 15 years and it really is a big part of their history. They take it seriously and I felt the Super 8 would really help convey that. Plus, watching a guy surrounded by the beauty of Mother Nature as he hurls the 2 beers he just chugged in 15 seconds is truly one of the most exquisite things you will ever witness on Super 8.

What were some of your biggest challenges with production?

SLEEPING. I slept about 10 hours over 10 days. That was crazy. There were 12 of these guys to follow in a very short amount of time. We would wake up around 6AM, go from town to town and guy to guy, interview their wives and friends, go to bonfires and parties with them, and then get in about 3 or 4AM. And that was all before we got out to the actual competition. When we finally stopped shooting I passed out for 12 hours.

I’d say staying ahead of the guys was the biggest challenge as far as shooting goes. There was no way they were going to wait for us and we had to get everything on film. It was a lot of figuring out what the events were, where they were, and how many people we needed to shoot each event, and how many we could send ahead to set up for the next one.

What format did you shoot? What challenges did you encounter with this format?

We shot mainly on the Panasonic DVX 100A. There was also the Super 8, which I believe was an old Bolex camera. And finally, we had a couple of the cheaper Panasonic Mini-DV cameras we referred to as the Disposable-Cams. We used those for the low angle shots, below the guys, during most of their high speed beer chugging. They got drenched in beer and mud… and then we returned them to Costco. HOORAY FOR INDEPENDENT FILM!

Didn’t really have any challenges with the formats. They were perfect for what we were doing. We had to move fast and the DVX cameras are extremely lightweight and easy to haul around. And the 24p looks great. The Super 8 camera wasn’t exactly in the best shape and you had to guess how much film you had shot because the indicator was broken. There are a few fantastic shots I missed because I was rolling with an empty mag.

Covering everything in the competition was the real issue. Since this was a one-shot deal and the events spread over huge areas of land with things happening in multiple locations, we had to have the biggest small crew possible. The crew breakdown was this:

4 DVX 100A Cameras
Alex Naufel (DP) A CAMERA
Jonathan Wenstrup B CAMERA
Roy X or myself C CAMERA
Locked off shot D CAMERA

SUPER 8
I had the Super 8 camera in a hip holster.

DISPOSABLE CAMERAS
Locked off in specific areas to capture the in betweens and any shot that beer could possible drown the camera.

SOUND
All wireless setups.

A CAMERA: Left Channel was a lav mic on Kevin Brady (scorekeeper) and Right channel was boomed by our production sound master, Travis Jordan.

B CAMERA: Left Channel was a lav mic on Sky Bryner (timekeeper) and Right channel was our 2nd boom operator. All other cameras used the built in camera mics.

LOGISTICS:
We tried to have all 4 DVX and Disposable cameras running for every event and Alex or myself would shoot Super 8 footage whenever inspiration struck. There were a few really involved events that we had to send crew to setup Cameras for while other events were being shot. The best example of this situation was the Blind Man’s Beer and Beer to River Run section of the film.

BLIND MAN’S BEER and BEER TO RIVER RUN:
We setup the locked off overhead shot with D CAMERA. Alex operated A CAMERA and I operated C CAMERA. This was the minimum setup we could use to properly cover this event. While we shot Blind Man’s Beer, everyone else went to setup for the Beer to River Run. B CAMERA and his Boom operator crossed the river and got situated while our Gaffer, Ralph Walters, and a few of our PAs setup the CABLE-CAMERA rig. Ralph built a cable-camera system (for about $200) that stretched across 120 feet of rapids, and it gives the event an “In the shit” look that I am absolutely in love with… I do a lot more than make out with this one. I basically told Ralph I wanted to feel like I was in the middle of a war-zone and he more than delivered. As soon as the Blind Man’s Beer was over, PAs rushed D CAMERA to the Beer to River Run location for the cable-cam shots and Alex and I shot all the in between stuff. It was ridiculously hectic but is one of my favorite sections of the film. The next event was the DEAD MAN’S CARRY and we only had time to get A CAMERA there for the first team’s run. This was a wonderful bit of bad luck because I love the fact that their run is all one continuous shot and had I had other cameras to cut to I might have broken it up from the start. I really think having it all in one shot really sets up the event the best way possible. As a matter of fact, anytime there was a problem getting all the cameras rolling at the same time, we ended up with some of my favorite moments in the film. Luck was not only on our side, it was giving us full body massages… “Happy Endings” included!

