Justin H Brierley has launched a Kickstarter project to help raise funds to produce a documentary on electronic music pioneer Tod Dockstader.
Dockstader is a composer, film maker, cartoonist, writer and, now, an Alzheimer’s patient.
About Todd Dockstader
Tod Dockstader is best known as a composer of electronic music and as a cartoon sound effects artist. While working at Terrytoons in the early 1960’s, he provided sounds for Tom & Jerry and other cartoons directed by Gene Deitch. Around the same time he also worked as a sound engineer for a studio in NYC that mostly did commercial work.
He used these resources during his off hours to create several albums of startling electronic music, that influenced artists like Frank Zappa, Pete Townshend, and Aphex Twin. Some of this music was even used by Fellini as part of the Satyricon soundtrack.
Tod’s creativity ranges far beyond music and sound effects. He was an avid writer (poetry, short stories, plays, music reviews, etc..) and evidence suggests that he very much desired a writing career long before he started making music. He was also a filmmaker, whose company Westport Communications Group produced educational films that were distributed by McGraw Hill as part of their American Heritage series. Tod did most of the creative work on these films: writing, producing, and directing.
With this project, Brierley hopes to look beyond Dockstader’s Alzheimer’s disease to show Dockstader for the ‘Renaissance man’ that he is.
See the project site for more information.
via BBP
I like the project but it needs a lot more energy which the film maker so far, has failed to produce. A faster pace, better cinematography and editing are needed to really make this work. Brierley strikes me more as a producer than a director.