{"id":8570,"date":"2014-11-11T16:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T22:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=8570"},"modified":"2014-11-12T14:44:38","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T20:44:38","slug":"qa-du-c-u-paul-karpenko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=8570","title":{"rendered":"Q&A du C-U: Paul Karpenko"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWins and Needles\u201d<\/strong>
\nAn interview with Paul Karpenko on the Web series RE-ELECTION<\/p>\n

by Jason Pankoke<\/em><\/p>\n

Every now and then, a past participant in the Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> film culture reconnects with our fair twin cities in the present, often for the sake of sharing their work or knowledge accumulated in the world at large with our friends and neighbors. We at C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> get a kick out of witnessing these individuals cross paths, today\u2019s keepers of the cinema flame interacting with relative strangers who stood in their shoes and on our soil 10, 15, 20 years prior. As an example, the Illini Film & Video<\/strong> student organization<\/span><\/a> at the University of Illinois<\/strong><\/span><\/a> occasionally mingles with club alumni from whom they can learn about the various and valid directions young people can take in production, encouraging those who are serious about pursuing it outside the classroom.<\/p>\n

Paul Karpenko<\/strong>, a 2005 UIUC graduate who earned his B.S. in Mathematics\/Computer Science<\/strong> with a Minor in Cinema Studies<\/strong>, has been regularly updating his IFV successors about a current project called RE-ELECTION<\/strong>. The pilot episode, originally produced in mid-2013, concentrates on barely-awake intern Jamie (Amber Rivera<\/strong>) as she crunches numbers during a losing Election Day<\/strong> fated to repeat a la<\/em> GROUNDHOG DAY<\/strong>. At the conclusion of one cycle, Jamie notices an incoming vote count from one district slightly different than before. It is implied she could potentially \u201cmove the needle\u201d and break the repetition, but to what end? Can she convince her campaign team to turn their lethargy into victory for incumbent Mayor Sandy Reynolds (Shawna Pardo<\/strong>) or will they hit road blocks at every potential turn for the better?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Thanks to a successful crowdfunding drive engineered by co-writer Evan McNamara<\/strong>, co-producer Paris Tanaka<\/strong>, and co-everything Karpenko, five new Webisodes were filmed in summer 2014 and will appear at the RE-ELECTION YouTube<\/strong> channel<\/span><\/a> with the second due to go live next week. Completely produced in Los Angeles<\/strong>, RE-ELECTION<\/strong> is the first SoCal movie endeavor for the series creator since he and set photographer Jennifer Wiley<\/strong> relocated from Chicago<\/strong> in 2011. Previously, the duo made a science-fiction short entitled WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong><\/span><\/a> featuring Bryan Gleason<\/strong> as \u201cNate,\u201d a man in a war-torn metropolis who reluctantly harnesses great power with the amulet around his neck; Wiley appears as his shock-haired adversary, \u201cZee,\u201d and Windy City locales provide the appropriate texture.<\/p>\n

Karpenko\u2019s \u201cdream has always been to make films\u201d apart from his professional trade as a Web developer, per his portfolio Web site<\/span><\/a>, and certainly this notion held true during his UIUC education. Born in Minsk, Republic of Belarus<\/strong>, and raised in the Boston, Massachusetts<\/strong> area, he immersed himself in IFV activity once living in the C-U and stood out from the underclass masses due to his lanky frame, dark dress, quick staccato delivery, and ever-present drag on a cigarette. Karpenko made two dark comedies with fellow student Rory Cleveland<\/strong>, ONE DAY\u2019S HELL<\/strong> and ANOTHER DAY\u2019S HELL<\/strong>, as well as the \u201cassassination game\u201d action parody ASSASSINS<\/strong>. [See our previous post about that \u201cH2Opus.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/a> \u2013 ed.] He also played the semi-heroic lead \u201cCasey\u201d in the campus monster mash, THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS VS. A MUMMY<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, and a small but pivotal role as Daily Illini<\/strong><\/span> reporter \u201cMiles\u201d in the stylish paranormal tale, TRIAD<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. We\u2019re sure there\u2019s more out there with his imprint.<\/p>\n

The ever-busy Karpenko agreed to chat with CUBlog<\/strong> about his recent life and times, specifically the process and near-pitfalls in producing the low-budget RE-ELECTION<\/strong> in a region relatively new to him.<\/p>\n

Read on, MacDuff\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

C-U Blogfidential:<\/strong> We\u2019re happy you found some time to talk with us about your continuing adventures in film, Paul! How has life been treating you since migrating from Chicagoland to California<\/strong>?<\/em><\/p>\n

Paul Karpenko:<\/strong> First of all, thanks for taking the time to interview me! I\u2019m really excited to be connecting back with my Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> roots. Is the Blind Pig<\/strong> still around?<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> Yes, it is! In fact, we now have two.<\/span><\/a> The second is a brewpub.<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> I often wish I was at the Blind Pig\u2026<\/p>\n