Did you participate in any of the events yourself?

I did test most of the events for camera, like running through the river, tossing the log, rolling around in the mud… unless what you’re really trying to ask me is whether or not I drank a shitload of beer while shooting this movie? What kind of a filmmaker do you take me for? The answer is NO. I did not drink beer while we shot… but kinda yes, just a little bit.

Basically, Saturday night after the competition was over, The Outdoorsmen told the crew and I we had to hang out with them and have a beer. That turned into me doing The Ironman 3 times, followed by endless beer chugging contests between The Outdoorsmen and my crew until about 4 in the morning. Of course, we were still up at 6AM to shoot them Sunday morning. Did I already say Hooray for Independent Film?

For those of you who don’t know, The Ironman is a 6 Beer-Beer Chug. Two people face off and each chug 3 beers as fast as they can. Don’t ask me how fast mine was. I was drunk by the time the 3rd beer hit my belly. For the record, my Gaffer and I polished off 2 cases of Bud between the two of us. Not too shabby. I always find that filming a bunch of guys in the woods is much more enjoyable when you spend the first 10 minutes of your day throwing up bile.

What’s the one event you would have the hardest time with?

I come from a long line of beer-chuggers and alcoholics so I could hold my own on that side of things. It’s really the combination of the beer with the physical challenges that makes the whole thing such a tough competition. I’d say I’d probably have the most trouble with the Log Toss. That thing weighs 80 pounds. I got skinny little filmmaker arms. And honestly, unless you’ve actually done the competition, it’s like nothing you can imagine. So many people have come up and talked all kinds of shit about how they would rule if they competed and how they could beat all the guys in the movie. These are the same guys who suffer the most when they actually get out there and have to deliver on all the promises their mouths made. One of the toughest guys in the movie breaks his ankle in one of the events for Christ’s sake. It ain’t as easy as it looks, and it is definitely a lot harder than you would ever expect.

How did you go about finding a composer for the film?

Mike Daly scored most of the movie, and yes ladies… he’s single. I met him on my first short film, Side Effects. Oddly enough, he was the negative cutter on that picture. We became friends and found out we were both musicians. We scored my next short film, 008, together and have pretty much worked with each other ever since then. The other composer I used was Sherene Strausberg, who I met at a screening of Side Effects where she gave me a demo CD of her work. Her orchestral pieces are fantastic and she really rounded out the music in the film. And finally, I ended up scoring a few scenes with my sound designer, William Tabanou. He is a great musician and really knows how to think of music with his film-brain.

How did you go about finding music?

I wanted to have a lot of rock music from the late 80’s, when most of the guys in the movie were in high school. I tried to get a lot of songs that were just way out of our budget. From Black Sabbath to GNR, that stuff ain’t cheap. The cheapest quote we got from any label was $20,000, and that was for using 30 seconds of one song. And that was just for use of the master recording. So, we went to artists directly and got them to record or re-record songs for the film. Since most artists keep their publishing rights we ended up making deals with them directly for publishing and master recordings of their songs. Stephen Pearcy, lead singer of RATT, re-recorded Lay it Down, Round and Round, and Way Cool Jr. for the film. I think a couple of the re-records sound better than the originals. And the music works perfectly in the movie.

