

Deaf film director can finally hear soundtracks to his films




"Actually, yeah, I am," he replies.

















Chapman preferred reading and watching subtitled movies. He was 11 when he saw "The Wizard of Oz." The scene where Dorothy first lands in Oz, and her black-and-white world is transformed by color, struck him, and he decided he wanted to create images like that.

He began commandeering the family's VHS camera, making parodies of evening news programs with his friend Taylor Bonin. The two moved on to mysteries and short films, which they would enter in festivals. "Even then, you could tell he was talented," Bonin said.

It was easier for Chapman to socialize once he got older and people began communicating via messages. "Texting was the most impactful invention of his lifetime," his mother said.

After getting accepted to Pepperdine, he enrolled in a film class as a freshman and mentioned that he was interested in directing. His professors were skeptical.

"I'd never heard of a deaf director," said Craig Detweiler, the head of the school's Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture.

But when Detweiler saw Chapman's first film, he changed his mind.

"I told him: 'You are doing this.'"


Last August, Chapman went to his doctor to get outfitted for new hearing aids.

He wasn't expecting much. He'd worn the devices since he was a child and had tried several new pairs, but none worked well. Most of the time, Chapman could hear only a buzzing sound.

But when he put on the new aids, he could suddenly hear the sound of his computer and of someone typing on a keyboard.

Later that night, Chapman was riding in a car with some friends. The first song they played was Mozart's "Lacrimosa."

"I was blown away by the beauty of it," Chapman said. "It sounded like angels singing, and I suddenly realized that it was the first time I was able to appreciate music."

Chapman started to cry; he tried to hide his tears. "But when I looked over, I saw there wasn't a dry eye in the car," he said.

Afterward, Chapman went to Reddit and posted a question: "I can hear music for the first time ever, what should I listen to?"

He received nearly 14,000 replies. One suggested "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred — "so that, for the first time, you can have a song stuck in your head." Others offered up everything from Beethoven to Jeff Buckley.

Chapman prefers classical because he doesn't have to try to understand lyrics, and he also likes reggae because "the beat is easy for me to understand." Still, his favorite song is "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, to the chagrin of some of his friends.

"I think, 'Ugh, who put this song on?' because I've been hearing it everywhere since I was little,'" Royer said.

Chapman, who graduated from Pepperdine in 2011, earns a living doing freelance video editing, music videos and occasional weddings. None of his films have been distributed in theaters, but he hopes to direct his first full-length feature. He's launched a Kickstarter campaign for that film, a drama that will be semi-autobiographical.

He recently returned from Haiti, where he worked on a documentary about a community of deaf people and filmed footage at orphanages for children with disabilities.

He and Royer spent hours sitting in front of a television, with the composer playing a guitar and Chapman fiddling with controls on a small editing machine.

"I want it to go like this," Chapman said, raising his hand to signal a buildup during the final shots.

"Like this?" Royer asked, playing a few chords.

"More," said Chapman, hitting a few notes on a keyboard to illustrate his point.

Chapman and Royer settled on a crescendo that didn't overwhelm the images but still conveyed the children's poverty and hopefulness.

"It was the perfect way to close," Royer said. "He's really progressing."

To see "Eleven, Eleven," go to:
