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The Cracked-Prism Life of ItsJerryTime |
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Written by Max Stout
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Sunday, 07 January 2007 |
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Page 2 of 3
GLUBDUB: I was just reading what you wrote about the first episode being more surreal for you than funny. The picture on my profile is a portrait of me that I commissioned Chet Zar to do. I totally dig his otherworldly portraits, but I have a real love hate relationship with this one. I mean it really looks like me and really brings out a side of me thats just too gruesome for me to look at. Yet I gave him a picture to work from that wasnt that far off of what he painted, and I have it hanging in my living room.
Is this how your brother sees you I wonder. When you see your animated self does it make you feel a little exposed or is it just an extreme parody of you.
JZ: I understand what you’re saying. It takes a lot of getting used to. The caricature of me on the site was initially somewhat disturbing to me, but I’ve gotten over it. My head and eyes are a couple of my most prominent features in real life. But I volunteered for this gig, so I don’t really feel that exposed. There have been times I talk to people and they knowingly wink and laugh about all the supposed pain and suffering of myself and the character, but I’ve resigned it all as “taking one for the team.” It took awhile but now I’m not disturbed at all. Not about my appearance in It’s JerryTime anyway. Sometimes Orrin’s idea of extreme parody crosses the line into sadistic shadenfreude and I try to identify that.
GLUBDUB: Are the stories are written by Jerry? How close to real life experiences do these stories get? What parts of the story do you typically embellish on, even if just subtly?
JZ: Yes, I tell the stories pretty much as they happened. Not much verbal embellishment except for names and places. The stories are bizarre in and of themselves so there?s no need to exhaggerate verbally. Weird things happen to me. Through time I discovered that I can tell these stories in a somewhat fatalistic way. My brother Orrin of course takes liberties with the animation, conjuring up characters like The Landlord and The Karate Date. We may have to change a detail or two depending on personal privacy or narrative flow but the stories are told pretty vanilla, but with a deadpan twist.
GLUBDUB: I think most people have a story or stories to tell. They just need to know where to look and they need to know how to tell them. They need to find their stories in the least obvious places. I think that’s what you do. I think "Jerry" could make the ingrediants of white bread entertaining. But I guess it doesn’t hurt that weird things happen to you. I wonder if weird things happen more often to some, or if their just more perceptive and in tune with the subtle weird things of everyday life.
JZ: I definitely think weird things happen more often to some. With me, things happen to me on a fairly consistent basis. This combines with the fact that I believe I’m more sensitive and expressive than most and this opens me up to a wider range of possibilities and perceptions. For some reason, I’m usually the only one to notice things and things get under my skin. And that’s where I get a lot of my experiences. It’s just the way people choose to interpret these weird experiences, and whether they come to terms with why stuff happens. I used to be angry and sullen, now that I’m 46 I’ve accepted most of these things philosophically.
GLUBDUB: The music that runs behind the narration totally captures the mood for each story. Are these original pieces by Jerry? Are there any plans to release a CD of the music?
JZ: Thanks again! Besides the Civil War tunes in The Strange Trip - which are originally from the Civil War, all are original piano pieces that I also play. The ragtime feel to the background music I think helps warm up the narrative and give it a genuine and quirky texture. A musical theme identifies the main character, usually an antagonist. Sometimes the music contrasts with the action. My piano has progressed since the beginning and it’s a joy to do. A lot of these themes are 1:00 or less so I’ll have to accumulate quite a few in order to put out a CD. We might eventually.
Glubdub: Orrin is in charge of the visuals right? The style is kind of reminiscent of Terry Gilliam of Monty Python. Are you a fan of his work and was this a conscious decision or is it that just a byproduct of using "cut outs". I love using After Effects. I actually went to high school with the guy who initially developed the technology behind it. Can you give me some details on how you go about creating the visuals using After Effects? Are you using it for video processing or are you also time-lining everything in there as well?
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