Broderick Fox

An early experiment with photography and identity

My name is Broderick Fox, and I'm a filmmaker

THE SKIN I’M IN is my first solo feature documentary. It’s the latest in a series of unflinching autobiographical works I call “embodied media,” in which I use my personal stories and my body to challenge cultural assumptions and norms around sex, gender, and sexuality and to break the often-strangling silence of shame.

 

Autobiography has long been considered an act of privilege for powerful or famous men who have had access to the means to document and distribute their stories—stories structured around superlative acts and accomplishments, not shame, doubt, or failure.

 

In our social media moment we’re all suddenly autobiographers and media makers. Ranting, confessing, and exposing have become daily rituals. So why do so many of us still feel so alone, unheard, ashamed, and ambivalent?

 

Join the Conversation: Making Media

  • Is digital democracy a pipe dream or  a real possibility?
  • Are you a part of any online communities that are using the tools of our moment (YouTube, Facebook, WordPress, etc.) to start real conversations or exchanges about culture and identity? Share them with us.

Do you feel documentary can really incite or foster social change? If so, share some examples with us.

 

Share your thoughts and comments in the “making media” blog feed below, and I’ll keep posting mine as well.

 

  • Esther

    First of all I am really impressed by the opennes and as far as I can imagine, the brutal honesty concerning your past in this movie. I also liked the idea of showing the audience how the tattoo is brought into being.
    But I am posting my comment here, because I realized when watching the movie, that I am (of course?) judge people in the context of my experiences. I never really questioned myself, except for my teenage years,.. and never met knowingly a person with such a stirring past. Therefore I expect people to be in peace with themselves and maybe have been ignorant against problems or people and their thoughts. I am sure the movie openend my mind and gave me the opportunity to rethink my relationship to other people.
    I thank Broderick for that chance!

    • skiniminmovie

      Thanks Esther. I often wonder how much of my personal struggles are/were chemical/genetic and how much are cultural. I think American culture’s attitudes about body and sexuality have had a lot to do with my senses of dis-ease and alienation. It’s good to get a German perspective, and I’ll be curious, as comments on here progress, to get more global insights.

  • Esther

    I was thinking about that too, but I never considered you as a “real” american, because of your tme in Asia and your berlin years, but maybe California has more influence on or mind as I would like to admit. I just remebered that I started to be more critically with my body and became even more vain there than I have ever been in Germany. Can Hollywood has so much influence on our self-perception?

  • Ulrike

    Thanks first of all for letting us screen the movie! I didn’t necessarily start thinking about the way media can support real conversation at first. More about how they reproduce normative images again and again. We take them in and don’t question them. And then I realized how you do the exact opposite by juxtaposing all those identities and ideas of self. I find it very courageous that you made this movie about yourself!! Also, I agree with Esther that assuming people are at peace with themselves doesn’t help in getting to know them as individuals. I also really liked the storyline with the

  • Ulrike

    (comment function gives me trouble)…with the tattoo. It frames the movie nicely. And it really is a journey that you depict there as well.

    • http://www.skiniminmovie.com Broderick Fox

      Ulrike, thanks for being a part of the very first screening party–in Berlin no less, which is obviously a special place for me and for the film. I’m glad the ideas you expressed are coming through and that the tattooing journey works for you as a thread to weave together my reminiscences and my cultural questioning.

THE SKIN I’M IN: Original Score Available on iTunes

 

Original Score for THE SKIN I'M IN $10 + $2 s/h

The soundtrack for THE SKIN I’M IN is now available on iTunes, featuring the incredible original score by Ronit Kirchman, and Fox’s musical contribution (track 25) which garnered the album an “explicit” Parental Advisory Rating. Ha!

