Active-shooter scenarios have become part of the education lexicon. I had fire drills. My parents had duck and cover - nuclear and atomic bomb drills. Kids today grow up with this idea that this could happen at any point in time.
— Keith Maitland
I'm just one of those people that when there's a door that says 'Do Not Enter,' I have to know what's happening on the other side of that door.
Yes, I realize when I'm reaching out to people and asking them to talk about the most traumatic thing to happen in their lives, I have to be really sensitive and thoughtful.
My first night in Austin was at SXSW in 1994 when I was a senior in high school. I came here for spring break and just fell in love with Austin. It's my home.
When I reach out to people to ask them to be involved in anything I shoot, I want them to want to share their story.
When you make the decision to call somebody out of the blue and say you want to talk to them about the worst thing that has happened to you, and I'm going to turn it into a cartoon... you're bound to ruffle some feathers or turn people off.
When I went to the University of Texas, my first day of freshman year in 1994, I took a student tour, and I asked about the tower shooting. I was told, 'We're really not supposed to talk about that.' That was the official stance from the university.
Two actors that I had particularly fantastic experiences with include Chris Doubek, a notable indie journeyman who also happened to live in the trailer behind my house, and Violett Beane.
I don't think anyone is pro-school shooting.
In general, I just try to make the people that I'm shooting feel like they are in good hands. I'm open-minded, and I invite them to be open-minded to the process. I'm direct and curious.
In Austin, you work in anything that will pay and a lot of things that don't. The documentary filmmaker may also be a gaffer on a feature and producer for a commercial series and web host. Everyone just does a little bit of everything, and you have to because it's a secondary market.
I love SXSW. I've made three films; they've all premiered at SXSW.
As a documentary filmmaker, I try to be sensitive to my subjects.
I wanted to create an experiential film that was immersive... I wanted you to feel like you were there.
I'm a big fan of Robert Altman, and one of the things I love in 'The Long Goodbye' is the way that he plays with the theme; it's just used in all these different ways.
I love working with rotoscopic animation because under the incredible handpainted artwork are real actors and real human performances.
The amazing thing about rotoscoping is that it's very malleable. Unlike green screen, where the computer subtracts out the background, rotoscoping is an additive technology in that you don't take anything away from the footage - you add layers on top of it.
I've always been intrigued by questions of perception and identity-building, specifically how teens and young adults define themselves within their communities.
New York is incredible, but I never felt a part of a community.
As far as documentaries, 'Man on Wire,' 'Atomic Cafe,' 'Waltz With Bashir,' and 'Thin Blue Line' all offered me different perspectives to consider as we were designing the structure and approach to 'Tower.'
I read Pamela Colloff's oral history about the campus shooting, '96 Minutes,' when it was first published, and my wheels immediately starting turning toward making a film and making it an animated re-telling.
I appreciate a subdued performance, typically.
Honestly, I don't think that the policies and issues surrounding guns will be easily figured out in our country, but we need to take a close look, and we need to have a conversation around those issues.
