This week, I decided to really ~support our local artists~ and sit down with musician, filmmaker and good friend, Indie DiMartino. His art has been sort of an inspiration and awakening for me, so talking to him about his history and creative process felt almost as if I was getting the insider tea on the trade.
Her Campus (HC): So, where are you from?
Indie DiMartino (ID): Well, I’m from St. Augustine and I was born in Fort Pierce, so I just say I’m from Jacksonville. A real Florida man, if you may.
HC: What was the inspiration for the name “Indie”? It’s almost like your parents wanted you to become a filmmaker.
ID: They named me that because of Indiana Jones, I’m pretty sure. Or maybe even Indie music, I mean I was born in 2001, a great time for Indie music.
HC: “Hey guys, my parents named me after alternative music because I’m just that edgy!” No, but how do you feel like attending Florida State University is affecting your creative process and self-expression? Spill the tea.
ID: I don’t think that it’s the school, it’s more so the people. I’ve felt sort of out of place here but finding people that have similar visions has been interesting. Regardless, I believe that you’ll always find ways to express yourself
HC: Well, what’s your favorite way to express yourself?
ID: I think doing any sort of project that means something to me at the time that I’m making it whether it be a song, or a short film, is my way of self-expression. I’m definitely hop-scotching between projects right now just because I don’t have a steady job or thing-that-I’m-doing, so I’m just going back and forth between multiple creative projects.
HC: Love that! So, tell us what your favorite short film to work on has been.
ID: I worked on a film called Usual that I liked a lot. Just because I had never worked with a good actor before. There’s an actor that goes here, Cameron Schmitt, that was in that film. We worked on it in high school and I really enjoyed it because I’ve never worked with an actor that’s good, and he’s an amazing actor in my opinion. I feel like working with people that really understand what you’re trying to do is really important.
HC: When they SEE the vision! So, you attend the school for motion picture arts. Are you looking forward to working with people that have similar visions and creative processes or do you prefer working independently?
ID: I think it’s always better working with other people, but I do think it matters who you work with, because you don’t want to have too many conflicting visions. I do find myself working by myself a lot now, but I don’t want to be, really, so I’m looking forward to working with more people.
HC: Okay filmmaker! So, when it comes to your music, what made you start? What made you make that first tape?
ID: I’ve been recording and making music since I’ve been in middle school. All my “mixtapes” are out there somewhere but I really don’t want to know *laughs*. But music has always been a part of my life, and I guess making anything has been a part of my life.
HC: When it comes to songs you’ve already made, what was your favorite one to work on?
ID: The most recent song I worked on wasn’t the most fun to work with, but it was definitely the most challenging. That’s because I’ve always done my recordings by myself in just like various closets –
HC: Well that’s EXACTLY how Freddie Mercury started!
ID: — Exactly! But this time I was working with people that were like doing sound and it was kind of weird. I definitely want to expand on the way I work, but if you work well in a certain way, I think it’s also good to maintain that, because when you try to produce stuff in foreign environments it gets weird.
HC: Totally! Preserve the creative process! So, you recently came out with a music video for your original song “Youth is a Weapon”, what was the vision with the video? Did it come out how you wanted it to be?
ID: I think it came out fine, but when we filmed it, I planned it really last minute. I planned it around the fact that my friend had a really nice camera and he was like “You and your roommate can use it whenever.” and he offered to work with me on it and be the cinematographer. So, I was like “Oh, that’s sick” so we planned the music video real quick.
HC: Well, that’s really fitting considering the whole premise of the song is living “real quick”. So now that we discussed all of that, do you see any bigger projects coming your way? What is your end goal?
ID: I’ve always been very afraid of having a job that I hate. I think a lot of people just put up with existing every day and having a job you don’t like takes up so much of your life, so I just want to be able to do something that I want to do. Have control over my life *laughs*, I guess that’s my end goal.
HC: I love that! Well, before we go, here’s a quickfire round. Who’s one musician and director you’d like to collaborate with?
ID: There’s a lot of people that I’m inspired by, but I don’t know if I would want to collaborate with them. I’ve always really loved David Byrn’s music, but he’s like notoriously hard to collaborate with, so I don’t know if that would work *laughs*. Also, King Krule! Filmmakers wise, Spike Jonze is a very big inspiration. He went from making music videos to people suddenly taking him seriously enough to make films. He sprinkled Jack Ass somewhere in there. He also collaborates with everyone so I feel like that would be a cool collaboration.
HC: Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it! Indie DiMartino for you.
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