Interview: James Stewart – Foxed!

The implementation of stereoscopic 3-D in film is still a relatively new concept. It’s a polarizing subject, with most casual moviegoers having no problem throwing wads of cash at major studios for the chance to put on the infamously un-hip glasses, while most hardcore cinephiles denounce the technique as a distracting, gimmicky blotch on the history of cinema. 3-D movies have been hugely lucrative for major studios, but most 3-D films we see today are cash-grabs that abuse the technique so egregiously that it’s given 3-D a bad name. Even if there is a place for 3-D cinema in the mainstream marketplace, the technique certainly doesn’t belong in the world of micro-budget independent filmmaking…does it? How about classic films? Could Citizen Kane benefit from the 3-D treatment?

Hoping to find the answer to that (incredibly loaded) question, I thought I would speak with James Stewart (no, not that James Stewart, silly) to see if he could enlighten me. If you want to learn about 3-D cinema, Mr. Stewart is the guy to talk to. He is the co-director and producer of Foxed!, an enchanting independent short film shot in stereoscopic 3-D that played at this year’s SF Indiefest. He is also a pioneer in the world of 3-D cinema. As the head of Geneva Film Co., one of the most active 3-D film companies in the world, he is one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject.

Stewart’s answers to my questions were always fascinating, sometimes shocking. He flies the 3-D flag proudly, and some of his answers are sure to ruffle the feathers of cinema traditionalists. It was a wonderful conversation that provided an intriguing look into the future of 3-D cinema. Am I convinced that 3-D should be used in all films? No, I can’t say that I am. BUT, while I used to think that 3-D had absolutely no place in the world of independent film, my mind has certainly been changed, thanks to Stewart’s insight and his amazing work onFoxed! and Werner Herzog’s unbelievable Cave of Forgotten Dreams, for which he and Geneva provided the 3-D effect.

To start our interview, I asked Mr. Stewart about Foxed!. He described the painstaking process of making a stop-motion animated 3-D film and how he was able to pull it off.

We thought we wanted to do (Foxed!) in stereoscopic 3d and we wanted to do it in stop motion…It’s a very expensive film to make, so we thought why don’t we do a short film, proof of concept…that at least shows…that it can be done… and then go on the journey of raising money for the feature film.

Foxed! was about two years in the making. It was 52 shoot days to do 3 mins of animation. (It was) very time consuming, as stop motion is, but we tried to contain it. We have 3 main characters and…three or four sets. We’ve had a great response from it from audiences and film festivals.

This full interview can be seen at:

http://waytooindie.com/interview/interview-james-stewart-foxed/