My Beautiful World

Shaun Garea got in touch with us here at VOLTCASE.co.uk a few months back about his new short film, My Beautiful World, which we were more than grateful to receive in the post. And, as we liked it so much, rather than just review the thing we thought we could turn it into a full blown feature - and here it is!

Im not even going to pretend to know exactly what the point behind the film is (which in itself is probably is the whole point of the film), and Im not going to spoil it in any way for anyone who hasnt seen it, but it serves as a great piece of modern social commentary, despite having very little dialogue. Relying heavily on the soundtrack to progress the film (some of which was kindly donated by the mighty Ipecac label), it serves as a reminder of morals and values that, for some at least, are no longer releavant (or simply no longer wanted) in this modern day and age.

The film has a very film noir / detective feel throughout, and, as with the music, makes great use of shadows and darkness to set the stage for the main tale (although in some places it should probably carry an epilepsy warning!).

Clever, witty and well made, dont just take our word for it, check out the clips on Shaun's MySpcae page here.

How are you?
Good thanks, I am currently very hungover from a night of beer and tequila.

If you were talking to a stranger, how would you describe yourself in three words:
‘Hello… me… cool’
Slightly Tarzan-like I admit but hopefully it’ll get the point across.

What’s the best thing about being Shaun Garea?
My enormous penis. No not really… its rather average actually but I do like to wear underwear that may accentuate my size.
To be honest the best thing about being me is that fact that I can see myself doing the things I want to do, I devote my time to the things I love and put my all in. I see a lot of folks who talk a lot but don’t follow through and yeah I get run down with work and get fuck all sleep but I can gauge my fulfilment on not necessarily my success but on the accomplishment of my works, which I have to say feels pretty darn good.
Ohh and free shit in the mail all the time from bands and filmmakers around the world, that’s awesome.

Is making films in NZ an advantage or a disadvantage to making them elsewhere in the world?
Art can be made anywhere in the world, fuck it can be made in space!
Folks over this side of the world are quite eager to help but then again I am pretty darn good at getting a lot of free shit so I reckon no matter where you are I think you can make films to your liking with a bit of hard work. We have an obvious advantage of landscape here if your making a pretty outdoor piece but we do have the disadvantage of a great detachment from the rest of world geographically which sorta sucks a lot too, I dunno sorta depends on the intention and market for the film.

Music seems to be an important part of your work. Do you choose the music first, or film and then put the music to it afterwards? Who are the best musicians you’ve worked with / included?
Its different for each project, for My beautiful World I composed a whole album worth of music and then recorded it then shot the film then applied the music via collage, the music was already in my head so I knew what kind of film would partner it perfectly. So the score was quite a different approach to the average soundtrack
Sometimes you will hear a band and go ‘man it would be great to use that in a film’ and then your mind starts racing about what the film could be about, hell I got dozens of ideas for films that will never happen all through this means but it’s a great exercise for your imagination.
In MBW I contacted Ipecac Recordings (Run by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton) and they loved the project and suggested music from group Dälek, I listened to the album and fell in love with it! Those guys are kickass, along with touring with bands like Isis, Tomahawk, Fantomas and the Melvins Dälek have four albums (new one out at the end of Feb makes five!!!) and a sound completely unique, sorta My Bloody Valentine meets Public Enemy, its wierdas but awesome! They have been great to work with and are really supportive of the picture.
I am currently in talks with Icelandic artist Hera whose music is absolutely breathtaking for a project soon along with Tokyo Dragons guitarist Mal Bruk who has already agreed to score this next project via slide guitar a‘la Ry Cooder in Paris Texas.
I never use music I don’t love, as I do my films for pretty much no money with no real kickback the whole idea is about promoting my work and talent I LOVE, I really want a lot of these folks to go places and the best way to get these people heard is by putting them alongside people who ARE heard and are doing well in their industry, getting award winning film directors and label heads to watch these films and see the work and hear the work put in is such a great opportunity for underground artists to get and I am more than happy that I can provide that avenue for them.