The music in this big little film is the product of much extraordinary collaboration:

 

Music Orchestrated and Conducted by

Ronit Kirchman

 

Orchestra Recorded at Rotosonic Sound, Salt Lake City, UT

by Michael Greene

 

Music Editor

Scott Johnson

 

Score Mixer

Mike Roskelley

 

Music Contractor

Ted Hinckley

 

Copyist

Nicholas Greer

 

Musicians

 

Piano

Jed Moss

 

Woodwinds

Daron Bradford

 

Horn

Laurence Lowe

 

Violin

Aaron Ashton

Kathryn Collier

Maria Dance

Tina Johnson

Rachael Bower Karr

Katherine Kunz

David Langr

Kathryn Langr

Kendra Lowe

Rebecca Moench

Cynthia Richards

Becky Rogers

Kristiana Sandberg

David Siegel

Janice B. Vincent

 

Viola

Candace Wagner

Emily Brown

Heidi Hicks

Lorraine Larson

Mario E. Ortiz

Elizabeth Wallace

 

Cello

Nicole Pinnell

Desireé Ashworth

Ellen Bridger

Cassie Olson

Brian Stucki

 

Contrabass

Ben Henderson

Matt Larson

Alexander C. Willey

 

Violin for “Man with the Movie Camera” sequence, guitars, synthesizers and all other instruments performed and programmed by Ronit Kirchman

 

This soundtrack was supported by a grant from the Sundance Institute Film Music Program with additional support from the Sundance Institute/Time Warner Foundation, Inc. Fellowship Program.
Sundance Institute

DEATHWALKER Production Updates from Australia

Broderick Fox and deathwalker/celebrant Zenith Virago at the 7th Annual Day of the Dead Weekend Ceremony of Remembrance in Mullumbimby's Heritage Park.

We’re having an extraordinary time filming in easternmost Australia, exploring how Zenith Virago and the communities of Byron Shire, Australia do death differently. To follow our progress and see photos of the people and events we’re covering, visit our DEATHWALKER website.

 

Treatment for Fox’s Next Film DEATHWALKER Wins a 2012 Chris Award

Columbus International Film + Video Festival

The treatment for our next documentary project DEATHWALKER  has won a 2012 Chris Award from the 2012 Columbus International Film & Video Festival.

CIF+VF is the longest-running film festival in the United States, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

The festival describes its mission as “honoring and screening the work of makers whose creations of vision, beauty and power help us understand the complexities of our world by using their committed artistry to touch our minds and hearts.”

The CIF +FV treatment competition is open to both fiction and documentary project treatments and is intended to generate exposure and support for awarded projects.

More information about this year’s festival ca be found at http://www.chrisawards.org

Website for Our New Project DEATHWALKER Now Live

a documentary and Natural Death Care Web Initiative

I’m excited to announce my next documentary project DEATHWALKER which is a documentary on Australian Natural Death Center founder Zenith Virago. We’ll also be producing a Natural Death Web Initiative to provide a space for personal stories, practical support materials, and global conversation about natural death care.

Not sure what natural death care is? Check out the project Website:

http://www.deathwalkermovie.com/

For those of you in Byron Shire, Australia, we’ll be there all of November and December filming. Check out the “Get Involved/Tell Your Story” page, and let me know if you wish to participate!

Fox interviewed on ABC Radio’s CONVERSATIONS WITH RICHARD FIDLER

Broderick Fox interviewed on ABC Radio’s CONVERSATIONS WITH RICHARD FIDLER 3/8/12

While in Australia for the world premiere of THE SKIN I’M IN at the 2012 Byron Bay International Film Festival, director Broderick Fox was a guest on the national ABC radio program CONVERSATIONS WITH RICHARD FIDLER.

Listen to an abridged version of that hour-long program here:

Final Sound Mix Completed!

Dear friends,

I’m pleased to report that just before the holidays, we completed the final sound mix for THE SKIN I’M IN! Sound designer Scott Johnson, composer Ronit Kirchman, executive producer Lee Biolos, and I had the pleasure of collaborating with amazing rerecording engineer Wade Chamberlain on the Rick Chace Theatre stage at Chace Audio.

Scott worked so hard on the sound design to get it to this day, and Ronit’s music sounds incredible in the mix. Also amazing to finally see Zulu and Rande Cook on the big screen!

I hope to report the film’s premiere venue in a forthcoming update. For now, a very happy New Year to all and here are some photos from the big day.

–Brody

The final sound mix for THE SKIN I'M IN begins at Chace Audio with (l to r) composer Ronit Kirchman, rerecording engineer Wade Chamberlain, and sound designer Scott Johnson

The final sound mix for THE SKIN I’M IN begins at Chace Audio with (l to r) composer Ronit Kirchman, rerecording engineer Wade Chamberlain, and sound designer Scott Johnson

Broderick Fox on the big screen at the final sound mix of THE SKIN I'M IN

Broderick Fox on the big screen at the final sound mix of THE SKIN I’M IN

Director Broderick Fox at the final mix session for THE SKIN I'M IN, along with sound designer Scott Johnson.

