Interview with Nick Boxwell, Writer, Producer, and Director of Stop Motion Short Film About the Tin Woodman of Oz, "The Tin Woods"

The Tin Woods promo photo. Photo courtesy of Nick Boxwell.

“When you have a near death experience almost everything you want to do that’s emotionally important becomes more urgent,” says Portland-based videographer and photographer Nick Boxwell, explaining to Stop Motion Geek his driving motivation for collaborating with close friend Mattzilla Duron—a sculptor, character designer, and twelve year veteran at Laika Studios—to launch the ongoing Kickstarter campaign to fund their first stop motion short film, entitled The Tin Woods after the character whose story hope to tell—that of the Tin Woodman of Oz. “I have lots of half-baked scripts and half-started projects going on at all times,” Boxwell continues, “but if I do die soon I’d like to leave behind one personal film, and I hope it’s this one.”

Inspired by author L. Frank Baum’s classic books set in the Land of Oz, The Tin Woods tells the story of how Nick Chopper, a human, came to be the Tin Woodman of Oz—a story which Boxwell translates pieces of his traumatic, near-death experience, and hopes to use as a device to draw out certain subtext in the story to, as he says, address “some of the issues we are dealing with as a culture.”

The defining moment for Boxwell that initially sparked his interest in telling the story that ultimately became The Tin Woods came five years ago when he was saw a sculpture Duron had created of the Tin Man. “When I saw him working on a Tin Man sculpture and speaking very passionately about it,” says Boxwell, “I thought, hey there is a really cool backstory to this guy most people don’t know.”

The Tin Woods test animation by Mattzilla Duron. Photo courtesy of Nick Boxwell.

Boxwell went on to write the screenplay for The Tin Woods and hoped to begin producing the film along with Duron. However, shortly thereafter, Boxwell was debilitated for the preceding months by a personal health crisis—about which he’s written the singular blog posts “Bouncing Back” and “No Guts, No Glory”— in the midst of which he and Duron put The Tin Woods aside.

After recovering and returning to work, Boxwell again began to look for a project on which to collaborate with Duron once the two again had the opportunity. In summer of 2018, the opportunity came to them when their schedules opened up, and as the two began to look for the right project, The Tin Woods resurfaced.

In the time since, Boxwell and Duron have fully finished developing the story, as well as creating the puppets for The Tin Woods. Moreover, the two have many of the tools, materials, and equipment needed to shoot and edit the film. However, the two began a Kickstater for the film—to which can be found here—to fund the building of two large sets and to hire Portland-based composer Jake Hull to compose a custom score for the film once principal photography is finished.

The Tin Woods production crew. Source: Kickstarter.

Amazingly, the Kickstarter managed to meet its initial goal of $5,000 within 24 hours of going live, and in the subsequent days has—as of writing this—raised over $7,600, with the talley steadily moving to meet the first of several planned stretch goals, all of which will go towards enhancing the production value of the film. These goals include building a stage on which to shoot beyond the barest bones of a set, as well as purchasing a 85mm lens for high-quality close-ups in the film, and sturdy tabletops and heavy duty C-stands with and on which to film, along with several smaller grip and construction items that will go towards making the production run as smoothly as possible.

The Tin Woods budget breakdown. Source: Kickstarter.

For backers of the Kickstarter, Duron and Boxwell are offering several rewards, such as an access code to the film once its finished, pins sporting the likeness of the Tin Woodman, disc media, props and puppets from the film once retired from production, varying levels of producer credits, and other such incentives which all can be viewed on the Kickstarter page.

The Tin Woodman pin reward for Kickstarter backers donating a certain amount. Source: Kickstarter.

The whole of the film will be completed in Boxwell and Duron’s spare time, who will be doing everything from set construction to shooting and editing the film. In order to see the film through to being the best it can be, they anticipate it taking a year before they’re finished.

“Most people don’t realize that the original author [L. Frank Baum] wrote many more stories set in the land of Oz,” says Boxwell on his blog, “and some of his ideas were way ahead of their time. I really want to share one of these stories and perhaps draw attention back to those original books. As someone who recently lost a body part, I think the Tin Woodman’s story is a reminder that when we put ourselves back together after trauma, we might be a different person, but that doesn’t me we are no longer ourselves.”

Mattzilla Duron animating Tin Woodman in a test animation. Photo courtesy of Nick Boxwell.