I also used a lot of my favorite classical pieces that feel as if they were written for the movie. I don’t know if Bach, Beethoven, or Rossini were big beer chuggers, but watching the film with their compositions falling perfectly in place makes me think I would have had a hell of a time partying with those dudes.

How was the process of making original music?

Indulge me here. I am going to give the musicians their due. I think music is such and integral part of filmmaking and all too often not enough praise is given to the composers and bands that help create that music. Especially when it is music that is written for a specific film, which was the case for most of the music in The Outdoorsmen. So, here’s an artist by artist breakdown.

RHINO BUCKET –
I really wanted a kick ass title track for the film and ended up getting 2 of them. At one point, I was trying to get a song by Kix to use for one of the events. They were huge from ‘89 until Nirvana and the Grunge music scene wiped out all the hair bands from that era. I got in touch with Kix’s guitarist, Brian Forsythe (also a personal guitar-idol of mine) and he told me about his other band, Rhino Bucket. They owned their publishing and had their own master recordings… unlike Kix. And, in a beautiful twist of fate, Rhino Bucket is a favorite band of SRV, one of the guys in the movie.

I met with Brian and the lead singer, Georg Dolivo, and gave them a few sections of the movie to watch. Georg fell in love with it and I told him I would love it if they would write a track with the title Blood, Sweat, & Beers. He pulled quotes from the movie and wrote out the basic track with the band. I went in with them for a rehearsal session and mapped out all the sections of the song and how it would play in the film. It ended up being written in a way that is kind of a mixture of scoring and needle drop. I also got them to do an acoustic version of one of their songs, I Was Told, that was perfect for the film, both in style and theme. They were so happy with the way the tracks sounded that they recorded 3 more instrumental tracks for the movie, one of which I used as SRV’s theme song. And Rhino Bucket ended up going into the studio to record their first full-length album in over 12 years. It’s called And Then It Got Ugly and it rocks. That’s Outdoorsmen inspiration at its best.

MIKE DALY –
Title track 2 was The Outdoorsmen by Mike Daly. He knocked this one out of the park. It’s a punky, poppy rock track and is the perfect closer for the film. He also incorporated parts of the movie into the lyrics and it really gives the song an extra personal touch. For scoring, I gave him interview segments of the film to come up with themes for the different characters in the movie and he built the pieces from there. The instrumental theme is one of my favorite tracks and is used in several places throughout the film. I told him I wanted something that Ennio Morricone would have written. When it was done we titled it Murray Cohen… a hats off homage to one of the greatest film composers in history.

Once he had all the tracks written we went into the studio and laid everything down. I played bass and drums on the tracks that needed it and he did everything else. Those are the tracks that are credited to MD- SAP. We also had a great upright bass player, Evan Calbi, come in to lay down some of the more swingin’ grooves, which really gave a cool jazzy/downhome feel to those tracks. Mike and I sing the vocal parts of Murray Cohen and he does all the vocals on The Outdoorsmen title track. I am in love with every piece of music he wrote. He wrote so much music there are at least 3 tracks that we couldn’t fit in the movie. I’m going to try and put those on the soundtrack as Bonus Tracks.

SHERENE STRAUSERG –
I gave Sherene edited sections of the film and told her the style I wanted. Then she went to work and cranked out magic. The Egg Toss is one of my favorite waltzes I’ve ever heard. I had her do an orchestral version of Murray Cohen and combined it with a stripped down version of the Mike Daly track that I used to score/needle drop the Death Race 3000. She did a great Chariots of Fire-esque piece and a brassy, ballsy composition for the Log Run. She really understands classical music and instrumentation more than most composers I’ve worked with.

TRIO GONZALO –
I love these guys. The guitarist is the living pulse of Django Reinhardt. I use one of their tracks as the theme for Joe Ollom and Tom Waldal. It just adds to the comedy of their scenes in the film. I used another track just before the Ironman that really sets the tone for the finale. The guys are running on fumes at this point and it’s all on the line in these last moments of the competition.