California is pretty great! It\u2019s a fantastical wonderland where the sun shines bright and you\u2019re free to leave the house during winter. The traffic makes you wish for death a lot of the time, unfortunately, but I\u2019m lucky enough to work from home.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> What kind of work are you doing in a professional capacity?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> I\u2019m continuing to work as a Web developer to pay the bills and developing my filmmaking projects on the side. This is not an entirely uncommon arrangement around here.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> Most recently, you introduced the time-bending series RE-ELECTION<\/strong> through an 11-minute pilot, now deemed Episode 1<\/strong>, which can be watched on-line<\/span><\/a>. How did you come up with the concept?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> I came up with the idea for RE-ELECTION<\/strong> by cross-referencing ideas I\u2019m interested in and actively trying not to do something that\u2019s a take-off or parody of any currently popular tropes [such as] vampires, Steampunk, wacky roommates\u2026<\/p>\n

So, I wrote down stuff I like thinking about, for example, \u201cacquisition of experience,\u201d \u201cconsensus-building,\u201d \u201ccreative blockage,\u201d et cetera<\/em>. From that, it seemed like I wanted to make a story about small \u201cp\u201d politics and learning from your mistakes, so the mayoral campaign time-loop angle kind of sprang naturally from my list.<\/p>\n

Once I had a solid concept down, I linked up with Evan McNamara<\/strong>, a writer whom I\u2019d met at a networking event. Evan was really interested and ultimately became my co-writer for the project. I\u2019d also met Paris Tanaka<\/strong>, who became our producer. And thus, the core team was born!<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> Is the personnel of RE-ELECTION<\/strong> all based in California?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> Yes. We\u2019re a real, albeit tiny, Hollywood<\/strong> production! I hired a DP [director of photography] \u2013 the terrific Justin Aguirre<\/strong> \u2013 who brought in his own crew including a gaffer, grip, and assistant camera operator. We have an assistant director for scheduling and cracking the whip on set, a make-up artist, me as the director, Paris as producer, Evan as co-writer, et cetera<\/em>. It\u2019s pretty exciting, really. I had to keep myself from freaking out the first two days we were shooting the pilot because all I could think was, \u201cThis is my fantasy camp!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> You survived Kickstarter<\/strong> to help foot the bill for several additional episodes of RE-ELECTION<\/strong>. What was the approach managing your campaign this time versus for the pilot, and ultimately how well did you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> I\u2019d shot zero-budge before and I knew the limitations that came with that. So, for this project, I wanted to make it look as close to a real show or film as we could. And for that, we\u2019d need some semi-serious cash.<\/p>\n

We financed the pilot completely out of pocket. Most of the money came from me along with some generous contributions from Evan and Paris, [the latter] who was also kind enough to take on craft services and feed everyone during the pilot shoot. We knew it\u2019d be tough to run a Kickstarter no matter what, especially without a built-in fan base or any kind of recognizable name attached [to the project], so we definitely wanted the pilot episode to show people [our capabilities].<\/p>\n

I expected running the campaign to be difficult, and it was more difficult than I expected. It was a second full-time job for both me and my girlfriend, Jennifer<\/strong> [Wiley<\/strong>], who helped out immeasurably. It\u2019s easy to think that, once launched, a campaign will just run itself; you need only ask anybody who\u2019s ever done a public radio fund drive to learn how wrong that is. Your \u201cidle\u201d state for 30 days is asking anyone and everyone for contributions and that\u2019s when you don\u2019t have something else to do like Photoshop<\/strong> banners, Facebook<\/strong> content<\/span><\/a>, reward media, tweeting\/posting\/e-mailing about the campaign, and so on. There is at least eight hours of work to do every day!<\/p>\n

Our goal was $25,000. In the end, we surpassed that by about $1,600 and couldn\u2019t be happier about the outcome<\/span><\/a> as well as the fact that it was over.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> RE-ELECTION<\/strong> the series wrapped a couple of months ago. Did all your principal cast and crew return?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> Thankfully, yes, the entire cast and core members of the crew were able to return! We had a bit of a scare because our lead actress, Amber Rivera<\/strong>, moved to Puerto Rico<\/strong> after filming the pilot. We very nearly had a pretty big wrench in the machine to deal with. Luckily, she was happy to come back for the shoot and it all worked out.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> How many episodes were produced?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> We\u2019d calculated that $25,000 would let us make four more with a total of five, including the pilot. When I went through the scripts, though, I decided that I really wanted to get Episode 6<\/strong> in there. It has a pretty satisfying cliffhanger that could serve as a season finale. I kicked in a little bit more money, we tightened up some of the scripts, and ultimately we made it happen!<\/p>\n

We filmed five new episodes [and] I feel like we have a solid season. The story and characters are developed, stuff happens, and you\u2019re left wanting more in the end. I\u2019ll also say that pretty much everything is better about the new episodes versus the pilot. The pacing is tighter, the look is more polished, the camera work is more dynamic, and so on. We really tried to improve on every aspect.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> When and where will the new episodes be available for viewing?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> We\u2019re in post-production right now \u2013 editing, writing music, et cetera<\/em> \u2013 and we\u2019ll be premiering the first new episode<\/span><\/a> on Tuesday, November 4<\/strong> \u2026 Election Day<\/strong>! We\u2019ll then follow up with another episode every two weeks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> Previous to RE-ELECTION<\/strong>, you produced a post-apocalyptic short called WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong><\/span><\/a> involving a man and a powerful amulet. It looks like it might have been your swan song project while still in Chicago<\/strong>. How did this film come about?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK: WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong> was a lot of fun and came about because Jennifer, who plays \u201cZee,\u201d bought the jacket she wears in the short. I saw the jacket and joked, \u201cNow, you just need a giant sci-fi gun to go with it!\u201d So, I built her one. I don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s unusual for a wardrobe-and-props choice to catalyze a project, but that\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n

