Project Proposal

Our group plans to create a portrait piece on a man named Dale Varnam and his eccentric junkyard.  Located off of US-17 on the way to Holden Beach, Dale’s junkyard is full of stories.  Dale inherited the yard from his father and now runs it as his full-time job.  At first glance it becomes obvious that this is not your typical junkyard.  After fixing up old cars and other “junk” that Dale acquires, he then builds multiple life size scenes in front of the yard.  He adds zombie-like manikins to the sets to enhance the bizarreness as well as individual items that are completely out of place to reiterate the randomness of junkyards.  Dale goes as far as crafting cars to look like police cars but writes “Dales Crack Police” and “Crack Patrol” on them and stages a corrupt cop manikin in the driver’s seat with a hooker manikin on the passenger’s side.  As of now, if you round the corner to Dale’s, you will see a city bus with a giant crack rock on top of it, complete with a giant rolled up $20 bill.  These are just a few of the many scenes Dale sets up in the front of his junkyard, showcasing his creativity and sense of humor.  He does have regular junkyard items like broken down cars, bicycles, and old tires.  However, chickens and roosters are constantly roaming around all of them.  The chickens will makes nests and lay their eggs where ever they please around the yard, and sometimes Dale will go around and drawl faces on an egg here and there just to shock a random customer.  He is a character.

For our film, we want to tell Dale’s story in a visually creative way.  We want to venture into his past to reveal how he came to be where he is at, and how his previous life experiences helped to shape the person he is today.  We expect to encounter some ethical issues concerning the exposition of his past, and will have to make sure Dale is comfortable talking about past in interviews.  Stylistically, we would like to conduct interviews in tight, close-up shots. We also want to focus on him as a member of the Holden Beach community, and the compassion he shows towards his family, friends, and co-workers.  The film will look at the business side of Dale’s junkyard as well as we conduct interviews with employees.  Also, we might look at other local junkyards as comparisons to Dale’s.  We also want to try to incorporate aspects of Dale’s home which is located on the property.  Dale’s house is full of movie memorabilia, including Johnny Depp’s coffin from Sweeney Todd (allegedly) and props from Scarface which make up his dining room table’s center piece.  He even has a tropical themed room complete with an indoor hot tub.  Finally, emphasis will be placed on the junkyard itself, and how it is a direct reflection of Dale.  At this junkyard, every corner you turn you discover something new, and we are excited to learn more about Dale, from Dale, and share what we learn with you.