Matthew Wade: Perhaps that is just fascinating, more than it is weird.

The coolest thing about animation is that it has no limits, no boundaries. It will stretch as far as your imagination can go. Remember Wiley Coyote running so fast and oblivious that the ground beneath him ran out 6 steps ago??? As soon as he notices, FREEFALL! That stuff is classic, but even more that stuff is creative. That stuff is imagination that only animation could provide the world to realize. Well there’s nothing new under the sun, the game and the technology have just evolved, and Matthew Wade is riding that wave like Kelly Slater. Wade is a visual artist making things happen on his terms, he’s got his hands in music, 2D animation, illustration, live action film, and plenty more. He’s currently working on his biggest project to date, a film called How The Sky Will Melt. IVYBetty; Matthew Wade.

Perhaps shock value is a fun by-product.  I try not to make anything with any specific agenda in mind, other than to simply make it. People’s most common reaction is the desire for an explanation.  They want to know context, which I don’t really dig in most art.

How the Sky Will Melt is going to be a huge project with a lot of late nights for you and the crew. Tell us a little of what it’s about and the background on how this has all come about?

They quick synopsis is that a young woman returns home from touring with her band.  One of the band-mates has died mysteriously, and she takes a break from her career to come back to her hometown and try to fit back in with her old friends and family.  She sort of dislikes the early fame and attention she has gotten.  So part of the story is about her trying to go back to when her life things were simpler.

The other part revolves around her coming into possession of a box of ingredients that have varying degrees of consequence based on how they are mixed and used.  She and her friends begin to relish in the delights of the mixtures and try to basically destroy the fabric of the universe.

The crew are all people I’ve worked with before, on short films, animation projects, or in school.  Jacob Kinch, a professional sound designer, worked on all of my short films when were growing up.  He has since gone on to work on AAA title games and carving a nice name for himself in indie film audio.

I met Yong in 2009 and our styles worked well together.  He graduated from AFI early this summer and is already being snatched up for features, so I’m glad I claimed him for this film when I did a couple years back.

The special thing about animation is that there’s really no boundaries with what you can create. At this point in your artistry and where we’re at with technology, are you able to manifest whatever the imagination brings?

Pretty much, yeah.  A music video I recently finished and posted online for the track “Creatures Forming” is a hybrid of motion graphics, hand drawn animation and computer FX, all of which I have access to right on my computer in my apartment.

However, this new feasibility can create a “too much freedom” complex.  Either overwhelming people, with the fact that they can do anything, or making projects rather shiftless, allowing the easy access to technology to generate volumes of prosaic content, simply because almost anyone can.

There is a kind of beauty, though not necessarily exclusive to, projects that take a lot of forethought and diligence to complete.

What do you think would be worse, no imagination; or no way to express it?

By far, I’d think having an active imagination with no outlet for expression would be far worse.  With little or no imagination, you don’t really know what you are missing.  I wonder if there is a way to prevent someone from expressing themselves.  The stories of the Marquis de Sade writing on whatever was available while in prison is kind of the way I think creative people are.  Making stuff by whatever means becomes a form of expression in and of itself.

There’s going to be a lot going on in the melting of the sky; live action, 2D, analog sound production… What part of it all are you most looking forward to and what do you think’s going to be your biggest hurdle with this project

To me, none the elements of making a film are mutually exclusive.  I like all of the aspects, from pre-production through the end of post. They all contribute heavily to the final product and being engaged and focused in each step is vital to the way art films and big budget movies come out.  I’m lucky to be small enough scale in what we do that I don’t have to keep my hands out of one thing or another. Intimate involvement with the process is what I look most forward to.

The hardest thing for us, and for most film-makers not born into privilege, is funding.  Because I like making strange props and shooting with old technology, we are always looking out for funding for whatever we do next to help us hit our mark without compromising the original idea.

I mean this in every positive way possible Matt, you are a stone cold weirdo! I’d love to know what you yourself find weird. Anything you can think of that’s always been odd or off to you?

I’m into “weird theories,” like ancient aliens, things like the Toynbee tiles, the occult, ancient cities, and secret societies. Perhaps that is just fascinating, more than it is weird.

When are you hoping to be finished with the project? Any special release plans?

I think we can have it finished in March 2013.

We’ve always enjoyed screening at and attending film festivals.  The spirit of those things is really addictive, so I want to go that route.  But we really wanted to make something that showed where we, as a collective group, are now in our professional lives.  I just want people to see it, and to be able to make another movie after it.

There is a really big pet project I’d like to make after we finish and release “How The Sky Will Melt,” using much of the same crew in a much grander scale.  It is a story written by myself and my long-time friend, Aaron, who is a Quantum Physicist.

But for now, “How The Sky Will Melt” is my number one focus and love. It is a movie that I have to make.

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Much thanks to Matthew for reaching out, sharing his time, and also passing the word on to his good friend and future feature, sound designer Jacob Kinch (Coming soon). Matt and the crew are raising funds for How The Sky Will Melt. If you are compelled to contribute to the cause everything you need to know is up on their Kickstarter page. For everything else Matthew Wade, check out his website matthewwade.com

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