Interview with Tim Benson, filmmaker and storyteller -part 4

Hi Everyone,
Today I'm welcoming back Tim Benson, amazing filmmaker and storyteller for another part of his interview. We'll get right to the questions.

Do you have a favorite character from one of your stories? 

Oh wow, I have so many favorites....but for brevity sake, I’ll wittle it down to two that I’m especially fond of:  

Calvin, (in “The Bike”) is a 10y/o boy who starts his own lawn care business. He’s on a quest to buy the Retro Rocket - his DREAM bike. He’s saved for over 6 mos and is getting close. This is a special boy. 

And of course, Mia, (in “Cupcakes”) She’s a beautiful soul and takes on the most formidable of foes. Girl Power!

I bet I'd like both of them, too, Tim. No doubt they're fun to meet.

Do your stories have a message? 

I tell stories that celebrate children and families and the relationships that knit us together. I explore our vulnerabilities, our fears, our strong will, and our enduring hope and dreams for the future. My characters are ethnically diverse and showcase the fact that we are all human with the same basic wants and needs. I tell stories about grit, determination and perseverance. When all is dire and it looks like there’s no way, we must fight on. Never give up. 

I'm sure your characters have many fans, Tim and I l love the "Never give up" message.

What are your long-range goals? 

My 5-year plan is to continue writing and directing my own films, both animation and live action. My next project after Cupcakes, will be a short live action film, The Bike, which I will produce and direct in my home city of Rochester, NY. My longer-term (and dream creative venture) is to write/direct feature length animated films. 

I hope you achieve all of your goals, Tim. My bet is you will.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Sure, I guess one more thing before we sign-off....I’d like to encourage all aspiring artists (whether it be writers, painters, singers, musicians, etc.), that it’s NEVER too late to express yourself in what you have passion for. I started my creative journey in the middle part of my life, but I (God willing) still have another 40 years of writing and filmmaking to pursue. 

So, my message is...if you’re not currently working on your craft, I urge you to START today. Just do ‘something!’ Something small. Something that may seem inconsequential. Something as simple as writing down a story idea that’s been bouncing around in your head, or sketching a doodle, or sitting at the piano and seeing what happens. Give yourself a chance to realize who you were created to be. 

I’ll leave you & your readers with a great book recommendation: “The War of Art, Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles,” by Steven Pressfield. It’s a must read for ALL creative types. By the way, I have no stake at all in the book. [laughs]. I just like it and recommend it highly. 

Thank you, Deanie, for the opportunity to talk with you and to share my story. It was a pleasure. We’ll see you at the Cupcakes premier.

You're welcome, Tim. We've had a great time. It's been my pleasure to meet you.

copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Interview With Storyteller/Filmmaker, Tim Benson -part 3

"Hi everyone, Today we're welcoming filmmaker/ storyteller, Tim Benson for part three of his interview.

What project are you currently working on?
re you currently working on? 

We are currently in production of my inaugural short animated film, Cupcakes. Cupcakes was inspired by my volunteer work with the Ronald McDonald Charities and tells a story of Mia Gonzalez, a 5 y/o dynamo superstar who opens a cupcake & lemonade stand to benefit her sister who has leukemia. 

The making of Cupcakes has been quite an adventure and I’m still amazed by how much work/time it takes to produce 6-7 mins of 3D animation. It’s been an incredible learning opportunity for me with quite a steep learning curve as the technical rigor and complexities of animation are just mind-bending. I’ve been so fortunate to work with some brilliantly talented animators/artists who amaze me every day. It’s almost surreal for me as a writer to finally see my characters coming to life on the screen. So amazing. 

I'm sure you're keeping up with the learning curve, Tim. it sounds like you and your team are enjoying your work a great deal. No doubt, Cupcakes will be a huge success. I love stories that promote good values.

When will Cupcakes be completed?

The film will be completed later this year and will be released in early 2019. We will submit to film festivals around the globe and will hold the film premier and gala with all proceeds benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities. We can’t wait to share this story with the world. 

Best wishes with it, Tim. Please give us updates when Cupcakes is released.

How can we learn more about your film?

You can visit the Story Giant Films website under the Cupcakes page to learn more. 

www.storygiantfilms.com/cupcakes 

There you can read the film script and get the latest film production updates. As a side note....we are currently in development of the official Cupcakes website, which we will launch this spring. 

That sounds very exciting, Tim. We'll all want to keep up with your progress with Cupcakes.

Thank you for spending time with me again today, Tim. As always, it's been an honor.

My pleasure, Deanie. I'm looking forward to our next visit."

Copyright 2018; Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Interview with Stroyteller/Filmmaker Tim Benson Part 2

 Welcome back, Timothy Benson. Let's continue with part 2 of your interview.

Can you give an example of this technique from one of your stories?