Who are your biggest influences, and / or who do you admire the most?
In film we are gonna be talking about Sam Raimi, Joss Whedon, Stephen Balderson, Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, David Lynch, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Coppola (the dad), Scorsese, Kubrick… In music we are talking Mike Patton, John Zorn, Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Bjork, Josh Homme, Dälek, Tori Amos, Kaada… , and in literature I have a few authors I love absolutely: Jean Paul Sartre, Desmond Morris, Harper Lee, Chuck Palahniuk, Douglas Adams, Terry Goodkind, Hunter S. Thompson and Joseph Heller.
Of course there are heaps more but its really just about artists who work darn hard, promote themselves well and don’t complain. Artists like the ones mentioned above have created their own niche and have slogged it out with people telling them how to make their work and told them (rightly so) to fuck off (some more politely than others)! And they have ended up with a body of work that really says something about the people they are, not about how much money they have made.
I admire anyone who really puts everything into their craft whether they are successful commercially or not, people who give everything and understand that THEY are responsible for what they do, where they go and everything in between.

On the other hand, who is the worst human being on the planet?
Well according to a yahoo image search its this guy: But I put my vote in for Terry Wogan, man I hate that guy.

Do you have any personal guidelines and limits to your films (language / nudity etc.) or is it anything goes?
I don’t like the idea of censorship, the idea that someone can decide what you can see and cant see makes me angry right to the marrow, I don’t like to censor myself either to do so would be a contradiction.
In life anything goes, and the same should be with art, as uncomfortable as that can be at times.
So for me the story goes where it needs to, to be able to be true to the characters and themes of the piece, cheating an audience and your own muse will just leave the project lacking and without the pressure of a studio behind me telling me what I cant do there is absolutely no excuse for me not to explore a subject and present it as full and whole as possible. Its all about justification, if it is needed, use it.

Ghosts - do they exist?
Im pretty sure Peter O’Toole has been dead for several years but he seems still to make a living, I dunno, in a metaphorical sense of course ghosts exist but in the ‘Boo’ sense nah I don’t think so.
In ‘My Beautiful World’ we are dealing with a metaphor, a character borne of history and fable and then reasoned out of the picture through logical application using a philosophy called existentialism, the whole film is a social commentary about ideals and about age old beliefs and about laying them to rest., to turn them into nothing but …‘ghosts’ I suppose.

What’s the greatest film to come out of NZ? Any hidden classics that people outside of NZ should check out?
Well there are a few little gems from NZ films like The Navigator, Snakeskin, Once Were Warriors but please, please stay away from what NZ’ers coin as ‘Kiwiana’ films like Goodbye Pork Pie & Footrot Flats, erghh just nasty. You are more likely chew your own arm off than finish watching, ha, they are more mind numbingly boring than any poetry any Vogon fleet commander can read to you.

Who would star as Shaun Garea in a Hollywood version of your life?
Someone with a huge penis.

Alcoholic tipple of choice?
Anything with alcohol in it… preferably a large amount.

Why should the lazy general public make the effort to check you out, and what have you got planned for the coming year?
Well first of all I would suggest that some of those lazy motherfuckers get their asses up from in front their computer screens and get themselves out of the goddamned house once in a while.
We have the film screening around the world at festivals (TBC) this year so I would strongly recommend they get out to some of these festivals spend a few bucks and get to see the best of film culture from all over the world! I also have the album for my band Flabotonum being released here in New Zealand through my company Estrata Productions in April, it’s the music that I arranged to score the film so its very pretty and a bit strange… just like me.
Yeah so, why should they check my stuff out? Quite frankly because its good stufff and Im goddamned accessible, Im working with some pretty darn cool people and deal with a bunch of people I really fricking love, if anyone wants to get in touch with me after seeing my work they CAN and they can talk straight to ME! Whether they are artists interested in some exposure and contributing work or if they just liked the movie, its all about networking and finding people you can click with all over the world.
On the future projects front I am also working on several Cds as a guest musician and also in prep for a new short film, I mentioned some of the music we will be using before and am keen to chat with you about it when the next film is done, should be fun eh? … I promise I wont mention my penis half as much next time.

And finally..... what does the word 'Voltcase' mean to you?
Voltcase, volt case, lemmie roll the word around a bit.
Sorta reminds me of when you call someone a crack head (as I do often) cause they be obviously lovin the crack, voltcase seems like a good description of someone who is buzzed up and ready to explode, like horribly pumped up on coke and methamphetamine, ‘bloody volt case‘, ‘yeah that guys a complete volt case’ ... On the subject who is your core readership anyway…
Awesome guys, thanks.
If anyone wants to get in contact with me they can do so via my myspace account or through:
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www.myspace.com/shaungarea
www.myspace.com/flabotonum
www.myspace.com/estrataproduction