Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper, the short-documentary film duo known as ZCDC behind the California Is a Place project, are in the process of completing their biggest film to date. The film follows Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a young female boxer from Flint, Michigan, who is soon to be the youngest female boxer to ever fight in the Olympics.
The two filmmakers, since starting their collaborative relationship in 2009, have shot commercial pieces for Ray-Ban, Toyota and Chevy, and have had one of their shorts admitted to the Sundance Film Festival. This is the first time the pair have used kickstarter to fund a documentary, and having reached their goal, will be flying to the Olympic games to finish telling Claressa’s story.
We caught up with them via email from the Olympic games in London, and here's what they had to say.
Wired: Your newest project, T-REX, which is still an open Kickstarter project, appears to be your most ambitious project to date. Can you tell us how you came across the story since it’s not in California?
ZCDC: Ha! No, this one is not in California. So far it’s been everywhere but. China, Canada, Michigan, Vegas, Colorado and now, I’m writing from London. A little different from driving from LA to Orange County. Anyways, Drea and I had originally been developing a project about teenage phenom athletes and as that process developed we became more and more focused on female fighters. Mixed martial artists. Wrestlers. And of course, boxers. Just when we thought we were making progress with that series, Claressa popped up on our radar and it was a total eclipse. We flew to Flint the next week. Three days later we were totally committed. It was a story we wanted to tell. T-Rex was alive.
Wired: Is this your first time using Kickstarter? How has using it changed your approach to filmmaking, if at all?
ZCDC: Everyone warns you how challenging and demanding a Kickstarter campaign actually is but they all lied. It’s so much harder. Writing and updating and emailing and facebooking and tweeting and thanking and so on. All the time, it’s presence is felt.
As filmmakers, I’m not sure Kickstarter changes our approach to the T-Rex film all that much. But it does change our approach to presenting the film. First off, Drea and I aren’t exactly social media active. Sure we have had a lot of success with California is a place on facebook/twitter but our approach has been somewhat passive. We didn’t have to do much to make that happen. That series took off on its own. For this project, we have been aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. And yes, that is the way that you raise money in Kickstarter but it also seems very relevant to distributing independent films as well. You find an audience that likes your work and constantly try to work with and inform that audience about whatever it is you are working on. If you’re on it, it can be very rewarding. And what’s crazy is how much the audience and fans appreciate that.
Also, Kickstarter has forced us to create a bunch of ancillary materials that normally we wouldn’t think about. Besides the teaser, there are personal videos and clips and testimonials and audio slideshows and radio pieces and on and on. For the first time in our short careers, we’ve had to come out from behind the camera as well. I found myself at JFK airport the other night, doing a Kickstarter update into my iPhone video camera surrounded by other travelers. A public performance with me as the star? It was awkward.
Wired: Has there been a particular project that marked a notable change in your audience or the amount of recognition you were receiving?
ZCDC: The California Is a Place project is where everything changed for Drea and I. We had no idea where that would lead. Three years later we have made 30 or so films. Sure, going to Sundance gave us some credibility. And our commercial work tends to lead to new commercial work. But without California Is a Place, none of this would have happened.
Wired: Flint, MI, seems like the perfect place for the two of you to be making films – everyone there has a story. How has your time there been so far?
ZCDC: I love Flint. It is so rich. So many stories. So much to shoot. Last time we were there, Drea and I drove by a house with $500 spray painted on the exterior and Drea actually had to talk me out of buying it. Flint is an incredibly unique place. Historically, it is the American dream turned into the American nightmare. But for a place that is so deeply dysfunctional, it has an incredible amount of identity. People are proud to be from there. And you can see why. There is a community there that is much stronger than anything I’ve ever found in Los Angeles.
Wired: Do you see yourselves telling other stories in Flint?
ZCDC: I’m not sure. We’re always looking for new stories to tell but at the same time, T-Rex is our focus right now. But you never know. Stories tend to always lead to other stories. And Flint has no shortage.
Wired: The two of you seem pretty good at maintaining your visual integrity between documentary and commercial work and it’s clear that your documentary projects have informed your commercial ones. What effect has your commercial work had on your documentary projects, have you picked up any ideas or skills that you think will end up informing the way you go about doc filmmaking?
ZCDC: We are blessed. Generally speaking, we are hired to do what we do well. Our commercial work is an extension of our documentary work. Overall, we approach all of it the same way. Sure some projects have more resources and some projects have more compromises, but for the most part, we approach them as filmmakers trying to tell a story. So in that regard, the doc work and the commercial work definitely inform each other. Visually, our commercial work has allowed us to experiment with bigger toys. Sometimes those toys are available for our doc work, giving us a few extra things to play with. But for the most part, we still approach our doc work the same way we did when we first went and shot Cannonball in 2009. Hopefully, with a bit more wisdom but this is where the work hopefully speaks for itself.
Wired: Any filmmakers or projects out there right now that you’re inspired by?
ZCDC: We’re inspired by all sorts of things and we pass other peoples work back and forth all the time. But usually, they are individual films or individual moments in films. Lately we’ve been discussing the HBO documentary series OnFreddieRoach, which has a style and intimacy to it that we both appreciate. And I really liked Bombay Beach. Generally, I think we’re attracted to documentaries that are stretching the definition of the word “Documentary”.
Wired: Do you foresee either one of you branching into narrative filmmaking in the future?
ZCDC: Sure thing. We just love making stuff. Narrative films. Experimental films. Music Videos. Drea wants to start a magazine app. I want to spend 6 months doing medium format still portraits in Shanghai. But documentary will always have a special place and I’m not sure we will ever get tired of it.
Wired: Where do you guys see yourselves in 5 years from now?
ZCDC: Ha! Good question. As I said, we just want to make stuff. The film industry is changing rapidly. The web model is growing and shifting all the time and the opportunities there are really attractive because there are no rules. You can make whatever you want and if it’s good, it’ll lead to new things. Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll open a Vietnamese/ping-pong restaurant and call it Phong. That sounds good.
Wired: Any words of wisdom for those out there who are inspired by what you’re doing?
ZCDC: Produce. Make as much as you can. Make things for the sake of making them. Work begets work. If your work rings true, new opportunities will emerge. There is no formula so don’t be afraid to experiment. But I’m no expert. I just know what has worked for us. Everyone has a different path.
Wired: I have to ask – have either of you play boxed with Claressa yet?
ZCDC: Of course. Never seriously of course, cause I wouldn’t want to hurt her. Ha! Actually the opposite. Every time she play punches me, I silently cringe. Years of boxing have turned her fists into stones. Even the lightest punch she throws has some snap to it. Maybe when all is said and done we’ll put on some gloves and see what happens, although just saying that out loud makes me nervous.
Wired: Thanks for taking the time to talk – and best of luck with the rest of the film!
