INTERVIEWS
Back to InterviewsROB VANALKEMADE: IN HIS OWN WORDS
Interview by William Haskins
Rob VanAlkemade has been a videographer so long, he filmed his own birth.
As if that weren’t impressive enough, he’s since compiled a staggering list of credits as a director, producer, videographer, sound recordist, writer, interviewer and editor on a variety of broadcast and independent documentary productions.
As BURNING MAN: BEYOND BLACK ROCK’S Director of Photography, Rob attended both the 2002 and 2003 events, in addition to trips to the Bay Area and frequent interviews in his hometown of New York City. His attention to detail and dedication to his craft have brought a definitive style to the film.
I decided to ask Rob some tough questions about his life and work, in outright defiance of his slick, big city lawyers and their puny little restraining orders.
WILLIAM: For the benefit of those who are just now meeting you for the first time, can you give us a quick rundown of how you became associated with Michael Wilson, Damon Brown and myself? Mike says we picked you up hitchhiking and Damon claims you were a mail-order bride. Personally, I do well to remember the past few hours. Can you set us straight?
ROB: I could never set you straight, nor would I want to.
Our mutual friend and colleague Andrea Schneider called in 2001 to endear me to some noble Texan do-gooders starting up a DVD magazine with refreshingly sincere content. My first reaction was "Great, even more quixotic hippies with whom I will inevitably earn nothing close to a living wage." I spoke first with Damon who said he wanted me to be his "point man" in New York for future issues. I liked him, but did not initially trust him. He sounded rather too friendly. Once I decided to trust him anyway, (perhaps after hearing some of Mike's depressed monotone ramblings), I donated what I'd shot around town from Sept 11 to 18 and ended up working much more for Substance TV over the next two years, which was always a completely positive experience. Eventually I started covering political demonstrations in DC and NY for the "Post Modern Protest" special you were producing. Thanks to that spark (and yet another mysteriously timely call from Andrea), I'm now attending every protest I can get to, as well as 1st amendment flash mobs, Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir performances, Billionaires for Bush meetings, and many other life affirming events for my independent feature doc, "Treasonous Mirth".
Meeting the Gone Off Deep / Substance TV crew in person took nearly a year but was worth the wait. I now consider you, Mike, Damon and others from your shiny circle to be near perfect humans and of course am lucky to know you.
WILLIAM: What were the biggest challenges for you, shooting in the hostile conditions of the Black Rock Desert? Was it a flashback to your time in Iraq, only with painted naked people?
ROB: In Iraq we stayed in the luxurious Al Rasheed Hotel and drove around town under the "protection" of Saddam's elite air conditioned goon squad...and there were no dust storms. 135 degree afternoons made the Beta rig painful to touch, but it never died. Burning Man on the other hand was difficult. For our first experimental year we used standard PortaBrace camera bags and experienced a tragic number of tape dropouts from the fine alkaline dust that clings to every surface on the clearest day. After 12 months of intense pondering, we returned to the Playa with much better cameras, (mostly rentals), more head cleaner than beef jerky, militant fastidiousness, and the most state of the art desert camera protection to be found: modified $13. waterproof bags from REI.com ...which I've heard resulted in virtually no dropouts over approx 100 logged desert hours despite constant and intense heat and zero visibility white outs. Shooting through these odd, heavy yellow bags was entirely frustrating, but we coped, and they also served as great conversation starters.
WILLIAM: You were insanely close to the burn both in 2002 and 2003. Are you, in fact, insane? And what was it like being that close to it, when even the firefighters in protective gear were further out than you? ("Hot" is not a sufficient answer...)
ROB: Being sane is insane but I was neither at any point during our time on the Playa. I only shot so close to the fire our first year because I didn't know any better and ended up trapped between wild packs of demented flame worshippers, (apparently without nerve endings), and the raging inferno of the Man itself. For our second year the crowd seemed somewhat more of this earth, allowing individuals bored with their intense pain to easily step back, which I did, despite how it may appear on tape. I was also able to relax a bit in general, knowing that we were with outstanding shooters Carrie Schultz, Jason Kumalo, Troy Schrode, and audio specialists Allen Robertson and Billy Henry, a crackerjack team covering many angles around the clock.
WILLIAM: Over the course of the project, how did the subject matter influence how you approached and set up shots?
