First video blog and behind The Death Chair Confessions

I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a video blog for a while now and decided a couple of days ago to give it a whirl. It’s been an interesting experience… so far removed from the world of scripted dialogue/synopsis based pieces I’ve been used to. Even when doing an interview, you have something to work from as you are responding to questions put before you… but to speak and it to be free flowing without prompt/exterior direction is not as easy as it looks.
Damn hard in fact! Especially if you are trying to focus on a particular subject and trying to remember points you want to get across.
But personally, I think if you’re going to do this then it should be from the heart and real, not scripted. This is what I wanted mine to be and I guess that is exactly what I got.
So here is my very first video blog, with no cuts or edits or polish. It’s incredibly raw and not word perfect, I ‘um’ and ‘ah’ and make mistakes but isn’t that what we all do in ‘real life’?
The subject I talk about is The Death Chair Confessions as I wanted to give a little insight into how this project was conceived. I guess just like the project itself, this video blogging experience was never meant to be comfortable…




I’ll be interested to hear what people think…
-A

NOTE: The video quality is shit, but isn't that always the way with youtube and their bad compression?!

'In the moment' interviews with rock fans and the My Ruin UK Tour

Once in a while, a close friend of mine comes over from the States and tours the UK with her heavy rock band My Ruin. We always take this opportunity to spend some time together so I tend to ride their tour bus for a few days, here and there.
It’s always a crazy and interesting experience, to step into someone else’s world for a while. I am not a part of the brutal world that is the music industry and it is so different from the guerilla film/theatre/arty world of mine.
Over the years, I’ve found new ways to occupy myself during the long hours on the road, when the band is sound checking, doing interviews etc and one of those ways is to interview the people attending the shows and ask them random questions.
I think that music is very unique in that it builds up a wild mix of emotions and this is always best expressed by the fans themselves… especially when they are in the moment waiting to see one of their favourite bands live or high on a post-show euphoria. This is when the words are the most passionate, and real.

And it’s that time again… My Ruin is about to embark on a UK tour in October. This tour is to support a new live album ‘Alive On The Other Side’ that was recorded earlier this year and a DVD comes with the release featuring a number of ‘in the moment’ interviews with fans at various venues throughout the UK.
Here’s a little preview of the DVD including pieces of interviews I did.



The tour dates/info are available here: MY RUIN

Once again, I’ll be riding the bus armed with a camera and a whole different set of questions. I’ll be interested to see what answers I will receive... and if you are planning on attending a show, watch your back, as you may find me chasing you and putting you in the ‘hot seat’!
-A

An afterthought: One of my photographs is also featured in the CD artwork as I do take random still shots at the shows too.

The Death Chair Confessions

The last weeks have been long and incredibly frustrating. I’ve been busy working on a new project and the technical problems I’ve encountered have been many and complicated… in a ‘tear at your hair and scream to the sky’ kind of way.

"Never, never, never give up!"

"If you are going through hell, keep going."

~ Winston Churchill

Every thing that could possibly go wrong DID, yet I refused to be beaten and kept on going.
And here I am with THE DEATH CHAIR CONFESSIONS.

It started out as a single thought and grew.
Here’s a little background info:

---------------------------------

For many years, an electric chair has stood in a corner of my room. It has often been the focus of attention for those who have visited my home and there have been many who have asked to sit/be photographed in it. I always refused these requests… that is until now.
I understood the curiosity that surrounded the chair but I often wondered why someone would really want to sit in it. After all this is not an ordinary piece of furniture, not pretty to look at nor built for comfort, it is nothing more than a killing machine.
A cruel INSTRUMENT OF DEATH.

It made me wonder what would happen if I allowed others to sit in the chair, placed a video camera in front of them, pressed the record button and began by saying

“If this scenario were real, you would be seated in a chair like this and your life would be about to end. SO with that in mind…”

---------------------------------

Despite the multiple computer problems and other bullshit, I was finally able to upload a trailer for the project today and it felt so good.
Now I’ve started along this path, who knows where this road will lead.
Thank you to those who have already sat in my chair and shared some of your soul with me. It takes real courage to be able to sit in the chair and speak from the heart so once again thank you.
There are many more who are ready to follow you and I look forward to hearing their stories.

But for now, I’ll leave behind the trailer (best viewed in HIGH QUALITY) and a few words

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.