I met Patrick at Twisted Nightmare Weekend, 2005. I had heard of his work through Tom Savini's page and a
few other places on the Internet. Over the three days of Twisted I spoke with Patrick many times, some to just
BS, others to ask about how the movie came along or how it was to work with some of the great actors that
he had casted. He was very open and friendly with me, he went as far as to ask me for my email address so he
could keep in touch and I could show him the FX work I would be doing soon. Since Twisted I have had many
email conversations which lead me to asking him to do an interview for me, which he said yes to and here it is...

CWD: What did you want to be when you grew up?

PD: When I was 5 years old I wanted to be a archeologist .My family talked me out of it saying there wasn’t
any money in it and it was a tough way to make a living. I was always into movies. So at the age of 8 I saw
a documentary on Steven Speilburg where he shot some really creative 8mm films around the same age I
was at .I thought wow maybe I should give movie making a try.

CWD: What influenced as a kid and teenager?

PD: I grew up during the heyday of videotapes. I was constantly getting movies on Betamax and VHS.
We had some really off the wall video stores in my area .I found hard to find Dario Argento movies and
all kinds of horror movies .I rented Tom Savini’s Scream Greats that one local store carried. Back
then to buy a copy it usually cost $99.99 or more so I would rent them many times over. I watched
as many horror and SCI fi films as I could get my hands on. I would often study FX shots in slow
motion over and over again to see how they where done. I would watch silent movies to the current
films of the time period.

CWD: Did you attend a film school?

PD: Yes I had been going for over 2 years and the president of the university decided to cut arts
programs .Had I had 8 more months in and been a Junior I would have been allowed to complete
the course. I only got to take one film class that I had to virtually sneak into. At the school I went
to you had to spend the first couple of years doing all the mandatory classes first. After they
where complete then you could focus on your major. I think some times schools are set up that
way because a lot of students don’t know what they want to do . I knew I wanted to make movies
the minute I signed up.

CWD: In your Mission statement for Absence, you said that you shot and
produced commercials, music videos and short films, were these local
projects or national projects?

PD: Some where local some where national. Mostly I worked on heavy metal music videos.
Plus I did some shows at a local television station I also did some work in Nashville with a country
star. Plus worked on a national PSA (public service announcement)

CWD: How did it feel to finally wrap up "The Absence of Light" after
working on it for more than what seems to be 12 years?

PD: It was strange it didn’t end with a bang it was very low keyed. The movie wasn’t shot over
the entire twelve years a lot of the time I was waiting for technology to catch up with what I wanted
to make. Plus it had to become more affordable that was the reason for the big wait. The movie was
shot in my spare time over 4 years. Starting up in 2000.

CWD: Where did the idea for "The Absence of Light" come from?

PD: I did a lot of research on the subject matter .The concept was created before anyone had seen
the X Files or Men in Black. Or any similarly subjected project .The concept came to me in 1990-1991.
I was a fan of All the President’s Men and those types of movies. Plus I liked horror and SCI fi.
So I put them all in a blender in my head. That’s what came out.

CWD: You said your dream was to work with the likes of Tom Savini, Michael
Berryman, David Hess, Caroline Munro, and Tom Sullivan, how did the
dream hold up to the real thing?

PD: It was much better than I expected. In my mind I really went to film school working with all
of them. When you work with people who are more talented and more experienced it pushes your
skill level up .It made me work even harder. .

CWD: Was it an up hill battle to get this movie made?

PD: Every aspect of making it was a challenge. I self financed it to make it my own . I had a
investor at first but he wanted to make a completely different movie. It was all worth it in the end.

CWD: Have you thought about heading to Hollywood to try and make a bigger
budget movie?

PD: I’m not opposed to it. Though I would prefer to keep making movies where I’m located.
I would like to do bigger budgeted projects in my own area.

CWD: Any advise for upcoming Directors, Actors, FX Artist, or anyone
looking to get into film?

PD: The best advice I have is do your homework. I read tons of books and did a lot of FX and
movie experimenting over the years. More importantly don’t give up.

I would like to thank Ari Bavel for taking the time to do this,you can find out more info
about "The Absence of Light" here. Be sure to keep checking in so you know when
his movie will be out on DVD for you to buy.