Hammerstone Meets Woofstock, 20min., Canada
Directed by Josh Holliday
A film that straddles the line between narrative and documentary, landing squarely on comedy. Steve Hammerstone is a small town radio host and big time buffoon, who’s sent to explore Woofstock: North America’s largest festival for dogs.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
My friend and Lisa and I had done these small town radio host characters "Steve and Tawny" on CBC radio and through podcast for many years. Just before the pandemic, we were judges for Woofstock, and had so much fun doing it. Afterwards I had great regret that we had no record of that live event, so I set my sights on the next Woofstock. Unfortunately, COVID-19 came along and threw a wrench in the plan until 2024. I had stayed in touch with one of the founders and organizers over the years, and as soon as I knew a new version was coming, I made sure I was a part of it. I've always loved buffoon comedy. After many years working in radio and audio, I finally got around to fulfilling my high school mantra: "I want to write, act and direct for television and film."

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Well, outside of the ideation and desire to do this project, pre-pandemic, the time started ticking as soon as I knew there was going to be a new Woodstock event. So that was probably in February or March of 2024. That set a very specific deadline for the actual shoot day. Woofstock generally happens over 2 days of a weekend. The day I was selected to judge was the Sunday. After the shoot, I worked with an editor to chop it down to under 20. Once that was done did some titles, post audio, and some audio cleanup. Had a friends and family screening on August 28th, so about 7 months in total from pre-production to final cut.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Buffoon comedy.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Ha! This is a tough one, there are a few. The old wig I'd been using for this character for years had gotten really unruly, so I ordered a new one from this company in BC and what they sent was nothing like what was pictured on their website. They did not answer any emails, or calls, and eventually I had to initiate a chargeback process with my credit card company. I had to make do with the old wig, and put a baseball hat on. I have really bad eyesight, and the glasses I'd used in the past for the character were a pair of my dad's from the 80s with no lenses. When I did the Woofstock years ago I remember spending most of the day in character in a literal blur. I hunted online for a pair of glasses that were similar that I could get real lenses put in. I did that - and because of my prescription it took awhile. Well, the joke was on me, because the optometrist screwed up, and the lenses were essentially reading glass lenses - super-blurry except reading. It also detracted from the character, because so much of comedy is in the eyes, and the lenses had a real distorting effect. It was too late to get them changed before the event. The new glasses also just didn't have the same look as my Dad's old pair. (I've since put real lenses in my Dad's vintage frames.)This was all before the shoot!
Shoot day was a whole new challenge.
The day of the shoot, they were calling for stormy weather. We got a little rain, but it was very windy. You can definitely see some of the wind effects in the stage portion of the short. The plan was to film the stage stuff when it happened, about 11AM to 3PM, and then roam around doing vendor interviews until end of fest at 5. During the stage stuff, there was no real break for crew, as we were at mercy of live stage schedule. After the live event, we took a lunch break, assuming we'd have lots of time to do vendors. The problem was, the wind was so bad, vendors tents were affected, so most of them started packing up early. This meant we were racing around the vendor area at lightning speed, often leaving the 2nd camera behind for some B-roll. Some of the vendors I had targeted were already shut down. It was chaos! If you look closely you can notice it in the background of some shots. And of course, when shooting this way - where people aren't in on the joke - there are never second takes.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I thought it was interesting to see how different people interpreted the film in different ways and saw the character and comedy.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I started playing around with a video camera in my teens, and was always interested in film. I mentioned my high school mantra. I went to radio and television at Ryerson for college. After university I spent half a year working as a studio guide at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. A unique and amazing experience.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Hmm. I know I've watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles a lot, but it's hard to choose one. This particular short owes a bit to Borat, Ali G, Best In Show and The Party.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
I like the in-person screenings and networking.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your
experiences been working on the festival platform site?
I found FF a great one-stop site for taking out a lot of the legwork for submitting to fests.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Gnocchi

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I'd like to make a feature with the Hammerstone character and more of a narrative. Other thought is episodic with every episode a Hammerstone Meets ____________.