Joe Dunton Q/A |
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| Transcribed from audio file by: Brian Guckian | Date: 04.06.2011 |
 Joe
Dunton looking at "Dance
Craze". Image by Thomas HauerslevThe music was played to picture; that’s why it works, it really does work. And then the rest was done at Elstree by Bill Rowe; top man, done all the “Star Wars” and everything, so it had the best treatment of sound. And Tony was there, editing. I don’t know what to say - it’s a recording of 30 years; I haven’t shown it for 30 years, that picture. And I’ve had it, and stored it, and kept it, in bedrooms and bathrooms and it recorded that history, you know, it’s recorded that little bit of history. We paid so much attention to the detail of the pictures and the sound, I just hope some of you – did anybody remember it? [Audience] Yes [Audience Member] Can I just say you captured the raw energy - [JD] Absolutely [Audience Member] I lived through that, it was fantastic [JD] It was – we wouldn’t have got away with it because now if you try to go on stage with a band they just throw you away, you know, they just throw you off! I actually got threatened on that stage; I was actually being threatened and doing the filming at the same time. But it was pure, it was the raw - everybody was really into it. And you saw the crowds, I mean it was like a massacre at the end! [Laughter] |
More in 70mm reading: The Making of "Dance Craze" by Joe Dunton Speech for Joe Dunton WSW 2011 Film Introductions Internet link: |
 Pictureville
audience listening to Joe's stories after the first screening of "Dance
Craze" in 30 years. Image by Thomas HauerslevIt was real fighting for your life. And everybody starts going up on stage; I don’t know if they’d allow that too much now, with the health and safety situation...Are there any other questions? – Sorry [Audience Member] You’re saying that’s the first time that’s been screened for 30 years, and there’s no other screening media in the country at all? [JD] No - [Audience Member] Because I was doing some research on it before I watched it and there’s a lot of stuff on the internet; you know, I think there are some illegitimate copies - [JD] Happens all the time – I’ve a friend in the audience doing that – [Laughter] [Audience Member] But there’s no way of ever seeing that again I guess? [JD] Well truly I made it for the cinema. You experienced what I wanted it to be because on the television it’s hard to experience that [Audience Member] Sure [JD] You know it’s really hard to experience that and I’m probably going to make a – I have one print, one of our master prints; a reduction print; with Dolby Surround on it – I may try and take these six tracks over here and put it onto a Blu-Ray, so we’ll have a really lovely quality Blu-Ray now. [Audience Member] Yes, I would have thought there’d be lots of call for festivals screenings for it - |
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 Joe
Dunton in Pictureville after the first screening of "Dance
Craze" in 30 years. Image by Thomas Hauerslev[JD] There will, there will be - There are radio stations in Chicago - radio stations were made out of this music; it has a big following, it really does. People come out of the woodwork and own up, you know. [Audience Member] I was going to ask – when is it coming out on DVD? [JD] I don’t think it’ll be DVD - [Audience Member] – or Blu-Ray, whatever [JD] Blu-Rays, I’m happier with Blu-Ray I mean - [Audience Member] [Inaudible] 03:02 [JD] I know [Audience Member] [Inaudible] 03:06 [JD] I have a famous story – if you don’t mind me telling one - I ended up on an aeroplane by mistake with Robert Altman sitting next to me. I didn’t know who Robert Altman was. And the man across the way said, “They showed you - they crucified your film”. And I said to him, “What film was that?”. And he says – and I didn’t know the man, I was just making chat - he said, “It was "Popeye"”. And "Popeye" was a clever film; when he released it he actually released strobe lightning in the cinema. And it was in Stereo - Fox Stereo. And I said, “Well they gave you a rough time”. He said - and I’ll never forget this man - he said, “Well as long as one person says they liked it, you’re alright!” And my man up there [in the audience] is my one person! [Audience] There’s more than one! [JD] I hope so! [Applause] [Inaudible question] 04:03 [JD] I did that on purpose again. Everybody normally walks out and the titles come up, so I - [Audience Member] [Inaudible] 04:14 [JD] That was one of the concerts; it nearly happened at every concert! One time there was one show, and the rushes – because there was only 400ft loads, so we were only on 400ft - like 3 minutes or less in that - what is it – 2, 3 minutes a roll - so we had to reload. And then somehow one of the audience got a 400ft film can, full of film, and he threw it at Gerry Danners playing the organ! And Gerry went, “Who did that?” and he said, “I did, and I want to be famous!” |
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 [Laughter]It was mad! You felt for your life - you can tell the closeness. I was in amongst the closeness of all of that and - We had two Steadicams - The Beet were in America - Garret Brown the inventor of the Steadicam was the other set. So it was the first time we’d done two Steadicams on stage. And it’s a wonderful machine for that, I mean you felt though you were in a band by it. I hope you felt that you were in the band, you know what I mean? It wasn’t the third - everybody does a third row shot, you know, the big - Everybody on the stage and the camera is in the third row - [Jokes] My friend here has got a third row shot! But it gave you the feeling you were with them, you know? And I got used to them, and I played and played - I was like another instrument, because I would have to move one of the shots. You see Pauline come up to me and we nearly collided - and she gave me a dodgy look, because we collided you know? She was going one - and I was going in - and we nearly collided! Any more? [Audience Member] First of all, really enjoyed it [Joe] OK – thank you [Audience Member] I mean the two of us, we’re from that era and we grew up with that music, although I have to say that at the time I wasn’t particularly into that type of music, but today I really enjoyed that, I didn’t know what to expect.It looked really good as well, visually. [JD] It’s held up - [Audience Member] Well there’s a question I wanted to ask you, which is, all the lighting was just source - ? [JD] Source lighting |
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 Joe
Dunton and Thomas Hauerslev[Audience Member] Source lighting...No additional lighting at all? [JD] We put a couple of red bulbs at the back of Bad Manners just to give you the depth, so that you could see in the depth. It was a big auditorium - I think I had a follow spot on one of them, because it was spinning around. It was mostly stage lighting. It was the advent of fast lenses - there was a 1.4 lens, 18mm, so that’s why. And no distortion; very little distortion. And it was 100 ASA stock, so it was slow, very fine stock - because I wanted it to blow up to 70 millimetre. And that’s what you’re seeing; you’re seeing I think a very good piece of work. There’s no grain in it, the black - it’s faded a bit to red but originally it was solid black. That’s why I didn’t want it on television; on television it would have just soaked up and it wouldn’t mean anything. [Audience Member] It looked good [JD] Now the time is right to come back on a Blu-Ray I think - [Audience Member] I don’t know if you realise it, but it’s not just a history of British music at that time - it reflects the social history of the time as well [JD] Absolutely [Audience] Yes - do you remember – I was a youth then and on television we used to see The Temptations and The Jacksons and The Stylistics and The Drifters - and they were all black guys. So you never knew white bands, and this was the first time that British youth saw black and white guys in the same band! [JD] Absolutely [Audience Member] It was fantastic [JD] I mean, even if we’d made a video then, it would not have been the same as that piece of footage, honestly and...it was great; the time was great, it was just a really, really good time, you know. And we all enjoyed it was only the camera department - it wasn’t a film crew at all. Sound – Abbey Road, The Rolling Stones, Mobile...I was into sound - And I wanted to keep 70mm alive, so - so that was it – the big thing. |
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