Once I decided that I wanted to make a short film around these things<\/span><\/a>, I thought it would work to piggyback off a very quick-and-dirty video I made a year prior called THE AMULET<\/strong> that was essentially just an alley chase. I ended up holding auditions for the cannibal thug roles, which prepared me somewhat for the far more extensive audition process on RE-ELECTION<\/strong>, and shooting in two really cool Chicago area locations.<\/p>\n

The abandoned train track chase was shot on the Bloomingdale Trail<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, a closed-off, miles-long stretch of elevated tracks that crosses the city. I think it\u2019s going to be developed into a public space like The High Line<\/strong> in New York City<\/strong>, so it was cool to use it while it was still in its dilapidated state. The second half of the film was shot in the abandoned Wyman-Gordon Power Plant<\/strong><\/span><\/a> in Dixmoor, Illinois<\/strong>. That location is not going anywhere any time soon.<\/p>\n

While my friend Bryan Gleason<\/strong>, who also played the male lead \u201cNate,\u201d wrote the music, I edited the film and did all the effects in about a six-month period. WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong> was very much a swan song for us as we finalized our move to Los Angeles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> Where has WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong> played?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> I\u2019d submitted it to a few festivals and it screened at the Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival<\/strong>. I was living in L.A. by then so I attended and did a Q&A [question-and-answer session]. It was an awesome way to kick off my L.A. experience!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> Can you describe briefly the similarities and differences in the independent films you produce today versus your student and just-out-of-college films? In what ways have you changed as a writer and filmmaker?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> Well, I\u2019d say the quality has certainly improved! At the same time, though, I\u2019m currently not able to devote the kind of time to filmmaking that I feel is necessary to really excel creatively and professionally. Like any other endeavor, \u201csuccess\u201d is a product of talent, dedication, and time, not to mention connecting with the right people to help in your development. It takes a really long time and a lot of films\/videos\/shorts to even get to the point where you\u2019re executing anything resembling a true \u201cvision.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a cohesive work, WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong> was better than anything I made in college<\/span><\/a> and RE-ELECTION<\/strong> is better than WHITE ELEPHANT<\/strong>. But, I\u2019m still quite far from the kind of confidence and directorial insight that come from hitting one\u2019s creative stride. It helps to work with talented people, however, and I\u2019m happy to say that I\u2019m constantly blown away by the level of talent we have on RE-ELECTION<\/strong>. All our actors, as well as Justin and the crew, are so incredibly professional. Working with people like that is really conducive for making the kinds of leaps in my experience that I know I need to make.<\/p>\n

Adam Savage<\/strong>, the MythBuster, said a wonderful thing during one of his presentations, that he constantly engages in tasks outside his area of expertise and works on them at least long enough to understand what it would take to become an expert in that field. I feel like that very much reflects my view of filmmaking. I want to keep doing it and get better at least long enough to understand what it would take for me to become truly good. At that point, I\u2019d probably reevaluate and see if I want to keep at it.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> And, finally, we\u2019ve been dying to ask you this pertinent question going back to earlier days at the University of Illinois<\/strong> and with Illini Film & Video<\/strong> \u2013 did <\/em>anyone win the game of ASSASSINS<\/strong>?<\/em><\/p>\n

PK:<\/strong> Why you<\/em>, the audience, of course! I can see my next Kickstarter campaign now, ASSASSINS: H2O2<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

Did you know ASSASSINS<\/strong> is available on YouTube<\/strong>? It\u2019s true! Watch it drunk with your friends!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

Interview conducted April 4 and September 10, 2014, via e-mail.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

CUBlog EXTRA! Interview No.11 \u00a9 2014 Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n

RE-ELECTION photos: Jennifer Wiley Photography<\/strong><\/span>\/<\/a>
\ncourtesy Paul Karpenko<\/p>\n

WHITE ELEPHANT photos: courtesy Paul Karpenko<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Back to the fore, MacDuff\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Visit the Interview Index<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Return to Home Page<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EXTRA! Interview with the series creator of RE-ELECTION.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,376,21,18,31],"tags":[1382,1376,84,1381,1377,1378,131,225,1380],"class_list":["post-8570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alums-done-good","category-gone-hollywood","category-qa-du-c-u","category-student-film","category-the-old-school","tag-amber-rivera","tag-assassins","tag-illini-film-video","tag-jennifer-wiley","tag-paul-karpenko","tag-re-election","tag-the-university-of-illinois-vs-a-mummy","tag-university-of-illinois-uc","tag-white-elephant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8570\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}