Thursday, October 1, 2009
"Reverberations"
My son, Alex, is an intermedia major in college. His emphasis is film. He decided to go in the desert, put mud all over himself and do something. He wasn't sure what, he thought the location would make his mind up. We drove around way out in the desert and came across an abandoned trailer park. It was a tattered mess with belongings strewn everywhere. He just had to film there, but this time he wanted me to start and stop the camera so he could be in it. I was thrilled. This was going to be amazing and it was 107 so it was nasty out and perfect for the location. We got some amazing shots, but at one time the combination of the sun on the viewing screen making it impossible to read if it was recording or not and not hearing the beep when I turned it on, I managed to miss filming half of it, turning it off when I should be filming and on when I should be not filming. I was absolutely devastated, to say the least, because one shot panned over the entire site and one I was shooting into a window of a trailer while he walked along the other outside of the trailer, peering into the window into the darkness. Alas, he's so talented that he made the best of what I did manage to film of him and made it into a class assignment. He named it "Reverberations" and made the sounds/music to go with it. He then put an effect on the coloring to make it look like our old childhood 1970s pictures that turn magenta over time. I really love the way it came out and thought I'd share it because...it's an abandoned site and it's spooky. If you watch him, you have to wonder what his story is. It looks so hopeless and bleak and like time just stands still forever and ever in the same cycle (sounds like living in the desert!)
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That is a very cool...creepy video...hated when the bugs came out.....eeeck!
ReplyDeletePoor turtle stuck in the sand. The ants were great.
ReplyDeleteYou have a UFO at 24sec or a bird and I really like the ghost box at 2min.
So is your son still a transient or are you going to take him in. lol
Just kidding. You two did a really good job. I hope you got turtie out of the sand though. He looked so sad and so stuck there.
I admit the turtle remained, but I did take a few dolls to add to my doll island display for the Halloween party. That was, in fact, a bird circling. We had seen him around the entire time we were there. I hoped he'd show up in a shot. I'm just glad he wasn't over top of us.
ReplyDeleteThat was very good...I thought that upside down cardboard box was really creepy effect...the air holes and handle hold made it look like a silent scream.
ReplyDeleteThis was great Autumnforest & son!! very atmospheric also -I am sorry you lost part of what you were trying to film-dont be hard on yourself for this-maybe you can go back with him soon and get the rest in cooler weather? the background music was great also -I am so glad your son seems to be taking the creative route in life instead of becoming another MBA or corporate lawyer type! best to you as always and thanks so much for putting up these videos-it is cool you found dolls for your "doll island" display!
ReplyDelete@eloh;
ReplyDeleteYeah, the place was amazing. I was totally nervous the whole time--especially about rattlesnakes. The sounds of the wind making things move around was making me jumpy too. I kept thinking we'd run into some crazy wanderer.
Dev;
Yeah, we're definitely going back there. I wish I had known we were going to find it, I would have brought my camera. I adore taking photographs of abandoned places and I would have gone through a bunch of memory cards in a place like that! I have to admit, I always thought Alex would be a computer programmer, he knows tons of languages and coding and stuff and it's insane the way he picks it up. Hubby is an engineer at Fender Musical Instruments R&D and I'm a medical transcriptionist, but hubby plays drums in bands and invents all kinds of electronics and I write, do oil painting, and am...well, whimsical. So, I think he got the best from both of us. Film seems to suit him--technical, but creative. He's been in gifted programs all his life, so raising him was really easy. We just treat him with respect and let him feel free to explore. He started his first business, a successful t-shirt design business when he was 15 and then went into website design and has just directed, shot, and edited his first commercial with more to come. You can see it on the home page at
www.calibersigns.com
I have to admit I'm proud, but he's really a different kind of person--no drugs/drinking/smoking, logic-minded, creative, and ferociously hungry for knowledge. A wise old soul. I love to see what he is doing and watching the evolution. It makes me want to evolve into the writer I really think I should be. I'm humbled just being his mom or "ma'am" as he calls me. :-)
Ask your hubby if he knows Chicago Joe. He's my cousin and sells for Fender and he's been with them for years and years.
ReplyDeleteI asked hubby and he asked if it was a guy in marketing named Joe. I doubt that's him. Of course, research and development geeks don't hang with sales usually. Is he based in Scottsdale? If he is, he should know him. Of course, the company is very big and spread out everywhere. He works amps, but California works guitars. Small world.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the location and the eerie music. It has that end of the world feel to it, almost like he is the last person left and is checking out his dreary surroundings. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThe music definitely adds to the effect. What did he use to make the music?
ReplyDeleteHey Jeff;
ReplyDeleteI think he went into our music room and recorded some strums on the electric guitar, got some wind wounds, and he's a drummer, so some drum sounds and put them through some kind of music effects program.
Cool piece.
ReplyDeleteLike someone else wrote, that upside-down cardboard box had this creepy-face thing going on. And ants are always effective at punctuating rot, desertion and/or decay.
Loved the soundtrack as well.
Bleaux Leaux;
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yeah, I hope to get back there and do a lot of still shots for a post in the future about urban decay. It fascinates me to no end. The wind whistled through the desert and it was scorching hot with a big black bird circling overhead and a few turkey vultures nearby. Very desolate.
Your son is very talented. I love it - really cool.
ReplyDeletelooks like a good 'last guy on earth'!!
ReplyDeleteThis is really eerie. Love the light, the place, the music, all of it. Nicely done!
ReplyDelete