In our interview, Nick Boxwell tells us about the moment he first came to fall in love with films, as well as of the strange twists and turns his career has taken him as he’s pursued photography, videography, and graphic design, and what he hopes to accomplish in his career in the future. He also digs into the origins of The Tin Woods and the process he and Mattzilla Duron have developed in their collaboration. Furthermore, tells us about how his health crisis has impacted his view on life and his work, particularly this project. In closing, he tells us his thoughts on Kickstarter, the lessons he’s learned through interacting with the film’s backers, and his advice to those thinking about using the service. You can read our interview below in full.

A.H. Uriah: Hello, Nick! Thank you so much for doing this interview! It’s truly a pleasure to feature you, your work, and this new project of yours, The Tin Woods, on the blog!
I’d like to start by asking my favorite opener: How did you first fall in love with this medium, filmmaking (although feel free to approach the term “medium” however you like, as you’ve done quite masterful work across many mediums in the visual arts)? What were the steps that you took to get to this place in your career—now a videographer and photographer for 15 years?

Nick Boxwell: I didn’t know I wanted to be a filmmaker at the time, but I do remember the moment that sparked my love of film. I was 18 and watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious and felt a strange tingling in my brain during the climactic scene that slowly spirals down the staircase. The combination of music, movement and dialogue was so masterfully put together. I spent the next couple of years chasing that odd sensation by watching all the weird films I could find. Then one day, I was standing in line to sign up for Community College and their newish Video & Film department had set up a monitor playing student work nearby. This was in 2001 and up until then film school was pretty expensive, so I hadn’t even considered it as a career option, although I’d often fantasized about being an animator as a kid. But digital video was blossoming then, and it was all becoming much less of an exclusive thing. I never finished that video degree, but I was already working at a small studio within a few years so I didn’t worry about it. My career has had complicated ups and downs and dovetails with a career in home furniture retail, where I learned things that the film industry doesn’t teach by default. Things like a sense for design, details and even advanced customer service. Those are the real abilities that help me maintain freelance work, not just my technical knowledge of the camera.

The Tin Woods concept art by Ann Tseng. Source: Kickstarter.

A.H.: Can you tell us a little about the story behind The Tin Woods—a project circumstances forced you to put on the shelf for a little while before you had opportunity to pick it up again? Why does this film feel—as you say in your Kickstarter video—“more urgent and relevant than it ever did before” to you, and why is it a story you had to tell?

NB: I don’t remember what I was feeling when I said those words, but when you have a near death experience almost everything you want to do that’s emotionally important becomes more urgent. I have lots of half-baked scripts and half-started projects going on at all times, but if I do die soon I’d like to leave behind one personal film, and I hope it’s this one. Mattzilla REALLY wanted to make a Godzilla film, and while there is certainly space for fan-films I was hesitant to put forth effort into anything requiring a legal license. When I saw him working on a Tin Man sculpture and speaking very passionately about it, I thought, hey there is a really cool backstory to this guy most people don’t know, but I also realized that the character is public domain. It just seemed like a lot of elements that could make a successful film (beyond just a good story) came together. Besides expanding on the Oz mythos for more casual folks, there is a lot of subtext that sums up some issues we are dealing with as a culture.

The Tin Woodman maquette sculpture featured as one of the rewards for Kickstarter backers of a certain amount. Source: Kickstarter.

A.H.: The Tin Woods is the first film you and your collaborator, Mattzilla Duron, have worked on together, although from what you say in your Kickstarter video—“The entire time that I’ve known Mattzilla, he’s told me over and over again, ‘We should make a film together.’”—it sounds like you’ve had a hankering to find the right project to collaborate on for a while.
Can you describe the dynamic between the two of you—both personality-wise and creatively—and tell us why this is the right project to mark the debut of your collaboration?

NB: Well we have collaborated on small single day type things and helped each other out with personal stuff. We’ve had a few false starts on bigger projects though, and for a while this one seemed like it was going to be one of those. In the creative industry professional work comes and goes and it’s always seemed like one of us is working while the other has extra free time. This past summer I realized that Mattzilla was in-between films and I had a free day or two each week, so I felt like if we were going to be on the same page about something bigger this was the time. Personality wise I tend to edit my ideas and dwell on them while Mattzilla is a little more spontaneous. We meet once a week to plan out what we want to accomplish and look ahead but for the most part we give each other space to focus on our own duties.

The Tin Woods commemorative axe featured as one of the rewards for Kickstarter backers of a certain amount. Source: Kickstarter.

