Spotlight: Hole Man
A SECRET ORACLE WHO LIVES IN A WALL - Hole Man has made his debut. Directed by Ashley Kron, the miniseries tells the unique tale of Hole Man and his encounters in Los Angeles. After premiering the series at Junior High in LA, Kron has released episodes of Hole Man weekly via her Youtube channel, with the final episode arriving today. Watch Hole Man and read below to learn more about the creative process behind the series, what’s next for Kron and more.
LUNA: Would you mind introducing yourself for those unfamiliar with your work?
KRON: I’m Ash, I’m a director and production designer living and working in LA. So far I’ve enjoyed making films about awkward people who think they know everything. In college, my thesis professor once told me I was “as repressed as the character I was writing.” I can’t say yet that he’s wrong.
Episode 1: Jacob
LUNA: When did the creative process/planning for Hole Man begin?
KRON: I started writing the series two summers ago. I had just gotten rejected from a job in New York that I thought was gonna kickstart my post-grad life, and instead I had to move back in with my parents. I felt deflated and embarrassed, and had no idea how to start a career.
I started writing a lot of random scripts because it was something to do that felt active. That’s where the “hole man” character was born. If I couldn’t find answers to my own life, it was at least nice to imagine how someone like me could.
LUNA: How did the concept/idea evolve as the process went on?
KRON: What was liberating about writing this series was that I knew I’d probably design it as well. Hole Man’s “hole” was this free-for-all zone; early drafts had trains catching on fire, zero gravity space walks, a human-sized Birth of Venus shell, an Evil Knievel bike jump.
Then I had to sit down and really figure out how I would pull off the concepts practically. I rewrote whole chunks of the story as I was designing it. I’ve never been in that fluid of a position before, it was great.
Episode 2: Livvy & Noor
LUNA: How was working with a team for this project versus working just as an individual? How big was the cast and crew?
KRON: Hole Man became such a collaborative project as soon as we started planning and filming it, and I feel so grateful for that. Friends helped cast, scouted locations, painted backdrops, made costumes and props, showed up to be extras, donated time/money/love. One of my favorite moments of filming was when we had to ask everyone on set to operate a prop during one of the ocean scenes. Producer Ryan and MUA Charlotte were swaying seaweed, Pavin and Safi (art team) were puppeting cardboard fish, gaffer Tyler pulled the backdrop, 1st AD Nour was pushing Fed (Hole Man) into the shot because he was on roller skates.
There was also a challenging part of working with such a big team. When I was developing Hole Man alone, I told myself I was just making it for me and that I didn’t want to worry about the outcome. As soon as friends became involved and invested, I got really self-conscious about whether it was good or not. I didn’t want to disappoint people. Even up to the premiere I just kept visualizing this slow, awkward clap and people grimace smiling at me like: that was…nice!
I got over that feeling as soon as I shifted my thinking away from “this project is mine and if it’s bad I’ll look bad” to “this project was fun and challenging and I want it to do well so everyone can share in that.”
LUNA: You’ve done interview series and other short films - how does Hole Man compare to your previous projects?
KRON: Hole Man makes me excited to write again. My previous projects kind of drained me or made me feel my limitations, whereas this project makes me understand where I can continue to grow. I think it’s in part because of the strong working relationships my friends and I have developed. We reflected on that together when we finished shooting.
Episode 3: Scooby
LUNA: Is there anything you want people to take away from your work or Hole Man in particular?
KRON: After Hole Man screened at Junior High a couple friends texted me saying they were inspired to start developing ideas they had been sitting on. That’s the true meaning of Christmas Hole Man.
LUNA: What advice to you have for young filmmakers wanting to create their own project but unsure where to start?
KRON: My strategy has largely been to build skills working for other people, save money, and have excellent talented friends. Starting out as a director, it's been hard to find opportunities to practice. Everyone tells you “the only way to learn is by doing” and there’s a lot of canned optimism when people talk about self-funding projects. But what people don’t acknowledge is how soul-crushingly embarrassing it is to do something even though you don’t know what you’re doing. Also how high the stakes are when you’re blowing your savings. I tried to push through those feelings of being inexperienced by constantly reminding myself that I was inexperienced and that was the point. That it was ok if ultimately, Hole Man sucked. I had to give myself permission to do it anyways.
LUNA: Now that Hole Man is out in the world, what’s next for you?
KRON: Beginning to write again, doing small things for myself like paint and read. My big goal for this year is to start directing music videos, we’ll see where that takes me.
Holeman Cast & Crew
