My sister was visiting and I said to her, like I say to almost everyone I know, 'We should make a movie'! It was July 2008 and I had the rough idea for Siblings in the back of my mind for a while. Nothing complicated, just a little flick about sibling rivalry and a punchline. The kind of short that doesn't take long to set up, and is so much more about playing around than specific shots. While this project is far from my most ambitious work, it's the kind of short that I hope to make a lot more of. With all the film school projects I feel like my portfolio is already heavily weighted in experiments, art shorts, video poems, etc. and the random comedies that everyone else uploads on YouTube are something that I'd like to have more of myself - even if it's just to attract a few more like-minded viewers. Pull 'em in with the popcorn flicks, make 'em stay for the art.
Siblings was almost entirely devised on the spot. Like I said, I had a rough idea about my sister and I playing in the playground entirely because it just seemed like it'd be funny. The punchline of the short was a product of the shoot. Originally, the ending we discussed involved my sister and I sitting on a park bench, my sister still grumpy and emotionless, we're both drinking slurpees. I'm beaming ear to ear after playing on all the equipment, my sister chucks her slurpee at me and says 'Now can we do something that I want to do'!
That ending would've worked well too I think, but the idea for the change came on the walk back from getting the slurpees. We thought it would be a funny twist if instead of being emotionless the whole time, my sister finally cracks on the merry-go-round and has a bit of fun . . . which ultimately leads to the revised twist. And there's the dynamic between my sister and myself in a nutshell - at least in my comedic view.
A couple months later, I was playing with the Siblings footage trying out some new filters and effects that I had just purchased. What resulted was a the Siblings Remix, mainly just an animated music video playing on the footage we shot that day cut to a remix of Coldplay'sViva la Vida. The remix video doesn't really add anything new, but as far as editing exercises go it was fun to make and seemed worth sharing. The animated nature of the footage was perfect for trying different things, so I guess it was only a matter of time before something else came out of it. For being so simple, it sure makes for an entertaining family home video. Also, check out the surprsing sequel, Siblings 2!
The Bag Raidersand their music video 'Fun Punch' were new to me just a few weeks ago, but seeing it was more than enough to kick off my downloading spree. Remember that spandex loving, high flip kicking, mighty morphin' gang known as the Power Rangers? It turns out they inspired more than just pre-pubescent violence - their action sequences are undeniable in Bag Raiders homage. The edits are tight, the choreography is sharp, and the song is downright addictive! GO-GO-FUN-PUNCH!
December 2006. As my final assignment that semester in an experimental film class, I completed from 84. From what I recall, the project was to embody something personal - a diary of sorts. It was a broad focus, but having recently gone through a bunch of childhood pictures I decided that my personal experiment would consist of the abstract patterns and textures cropped, largely out of context, from those photographs (many as you may have guessed were from the year I was born, 1984).
My goal was to create a video patchwork that related to those loose first memories and how despite experiencing a wealth of new things in our first years, we lack the foresight to tell ourselves to remember. There are obviously numerous clues relating to my own childhood in my selections. Wallpaper of my bedroom, toys, clothing with race cars, random family members and different outings all mix together with other indiscernible fragments to create the illusion of a lost past.
To assist in the viewing, I used repetitive narration to directly address the common idea of locking numerous moments, periods of time, or memories in a photo. However, I also intended the repetitiveness to portray a sense of continually looking over the past and still coming to the same conclusions about it or landing on the same highlights. In many ways this short was influenced by the video poem I made earlier in the semester, Alphabet, about trying to recall my first day of school.
What I think is most successful about from 84 is that its depth is dictated by the viewer. Some will find clues that relate to their own past, some are simply guided by the anchoring wide-eyed glare of my central baby picture, some are taken in by the words, and others will find it to be completely pointless and empty. And therein lies the wonder and completely generic nature of childhood.
Like I've tried to do in so many of my other experimental shorts, I incorporate a bit of whimsy with as much of a clear thread throughout the piece as possible. I'm not trying to trick anyone or appear overly ambiguous to fake meaning, but in this genre especially, many freely express a love/hate relationship. Keep in mind that the experiment here is as much about what you choose to look at, as it is about what visual triggers are provided.
In short - keep an open mind and think critically.
My sister was visiting and I said to her, like I say to almost everyone I know, 'We should make a movie'! It was July 2008 and I had the rough idea for Siblings in the back of my mind for a while. Nothing complicated, just a little flick about sibling rivalry and a punchline. The kind of short that doesn't take long to set up, and is so much more about playing around than specific shots.
