ISFFH Q & A with Director Tyson Breuer
Tyson Breuer won Best Drama for his film “Three Small Words” in the 2012 International Student Film Festival Hollywood (ISFFH) and we had the opportunity to have a Q & A interview with him recently and learn some more about him and where he got the inspiration for his film.
ISFFH: Tell us about yourself and what drives your creativity.
Tyson Breuer: I grew up in Southwestern Ontario. I always played with Star Wars action figures and watched movies and TV as a little kid I wanted to be an astronaut. It was probably because of Apollo 13 which I knew almost word for word. But for the most part I was always playing. I was a good student in elementary school and high school. I realized being an astronaut was probably unlikely and I didn’t know what I wanted to do – so my parents suggested I go into engineering. I applied – and got in to the school and program I wanted to go to. In the summer before university I was diagnosed with cancer and had to defer my acceptance a year so that I could go through chemo and radiation. After I was well again my parents told me to do what I loved – which was watching movies. I applied to Ryerson’s Film Studies program and didn’t get in. So I enrolled in the night classes and did well in the courses and was nominated for an award for a film I made while studying there. I reapplied to Ryerson and got into the undergrad program. While studying at Ryerson I began working in the commercial world as well as doc/reality/lifestyle TV. I was able to participate on an exchange to the Baden-Wurrtemburg Filmakademie in Ludwigsburg Germany where I made a short film. I was told by fellow students although never officially that I was the only exchange student to have made a completed short while on exchange. When I returned to Ryerson I made Three Small Words and it has played at numerous festivals all over North America and Europe.
My hope is that I make things that I feel a drive or need to make. I always have a burning desire to do a project like Three Small Words and once it’s done – it’s done. And by that I mean I’ve abandoned it. No project is ever done but it gets to a point when you have to just say ok – on to the next one. So I would say that I am driven to make projects I have a great desire to make. I also have a fairly competitive side which helped me hone my skills in film school.
ISFFH: Where do you find inspiration?
Tyson Breuer: I walk a lot in Toronto and depending on my mood will listen to music or not. I find that while I am walking around it give me time to think and daydream about stuff and put together ideas for my creative projects. I generally find inspiration in things I read or try to keep up on current events and from that I daydream and try and come up with things I would want to watch.
ISFFH: Who are your mentors?
Tyson Breuer: Before I got into film school I became friends with Jonathan London and Dan Trachtenberg and have always pitched my projects to them and received notes on my stuff. I respect their opinions deeply. Then while I was at school I met a few professors in my program that have been very influential in what I have done and what I am currently doing. Adam Till, James Warrack and Brian Damude were all mentors at Ryerson who helped me develop and learn at school.
ISFFH: Tell us about your film and where you got the idea for it.
Tyson Breuer: Three Small Words came about after studying at the Filmakademie. I had fallen in love or some deluded form of infatuation with a girl and she kind of changed my view on a lot of things – but we were never a couple. It was a really weird relationship that ended with her telling me she had been seeing a really good friend of mine for the entire time that I was perusing her. And then the next day I moved to Germany. So my whole world collapsed. I could have taken to writing really bad love poetry and sad sap music but instead I drank heavily and partied really hard. And then kind of in the aftermath of that I starting working on an idea for a film that was all told in a one take. And that the film would take place in his imagination and that each set would be destructible and I wanted to do it all practically. I was hell bend on each of those elements. Slowly I was shown a different path and that turned out to be the film that was eventually made.
ISFFH: Who is the audience you wrote the film for?
Tyson Breuer: I think the film is for everyone who has fallen in love. The film was shown to our Sound Designer in the hopes he would work on the project and he said he agreed to it because it reminded him of when he was a teenager and the first time he kissed his girlfriend.
ISFFH: What do you consider the elements of a good film?
Tyson Breuer: For me a film needs to have great characters or a character you can relate to. You may not be able to relate to a character but you need to have empathy towards them. A film can have a great setting and it can have the biggest budget in the world but if I can’t empathize with them or if they don’t go on a journey – why would I commit my time to watching them?
ISFFH: What advice do you have for fellow student filmmakers?
Tyson Breuer: My advice to student filmmakers would be to spend more time on the script. I saw a film shot on a cell phone at TIFF. And this was a few years ago so it wasn’t shot in HD either – I think it was shot on a RAZR or something. No production and it still made it to a major international film festival. I would also say shop around when it comes to rentals outside of schools and when you find a vendor that gives you a great deal – always go back to them. Build a relationship as best you can. And if you don’t have a lot of money offer to put their logo in the credits at the end. Finally I would say make the most out of school while you’re there. Always be writing something. 4 pages a day or 4 hours – most days will be 4 hours before 4 pages. Bust your ass in school – because there are countless others who are busting there ass in another school and all those schools have graduates who are trying to do what you’re doing. Finally – send out your films to festivals. If no one sees it why did you make it?
ISFFH: What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Tyson Breuer: In the next 5 years I would like to have made a feature (or be making a feature). It’s ambitious but when you look at all the great directors they’ve all made films by 30. So the clock is ticking. I would also like to be working on commercials simultaneously. They are similar but two very distinct mediums and I like the opportunities and challenges of each. In 10 years… I want to be doing that but with 5 years experience under my belt. I guess…
ISFFH: How can people follow your work?
People can follow my stuff on my website www.tysonbreuer.com, www.vimeo.com/tysonbreuer and https://twitter.com/tysonbreuer.
Hollywood is the capital city of the entertainment world. The International Student Film Festival Hollywood is the only film festival that embraces all ages from around the world, offering students the unique opportunity to gain the recognition of film industry leaders creating career development opportunities in their home countries as well as the United States. The opportunities provided by the ISFFH not only benefit the students, but the world community by bringing together people of diverse cultures and differing viewpoints.
The International Student Film Festival Hollywood is now accepting submissions for its 11th annual Film and Video Competition. The Festival will be held in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA USA October 26 – 27, 2013. The competition is open to students of all ages and academic backgrounds. Submission deadline is August 15, 2013. More information and entry forms are available on the festival website www.isffhollywood.org. You can also find us on facebook www.facebook.com/ISFFHollywood.