A.H.: In the press release for The Tin Woods, you reference a defining moment in your life which happened two years ago—perhaps the defining moment—saying, “As someone who recently lost a body part, I think the Tin Woodman’s story is a reminder that when we put ourselves back together after trauma, we might be a different person, but that doesn’t mean we are no longer ourselves.”
If you’re comfortable talking about it—as you have in two, extremely remarkable blog posts of yours, “No Guts, No Glory” and “Bouncing Back,” for which I thank you for your vulnerability and strength—could you tell us a bit about that moment in your life, and how it has since then changed your perspective on life and artistic expression—particularly in regards to The Tin Woods?

NB: If only it was just a moment! A few years ago my colon burst, and had to be removed. I almost died and was in a coma for a few days. I've spent a lot of time since in the hospital and recovering at home. I almost died a couple of times, and while I’m considered healthy now, every moment feels like borrowed time. It wasn’t like a lightning bolt moment of change, the way it happens in movies. It was an accumulation of many strange, sad, painful, scary and draining moments. When Mattzilla suggested we pick this project back up, I re-read the script and didn’t really feel a need to change much, the themes were almost prescient as to what I was going through at the moment. I think then I also realized that I hit a sweet spot in abstracting the story enough where different people will be able to watch it with different lenses on, and get different meaning out of it.

The Tin Woodman puppet created by Mattzilla Duron. Photo courtesy of Nick Boxwell.

A.H.: Incredibly, The Tin Woods Kickstarter reached its goal—$5,000—within 24-hours of going live. How does it feel now to have now met your goal—and in so little a time—and what, for all the money now raised that exceeds your initial goal, are funds going to support?

NB: Oh gosh, I severely underestimated the generosity of people across the internet. I wish I hadn’t lowballed the goal so much, especially once I realized that Kickstarter adds the funds you collect for shipping toward the goal tally, effectively lowering the total you can actually use. I wrote the script planning for a 5K budget, so a lot of how it all plays out on screen does so for practical reasons. I was also expecting to have to pay out of pocket for some things. Even submitting to film festivals has fees that can add up quickly. I still think I’ll have to cover costs such as that on the back end, but for now everything extra we raise is going to be reflected on-screen. I have stretch goals planned out in stages, but the final goal that I think is attainable is to add back in some scenes inspired by the book that were left out for brevity. These involve another puppet and set that haven’t even been sketched out yet so be on the lookout for those.

The Tin Woods concept art by Ann Tseng. Photo courtesy of Nick Boxwell.

A.H.: What has been the response from the fans of Oz and how has your relationship with your backers thus far been in regards to The Tin Woods? With this being the first project you’ve utilized Kickstarter for, what are your general thoughts on its advantages and drawbacks?

NB: I’m pretty humbled by how many complete strangers are donating money to our project. I’ve also received some messages through social media from folks who can’t afford to donate but still want to let me know that they appreciate what we are trying to do, which is very sweet. This is my first personal project but I’ve been involved helping others run their Kickstarters so I’ve been able to see what works and what doesn’t. I think the advantage is that really anyone can do it, so it’s very democratic. But a drawback might be that there are so many wild success stories out there that it sets up unrealistic expectations. Building our mailing list and talking up the film before hand is what led to our first day going so well.

The Tin Woods concept art by Ann Tseng. Source: Kickstarter.

A.H.: So for you, where from here—particularly concerning the timeline for completing The Tin Woods, as I understand you and Mattzilla are working on it in your spare time?

NB: I’m estimating it’s going to take a year to finish the film. I’m really trying to hit a certain date because there are a few local film festivals I want to make it to without having to wait to the following year. Full production probably won’t start until January, because running a Kickstarter and all of the marketing and delivery around that has been a job in and of itself. But if we had just thrown up a Kickstarter page without all of the marketing and prep work we wouldn’t have hit our goal so quickly, if at all! I do have the math worked out for a stretch goal we would need to hit in order to take off time from our jobs and just work on the film and finish sooner, but it’s pretty high. My hope is that delivering this film successfully on time and within budget will justify us being able to ask for that much on our next film, whatever it is.

The Tin Wood's stretch goal chart. Source: Kickstarter.

If you would like to explore more of Nick Boxwell’s work, you can do so by visiting his website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo.

You can donate to The Tin Woods and learn more about the project by visiting the film’s Kickstarter.

This article is the first in a two-part series of interviews coordinated by Stop Motion Geek with the creative team behind The Tin Woods, the second of which—an interview with Mattzilla Duron—will go live soon. You can stay tuned for it and other upcoming interview articles by subscribing to our Stop Motion Geek email newsletter via the “subscribe” button at the top right corner of our homepage, by following us on our Facebook @StopMotionGeek, or by following us on our Instagram @stop.motion.geek.blog.