Director Broderick Fox at the final mix session for THE SKIN I’M IN, along with sound designer Scott Johnson.

Rerecording engineer Wade Chamberlain, composer Ronit Kirchman, sound designer Scott Johnson, and executive producer Lee Biolos at the final mix session for THE SKIN I'M IN

Rerecording engineer Wade Chamberlain, composer Ronit Kirchman, sound designer Scott Johnson, and executive producer Lee Biolos at the final mix session for THE SKIN I’M IN

A shot from our final sound mix: Rande Cook's "Elements Within I-IV" serigraph series on the big screen in THE SKIN I'M IN

A shot from our final sound mix: Rande Cook’s “Elements Within I-IV” serigraph series on the big screen in THE SKIN I’M IN

A shot from our final sound mix: Brody meets tattoo artist Zulu for the first time in THE SKIN I'M IN

A shot from our final sound mix: Brody meets tattoo artist Zulu for the first time in THE SKIN I’M IN

Color Correction Underway

We’re deep into color correction with the amazing Sean Stack at Alphadogs, and the film is looking incredible.

Broderick Fox

Director Broderick Fox and Dina Brown during a color correction session at Alphadogs in Burbank, CA.

 

Sean Stack, Editor at Alphadogs

Color correction editor Sean Stack, at Alphadogs

THE SKIN I’M IN records original score with 30+ live musicians

Our scoring session in Salt Lake City was incredible.

Supported by a grant from the Sundance Institute Film Music Program with additional support from the Sundance Institute/Time Warner Foundation, Inc. Fellowship Program, we recorded over 40 minutes of original score by composer Ronit Kirchman.

The scoring session took place over the course of two days at Michael Greene’s Rotosonic Sound, a magical space with incredible acoustics and a great atmosphere.

Special thanks to music contractor Ted Hinckley and the 30+ musicians that shared their talents on the soundtrack.

If composing the score and playing a number of instruments herself wasn’t enough Ronit also conducted the scoring session. Sound designer and music editor Scott Johnson kept us on track for an incredibly tight two days of recording, after which he and Ronit launched directly into four days of music editing and mixing with the amazing Mike Roskelley.

After six years of working on this project as a largely solo endeavor, it was wild to have so many people come together to record the music. Ronit’s work adds such a powerful dimension to the film; I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

Until then, here are some images from our two-day session.

Outside Michael Greene's Rotosonic Sound in Salt Lake City

Outside Michael Greene’s Rotosonic Sound in Salt Lake City

Sound designer/music editor Scott Johnson, music contractor Ted Hinckley, and composer Ronit Kirchman at Rotosonic Sound in Salt Lake City, UT

Sound designer/music editor Scott Johnson, music contractor Ted Hinckley, and composer Ronit Kirchman at Rotosonic Sound in Salt Lake City, UT

Orchestration copies for 44 minutes of original score by Ronit Kirchman for THE SKIN I'M IN

Orchestration copies for 44 minutes of original score by Ronit Kirchman

Composer Ronit Kirchman sequences the day with music contractor Ted Hinckley

Composer Ronit Kirchman sequences the day with music contractor Ted Hinckley

Director Broderick Fox addresses musicians at the scoring session for THE SKIN I'M IN

Director Broderick Fox addresses musicians at the scoring session for THE SKIN I’M IN

Owner and operator Michael Greene mans the board at Rotosonic Sound

Owner and operator Michael Greene mans the board at Rotosonic Sound

Director Broderick Fox and composer Ronit Kirchman address the musicians of Salt Lake

Composer Ronit Kirchman address the musicians of Salt Lake

A cue from THE SKIN I'M IN, music by Ronit Kirchman

A cue from THE SKIN I’M IN, music by Ronit Kirchman

Musicians at the music scoring session for THE SKIN I'M IN

Musicians at the music scoring session for THE SKIN I’M IN

Ronit Kirchman conducts the opening music cue of THE SKIN I'M IN

Ronit Kirchman conducts the opening music cue of THE SKIN I’M IN

Composer Ronit Kirchman conducts a cue at the music recordng session for THE SKIN I'M IN

Composer Ronit Kirchman conducts a cue at the music recordng session for THE SKIN I’M IN