“Adventure is the formula for everlasting youth.”
Talking to filmmaker Eric Bricker about Alumination, his upcoming feature documentary about all things Airstream, it’s clear he understands what it means to Live Riveted.
“An Airstream is like a passport to new experiences and new discoveries,” he says, “which quite often leads to a state of personal expansion.”
He’s been working on his film for over two and a half years, traveling around the country, seeing the Airstream world through the lens of his camera, taking in new places and forming new friendships. The idea first came from friend and producing partner Lisa Hughes, and Bricker was immediately drawn to the idea. Once they dove into the world of Airstream, there was no looking back.
Bricker and Hughes' best-known work to date is Visual Acoustics, a well-received and highly awarded 2008 documentary that celebrates the life and work of architectural photographer Julius Shulman. In the film, Bricker brings Shulman to life, profoundly telling his story while showing architecture’s often surprising power to connect people.
“I wanted people to have a greater sense of awareness,” he says. “People design things to direct the experience we’re having and the way that we live.”
Bricker has been shooting for over two and a half years, telling true Airstream stories. Photo by Leigh Wetzel
Visual Acoustics was widely recognized, winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Austin Film Festival and the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, among many others.
So what’s the connection between the two films? Bricker calls Airstream founder Wally Byam “the Frank Lloyd Wright of travel trailers,” explaining how both men wanted to design every aspect of the living experience. They were both characterized by their obsession with creating the best possible tools for living.
“I’m interested in both the form and function of space, how it impacts both our internal experiences and how we interact with others,” he says. In his words, Airstreams are “incubators of human experience,” built to foster human relations and bring people together.
He’ll be done filming in the near future, with only a handful of scheduled shoots remaining. He explains that by now he feels the story in his heart and mind, but that the true art of creation lies in editing the film, weaving together the many stories he’s captured.
As he does this, he’ll work with designer Emre Veryeri, one of his trusted collaborators who helped him see Airstream from a perspective of modern design. Veryeri is from Turkey, and when he sees an Airstream he doesn’t associate the same feelings that most Americans do – a valued perspective in every step of the creative process.
A look into Bricker's editing process, as he works with footage shot with Mali Mish and The Democratic Travelers.
“He was devoid of the nostalgia other people feel,” which Bricker says helped him dive deeper into the architectural aspects of Airstream design.
The pursuit of deep, meaningful experiences characterizes his work as a filmmaker, with capturing humanity a common theme. With Visual Acoustics, he says, he had an important responsibility: telling his subjects’ stories in a way that was not only truthful, but that also honored their legacies. It’s the same with Alumination.
Bricker quotes Wally Byam, saying things like “it’s better to wear out than rust out.” He adds that “Airstream is a way to embrace your instinct to travel, to explore, to roam.” Living this way himself over the course of shooting, he began to connect with Airstreamers, even forming friendships he says will last a lifetime.
Bricker believes that travel experiences can take you to a different place - both literally and figuratively. Photo by Leigh Wetzel
“Once I felt the same things they were feeling, I knew I could tell a story that’s accurate and authentic. With so many incredible stories happening in and around the world of Airstream, it’s been difficult to accept I can’t capture them all.”
A compulsion to keep going? That’s a feeling that will sound familiar to Airstreamers.
Alumination, a Lisa Hughes/Out Of The Box Production, is scheduled for completion in December 2016. For more information, visit their Facebook page. The official website, aluminationmovie.com, will be updated in late spring to launch a Kickstarter campaign with exciting rewards and opportunities available for supporters.
