Interview with visionary artist Ty Brueilly
Welcome Ty we are very excited to have you today with us to discuss about your work.
First off, Who is Ty Brueilly and how did the passion for filmmaking start ?
Ty Brueilly is a visionary, a father, husband and artist. I take my commitments to these with the utmost seriousness. Ever since the days of 'The Dark Crystal' 'E.T.' and 'Fraggle Rock' I have always been obsessed with the art of filmmaking and movies, it was then amplified with the surge of high quality hip hop videos in the 90s and after seeing how the process worked several times behind the scenes I decided to really dive into making it myself in 2016.
Can you tell us about your previous work ?
I am in the process of creating my own cinematic universe that revolves and evolves from my debut film, 'Shucks' [2017]
I have a few more installments; 'Meng Hua Lu' [2018] a few music videos and a visual e.p. to supplement the theme that I will go into more later.
When I create my own "not for hire" work it's often times no dialogue with some, little to no colors, dark, gloomy, grim and oftentimes macabre, but always accompanied by music.
Aside from that, I've done almost two dozen music videos, a documentary on a local restaurant, shot political campaigns, a dozen plays, pieces of a webseries, an educational series on why a confederate statute has no place in our city of Asheboro and am currently juggling a newly established podcast, ASHEBORO UNDECIDED to all that's going on, completely releasing Season 1 and will be releasing Season 2 in May.
CONVERSATION ABOUT: At A Distance
‘'At a Distance'' is a horror themed music video. How would you simply describe your directing style ?
Purposefully unpolished, gritty and dark. I love to film in black and white where there are no distractions from vibrant colors. I am also known to be very sporadic on set and use more improv than actual scripted blocking, this allows the acting cast more freedom to dive into that character a little more.
Talk to us about your journey through this cinematic universe ?
It begins with a man who moves far away from his current life and situation to almost complete isolation and very quickly he is tempted to rejoin his former lifestyles. It is vague and symbolic, however he basically ends up trading one form of addiction for another. This is the very foundation and roots for my cinematic universe; addiction awareness and to show how violent and destructive the battles in one's mind can be and how complex the matter can actually be. I took a lot of inspiration from the Chinese story of 'The Journey West' in my debut script for 'Shucks' [2017] but by the mid point of production really found myself pulling more from 'Dante's Divine Comedy' in particular the 'Inferno' segment and building stories around the characters I created thereafter.
'Meg Hua Lu' [2018] was written and produced as a supplement to 'Shucks' and simulates what may be going though the mind of a person as they overdose, followed by the visual e.p. 'Grieving Process' [2019] where the character of 'Shucks' invites a new character to watch how his life would or could play out very similar to Dickens' Christmas Carol. There were two music videos that go along with the 'Shucks' cinematic universe, filling in some gaps, but we are really just now getting into what I absolutely want to reveal to the world with 'At A Distance (7eventh Sirkle)' which is a warm up to me diving deep into what will become '7ev7enth 7irkle'
Can you tell us about the hidden symbolism in your music video?
First of all I would encourage my audience to get a little familiar with Canto XIII from 'Dante's Inferno.' It's not the easiest to read, but there are summaries on the net to kind of help. There you will see the Harpies in the forest, which is also what you will see all around the table, that's also the reason on the wings. These harpies eat sticks and twigs from the trees, who are actually people that have been turned into trees as a form of their punishment when they were sent to the seventh cirlce.
The sword is important in that it represents our record label, Mightier Than The Sword Records. And when Vo-Kal or I wield it it's a nod to actually pay attention to the words more than the violence, but a lot of people don't really get that. And that goes hand in hand with Vo-Kal in the hook speaking about Knife Talk which on one hand pays homage to the Drake/21 Savage song, and on the other, visually we are kinda like the Crocodile Dundee thing, 'that's not a knife, that's a knife" iykyk.
The lamb mask may be the most important because it represents this innocent, godlike creature right in the seventh circle of hell and more people should be wondering why that is. After all, the seventh circle is for people who committed violence against self, thus my first bar; 'this the 7eventh sirkle of hell, I've been here for a minute cause im hurting myself"
Who are TY BRU & VO-KAL ?
When it comes to artistic creations, Ty Bru is first and foremost a hip hop artist and performer. Over 20 years of experience that really makes some thought provoking and authentic hip hop music, who has evolved into many other forms of art, thanks to what his hip hop music provided. He makes raw, in your face, witty and memorable punchlines with catchy hooks, most of all are unique and oftentimes very personal. He's performed over 2000 times in 12 countires.
VO-KAL is that next big thing. He is a new school singer mixed with old school vibes. The man is like The Weeknd & MJ combined but with his own flare and funk. I met him about 6 years ago at a show where he was a featured guest on the set of an artist from our label, Blaze Belushi I believe it was the night we opened up for Obie Trice. At that point he was just doing a lot of singing on boombap beats which worked, but I had no idea the way he would improve and expand on that in the next few years.
Did you and your team face any difficulties during the shooting of your project ?
Since we have a very limited or no budget with some of these films, we work around volunteers and their schedules can be hard to work around. So there were a few people I would have loved in this music video, but they will be in the actual short film instead. There were a few damaged masks and costumes from storage and some dried up makeup, but thankfully the team we had really went above and beyond to make it work. Thanks Gabi, Ydalia and Parker !
What is the message the audience should convey leaving the screening of your film ?
Initially we hope they leave feeling like they have heard a really awesome song and seen some really righteous and groovy visuals to accompany that. That's really all we expect at first. However, if the viewer is aware or familiar with Dante's Divine Comedy, they should immediately see what we are aiming for. But our main goal for our audience is the hope that it sparks a conversation similar to this one we are having now that opens up some explanations with the enticement of repeating viewings for the audience to expand their minds and go in on this journey to the seventh circle with us, and bring awareness that sometimes people don't really belong in this hell that our own personal judgement condemns them to.
Any future projects incoming ?
The next is the actual short film, '7e7enth 7irkle' which is spelled a little differently, but expands on the scene from 'At A Distance' and adds more context and dialogue before and after. We are currently in the final filming stages of that and shot most of it the same time we did the music video. But really that's the next filming goal and which I feel will be my most pivotal and important one. I hope I am able to execute this the way I envision it!
Additionally, I am nearly finished with my sixth solo studio album, 'The Hollywood Diaries' and will have a handful of music videos out to supplement my songs as well. As far as aspirations go, I yearn to remain as constant and consistent with my art as possible all while fulfilling my commitments as husband and father.
That balance is some tough stuff, I'm telling you but I am getting better and better with that. I hope to continue to attend these film festivals and spend more time in Los Angeles learning about the industry, I learned so much being there in February and I feel like being there a few times a year will help open up my creativity to a whole new level.
That was the interview with our beloved creator Ty Brueilly. Our community is rising everyday, new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not schedule one for yourself to promote your work.
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