digitalphotogallery.com
Clothing line, producer, singer/songwriter, bassist, and television personality; is there anything Mark Hoppus can’t do? Apparently not. In an effort to break into film, he has now scored the four minute stop motion animated short I’m Scared, directed by Comedy Bang Bang’s Pete Levin. The film, which was produced by Levin, Musa Brooker, and Dan Levy, is based off of drawings done by Hoppus’ friend, and artist, Greg Simkins, better known as Craola; and follow as “Big Brother shares with Little Brother all the frightening things that inhabit the world at night as they try to go to sleep. Small concerns grow into spooky spectres as Big Brother’s imagination takes over and their bedroom becomes a playground for monstrous creatures of all types.“ In 2013, a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the movie raised over eighty thousand dollars from over six hundred pledgers hoping to help make the movie a reality. It was that Kickstarter campaign that caught Hoppus’ eye.
After watching the short, Hoppus began his work on the score, spending a month “sitting in the studio and thinking, ‘What musically represents a jumping ominous rabbit? What does a shark sound like?'” In a recent interview Hoppus stated that the score was meant to be spooky without being scary, while still sounding childlike. “I was walking this fine line between jaunty and sinister.” Hoppus also revealed that a lot of the sounds in the film were created by using the keyboard. While the short has yet to be premiered, Levin hopes to expand it to a full length feature after putting it through the short film circuit. Whether Levin plans on Hoppus composing the score for that film as well, Hoppus has already admitted that he would be interested in doing it.
Craola, who put together a Spotify playlist filled with creepy children’s songs to aide in the creation of the composition’s score, met Hoppus over thirteen years ago while he worked as a T-shirt designer at Hoppus’ clothing line. The two have worked together several times since, including on a one-of-a-kind Fender Bass that was auctioned off to raise money and awareness for cystic fibrosis. Besides his collaborations with Craola, Hoppus has also worked with many musicians including; Simple Plan, Motion City Soundtrack, Owl City, and All Time Low.