2-Hour Film Project - 7 Obstructions

About 11 years ago I started doing short projects I called Day Films. The work had to be finished within a 24-hour span. Today, I use this idea as inspiration for my Intermediate Experimental Video students' first project. The course is about pushing past the lack of ideas. The first day of class we watch Lars Von Trier's 5 Obstructions as a way to setup the course. The next class I have students draw seven different parameters or obstructions out of envelopes. They are allowed to eliminate one of the obstructions. They then have the remaining class, about two hours, to use these obstructions as a foundation for a completed video. I sometimes try and do the project with them. This is my latest version.

New Project with Praying Mantis

I've started working on another off-shoot from previous work. Recently a composer/musician contacted me and asked if I would be interested in working collaboratively on a project. He's asked me to create a music video using praying mantises as the main subject. We've also talked about incorporating imagery similar to the new morphology work. I've just started shooting new mantis material. Not sure where this will lead but I'm pretty excited. More info as the project solidifies.

#prayingmantis