CARL GERSHON –
Carl was a little added bonus. He was the Executive Producer’s buddy who, I discovered, is an amazing guitarist. I gave him a couple of themes and styles to build off of and he came up with two of my favorite pieces in the film. Beautiful Hangover, aptly titled, during the WB’s turn in Blind Man’s Beer, and Beers and Bros, also aptly titled, during the first section of The Ironman. Beautiful Hangover actually makes me feel drunk when I listen to it. It sounds like a Led Zeppelin track that was recorded an hour after Jimmy Page dropped acid, ate mushrooms, and drank a bottle of absinthe.

SAP AND WILLIAM TABANOU –
This was totally old school film scoring. I had two sections of the film, the Tug of War and the Ironman Finale that I wanted to score entirely to picture. We took a break from sound design one afternoon and I jumped behind the drum kit. Will rolled the Tug of War and I played live to picture. We rolled again and I laid down the bass track. We rolled again and Will laid down the guitar. We quoted sections of Murray Cohen throughout the piece to keep that theme strong. It’s a point of the film where the guys are so exhausted and the competition is relentless with tiebreakers and bodies being dragged across gravel. The music in this section helps to beat the hell out of them. We recorded the same way for the Ironman finale. Will is an incredible musician who just happened to be my sound designer, another lucky twist of fate. Finally, we did an old school 808 drum kit remix of Murray Cohen, which closes the film and uses samples of Tom Waldal’s patented “wookie” hurling sound.

Having music written to picture really makes a huge difference. Each piece becomes so connected to the film, it just makes everything you see and hear feel like one organic mass. I’m currently putting together a soundtrack that will be available as a digital download and on CD. The release date will coincide with the official Release of the DVD in October.

What was one of the biggest lessons you learned with your
first feature?

You can never have too many Plan Bs.

How was post production? Any problems during editing?

Post Production was rough. To put in into a tasty little nutshell, we lost our editor right out of the gate. That was something that none of my producers or myself had planned for, which translated into me editing on my own until they could hire a new editor. So I started putting the film together the way I saw it. After 2 months of editing 16 to 20 hour days I had a full cranial meltdown and realized I couldn’t continue to do both jobs, directing and editing. I needed fresh eyes and I needed to focus on directing the movie. In scripted narrative it’s much easier to edit and direct because you basically know where all the pieces go, though I do still prefer to work with a kickass editor. To really be able to direct a documentary the right way I think you have to have an editor who is really good with story. We finally found an editor who fit the bill and 6 weeks later had the final cut of the film.

On the bright side of things, by the time we got to the sound design and color correction stages we hired people who were a little over what was originally budgeted, but were clearly the best picks for the jobs. William Tabanou (sound design) and Faust Pierfederici (colorist) are incredible talents and I highly suggest them to anyone looking to fill these positions.

What would you like audiences to take away from
“The Outdoorsmen”?

Laughter. That and the burning desire to call up old childhood/high school friends and revel in the memories of those days. After every screening I’ve had people come up to me and tell me how much they loved the film and how it makes them want to track down all their old buddies… how they wish they had stayed in touch with them. And it’s not only guys who feel this way. Women have the same reaction. There’s a group of girls in Alaska who loved the movie so much they started their own women only event. They just had their first annual Broads, Sweat, & Beers competition. They’re all in their early 20s and they know that over the next 10 years their lives will take separate paths. This is a way for them to stay in touch at least once a year, and to keep those friendships alive.

I really want everyone who watches the film to feel the way I did through the experience of making the movie. You travel to Everett, Washington and make 10 new friends. Then you go out into the woods with these new friends and hang out with them for their top-secret weekend. You feel like you are really there with the guys as they reunite, drink, laugh, and compete in a truly unique event that was born out of those formative high school years.

