Surfaces and Strategies Teaser Trailer for current project, Witness Marks. 

Password: Falmouth

Archive Video Footage, in order of appearance -

Oregon Trail II - https://archive.org/details/012177
New Oregon Trail (Castle Films) - https://archive.org/details/0902_New_Oregon_Trail_02_00_03_05
Gold Rush Daze (Merrie Melodies/Warner Brothers) -https://archive.org/details/GoldRushDaze
American Look (Perlinger Archives) - https://archive.org/details/6391_American_Look_M04199_01_15_18_17
Marlboro Commercials (Legacy Tobacco Documents Library) -https://archive.org/details/tobacco_yyp23e00

Music -

Bill Callahan - America!
Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas

Making a ‘trailer’ was an incredibly fun activity, it took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to explore an alternative form of story telling. As I am interested in combining different mediums into my current work, I enjoyed experimenting with film this week and feel encouraged to use it again. 

Inspired by the idea of the ‘remix’, I decided to use archive footage to open my trailer. I selected videos which presented a glorified view of the American West, with a voice over which described the adventure, adversity and rewards of the westward expansion. The latter half of my trailer was comprised of my own footage - shot with the aim of presenting the contrasting view of Oregon, as it is today. 

As a expatriate living in the U.S. I am interested in the representations of America which I grew up with, and the reality of ‘middle America’ today. I hope that my trailer communicated some of these ideas in a enjoyable, and somewhat humorous way. I truly enjoyed the activity and I am intrigued to receive feedback from my peers and tutors.