ROB: I suspect what you might be asking is "Why does the second year look so much better than that first crap". If so, it's partly because the first year was often overwhelming. The second time around, with a deeper understanding of the people and places of which we were a part, and with the support of a seasoned and sensitive crew, better gear, and our very own rotating fleet of golf carts, we were all far more inclined to get a handle on the vast environs and endless spectacle and let longer, more meaningful shots just happen. Simple wide establishing shots were also easier to gather after taking a year-long step back. One issue that was always crucial was to continually respect the privacy of all participants. Any inherent paparazzi instincts were gratefully suppressed, enabling us to work freely and cooperatively with the community, and to gather better footage.
WILLIAM: What cities outside of the Nevada desert did BEYOND BLACK ROCK take you to and what were some of your memorable experiences of those travels?
ROB: I recall shooting and commiserating with Lower East Side artist Rafael Santiago here in NY quite a bit, and ending up in San Francisco a few times, which provided a valuable opportunity to get more familiar with the Burning Man staff and support personnel, all amazing individuals. Our final interview with Larry on a green hill in San Francisco is a memory that stands out. As the shadows stretched and Larry eloquently contemplated in a near whisper the unbearable impermanence of our human vessels, I believe I caught a glimpse of deep space immortality under a big white hat.
WILLIAM: What did you know about Burning Man when you signed on to the project and what are your impressions of the event and the culture after having spent two years documenting it?
ROB: A speech by Mr Harvey at New York's Cooper Union was my first exposure to the culture of Burning Man. I knew almost nothing about it, (other than that many people identified themselves by exotic handles), and suspected the populace was mostly a photogenic but potentially exhausting pseudo cult of eccentric hippies and sexually ravenous hipsters. As I tentatively mingled and then heard Larry speak, I realized that the only generalizations I could safely make were that Burning Man involved a great productive passion and acute intelligence, and that the people drawn to it for whatever reasons were probably to be admired.
At this point, but not indefinitely, I doubt if I would go to the Playa if I weren't working, since making the trip is a significant investment and also since I'd probably be unable to resist documenting. I also like the idea of localizing the profound sense of community and self expression that Burning Man can provide in the desert or in one's own town. I believe even Larry may have mentioned that he'd like to skip a year sometime, which seemed like it could be a positive message - that leaving home to come home can be a fantastic journey, but is of course not mandatory.
WILLIAM: For the geeks out there - you wake up tomorrow morning to find your dream camera on your doorstep. What is it?
ROB: This is an unfair and painful question so I'll stick with what I can afford and recommend the package I just scrambled together to barely survive a long hot summer of urban street theater: the Panasonic DVX100A (shooting in 24 for FCP 4) with 8 big batteries, a .7 wide angle converter w/ flag, an ME64 short shotgun with Rycote windscreen, a Frezzi adjustable 100w camera light with battery belt, softbox, and 2 leaf barndoor w flip-up diffuser that can hold gels, a Lectro wireless lav and stick, Sony 7502 and 06 cans, an F64 backpack, a Kata rain cover, Zeiss lens cloths, polycarbonate swimming goggles and respirator for those special pepper gas moments, a press pass, and lots of ibuprofen.
WILLIAM: Some of those aren’t even real words… Are you nervous about the crew outtakes we'll be posting on the site soon? You should be.
ROB: Bring it...no one is even reading this, let alone waiting for your precious outtakes.
WILLIAM: That’s what you think. We’ve had over 60,000 visitors since we launched the new site and I have it on good authority that at least a dozen of them have read my journal. Now tell us about some of the projects you've been working on since shooting for BEYOND BLACK ROCK wrapped.
ROB: Treasonous Mirth will be completed by December '04. I've also done some doc work with refugee teens at the International Rescue Committee and Global Action Project, and random news and broadcast segments involving things like communal living in Hawaiian cabins built on un-mapped roads, Cuban hip-hop artists and political exiles, face recognition spy cameras, and private jet rides with multibillionaire gurus. I'm also helping shoot a feature doc for film transfer, (half of the proceeds going to Equity Fights AIDS), covering a full theatrical season on Broadway. Show tunes have been melting our brains for 10 months running and we all know far too many dressing room secrets, but we'll miss it when the Tony awards come around and our year of relentless fabulousness is ready for a serious edit.
WILLIAM: Anything else you want to add while you have the impressive forum of the Gone Off Deep production journal at your disposal? Few people get this opportunity, you know...
ROB: Hi, Mom.