Producers/Directors David G. Berger and Holly Maxson talk about their long time friendships with Milt "The Judge" Hinton and making their first film.

What led you to make this film?

Milt’s life story and his photographs had been published in two books. But we knew that film was the only way to reveal the depth of his humanity and spirit. His unique voice, his compelling on-camera presence in archival footage and contemporary interviews, his dynamic bass playing, and his photographs come together to depict this musician, historian and documentarian.

How did you meet Milt Hinton and find out about his photographs?

David met Milt in 1956 when he was 15. He was playing bass and taking lessons from a classical teacher, but he loved jazz and wanted to learn how to play it. He got up the nerve to call Milt and from the first day they met, something clicked. After six months, bass lessons became secondary. Milt invited David into his family and into his world and the two spent the next 45 years as close friends.

As a teenager, David spent his Saturdays at Milt’s. He did the same thing during college vacations and summer breaks. Milt’s basement was his domain. He had his own stove and refrigerator, his basses, a piano, several tape recorders, a TV, a daybed (so close friends like saxophonist Ben Webster could spend a week or two when they came to town), and a darkroom. Milt was too busy doing record dates to use the darkroom for anything other then developing negatives and making contact sheets. After he developed his film he’d cut it into strips, make an eight-by-ten contact, put the negatives into sleeves, and paperclip the sleeves to the contact sheet. Contact sheets were stacked all around the basement and David tried to organize them. Whenever there was free time, he’d ask Milt to identify pictures and he would make notes on the reverse side of each contact sheet.

Holly met Milt in 1979, when she was hired to prepare and print photographs for Milt’s first book, Bass Line: The Stories and Photographs of Milt Hinton. Once she met Milt, she too became a part of his extended family. For over 25 years, she has been cataloguing and printing negatives, matting and framing prints for exhibitions, providing pictures for publication in magazines, books and films, and working to make the 60,000-plus pictures in the Milton J. Hinton Photographic Collection a significant archive.

What impact do you hope this film will have?

We would like anyone who sees this film, regardless of age or ethnicity, to recognize Milt’s truth of character and optimistic resiliency. On one level, he typified the American “dream”—moving from poverty to success by using talent and perseverance. But Milt’s journey was far more unusual. He not only made a record of his own life and the world that surrounded him, but also made every possible effort to pass on what he had learned to succeeding generations.

What were Hinton and his family’s reactions to KEEPING TIME?

Milt saw several early cuts and his response was always the same, “I ‘m embarrassed when I hear people say all those nice things about me.” He loved us and gave us credit for making his photographs as important to his legacy as his music. Mona, Milt’s widow, saw practically every cut and was sometimes extremely critical of how Milt looked, or what he said, or the possibility of audience misinterpretation. But when she saw the last version, her response was simple and direct: “O.K. Now you got it.”

What were some of the challenges you faced in making this film?

It took us eight years to complete this project because it was our first film. Our inexperience led to costly mistakes and frustration and we had to pause several times to save money and regroup. We credit our insightful and intuitive editor and co-director, Kate Hirson, for her patience and invaluable guidance in making our vision a reality.

One of Holly’s greatest challenges in making KEEPING TIME was to organize, number and catalog the thousands of photographs in Milt’s collection—keeping track of which ones might be used to amplify his story. She worked for countless hours to animate and choreograph the stills so that they became an integral part of the film’s rhythm. Ultimately, we used equal parts of Milt’s music, anecdotes and images to communicate his message.

What did you learn about Milt Hinton that you didn’t know before? What surprised you?

Because the bass is an instrument that’s almost always in the background, it surprised us that so many fellow musicians considered Milt to be a leader. He used to say, “The bass means basement. It’s the foundation and everything is built on it.” His contributions to the shape and sound of the music were indelible. Not only was he respected for his ability among jazz musicians, but he was also well known to classical bassists and rock musicians as a musician and a role model.

Although David interviewed Milt for hundreds of hours during his lifetime, every new conversation provided stories he’d never heard before. For example, in one on-camera interview for KEEPING TIME, Milt told David (for the first time) about his dog “Sparky” (derived from the name Spark Plug) who accompanied him on the newspaper route he had as a teenager. During predawn hours, Milt would let Sparky into the small walk-up apartment houses and the dog would run from floor to floor scouting out the place to make sure the building was safe for Milt’s newspaper deliveries.

Why did you choose to present your film on public television?

We want as many people as possible to know about Milt Hinton, and public television is the best way to accomplish this goal.

What are your three favorite films?

Citizen Kane, On the Waterfront, Raging Bull

What didn’t you get done when you were making your film?

We would have liked to complete more on-camera interviews with Milt to use in the film and for our archives. Two factors prevented us from recording more. We always used a professional camera crew that was expensive. (These days, high-level video cameras are far more affordable and would have allowed us to shoot more.) Secondly, Milt’s health progressively deteriorated during the project. Towards the end, he would tire easily and his speech became extremely difficult to understand.

If you weren’t a filmmaker, what kind of work do you think you’d be doing?

In fact, we’re not filmmakers. David was a professor of sociology for 30 years and Holly is a conservator of art and documents on paper. In addition to managing several small buildings we own in Manhattan and overseeing their ongoing renovation, we devote a good deal of time maintaining the Milton J. Hinton Photographic Collection, an archive of Milt’s images.

What sparks your creativity?

Talking to creative people regardless of their expertise and talking to college students and recent graduates about strategies to accomplish their goals.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers?

These days you can buy practically everything you need to shoot and edit for less than 15,000 dollars. Figure out a way to get the money then go out and do it!

Find a collaborator who shares your vision and passion for the subject. Everything becomes easier when there is someone who can do a reality check for you and who can share the pain and pleasure of the filmmaking process.