Artist Spotlight
In this month’s artist spotlight we bring to you Dave Sullivan of Sleight of Hand Films & Photography
Josef Desade: I'd like to welcome to Black Noise, photographer and film maker Dave Sullivan of Sleight of Hand Films and Photography, how are you doing today?
Dave Sullivan: I'm doing great! Thanks so much for including me in this stellar magazine.
JD: Happy to be talking to you today! So what sparked this passion in you to create stories in photos and film?
DS: I would say the majority of my hobbies and endeavors all stem from things I loved as a kid. Growing up relatively poor you don't have the opportunities other s have to pursue the passions you want to do, so I made a promise to myself that someday I would do the things that make my heart sing. In regards to the film and photography I was obsessed with those things. TV, film, fashion, pictures, acting all of it. so we flash forward to many years later and I started auditioning for local film productions to become an actor. I was getting roles and doing pretty well but I started realizing that I really needed to be behind the camera and did just that. The real inspiration came from a random night where I came across a documentary about film auteur Joe Sarno and his wife Peggy. Joe is one of the legends of the sexploitation film genre. After watching it in dead silence because it was like a religious awakening. I realized this was the path I needed to go down. Since I was a kid my mind was notoriously naughty and obsessed with kinky thoughts. This was a chance now to take my erotic visions and stories and bring them to life. I took off running. Typing out scripts and shooting my first three films in the first two years. Starting my film and photography company was also a chance to be inclusive to everyone especially the LGBTQ + community. I wanted to highlight how everyone regardless of gender, lifestyle or sexual orientation are sexy and need to be seen and celebrated.
JD: So did you start Sleight of Hand with the release of the first film? What made you decide to start creating under that name?
DS: Yup!! The name Sleight Of Hand Films came from my fascination with up close magic. I actually studied for years and have performed occasionally.
JD: What's your best trick?
DS: Anything coin related. My teacher and mentor was a coin master so we primarily studied coins.
JD: That's pretty awesome! Your aesthetic is very noir, what is it that attracts you to it?
DS: As I mentioned Joe Sarno is my film hero and his late 60's work was all black and white so to honor him I keep everything black and white. As far as photography two names come to mind that influenced me, Steven Meisel and Helmut Newton. Their work spoke to me. Honorable mention to Ian Emes for directing the greatest music video ever. If you've never seen Duran Durans’ The Chauffeur music video it's the greatest music video ever. There's even an extended version. Great song too of course.
JD: Haven't thought of that video in a long time...definitely a good one though! What inspires the stories you tell? What is your process like when an idea strikes?
DS: So I have two other obsessions that help connect everything in my head. One is anything erotic or of the adult/kink industry. Two is I love women and anything that represents femininity. I find women more interesting to write about personally. Watching erotic films and discovering adult content as a kid I really became so into women. The way the move, sound, laugh, fashion, all the different body types, hair. Joe Sarnos films were just like that. All female driven stories. There were also many big budget films with strong female presence that I loved to watch too. Being raised by a single mom you see early on the strength and power women possess. I think that helped me to be more aware of what women were contributing on levels most people didn't grasp. They're moving works of art to me. So my mind is racing all day with ideas and concepts. I would be a fool to say that my work wasn't inspired by others. When I get an idea in my head I usually think of the many ways it's been done before and how I can trick it out and make it my own. We're all hacks but I try to treat my work as an homage.
JD: So what characters would you say from other films would you say really shaped the way you write stories for yours?
DS: There are many characters from films I enjoy and some just straight up actresses who no matter what they perform in are just intoxicating to me. I can ramble off a few. This is in no particular order. Adult film legend Veronica Hart (Jane Hamilton) will always be my favorite golden era adult film star. acted with such conviction and was insanely sexy. Still is!! Jane if you're reading this, I love you! That era was so full of amazing talent and of course their sex on camera was phenomenal. Sondra Locke I adore. Her work in front and behind the camera is spectacular. Especially in Sudden Impact. Jennette Goldstein in Aliens is one of the sexiest badass characters ever. Mary Mendums work in the sexploitation film scene was so incredible. Lastly the final person or people I should say that have a huge impact on my work is the band Elysian Fields. I actually write all of my scripts to their music. Jennifer Charles is the singer and somehow pulls these ideas and words out of my brain and into text. Very strange.
JD: So as a photographer were you self taught or did you have schooling?
DS: Self taught. I just started a couple years ago.
JD: You shoot the majority of your work in black and white, as a photographer myself I find that using a black and white format takes a simple shot and makes it more complex with the way the shadows play and can evoke different emotions than color, what draws you to that style?
DS: I totally agree. I like the idea of taking a shot and having to fight for it. I always use natural lighting and sometimes you have to work hard to find the best way to capture the subject. I enjoy the process of that. Anyone can rent a studio with fancy lights and literally set up the perfect shot. What's so special about that? It could easily be replicated. I like shots to look like you literally can only get the shot you see at the moment it was taken. Again being very influenced by Steven Meisel and Helmut Newton. Black and white has a way of creating such intensity by stripping away the distraction of color and focusing purely on the subject. I have a few shots in my collection that are color, don't get me wrong. But it was absolutely necessary, believe me. If you look at my work you'll see what I mean.
JD: How did you move into the film making end of things? How hard was the transition? Do you have any people you work with regularly that you would like to shout out?
