Movies uniquely combine the humanities and the sciences, created images and mathematics: they are visual art over time. This conception most clearly comes into play with animation and stop-motion work as well as with hand-editing film (which I still prefer over using digital editing software); every frame's fraction of a second may have meaning.
My films are most directly influenced by those of Stan Brakhage, Maya Deren, Len Lye, Norman McLaren, and the Dadaists. I work mostly with Super-8 mm stock for cost and appearance reasons. I conceive of the finished pieces generally as silent films but usually add music or play something simultaneously at a screening. Added sound is purely for the audience's benefit. Challenging the audience with experimental work is an art that seems to be dwindling in this era of cookie-cutter "blockbusters" from the Hollywood studio machines and endless tongue-in-cheek mockumentaries from so-called independent filmmakers. When I commence work on a new film, I have to ask myself: What hasn't been done? What's uncomfortable, aesthetic, gratuitous? What can I do to make someone get up and leave the cinema?
Michele has worked for a dot-com start-up, moderated a Usenet newsgroup on the Internet, traveled to Cuba, participated in archaeological digs in Idaho and Québec, and lived in a commune. She speaks French fluently and is licensed to perform marriages. She began making films through a program at Wigglyworld Studios, the production arm of the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle. In 2004, she served on the judges' panel for Philadelphia's 48 Hour Film Project. Michele grew up on the East Coast, lived out West for several years, and now resides in Philadelphia with her daughter.