VE: I was always fascinated with the theories of Sigmund Freud because, like most people who are familiar with his ideas, I believed that they were too far-fetched and down right funny.  In my graduate school theory classes, we used Freud to analyze film, and I one day I thought how interesting it would be to see some of these theories on film, in an urban, contemporary way.  I also believed that many of these theories, i.e. Oedipus Rex and castration anxiety (crotch grabbing) were also connected to modern stereotypes attributed to African-American males.

Q: How did you select your cast?

VE: I took the conventional route in selecting my actors by taking out an ad in Backstage West (the actor’s trade) magazine.  I wanted to work with raw talent for this film, people who didn’t necessarily have "established" names.  I chose each principle after an initial meeting and read.

Q: What format was the film shot in?

VE: "Sigmund" was shot in the industry film standard of 35mm film.

Q: Where were the primary locations used in the film?

VE: The entire film was shot using all interior locations.  My own apartment was used, as well as KCET Television studios in Los Angeles for all of the office scenes.

Q: What unusual challenges did you face in shooting?

VE: By far the biggest obstacle that we encountered during this shoot was that our Art Director’s vehicle was stolen the night before our first day’s shoot.  It contained all of our props and set dressings.

Q: How long did it take to edit?

VE: It took about 5 complete days to edit the film into the finished product of 14:30 running time.  We only had about a 4:1 shooting ratio, with about 60 minutes of footage to work with.

Q: What editing process did you use?

VE: The film was edited on an Avid 9000.

Q: From start to finish, how long did the whole filmmaking process take?

VE: The film took two days to shoot.  The whole process, from pre-production to completion, took about 6 months total.

Q: When did the film premiere and what has been the response?

VE: "Sigmund" made its premier in December 2002 at the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles, when blackfilm.com selected it to screen at its Midnight Screening Series in the program, "Amazing Shorts From the West", with several other short films. "Sigmund" has screened at several venues and continues to be an audience favorite by garnering much crowd reaction and acceptance.