"I remember when I was nine I wanted to make my first movie," Mike Gordon recollects during a break on Phish’s first tour since their well-publicized hiatus. "I was writing a script and playing with my dad’s movie camera." Little did he know that this would ultimately start him down the road to making his first film, Outside Out.
Attending the University of Vermont, Gordon even designed his Communications major to include some film courses. Of course, in college, he also joined a band called Phish. Gordon’s role as the bassist in Phish may have garnered him quite a devoted following, but he hasn’t forgotten about his original passion for film.
Gordon’s debut feature, Outside Out, was recently released on DVD and shortly there after the re-worked soundtrack, Inside In was released to record stores across America. Outside Out is a labor of love for Gordon. What started out as a spoof on instructional videos ended up turning into a full-blown feature that took him four years and more than 5,000 hours to complete. Contributing to this enormous amount of time was the fact that Gordon served as Outside Out’s director, cinematographer, co-star, editor and composer.
"When I first started working on Outside Out, I had gotten an editing system and I wanted [to tackle] a substantial project so I could learn [the system]," Gordon explains. "I didn’t know that the project was going to turn into a longer piece. It just evolved that way."
Outside Out became even more of a lesson than Gordon might have realized, especially since there was no script, merely a 25-page outline/shot list.
"I thought that it would be easier to improvise," Gordon laughs. "But I learned that’s not the case. Since people were improvising, the dialogue was not always the same… It made it so I couldn’t really cut it very easily."
All his learning aside, Outside Out went on to win the Audience Award at the South by Southwest film festival.
Even with this extensive film making experience under his belt, Gordon says, "I am still sort of discovering what it is I like about films." Some of his favorites (which he keeps on a list on his laptop) include The Purple Rose of Cairo, Annie Hall, Jacob’s Ladder, 12 Monkeys, Deadman and Adaptation.
"I like themes where you don’t really understand whether it is a dream or a reality," Gordon starts. "That’s probably what I like most about any of the mediums– whether it is film or music–I like it when you just surrender."
Gordon wants to continue making films in the both the writing and directing capacity, he’s just not sure when that will be.
With so many different interests and his position within the Phish foursome, Gordon finds himself needing to be a bit more picky about how he spends his time.
As a director enthusiastic to learn more about the film medium, "I try to watch a lot of movies," he says. "Especially independent films." Gordon sighs, "But I guess I feel like the unfortunate thing is that I need to prioritize my time. And now, for the first time since ’95, back before I started Outside Out, I am trying not to have any projects besides the band."
Even with this goal in mind though, Gordon still feels the draw of the film world, admitting softly, "But I am eager to make another dramatic piece."
