Award winning director-producer Alan Dennis discusses his path as a filmmaker and latest project A Study on Beauty: Through Smoke, a documentary set in the south of France that takes the audience on a journey of perfume through its rich history, culture and smoke.
Welcome Alan. you have a very creative background. how did all of that come together and made you realize you wanted to pursue a career in filmmaking, especially that of documentaries?
I have always been interested in film, but I think that notion was cemented when I watched Tarantino’s Kill Bill for the first time, which blew me away. I had never seen anything like it, and I really felt Tarantino’s love of cinema come across the screen. I decided right then and there that I wanted to try and see if this could be what I wanted to do with my life.
That was in my senior year of high school which was also the year that the school put on the very first schoolwide film festival. I had never held a camera before or edited or anything, but I borrowed a friend’s camera, borrowed a CD that had editing software on it, wrote a very crude outline of a script (it was a silent film), and got a few friends to act and help out. It had a car chase and a sword fight at the end, with a real machete and katana that I borrowed from friends because I couldn’t afford to buy fake ones. I worked so hard on the edit, teaching myself as I was doing it (I even composed and performed the score myself), and worked well into the night every night until it was complete. Finally, I had finished the film and submitted it a few minutes before the deadline. The school actually disqualified me because of the swordfight at the end, but I had worked too hard on it to give up. A bunch of my friends started a petition and even got the principal to sign. A few friends even marched into the school office to demand they accept the film.
After multiple hoops to leap through, they allowed the film to get in on the condition that I put a disclaimer at the end, as a condemnation about school violence or something, which I did in a tongue in cheek way. The film was played at the festival and won both the grand prize and audience choice award.
After this whole experience, I was 100% on the filmmaking path and haven’t looked back since.
Besides from “on the job” experience, did you receive any formal training?
I studied theology in Australia for a year. There was a media department where I was able to learn the very basic rules of filmmaking (rule of 3rds, etc.). However, my biggest takeaway was that I had very good instincts as to how to create a beautiful shot.
After moving to Los Angeles, I was able to connect with many young filmmakers and jump on a few projects to learn that way. That, plus being in the environment of the industry, I was able to absorb a lot through osmosis and develop more of a style of what I liked and didn’t like, and most importantly how to use cinematic technique to effectively tell a story. It’s not enough that a shot is beautiful, but everything from the focal lens to the softness of the lighting, to the framing all communicate a story subconsciously to the viewer.
I didn’t even think about producing until I had worked closely with a couple producers, Rob Baunoch and later Mason Gordon, and really picked up on how to effectively produce. To this day, most of how I do things comes from working with those two guys.
What has been the pros and cons of pursuing your career?
You have to have good judgment when dealing with people in this industry. I’ve been fortunate to connect with many genuinely good people of high integrity and standards, but there are plenty of pretenders and con artists who I’m not quite sure why they’re in a creative industry. But when you find those great people to work with, the adventure of making a film alongside them is one of the great joys of my life.
Can you tell us about your latest adventure with the documentary ‘A Study On Beauty’?
The documentary A Study On Beauty is an international docuseries that I have partnered with make-up professional and two-time EMMY winner Gabbi Pascua. The first in the series is Through Smoke, which we filmed predominantly in France.
To set the scene, we open with the voiceover of a Jewish rabbi reading Hebrew scripture over images of smoke rising from a Middle Eastern incense burner. The passage of text is the first instance of incense being mentioned as a conduit for connecting heaven and earth, and in many ways, it is the central idea of the documentary.
We are in production of several documentaries where beauty, wellness and culture are the central theme throughout.
That is very exciting. How do you stay motivated in such an unpredictable industry?
You have to have an insane belief in yourself. Once you realize there are no obstacles you can’t overcome, the problem solving becomes oddly fun.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I love stand-up comedy and have always wanted to give it a shot, but I don’t think my childhood was messed up enough to be any good at it.
Inspiration can be drawn from anywhere! How can people find and follow your journey?
I can be mostly found on IMDb and on Instagram.
