Recording the Genius of Sound

An interview with filmmaker Peter Esmonde about his film Trimpin: the sound of invention.

by Tajuan LaBee

German born composer, inventor, sound sculptor Trimpin has been described as one of the most talented and undervalued artists in the nation. * Trimpin, who uses only his last name, has been the recipient of a 1996 Guggenheim fellowship and a 1997 MacArthur Genius grant, so it is surprising that there has been no commercial recording of his music, and that his name for most Seattle residents does not conjure up images of scuptures, like Dale Chihuly’s does.

Enter San Francisco based filmmaker, Peter Esmonde, who decided that Trimpin would be a good subject for a feature length documentary. Over the course of two years, from early 2006 to early 2008, Peter filmed Seattle native Trimpin in his workspace environment and in concert, and the outcome is Trimpin: the sound of invention, which is having it’s west coast premier at the Seattle International Film Festival in May 2009.

What made you choose Trimpin as a subject for a documentary?

I wanted to observe someone working creatively, across disciplines, with various collaborators, using multiple design methodologies and a wide range of aesthetic criteria. And I hoped to spend time with someone who – just by the nature of who they were and how they worked — challenged the aesthetic assumptions and practices of those around them.

To put it in context: this society values people on the basis of what salable commodities they produce, how famous they are, or how much they can consume. It’s a narrow and horribly pernicious way of viewing humanity. And anyone who tries to make a living as a truly creative person in that kind of society has their work cut out for them.

So, for very personal reasons, I needed to observe and learn from a highly creative person not tempted by the lures and snares of a market-driven society. I needed to witness the life and work of someone who would not trade in their creative gifts in order to become rich or famous or fashion a more readily commercial product. I had to find a creative person who not only retained the courage of their convictions, but reveled in them.

All of this led me to Trimpin.

You’ve mentioned that it took you months to shoot something resembling “passable footage.” ** Why was that and what did you learn from that process?

I wasn’t speaking about focus and exposure — or even composition. I learned that retaining a producer/director’s overview while doing the nuts-and-bolts work of a cinematographer means making a lot of compromises.

To shoot well, you need to be extraordinarily open and alert. The footage always betrays your emotional state; if you’re tired or distracted or closed off, it becomes painfully obvious on the screen. You need to continually evaluate what’s taking place around you in the context of the argument(s) you’re hoping to make in your film. Ultimately, translating that argument into mise-en-scene equals cinematography.

What type of preparation did you have to do before starting this film?

I prepared in the same way I do before every film, doing lots of research about the subject and his world– tried to appreciate Trimpin’s modernist roots in Dada and Fluxus; his connection to composers like John Cage and Conlon Nancarrow; his deep respect for free jazz, particularly the work of Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor; his ties to sculptors like Jean Tinguely; and his affinities with traditional makers of music. He is inspired by the repetitive ‘music’ that machines and automata make, too.

All that research was a prerequisite for my initial conversations with Trimpin.

What were some of the challenges you faced translating to film the experience of observing a Trimpin piece in person?

First off, I needed to determine what exactly ‘translating the experience’ meant before I could proceed with any kind of filming.

From the outset, it was clear to both Trimpin and myself that I’d never be able to reproduce the experience of being in a space with a Trimpin sound sculpture. The best I could hope for was to determine precisely what the most central audial and spatial aspects of each sculpture were, then do my level best to represent them.

Assumptions about the very nature of what I was up to – representing rather than reproducing – led me to specific choices around filmmaking process, apparatus, and personnel.

Did you find yourself working more with your sound department than in any other film you’ve done?

Having worked as a sound editor myself, I was determined to give the music in this indie documentary the kind of treatment usually reserved for commercial studio features. And for some of the professional doc folk, divvying up the work in that way seemed a bit puzzling and off-putting.

So I needed to work closely and supportively with the audio people – especially music editor Phil Perkins and sound designer Jim LeBrecht – to make sure key dialogues and exchanges took place. I wanted to make certain each of them was in a position to do their best work.

I didn’t spend any more time recording, editing, or mixing than is usual for me – but spent much more time organizing resources and teasing out everyone’s best game.

You filmed Trimpin in Seattle for two years. What was your overall experience of the Seattle art scene and how does it compare to other scenes in other major cities you’ve worked in?

I have to admit that I quickly fell in love with the arts scene here. Having worked in LA and NYC, I anticipated I’d have to make my way through labyrinths of attitude and artspeak — but I was surprised to find both artists and art professionals in Seattle and Tacoma refreshingly straightforward, generous, and wonderfully dedicated to the work at hand.

And — this being the Pacific Northwest — they generally had more physical room in which to work. So their ideas and their work seem more expansive.

Seattle is known as a big music city. Was that a factor in making this film?

Yep. Lots of people with big ears in this town – and Trimpin’s smack in the middle of it. I’d really like to say ‘thanks’ to the Seattle arts community for all the help I got on this film, so there will be a special screening of Trimpin that will happen July 1st at Experience Music Project in Seattle Center. Trimpin will be there himself. I’d like to think that some of the joy in and through music that I found in Seattle comes through in the film.

* “[Trimpin is] one of the most stimulating one-man forces in music,” Charles Amirkhanian, http://www.otherminds.org/shtml/Trimpin.shtml. “[Trimpin is] one of Seattle’s most talented and best-hidden artists,” Rock Hushka, http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/page.aspx?hid=442.

** http://www.indiewire.com/article/sxsw_interview_trimpin_director_peter_esmonde/.

Tajuan LaBee is a Seattle-based filmmaker and frequent contributor to ON SCREEN magazine.