A Chat with Drew Daywalt on His Webseries ‘Camera Obscura’
Interview Conducted by Marc Patterson – Managing Editor – BrutalAsHell.com
After seeing the trailer that has been buzzing about various places for Drew Daywalt’s upcoming webseries, Camera Obscura, we had to reach out to him in order to find out more. From the trailer one can see this is a series that deserves more than a passing footnote. This is the sort of independent project that deserves a bit more time in the limelight, and deserves our support far more than any remake or big studio project. So check it out!
Brutal As Hell: So Drew – It was great to hear about this web series. I’ve caught a couple different series online this past year, and to be honest haven’t been that impressed. But they were more of a thriller angle, and less straight up horror, which is what seems to be promised here. Not to get overly interviewy here (did I just make that word up?) but I figured I would toss you a few questions!
Drew Daywalt: Thanks so much for taking the time! I’m psyched you’re interested in my humble series! It is horror, there are six unique demons and lots arcana and black magic (I’m big on Lovecraft) and most importantly there is what I think, is a lot of heart.
Brutal As Hell: So what does the plot breakdown on this look like?
Drew Daywalt: At it’s core, Camera Obscura is the story of a woman coming to terms with an emotionally distant, alcoholic parent. (in this case, her bachelor Grandfather), and discovering that while he was greatly flawed, he did love her. He loved her enough to sacrifice everything for her.
But on the surface, Camera Obscura is the story of a woman who’s world is shaken when she discovers that the same said grandfather, who passed away recently, was, in fact, a demon hunter; capturing the demons using a camera that was half mechanical construct and half black magic. But Grandfather died before his quest was finished, and now the task falls into her hands. What she does with it, is up to her.
Brutal As Hell: I’ve heard one website quote this at twenty episodes, another at seventeen. What’s the real number?
Drew Daywalt: Episode wise, we started out aiming for seventeen, but found that it broke more evenly into twenty episodes. Being a web series where there are no rules on form and template, I just wrote the script in as many episodes as were needed to tell the story, as opposed to having to fill a specific number of episodes like they do in TV. So while we shot seventeen scripts, we found in the cutting room that twenty worked much better.
Brutal As Hell: Where did the concept for this come from?
Drew Daywalt: I’ve always loved cameras and I have been shooting my own material for six years now. And as a child I was completely enthralled by the tribe of aborigines that believe a photograph captures their soul. Thinking about story, I wondered what if you COULD use a camera to capture a soul- like a weapon, almost. Then I thought, who would use it? A villain? The hero?
Demons are my monster of choice. They’ve terrified me since childhood, so I thought it would be really fun to see someone going up against Demons using a camera as a weapon. That’s kind of the genesis of the concept.
Brutal As Hell: With the other web series I’ve seen they tend to hold back in the level of gore. You show some pretty frightening elements in that trailer. What can viewers expect?
Drew Daywalt: As far as gore, I don’t pull back. And what’s in the trailer is actually nothing compared to what’s in the show. There’s one scene where one of the characters gets a railroad spike through their neck, and another scene where someone unzips their own abdomen with a zipper. It’s all very nightmarish and surreal and we really let her rip, as far as gore, but it’s hardly what I’d call a “gore film”. All of the gore is motivated by story. I don’t like slasher films, so I didn’t want pointless violence for it’s own sake. I want it to have meaning. If it doesn’t have meaning, it will hold no resonance with the audience. Gore is a spice added to the soup of horror storytelling. It is not the storytelling itself.
Brutal As Hell: Any word on when or where this will debut?
Drew Daywalt: I can’t talk about the release yet, but as soon as I’m legally available I’d love to chat with you again and tell you all about it. It will be released in 2010, and as soon as all parties are signed off, we’ll announce it so you guys can find it.
Brutal As Hell: Thanks Drew for taking the time out for this interview! All you readers… Be sure to check out the trailer (below) that has got folks in the horror community talking, and make sure you keep checking back here for updated news as we get it!