Sure, okay. Let me see....I observe a group of children jumping around in a bounce house at a b-day party (a couple of my children included therein). This bounce house floor kinda looks like giant bubbles woven together. Those bubbles actually remind me of giant larva. Then my mind jumps to...Kids jumping on giant larva? Then...Why are there giant larva in a nest on the forest floor? How did they get there? This sole image (and resultant questions) was the catalyst that started churning my imagination and spawned a complete story about three middle schoolers who race to save a city under siege after a greedy extermination company's genetic experimentation goes horribly wrong. Yes, Giant Mutant insects! Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs meets Arachnophobia. This is my sci-fi/adventure screenplay, HATCHED, which came about because I stopped at the bounce house. 

You are so blessed with an amazing imagination. It's amazing that you can start developing a story idea from something as common as a bounce house.

How did you get into animation?

My ventures into animation came about through my compulsion to see my stories animated on the screen. Trying to sell animation feature speculative screenplays to Hollywood proved difficult...ummm...almost impossible.....okay, no luck yet, I’m still trying!! The big studios don’t buy, they cultivate stories from within. The smaller studios want you to bring production dollars with your script. My agent couldn’t get any traction. I was frustrated. No one was interested in HOOKED. How could that be? 

There were so many times I thought about giving up, or considered writing for live action, or in a different genre, but THEN came my watershed moment. A notion occurred to me: 

What if I wrote, produced and directed my OWN short animated film? It could be a pathway to break into the animation world. A means to becoming a “produced” writer. And a way to share my vision for the screen with the world. I was all in. 

It's amazing when we get those intuitions that change everything, isn't it? You must've been elated.

Thank you for participating in the second part of our interview, Tim. It's such fun learning more about you and your career.

You're welcome, Deanie. It's been a pleasure.

for more on Tim's work,  please visit this link:

www.storygiantfilms.com/cupcakes 

copyright 2018: Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Interview with storyteller/ filmmaker Tim Benson-part 1

Hi everyone, today I'm delighted to be interviewing storyteller and filmmaker, Timothy Benson. Welcome, Tim and thank you for spending time with me today. Let's get on with the interview so we can learn about your adventures and your plans.

When did you know you wanted to become a storyteller/filmmaker? 

I’ve been a storyteller since a very young age - possibly since being able to form coherent sentences. [laughs] I enjoyed reading as a boy and getting lost in stories. I thrived on movies and was especially drawn to animated films where ANYTHING could be realized on the screen. 

As a child, I enjoyed telling stories live in front of people - stories like the day a bull chased me through the forest & I almost died, or how exactly the escape hatch worked on my tree house, or the day I found a complete dinosaur skeleton deep in the woods behind my house. Yup, true story! Kids were all ears when I stood up to tell a tale. They said I had a knack for storytelling  and they wanted more. 

Wow, that's amazing, Tim. I love to hear about storytellers who can use their talents in wondrous ways.I can imagine your audience was mesmerized by your stories.

When did you actively start writing?

While I loved storytelling and animation as a boy, in my later teens I was steered towards a career path in the sciences. I went to college...Got a job...Had a family (five children)...Traveled the world. A full and wonderful life for sure. But there was absolutely something missing. 

Fast forward to my early forties...THIS, is when I found my true voice as a writer. It all started with a story concept of a little boy and his dream to catch a LEGENDARY fish in his small town lake. It was a story that weaved back and forth between the human and fish worlds. I could envision the story so vividly on the SCREEN - an animated film. This story, titled HOOKED, became my first screenplay. A screenplay that has collected over two dozen international writing awards & numerous Best Screenplay honors.

It's incredible that you wove your tale in different directions and it became a screenplay that was honored mulitple times. You must be so proud.

What has happened since HOOKED?

Since completing HOOKED, I haven’t been able to turn off the stories. Twenty years of untold stories were ready to make their way into the world. This was really the start of my creative journey and my pursuit of seeing my stories realized on the screen. 

I"m so excited to hear that HOOKED unleashed all of those stories. It seems you will have an endless stream of them. We are all blessed you will be sharing many adventures with us.

How do you get ideas for your stories? 

I get most of my ideas from my own childhood experiences, or through simple observation of the world around me. I keep a story journal where I record interesting thoughts/ideas for future consideration and development.

But first and foremost, most of my stories begin with one single image or thought. Then, the story gets built out around that one image or idea. The image might relate to the inciting incident; it could be part of the final climax, but it could also be a scene buried deep in the mid-point of Act II. 

Keep getting those ideas, Tim. That's all the time we have today, but we will continue this interview soon.

Thank you for interviewing me today, Deanie. I'm thrilled to be sharing part of my life story with you. Looking forward to our next chat.

For more on Tim's work:

www.storygiantfilms.com/cupcakes