The Dandy Dwarves channel should come with a warning label. "Caution: Eyes may pop out of head!"

Formed in 2006, the production company has made some of the best short films and music videos you're likely to find on the Web. They display equal amounts of narrative skill and pretty pictures, while also combining sci-fi and fantasy elements into a unique comedic brew. The movies are great because they work on different levels. To watch Pencil Face, Love Hurts and Gift of the Titan Smile is to be both visually dazzled and pulled in on a gut level.

Josh Lind is the executive producer of The Dandy Dwarves. He took a break from the company's busy schedule to discuss the look of the films, getting that first paid gig and the story of a hairy Italian man who had to shave his entire body for Love Hurts.

How did this creative partnership come about?

The Dandy Dwarves began as a collective group of artists and filmmakers, and has since become a legitimate video production company within the past few years. We all met while we were studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and decided to pool our talents to create a wide variety of media projects. We started out making Websites, logos, print ads, and that sort of stuff... but then got involved with several different filmmaking competitions and decided to concentrate most of our efforts into making short films. We've made a ton of shorts over the years, and have now turned that into a career in video production making commercials, viral content, music videos, and short documentaries.

Many of our users are hoping to get paid one day to make movies. Describe the first big paid gig the Dwarves ever had, and what doors it opened for you guys.

We're still waiting for our first BIG paid gig, too! But we've been lucky enough to have a steady stream of paid work over the past four years. It's been amazing. I think the first paid project, so to speak, was for a documentary for a waste management company about a group of garbage truck drivers. We ended up making a 23-minute piece for the company, and in turn they funded my thesis project at film school called The World Outside. We didn't necessarily profit from the project, but we were able to add two solid pieces to our reel, which quickly got the ball rolling for more and more commissioned work.

All of your films are technically amazing. Give us some idea as to how the look of each film is achieved, both in terms of crew and equipment.

Thanks! Getting that high-production look for all of our projects, regardless of the restrictions, has always been a big priority for us. We've worked with a wide variety of cameras and equipment over the years - and crew sizes can always vary from project to project. While in college we primarily shot with the Sony CineAlta and the Panasonic VariCam. For productions outside of school we started out using a regular DVX100, then purchased an HVX200, then began adding 35mm lenses and adapters into the mix. Most recently we've been shooting with the Red One, and have really been enjoying that camera a lot. For crew, we've done some projects with a total crew of around 40 people, and some with only 3. We're a very versatile bunch, so we can wear a lot of hats when we need to. Then when we have the ability to bring on a bigger crew, it's always nice to spread out the responsibilities and to collaborate with a whole bunch of talented people.

How are the ideas for the films generated? Is the screenwriting process a collaborative effort?

Coming up with the ideas is generally a very collaborative effort. We will usually brainstorm several times as a group, split up and come back with some fresh ideas, then brainstorm again. If someone ends up coming up with the best idea, then they will usually write out the treatment or script and direct the project... or if there is a specific director from the beginning, that person will develop the best idea(s) into a cohesive piece and we'll move into preproduction.

The little girl in Pencil Face is a real find. What was it like working with her? Who was she looking at and reacting to on the set during her scenes with Pencil Face?

It's amazing who/what you can find on craigslist. Logan was a great find and was really wonderful to work with. Pencil Face was one of those shoots where we only had 3 people on crew, so it wasn't the easiest production process... but we made it work and we were all very happy with how everything turned out. Logan hadn't acted in many (if any) films when we found her, but she figured things out quickly and was able to give just the right performance we were looking for. We built that large pencil face prop beforehand, so she was able to interact with that on set. For any of the imaginary items we would just establish an eye-line in the distance, and have her look at a tree or a part of the building or something like that.

I know some filmmakers are reluctant to give away their secrets, but since this a Q&A for the benefit of up-and-coming filmmakers, I feel obliged to ask: How did you do the shots of arrows going into people in Love Hurts?

We've been asked this a lot... and several people have come up to us absolutely convinced that we did it by having the actors freeze in the middle of their action, cutting the camera, adding the arrow, and resuming their movement. In all actuality the actors were wearing the arrows the whole time, then we went in and painstakingly removed the arrow frame-by-frame, added one flying arrow right before impact, and did a bit of time remapping on the hit to add some intensity to the movement. This method took a lot more time than doing any sort of in-camera tricks, but we felt it was the best method to achieve the effect we were going for.

Did the guy in Love Hurts have to shave his whole body to play Cupid?

Oh yes. Cupid was a very, VERY hairy Italian man when we first met him. He spent several hours shaving his entire body the night before the shoot and told us later that he was itching for months as all the hair grew back in. To make matters worse for the shoot, we had to paint him pink from head to toe, add some baby oil for some extra shine, and sit him on a mountainside next to an elementary school... in a diaper... on a somewhat rainy day... in the middle of January! I don't know if he'd agree to do all that again.

Gift of the Titan Smile strikes me as a completely original film. Where did the idea for the film come from?

The idea came from another one of those brainstorm sessions. We were toying with a lot of the elements you see in the film for a while, and ended up with kind of a mix between a music video and a narrative short film. We were originally planning on removing the five little people/slaves you can see controlling the face, but decided that leaving them there added an extra level of intrigue to the whole setting and really helped to show the scale of the face.

What artists and filmmakers inspire you?

Terry Gilliam, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Tom Kuntz to name a few. There are a lot of people doing amazing things out there, and there are so many artists and projects to draw inspiration from. We're hoping to be doing some of those amazing things too someday.

Where would you like the Dwarves to be in five years?

I'd say if we are alive and still working on fun/awesome projects we'll be happy... but we're always looking to progress to bigger and better things. Right now we're very seriously pursuing a place in the commercial world, so in five years we will hopefully have a full reel of commercial spots, a continuing reel of shorts, and who knows - maybe a feature or a feature script in our back pocket.

You can view more production photos here...