People often ask what we look for in a Staff Pick film. The formula is pretty simple: we seek videos that are exceptional in concept, craft, execution, and originality. While the criteria never changes, the films that check these boxes — and subsequently land on the front page in the Vimeo Staff Picks channel — always come from different perspectives, and from filmmakers with different artistic backgrounds. Daniel Cloud Campos and Spencer Susser’s ‘Shiny’ is a phenomenal example of two distinct art forms unifying. Daniel’s dance experience is extensive, having performed with Madonna, choreographed for people like Michael Jackson, and won the Dancer of the Year award in 2012. When he paired up with director Spencer Susser, who has a memorable track record in short film, music video, and feature film, the results were spectacular. We sat down to chat with Daniel about collaborating, how dance can inform filmmaking decisions, and the agony and ecstasy of stop-motion filmmaking.
Daniel, you and Spencer share impressive film careers, having both directed a number of short films and music videos (as well as a feature, in Spencer’s case, with his 2011 film Hesher). Where did the desire to work on a project like ‘Shiny’ come from? Was it just for fun, or a proof of concept for something down the road?
Spencer and I worked on a few other projects before ‘Shiny.’ Hesher was the first film I saw of Spencer’s, and I became a huge fan and thought I could learn so much from him. He ended up producing one of my shorts, ‘Today’s The Day,’ and from there we just became good friends that supported and helped out on each other’s projects. Eventually we just started making things together, and before ‘Shiny,’ Spencer had asked me to do a project with him that involved stop motion.
I’ve been a fan of animation since I was a kid making flip books in the bottom corner of all my textbooks. We spent four days animating on this project, with a total of about six hours of sleep [per] day. By the end we were so delirious that I started to see my hands animating in stop motion when I moved them! And after all that work, that project never saw the light of day. The company we were making it for decided to can it. We were devastated.
So I had another stop-motion idea that I made a proof of concept for on my living room floor. It was an outfit from my wardrobe laid out on the floor performing a dance routine to Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal.’ I was about to post it on Instagram, but before I did I sent it to my wife and she encouraged me not to, and instead make a short film out of it. So I contacted Spencer about doing it with me and since we were both still recovering from the heartbreaking tragedy of the last project, we both went into it with the drive and determination to make something for ourselves. Thus, ‘Shiny’ was born.
From a viewer’s perspective, ‘Shiny’ seems like a natural blend of both your and Spencer’s styles: Spencer’s brought inanimate objects to life in his classic Snapple and Johnnie Walker commercials, and you come with an extensive dance background. How does directing a film with someone else compare to directing alone? Do you have a preference?
Spencer and I are both independent directors with strong opinions and visions. We have very different voices. But when the project is right, [and there’s a] rare moment for two artists to come together and bring something that the other wouldn’t think of, it’s always magic. What helped us the most is that we had no script, no story, no plan for anything. It was completely open, which allowed us to create it together from scratch as we animated. All the way up to the eighth day of animation, we were completely winging it.
Once we knew what the story was, that’s when our own opinions started to come in, which caused debate on whose idea was better. But there was never any ego in our debates. It was all for the integrity of the film, and we both easily admitted when the other had the better idea and we moved on. So, all in all, it was a pretty smooth workflow, at least from my point of view. I definitely prefer working alone, but I would work with Spencer on anything. He’s a master filmmaker and I always learn something valuable from him.
I have to admit, I did some serious Googling and got sucked down a rabbit hole watching Spencer’s older music videos and your older dance clips. When did you start making the transition from dance to film? How did that come about?
I was 18 when that happened. I started dancing when I was 11, and at first, I was just discovering this whole world of movement and expression. But I always felt that I found dance for a much bigger purpose than just to dance. I wasn’t a very talkative kid growing up, but I had so much to say in my head. I wasn’t great at expressing myself through words and I grew a big insecurity about it, which is why I gravitated to art and drawing.
When I discovered dance, I felt that I found something that could help me express who I was. After years of exploring movement, I wasn’t fulfilled anymore [and] I wanted to take it further. I filmed myself dancing one day, and as I was looking at it through the perspective of a video camera, I naturally saw different angles to shoot it from and knew how they would cut together without knowing anything about editing. It was just playing out in my head like a movie.
I shot all the angles I had in my head and learned how to use iMovie, and I pieced it all together, and I was right. So I listened to my gut and found another tool to help me continue my journey of expressing myself and telling my stories.
How do you see your background in dance informing your filmmaking process?
Dance [offers] a big advantage in making films. Beats, timing, music, and movement have a huge part to play in film. As a dancer, I experience all of that. I connect with music emotionally. It’s what moves me and makes me feel. So if ever I need to capture emotion through music in a scene, I have a good understanding of the feeling I’m looking for when I hear it.
Same when it comes to timing in the editing process. Dance is all about timing. When I edit, I’m naturally editing to a tempo that I feel the scene is in. If it’s a high-energy scene, the tempo is at a faster rate. If it’s emotional and sad, the tempo is much lower. When it comes to camera movement well, I’m sure you can see through my work that the camera dances with the subject like a dance partner.
What was the process behind bringing clothes to life and having them mirror your movements?
I would act out the scenes of each part cause I was doing all the animation for the clothes, and Spencer did all the special FX animation, like the vomit, blood, guts, etc. So I had to feel it in my body first and then try to place it into the clothes. And I was pretty detailed with every body part, like the shoulders, hips, and the momentum of each body part, especially in the fight scenes. Again, being a dancer gives you that advantage.
What were some of the more technically difficult sequences to capture? Is there any stop-motion wisdom you took away that you’d like to impart on the Vimeo community?
The tedious moments took a long time, [like] the wind blowing through the hero girl’s dress and the slow-motion bits. The diamond flying up was another challenge, but for me, it was keeping track of all the timing of that fight scene. When another person would run into frame, [I had to consider] the number of steps he had to take to get to our hero, what speed he’d run to make it on time to get kicked in the chest, who was in the foreground and background. What I would say about timing things out is to watch playback as much as possible before moving on, and just feel when the moment is right and not.
You’re currently signed with Doomsday for music videos, have a proven track record of funding films through sites like Kickstarter, and you’ve amassed a large following for work that you release online for free. Spencer has a stack of revered short films, music videos, commercial work, and a feature film credited to his name, and you both just had ‘Shiny’ play at festivals like Sundance, SXSW and Tropfest. What’s your perspective on juggling all the various forms of financing films and getting them seen? To be successful, do you think you need to be open to doing it all?
The only thing you can do is do your best at what you are most passionate about, and let it go. Move on to the next thing. If something comes out of it then that’s a bonus. There is no guarantee to success, and doing anything with expectations, I always find, leads to disappointment 90% of the time. Whenever I do anything with no expectations I always create the work I’m most proud of. This is just my process and what I try to tell myself before any project I do, ‘Don’t overthink, over-prep or search for perfection because perfection limits you to that one perfect way you see it in your head.’
With that in mind, what’s next for you?
I have a few projects in the works that are more long-term: a feature that I’ve been working on, and Spencer and I have had talks about possibly exploring ‘Shiny’ as a feature! But the main focus at the moment is making a music album. Writing songs and singing has been a passion of mine for a long time that I pushed away for far too long. So I’m finally committing this year to make my first album.
