This video was made single handedly by Craig Murray over 4 weeks in Spain / August 2009..

vimeo.com/6882774

Band: Converge

Song: Axe to Fall

Album: Axe to Fall

Label: Epitaph / Deathwish

Location: Ronda, Spain

Built, shot, edited and directed by Craig Murray

PRE PRODUCTION IDEAS:

Style: NOE / GONDRY / CUNNINGHAM / NIN / CRONENBERG

The idea is to make a film in which we see a cycle...This cycle will study an idea of new creation without pleasure and the art of numbing for progression......

Conditioning .....

I will have animated / live action models (M/F) connected with wires, sitting back to back and breeding.

In between them a large vessel bubbles a growing product...the product will be an exact momentary translation of these two figures ...connected via cerebral and genital insertions displaying from which tubes and wires...with both sets connected up to the vessel.

At the time of conception the two figures will be bombarded with images displayed on TVs directly in front of their faces (Natural Disasters, wars, presidents, terrorist scams, cover ups, truths and bull fights....etc etc) ....Meanwhile a surgeon will perform agonizing experiments upon them.

Once this transfer is complete the two subjects will be disposed of....

The embryo will grow using animation and become a fully functioning human...it will be cross gender and able to regenerate on its own....

The new breed will have seen the worst of life in the first seconds of its own creation.....

A fully conditioned and new evolution of human.

POST PRODUCTION THOUGHTS:

OK...I did not get everything in that I wanted...but I hope it translates itself in some way?..Perhaps after a few goes?

I think the lighting could be a lot better.... but I only had industrial work lights and domestic lamps...This created problems with Shadows and also over exposure

I wish I had worked with the animated wires more...

I think the initial birth should of had an explosion of fluid

Perhaps I should of built a selection of size scaled TV's?...Starting with a huge one then scaling down... depicting the growth of the embryo...?

RESOURCES:

I work solo which takes time...I wish to work in a team...But living in a tiny mountain village creates problems finding people to help....Plus its all very much Flamenco here ha ha.

Built in 40+ degree heat over 10 days in Southern Spain.....Shot in 8 hours....Edited over 2 weeks...

Built using over 200 meters of wire and cable in my friends garage.(it was his birth)

Shot on DV using a Sony Handycam and a Z1

Edited on iMovie

TV BIRTH:

I went for the idea of the birth coming from the TV as it seemed to be the completion of the cycle...Yes...this has been done many times before....But I looked at capturing the feeling and atmosphere created in these versions of the process...

David Cronenberg´s Videodrome

Hideo Nakata´s Ringu

Chris Cunningham´s Video for Aphex twin (Come to daddy)

NOES3 (TV sequence) plus various NOES latex Kruger reliefs

It was an amalgamated homage and not an exact replica or rip off..


OTHER INFLUENCES:

Richard Stanley's Hardware

Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange

NIN + Bob Flanagan

Gaspar Noe

David Lynch

Shinya Tsukamoto

Anish Kapoor

Plus many many forgotten sub conscious memories of past film experiences.

EXTRA NOTE: the Saw films did not enter into my mind at any time... :)