Clowning Around
Trio of Students Win Award for Documentary “PatchWork”
T
By Chris Valdez
Photo by Chris Valdez
he Broadcast of last year. him to forget the miseries that life Education Association Originally the idea was has caused him, thus allowing Festival of Media Arts to create a film that encompassed Chips to joyfully entertain the will honor SUNY the entirety of the clowning public. New Paltz students experience, but with no clear “With white makeup I Tevita Toutaiolepo, Julie disguise my face/my sad Florio and Kim Plummer feelings I will erase/ the for their documentary frown I wear will be no “Patchwork”. The trio more/ it passes away through of student film makers the curtain door,” Julius recently beat out 600 recites as he prepares to entries from universities transform into Chips the all around the country Clown. to win the BEA Best of As the trio reviewed Festival King Foundation the interviews they for student documentaries. conducted, they Originally a school decided to turn their project, “Patchwork” is documentary into a an introspective look into profile of Chips the the glorious yet tragic Clown rather than an life of Chips the Clown examination of the From Left to Right: Florio, Plummer and (aka Julius Carallo). The Toutaiolepo entire sub culture. Once student trio has brought a they were able to focus their path the trio interviewed various tremendous honor to the “hottest mission, the next steps involved small school” in the nation. vendors who sold clown attire until conducting more interviews that “With Julius we struck one clown with a bright, red hat focused on their new subject. They gold; he was so interesting and atop a curly, yellow wig stood out approached Chips for the second from the crowd. Donning a blue actually wanted to be on camera,” time toward the end of the semester vest with yellow, red and white says Plummer. with, as they called it, “nervous The journey for the three stripes on the back atop a white excitement”, but the stories that New Paltz students started in t-shirt embedded with a large circle unfolded were unexpected. As Professor Gregg Bray’s seminar divided into colorful diamonds, Julius spoke about his life he was in production when Bray called “With Julius we struck gold; he was so interesting upon his students to produce a documentary about anything they and actually wanted to be on camera” Kim Plummer wished to explore. Immediately Toutaiolepo, Florio and Plummer were attracted to the sub-culture Julius speaks with immense unafraid to discuss the loss he had passion for people, clowning of clowns, so they followed their endured. Julius fights back tears curiosity to Sea Side Heights, NJ and especially life. To Julius, the as he slowly describes the loss for “Clownfest 2010” in September culture of clowning has assisted of his childhood friend Jimmy to
film, documentaries and most importantly life itself, the trio says. They have gotten feedback from several viewers who were once afraid of clowns but after watching “Patchwork” they no longer have that fear. The act of working as a group to get the best work out of each other have brought the three closer together, they say. “The process is so cool to me, it’s the little things that make it all worth it,” Florio says. The time the students spent conversing with Chips was filled with inspirational lessons about life, death and the ability of laughter to enhance life. Julius relates his life to the story of Humpty Dumpty saying that he has had his problems but unlike Humpty Dumpty Julius has the ability to put himself back together saying, “Each time I put myself back together I felt I was stronger. So going back into all the sorrowful things that have happened to me, it is a patchwork and it has made me stronger.” Despite the problems that clowning has brought to his marriage, Julius stays loyal to his character as Chips. As the film concludes the camera pans “Each time I put myself back together I felt I was stronger. So out and the title “Patchwork” going back into all the sorrowful things that have happened to reemerges as Julius is heard me, it is a patchwork and it has made me stronger.” saying, “Nature slows you Chips the Clown down, your energy level is yourself. The high energy is coming together, his story coming BEA Festival of Media Arts. Their in me, there will be a time that it together.” (See sidebar on page initial reaction was a unique blend will pass and then I will stop.” three for more info) As the pieces of excitement, awe and relief. After viewing “Patchwork” of “Patchwork” came together Starting off as school project the it is hard for the audience to not the group explains that they experience of the documentary become emotionally involved has had a profound impact on had no plan to submit it to any in Julius’ life. Having a greater contest. But after spending an their lives. The experience gave appreciation for the art of entire semester working on the them a great appreciation for clowning is inevitable. The journey Photo by Julie-Ann Florio
illness, the divorce from his first project, Professor Bray was able to wife, his battle with loneliness convince the trio that they should and most painfully the loss of his enter their first contest. 20-year-old son in 1990. While in college, his son was murdered by a young Neo-Nazi follower in Sacramento, Calif. Despite the situation Julius refuses to be bitter, blaming youth, foolishness and recklessness as the reason for his son’s death. Julius states that he wanted to avoid the criminal justice system, instead he turns to clowning for an escape from reality. “I fell into entertainment. It’s given me a vehicle to be around a lot of people in a positive way. So I embrace my son, I embrace my son who died and feel that the energy came to Julius after he transformed into me and I have to continue what “Chips the Clown” I’m doing as if I died in 1990,” Julius explains in the film. “You never know how it Chips not only found came out because you have been around the story for so long and comfort in clowning but Plummer describes the filming of the this is all new to us,” Toutaiolepo documentary as therapeutic for says. Julius. As the viewer journeys Then on February 19, in the through a 20 minute summary basement of Coykendall Science of Julius’ life, the scenes are Building, Professor Bray “came separated by a puzzle in stop barreling down the hallway” as motion which, according to Plummer put it and informed her Florio “signified the pieces that they had won first place at the
of a man who has been emotionally scarred but has found an outlet for his hurt can connect with people on so many levels despite their feelings for clowning. “Patchwork” is more than a story about one man or one form of expression, the film reaches anyone who has had troubles in their lives but continues to fight and live life to the fullest. Julius represents the child in all of us that struggles through the tensions of reality to reach the surface and shine bright no matter the situation.
Q&A with Julie Florio About Stop Motion
Q: What is stop motion? A: Stop motion is a directing technique where several pictures of an object are taken in different places so when they are in succession it looks as if the object is moving without being touched. Q: Where did your inspiration for the stop motion in “Patchwork” come from? A: I had a dream of using a picture with a thematic idea of things coming together then falling apart. My biggest inspiration is Blu who is a street artist who specializes in paint and graffiti. Q: How were you able to make it appear as if the puzzle was moving by itself? A: First we set up a frame with duct tape and used soft light or “studio light” (lighting that is more yellow) and developed portraits with the puzzle. As we put the puzzle together each movement equalled one frame. Taking it apart was the hardest part because we couldn’t figure out the best way to make it crumble. At first we tried to push the puzzle from the corners, but then it crumbled too fast and looked fake. Eventually we used a butter knife to go underneath and poke it to loosen the pieces but still keep its structure. Then we were able to push from the corners and make it crumble. Lastly, we balanced the puzzle on the box to make it appear like the pieces were going in. Q: What was the correlation between the puzzle and the story of Julius? A: The stop motion gave breaths in the story to help the reader digest the information. It broke up the story while also having its own theme and reiterate things coming together and falling apart in Julius’ life. It also showed the difference between Julius the person and Chips the Clown, when his makeup came off it was back to square one like the circle of life.
Sources: Kim Plummer- kimplummer@ rocketmail.com Julie Florio- florio23@newpaltz.edu Tevita Toutaiolepo- confutra@ gmail,com