QUESTION#1: What about your film excites you the most?: What excites me most about this film is that it's a very personal, true story about my great grandfather Felix Landis. He was a master craftsman and made som amazing, ground breaking violins. He had passed away when I was just a baby so I never met him but when I was in film school at SDSU, I had a great aunt who played me an old reel to reel recording of him talking about the origins of the wood used for each violin and then he played this emotional music on each one. I was blown away. So as a student, I tried to pitch the idea to friends, colleagues, and anyone who would listen, but really, nobody was the least bit interested in helping fund my family story. So it sat on the shelf for 35 years.

QUESTION#2: What is it about your current movie that will influence your next film?: The only reason we were able to complete this film is that I let go of my "anti-AI bias, and opened my mind to using generative AI tools to complete it. We've had over 30 years experience in animation, from claymation, 2D and 3D computer animation, so it just made sense to give it a try.. I'm so glad I did. It has changed everything for me in how I look at the future of film making and the stories I can now tell by using this new technology. There are no limits for me now when I write a script. It's completely unleashed my creativity.

QUESTION#3: When you’re shooting a film, do you think of time as something you capture or something you construct?: Since I never plan on shooting anything ever again, I'll answer the question for "time the AI world". Everything in a generative AI film is constructed from the ground up, including time. But I love that. If my whole film takes place at magic hour, great it's magic hour 24 hours a day in my computer. But also, everything moves faster, I don't need to wait for a break in the weather, I don't need to wait for permits to come through, or talent schedules. I don't need to raise the money! I can just make it. The bottom line is, it all comes down to how much time and effort I'm willing to put into the film which is very liberating, knowing that the entire pace is set by me and my passion for storytelling.

QUESTION#4: What’s a limitation you wish you had on your next shoot that would force you into making interesting creative decisions?: So for AI, that's the thing, there are no limitations! If you can imagine it, you can create it,... or at least you will pretty soon. The technology has reached a point where it has crossed the uncanny valley and can create images that look imperceptibly real.. The tools now understand that it's the imperfections that make things look real, Your digital star now has a small scar on her chin where she fell off the swings when she was 5, subtle wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, freckles and acne scars from her teen years an just a hint of cellulite on her thigh just on the part where she leans against the dusty red corvette. It takes a professional to pull it out of the computer but it can do it. What it can't do yet very well is communicate with the artist that is bringing the intention, the human experience and the meaning of the story. This is what is going to take some time, is closing the communication gap. But when it does, I will be making nothing but interesting creative decisions.

QUESTION#5: If a film shoot is like a living organism, which department do you think functions as its nervous system?: My partner Jeanne Scott and I have always been hands on film makers. Let's face it, if you are making shorts, it's because no one is paying you to make features. So as the storyteller, you are going to be the nervous system. Noting get's done without you imagining it and then executing it. The exciting part of this new revolution of generative film making that's on the horizon, is that you as the storyteller have all the power. No budget, means nobody to answer to. That's amazing. There's an old quote from directors, that "You never get the film that you see in your head". Well now you can. Our film "The Craftsman" is EXACTLY what I saw in my head. No compromise, no constraints just overwhelming pride in finally being able to tell this story about Felix and his violins with a pure vision. I couldn't be happier.

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5Q's w/: Devin Scott "The Craftsman" Director, Writer