Ryan Park’s short film, Crescendo, follows Gretchen, who immigrated to the US with her family and hoped to find success as a songwriter. But then she noticed that she had serious hearing problems and had to undergo several rounds of surgery. In the film, the now 35 year old Gretchen goes on a road trip to Charlottesville Virginia in the hope of finding guidance and inspiration. Thank you for speaking with us.
UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): First off, what inspired you to make this film?
Ryan Park (RP): I always try to explore various social issues and focus on unheard voices through my film, and when I got to learn about Gretchen as a person and her struggling stories, it was difficult for me to ignore. As I found out that she and I share many things in common such as moving to the U.S. as a teenager, transferring colleges multiple times to discover true passion, and having to survive in the creative industry for many years, I realized that this might be a story for many others with similar situations and struggles.
(UM): How did you meet Gretchen?
(RP): She and I went to the same church in New York where she was playing the piano for the choir. I didn’t know her personally until when she and I both signed up for a group dance performance for Christmas. When the group met for the first time, she talked about her hearing problems which surprised everyone, especially me. As I got to know her more, I heard more fascinating stories about how she became stronger after many chaotic events in her life.
(UM): It wasn’t clear to me if Gretchen had made a decision about what direction she should go in at the end of the film. Do you think she’s going to keep pursuing her dream, or is she going to try to find another way to make music a part of her life?
(RP): That’s a pretty difficult question for me to answer, especially because I know how much she has invested both financially and physically to not lose her dream even if she loses hearing completely. She has her own tiny studio that she built herself and she has been collaboratively working with other independent artists worldwide, and in fact, I learned during the pre-interview that she has been trying to get out of her comfort zone lately and trying to approach her audience in different ways using social media. We all know that every flower blooms at a different pace, and I believe that one day her music will bring big pleasure to many ears for many years around the world.
(UM): Do you think Gretchen has what it takes to become a famous songwriter?
(RP): I also play music – woodwinds, and piano – and sometimes write songs, too, and to be honest, I would be hesitant to say she would be Taylor Swift famous. I, however, think that she certainly has what it takes to become an inspiring songwriter for many others, and sometimes, that can be a more difficult thing to do than becoming famous.
(UM): Do you happen to know if Gretchen’s hearing problems will be resolved?
(RP): Unfortunately, besides hearing loss, she is going through some other struggles like panic disorder and social phobia, and I couldn’t get in touch her since we came back from the trip. Thus, I can only tell from what she told me during production that her hearing problems were increasingly deteriorating. So, I just hope and pray that her overall health and hearing problems get better soon.
(UM): What was production like? How long did it take to shoot this film? Did anything unexpected happen while you were shooting?
(RP): From pre-production all the way to post and distribution, this film is an entirely one-man-band production, and I must say every minute of production was an opportunity for me to grow as a filmmaker. I had to operate four different cameras, external sound gear, and even drones while directing, scheduling, budgeting, and driving at the same time all
by myself. I understand these hassles are not too unusual for indie documentary filmmaking, but it rained half the time during shooting when the entire film was planned to be shot outside, and things got a little bit out of control.
I wanted to capture different parts of Gretchen’s life, so it took me about two months to shoot, but the main scene where Gretchen and Jenny go on a road trip took only three days.
And yes, there were many unexpected occasions, but what surprised me the most happened when Gretchen and Jenny decided to perform on the street after talking to other musicians from the music festival. I remember it was late Sunday night, and when we got to the main street, there was literally nobody there which they initially thought was good because it was their first time to perform on the street and they were very shy about it. But then when they started singing their third song _La Nave Del Olvido_, a couple from the Dominican Republic came out of nowhere and stayed for the whole song and it suddenly became an intimate interaction between the musicians and the couple. Later, they told us that they were going through tough times as they lost their home recently, and this unexpected musical performance in Spanish stopped them and moved them deeply – the girl even cried. It was a significant moment for us to really appreciate the curative power of music.
(UM): Did you have to cut any interesting material from the film?
(RP): I shot a lot of interviews with Gretchen because she has a very strong story, but most of them were not included. The part I was debating until the last minute was interview footage where she talks about how she came to the U.S. after her father was murdered by a stranger on street, and how her mother, a widow and poor artist, was strongly against her dream of becoming a musician because she didn’t want her daughter to be poor as well. Having to fight against her own family made it even more difficult for her to pursue a career in music, but simultaneously, it reinforced her motivation to become better.
(UM): Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
(RP): I am currently working on a series of documentaries that highlight the lives of legendary artists in Korea which will be distributed to National museums. It will be an interesting project as we are utilizing VR and AR technology for a better cinematic experience.