San Antonio Filmmaker David Aguirre Talks About Music, Mistakes and Moving Forward After His Short Film “The American Romantic.”

Film: The American Romantic
Writer: David Aguirre
Producer: Dania “Niki” Aguirre
Director: David Aguirre
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Format: DV

Where did the idea for ”The American Romantic” come from?

I had an idea about life being like a jigsaw puzzle. I tried developing it into a script for a bit and over time it became what it was. So I sat down and wrote out the script and then called up my friend Alan who plays Tom in the film. The whole process went rather quickly when I was done writing it.

How long did it take to complete the film?

We shot it in a day and I spent a week editing the film.

Did you submit it to any festivals?

No. The film was done back in August of 2006 and it sat on my shelf for a few months until February of 2007 when I sat down and watched it again. It was the first time I’d seen it in months and I thought it could use an original score. I called up my friend Josh Balleza and told him about the film and how I wanted it to have a cool collective sound to it. So after like two weeks he handed me a CD and I simply just added the track to the timeline and bam it was done.

Compared to the typical short film, you have some really great original music. How important music in a film is to you?

Well I’ve been involved with music for about eight years and so it has become a major part of my life. Only a few films can get away without having music. To me it’s like having a black and white film but taking out the white… its nothing but a bland mess on the screen but in this case its for sense of sound. Does that make sense? (laughs)

In 6th grade I met my friend Josh Balleza who is a pretty amazing trombonist and a musical genius. Over the years we’ve played jazz together and was my first pick to compose the music for The American Romantic.

A month later we shot Euphoria Man but I decided that I would have another friend take a stab at composing some stuff for me. So I called up a friend by the name of Justis Kleber and he composed the trombone jazz pieces that play throughout that film. The other music in that film I composed myself because I wanted a certain feel for specific scenes and certain little themes that would be used for transitions.

So are you happy with how the film turned out?

Looking back at the project now there are a lot of things that I would have changed during filming. I really feel like it was rushed and I could’ve done a better job shooting it. But it’s the past and I’ve learned from that.

What did you learn?

The biggest thing is the weakness in the story. As a filmmaker I tried to have the basics in there but I never really thought how I would carry the film through each part of the story.

After The American Romantic, Euphoria Man was technically the last film I’ve made and I’ve been doing nothing but trying to develop my writing technique since then. Creating stories that are more solid.

Working on anything you really like right now?

Most of the scripts I’ve written are based on a detective character I made up a long, long time ago. I haven’t decided whether or not I’d actually make one into a film because I feel like I have put so much pressure on myself not to screw up again.

Some people might say that part of being a great artist is being honest with yourself…do you agree?

Absolutely. People have said that my films were good but in all honesty I know they’re just trying not to upset me. I know the films aren’t the best but I can’t make art without developing myself as a filmmaker first.

So in developing yourself as a filmmaker and an artist, what have you discovered?

I’ve discovered that I tend to have a character die in my films. (laughs) Personally, I am afraid of death so I suppose it’s my way of dealing it.

What’s next for David Aguirre?

Right now I’m developing several scripts that I hope to shoot over the summer. It’s been a year and two months since I’ve shot a movie, the biggest gap yet, and I hope that the lessons I’ve learned from my past two films will show in whatever I choose to shoot in the future.

Lastly, what’s it like to collaborate creatively with a sibling?

My sister, Niki Aguirre, and I both generally have the same idea about what we want all the way from the shot to music. There’s always some tension but I think it’s good as a progressing filmmaker to have collaboration with someone I can trust.

I think it would be ignorant of me to go at this whole thing based on only the decisions I would make. Without Niki I don’t think I would be where I am or progressed this far.

WATCH DAVID AGUIRRE’S SHORT FILM “THE AMERICAN ROMANTIC” BELOW: