Mike Williamson
Filmmaker / Musician / Film Programmer
Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
I’m a filmmaker, independent musician and film programmer. As a filmmaker, I’ve directed in the horror genre for television as well as award winning short films, which have been licensed by multiple online and television platforms. I’ve had spec screenplays optioned and purchased by production companies and studios, and been nominated for an Emmy for my work editing animated television shows.
As a musician, I front the alternative rock band Jr. Juggernaut whose latest album “Another Big Explosion” landed on multiple “best of the year” lists on music blogs. Our music has been played on radio stations worldwide, including local stations KROQ and THE SOUND, and has been licensed in multiple television series and feature films.
As a film programmer, I run the 16mm film screening series Secret Sixteen, which started out in a coffee shop in 2013 and is now featured at Brain Dead Studios on Fairfax where I host 12 hour marathons of cult movies to sold out audiences.
How did you first become interested in art?
I’m not so sure I ever got “interested” in art per se; it’s just a natural inclination – a necessity or instinct – that has always been the focus of my day to day life. The art that speaks to me most, cinema and music, drives me to not just enjoy it, but to also contribute to it with my own work.
How does art enrich a community, and what are some ways people can engage with music in Burbank?
I think art enriches a community in ways that go far beyond the stage, museum wall or cinema screen. To me, art is everywhere – in food, landscaping, where you place a chair in a room. I believe what makes humans different from other animals is that so much of life’s pleasures come from art, whether it’s conscious or not. You like your office at work? It may be because of where the architect decided to place a window or wall. Does wearing a nice outfit make you happy? It’s because the clothing designer used their artistic skills to make something aesthetically pleasing while also functional. For me, art is what makes every community special. The local restaurant’s best dish, the way the light posts look, even an efficient bus schedule has an art to it. Art is everywhere in every community.
If you could share with our community one thing about your creative process, what would it be?
As an artist, whether in film or music, my creative process relies on inspiration followed by a “sculpting” process. My work rarely comes out fully formed, it involves a rough first draft (a script, a guitar riff, an edit, a shot list, a screening program) and working with it until it is the best version of it I can do – the version that pleases me the most.
Check out some of Mike’s work at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vWv7GJinCo
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfMB-Wf2l2w