How many edits did you do before turning your poem over to Andy?
Donna: The poem has gone through countless revisions from the first original handwritten draft to the version that’s in my book, Under the Influence of Paradise: Voices of Key West. Most of this work was done at the small rural Wakulla Library at the edge of Crawfordville, Florida — before the Internet.  The librarians gave me a home and let me hold the library’s miniature pet rabbit when I needed rejuvenation. However, the poem hasn’t changed since the book’s first edition in 1999. 
 
My sister Helen Decker and friend DyAnne Korda, both poets and editors, were instrumental in helping edit this, and all the poems, in Paradise. Helen continued to offer feedback throughout the several years of revision. She strongly encouraged me to take the math imagery, and especially the poem’s last few lines, further.
 
Recently, I found the notebook in which the first draft of The Man in the Mangrove” appears. In handwriting. (All the poems were written by hand that summer.) I still haven’t looked at it. Entering that time again was a powerful emotional experience.
 
Do you keep in touch with "The Man" in the film? Are there any updates on him?
Donna: "The Man" in my poem and I didn’t encounter each other again. But his face, his eyes, and his presence have never left me.
 
How was it to see your creation change into something larger, involving so many creative minds?
Donna: It’s an incredibly exciting collaboration.  And completely unexpected. What magic. I’m so grateful to be working and creating with these wildly creative beings. I feel like I’m surfing a wave, not knowing where it will take me and am thankfulto be on the ride.

Is the musical score divided between music and and dialog, or just one unified audio piece?”
Andy: In the film industry, we traditionally divide music, dialog, and special effects into separate tracks that are blended together in what we call the "Big Mix". However, in this piece, every sound is made from Frank Lindamood's readings of the poem. You can't really separate music, dialog, and effects here, as they are all made from the same elements. Are they all dialog? Are they all music? The piece is truly synthesized as one, continuous creation.
 
How do you decide what music goes with what phrase?
Andy: There are 113 phrases. I look at each phrase and ask what’s the emotion that I want to drive home. That drives the technology.
 
How finalized is the audio in the film? I am guessing the music is finished?
Andy: I declared the audio "finished" when everything I did to it made it worse. We did subsequently reduce the duration of some of the pauses between the score's six movements. There may be other tweaks to come, but the basic flow and sound of the piece will remain the same.

What is your goal in making this film?
Donna: We believe our film can inspire empathy by offering an opportunity to enter the mind of a once accomplished professional who has found himself without a home and the spirit of the mangrove swamp which is his refuge. A percentage of our donations is contributed to homeless organizations in the Tallahassee area.
  
What brought you to choose Caitlin Hargarten & Sam Thompson at Squawk Productions for the visual direction of this film?
Ralph: We spent quite a bit of time surfing the Internet, exploring the work of a number of innovative animators. A friend of Donna's suggested we watch Lure of the North, a short documentary film. We were struck by the emotion Caitlin and Sam were able to express in their animated sequences for that film. One Zoom call later, and we were convinced we'd found the right creative partners for this project!

What is the ultimate goal of this project, and will it lead to future works?
Ralph: When the film is finished, we will enter it in film festivals around the world. While there’s no specific sequel to the film, we never know what the future might bring!