EP079: We Left Jimmy Carter in a Tree with Chris Demarais

We hit the Town Lake trail (it's a river, we know) with Chris Demarais, longtime Rooster Teeth filmmaker, Ben's former UT student, and the guy who proved you can, in fact, simply walk into Mordor.

Chris takes us from public-access TV and a very early letter of recommendation to thirteen years at the company behind RED VS. BLUE, back when it sold DVDs and pre-dated YouTube. Then the walks: A SIMPLE WALK INTO MORDOR, three people, a DSLR, a GoPro, about three grand and a lot of hobbit costume, Hobbiton to Mount Doom, edited in three weeks. Ten years later comes A SIMPLE WALK II: 155 miles in ten days, a storm closing in on the mountain, toenails lost, and a panic attack at altitude.

We get into the moment Chris told his best friend "no" to filming, the first time he ever cried on camera, and what happens when you try to perform and be real at the same time. Along the way: the lawyers who wouldn't let them say "Mordor" the second time, what it's like when a twelve-person company gets acquired, and how Chris went independent with Tales from the Stinky Dragon and Good Morning From Hell. Ben and Chris also trade notes on pointing a camera at yourself, being a character in your own film, and making one thing for them and one thing for you.

His advice for new filmmakers: document the journey, because people love the story of the thing as much as the thing. Plus: we find a 3D-printed Jimmy Carter on the trail, join his art-project adventure, and leave him up a tree.

DISCUSSION LINKS:

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Walking onto the South Congress Bridge
00:38 Town Lake (it's a river)
01:21 How Ben and Chris met: Intro to Image and Sound at UT
02:17 The scholarship letter of recommendation
03:14 The weed-out class and learning what you're ripping off
05:26 From UT to contract work to Rooster Teeth
06:22 What Rooster Teeth is: RED VS. BLUE and the pre-YouTube internet
10:02 Joining a company that felt established
11:20 A narrative filmmaker drawn into documentary
12:20 Kerry's idea: walk from Hobbiton to Mount Doom
13:23 Five and a half days, hobbit costumes, a three-person crew
15:19 Australia tries to kill you, New Zealand doesn't
17:27 Pitching it to Rooster Teeth
18:27 A SIMPLE WALK INTO MORDOR: delays, the buried ring, a three-week edit
19:34 Shooting on a DSLR, a GoPro and a phone
20:53 Release on Blip, YouTube and DVD, on a budget of about three grand
22:37 The hideout and the Possum Temple
24:04 Meet Jimmy "Alive" Carter, art project
27:47 Dungeons & Dragons and Tales from the Stinky Dragon
29:06 The sequel and the 20th anniversary
31:20 Why it became A SIMPLE WALK II
31:49 Corporate acquisition and the twelve-person company
34:40 Going independent after Rooster Teeth closed
36:26 Festival model versus making what you have available
38:13 The prequel: Bilbo's quest, clay trolls, a heavier ring
39:42 155 miles in ten days with a storm coming
40:47 Blisters, lost toenails and 16-hour days
41:41 Gear: GoPros, shotgun mic and a drone
43:00 Climbing the mountain ahead of the storm
45:16 The moment Chris said no to filming
46:25 The first time Chris cried on camera
47:44 Performing versus being real on camera
50:15 Social Disorder and the body bag
52:11 Documentary: you get what you give
53:53 Ben on being a character in his own film
55:19 Making for the audience: one for them, one for me
58:23 Jimmy Carter goes up a tree
01:00:40 Lightning round: the VHS camcorder
01:02:02 Advice: document the journey
01:02:50 What Chris can't stop thinking about
01:04:28 Wrap