DS: Believe it or not I started in film first and then moved to photography. Before my journey began I had been making films with a friend at the time. He was writing and directing these grindhouse trash cinema films that were awesome by the way. I was his casting director, locations manager, producer, etc... I started making films in between his productions. During the pandemic I had all this down time so I purchased a camera off my good friend and fellow filmmaker and photographer Rick Chandler and started taking pictures. I had been so inspired by photography I said to myself "Why am I not doing this?". Having a solid bullpen of actresses to work with that didn't mind doing erotic stuff they were the first people I started with. Samantha Bauer, Linda Pittore and of course my creative soulmate Aurora Grabill who's usually the lead actress in every film I make for so many reasons, but mostly because she's the best actress I have ever seen. Aurora and I have been collaborating on my stuff and other people’s projects for I think like ten years now.
JD: How hard was it transitioning to telling a story in a single shot for you? Did it make you approach film differently?
DS: It actually wasn’t too difficult of a transition. Because I had done so much filming prior I knew what I wanted to shoot, and I had a pretty good idea in my head of what I wanted to look like no different than shooting a film the only tricky part was not having more equipment to rely on. For example, when I shoot a film, my director of photography brings a ton of equipment. That way we can get all sorts of cool shots of the camera with me. I’m just holding the camera and I have to be very strategic on how I capture the subject. My shots are very straightforward for the most part. Not literally. Like I have to have the top of the head the tips of the toes in the end of the fingertips in every shot. If I don’t, it drives me absolutely crazy unless I’m purposely taking a tighter shot, but I think the film worked definitely helped with the photography and I think photography helps with film work. I don’t think there’s a direction that’s right or wrong. I think they both accompany each other very well. My director of photography that I work with now has been so helpful with helping me see things through a lens and so have some of the other guys that I’ve worked with in the past. All the directors of photography I’ve worked with have helped me on so many levels. So once I got the camera, I just had to figure out how to look through it and get what I wanted. It came fairly easy.
For the most part, my work has a hidden narrative in my head or there’s an obvious narrative like some of the ones I did recently were sort of horror movie inspired, so we have more playfulness with props and more expressions on the models faces. But each thing has a different vibe. I try not shooting the same thing twice. I may use the same location twice, but sometimes people can’t tell.
JD: Do you have any models you work with regularly that you would like to shout out?
DS: Yeah, as I mentioned before Aurora Grabill and I have been collaborating in films and photography for so long now. Also a huge shout out to Gina Celona. We shoot often. And of course, looking forward to shooting with Samantha Bauer again. Everyone I shoot with has such a unique look and that’s mostly what I look for when I’m searching for a model. Oh yeah, Aurora and Gina I have done most of my work with.
JD: In film/photography there are so many different things for viewers to see, what would you say is unique about the way you approach composition in your films that makes them stand out?
DS: I think definitely having a unique script that the actors and actresses enjoy that really helps with what you’re shooting because if they can get a handle on the text in the dialogue and the scenarios and the characters and all that in the movie almost shoots itself. I don’t do a ton of rehearsals and I don’t do a lot of takes. I also don’t storyboard. Werner Herzog said that storyboarding was an instrument of the coward. I totally agree. Much like my photography I like the challenge of not knowing exactly how I’m gonna shoot a scene even if I know the location that I’m gonna be shooting in. There have been times where I had it all planned out and literally had to change everything because what I see is just a fraction of what the camera sees and vice versa in between me and the camera is a world and I have to figure out how to capture it so this is compromise between me and the camera. And once you find that now you have a movie. So my unique approach is to not even have one. I just show up and figure it out. It’s as if the movie is a living breathing thing and it will show you what it wants you to film. Am I getting too weird?
JD: Not weird at all, I fully understand that. With models I work with a lot we improv a lot of shoots because you come with an idea set in stone and sometimes inspiration just carries you in a totally different direction.
DS: As far as photography, most of my favorite shots are candid ones, or ones I didn’t plan on taking.
JD: So when adopting the noir aesthetic to your films, what part have you found symbolism has played?
DS: That’s such a great question because I use a ton of symbolism in my films in relation to what the characters are going through. Such a vital part of noir film-making.
JD: Is there a specific symbolism you find yourself going back to in different films?
DS: What I’m finding in my stories is that the characters are overcoming something or going some sort of a transformation. So I guess there’s a constant underdog story happening. I can give you some examples if you like?
JD: For one of your upcoming films, would you like to give us an example for our readers to look forward to?
DS: I currently have three films in post production that I am working on getting edited. It’s been a nightmare actually. But one of them is titled Reflections Of The Black Key Club. It’s about a girl that experiences a sexual awakening involving an underground sex club, where all of the sexual rituals are performed using mirrors.
JD: So do you have any advice you would give to any aspiring artists out there from your experiences?
DS: Shoot the film you wanna shoot. Take the shot you wanna take. Finish what you started, never settle for anything less than what you want. A good reliable crew is tough to come by, so choose wisely. Always be ready to adapt to change. Art is limitless, so if something is not going the way you intended just take it on a different path, as long as it’s coming from your heart it will always be great.
JD: So as we wind up this interview I just wanted to thank you for your time! You said you have three films in post-production, do you have any other projects in the works you would like to tell our readers about?
DS: This was a total blast and an absolute honor. Whenever anyone recognizes your work, it really means the world, thank you so much! The three films that are in post are Reflections Of The Black Key Club, Want Is A Hard Word, and another group of vignettes that are part of a collection. I haven’t settled on a title yet. But the working title is the Masterpiece Collection. If anyone’s interested in this stuff, they can always contact me. We are always looking for new talent as far as films and photography or if people are just genuinely interested in this style of film and photography.
You can find more of Sleight of Hand Films & Photography here!