Honestly, if you want to have a great night, call up your closest friends and have them call up their closest friends. Gather at someone’s house with 20 or 30 of these friends and crack open a beer (drink of choice) as you all sit down to enjoy a screening of The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat, & Beers. For added flare, screen the movie outside in your backyard. I guarantee you will laugh your asses off and feel closer to everyone in attendance than you ever have. And be prepared for impromptu rounds of Blind Man’s Beer and the Dead Man’s Carry to break out. People you’ve never seen drink alcohol will suddenly be stepping up to chug beers. And the next day, half of the people there will call up old friends they’ve lost touch with over the years.

Another wonderful thing that’s happened, that I hope will continue at least through the next millennium, is people sending the DVD to their friends and parents. I’ve had at least 20 people contact me through Myspace and tell me they bought the DVD for their father or siblings and how much they loved it. That’s another great thing about the movie. There’s no real age limit for enjoying it. If you’ve ever had friends or ever drank beer you’re pretty much in the demographic for the film. Sure, Grandma Noonie might not be so hot on the scenes where the guys hurl the 3 beers they just downed in 15 seconds, but she’ll love the guys in the movie. She’ll remember the men she dated back in the day that remind her of The Outdoorsmen, and she’ll feel a connection of sisterhood with their wives. How do I know this? My own grandmother, 82 years young, has had screenings of the film with her bridge club. The youngest lady in the group is 68. They’ve seen the film 3 times as a group and have bought DVDs for their children and grandchildren. That makes me happy beyond anything I could have imagined. And it makes me want to show up at the next bridge club session with a case of beer and a t-shirt that says BRING IT ON!

What’s next for Scott Allen Perry?

I want to make more movies! I just finished a narrative screenplay based on the Outdoorsmen. It’s like Caddyshack and Animal House meets Old School. Imagine Jack Black and Vince Vaughn leading a group of guys like those in the documentary. It’s a comedy classic waiting to happen. I’m also working on the new Outdoorsmen website that will have a weekly Blog with topics like How To Chug A Beer, a video podcast section, and an online store for all things Outdoorsmen; DVD’s, T-shirts, autographed merchandise, OD Movie Soundtracks, etc.

I’m looking for a good producer. I have several scripts ready to go, and I have no problem directing other writer’s work. I just need to find a good producer who shares the same love of film as I do and really believes in my work. I want to make good movies, and that means no limits as far as genre goes. Just good old fashion good movies.

Other than that, I’m looking for representation. I am free and clear and ready to jump into the fire-pit known as Hollywood. The Outdoorsmen premiered on Spike TV Superbowl weekend back in February and it hits DVD shelves in Target, Best Buy, and your local Video Stores this October. It’s already available on Amazon.com and has been hovering in the top 10,000 DVDs there since May. I’d say I’m ripe for some badass manager, agent, or lawyer who wants to get a piece of that Hollywood pie I am more than capable of making.

What advice would you give to new filmmakers out there working on their first documentary?

Find a subject you connect with, then make the best movie you can. Documentaries don’t all have to be about genocide and murder and sex crimes. But hell, if that’s what floats your boat, make it! They also don’t all have to look like they were shot by a 3 year old. I really feel more people would see documentaries if they were shot better. And it doesn’t take much effort to do that. Look at Spellbound and Brother’s Keeper. Simple creative choices regarding how to shoot things really make a huge difference. Try to make a movie you love. I honestly love The Outdoorsmen for many of the things people told me I couldn’t do. Color correction was a big one that was met with shock and offence. Just do what suits your vision for your film. As long as you’re not twisting truths and skewing reality, then calling it a documentary, go for it. Every decision I made in The Outdoorsmen was to better document and convey what was happening in the film. You’re making a movie. Kick ass in all the departments that make movies unlike any other art form that’s out there. It’s sound and vision, and you have all the tools to capitalize on every aspect of that, from shooting, to editing, to every sound you hear and every frame you see. In the words of Outdoorsmen Tom Waldal… “It’s about nuttin’ up!”