The Truth&Rights Collective

04 Manchester Orchestra "Pride"
ACT IV of XI of "Everything to Nothing"

Directed by Destroy Rock Music Inc
(Jason Bognacki and Clay Lipsky)
DP/Edited by Jason Bognacki

Director Jason Bognacki: "Part revenge part conspiracy Grindhouse episode our hero, Elaine evens the score with the man in black, in Manchester Orchestra's "Pride". Shot in super 8 and RED 4k the balance of low-tech and high end meet in scratchy noisy filmic bliss.

Manchester Orchestra as Themselves
Chris Mammone as The Man in Black
Aline Avakian as Elaine
Jason Bognacki as Jimmy

Super 8, 16mm, RED 4K Cinematography: Jason Bognacki

03 Manchester Orchestra "I've Got Friends"
ACT III of XI of "Everything to Nothing"

Directed by Destroy Rock Music Inc
(Jason Bognacki and Clay Lipsky)
DP/Edited by Jason Bognacki

Director Jason Bognacki: In "I've Got Friends" we follow our heroine, Elaine, further down the cinematic rabbit hole as she plots another escape from her film with in a film. She lives out her memories again to a different end this time, finding love, settling an old score, and bending karma in her favor. Inspired in part by French silent films, saturday morning cartoons, and the thought "What if Georges Méliès directed a live action Scooby Doo episode?".

Shot in Southern France.

Manchester Orchestra as Themselves
Aline Avakian as Elaine
Aaron Mitchel as Benjamin
Chris Mammone as The Bear
Winston as The Wolf Dog

RED 4K Cinematography: Jason Bognacki
Archival Footage Provided by:

The Oldham Family

02 Manchester Orchestra "Shake It Out"
ACT II of XI of "Everything to Nothing"

Directed by Destroy Rock Music Inc
(Clay Lipsky and Jason Bognacki)

Edited by Clay Lipsky

"The Only One", track two off of Manchester Orchestra's eleven part music video film "Everything to Nothing" by Destroy Rock Music Inc.

This video serves as a continuation from "The Only One" and depicts our hero's first steps into the real world, free from her previous hospital confines.

She embarks on a journey to escape from the city, her past and build a new future. Unfortunately she is burdened by angst and loneliness and needs to "shake it out" in order to successfully move on.

As she hitchhikes to destination unknown, and the cars pass her by, she is reminded of happier times of family vacations and road trips. Along the way, drive-in theaters throughout the countryside come to life. Eventually she encounters one that reveals films of her in another life and ultimately a french film called "I've got friends". The next video will explore this new film within a film, within a film ;)

Aline Avakian as Elaine

RED 4K Cinematography: Jason Bognacki
Still Photography : Clay Lipsky
Archival Footage Provided by:

The Lipsky Family
The Oldham Family
The Skrimstead Family

Directed by Destroy Rock Music Inc
(Jason Bognacki and Clay Lipsky)
Edited by Jason Bognacki

"The Only One", track one off of Manchester Orchestra's eleven part music video film "Everything to Nothing" by Destroy Rock Music Inc.

We are introduced to Elaine, as she plots her escape from reality. While dodging fragmented memories and mental hospital staff Elaine breaks free of the bonds of her past only to start a darker deeper journey of self discovery.

Aline Avakian as Elaine
Chris Mammone as the Doctor
Karen Barnes as Nurse Betty

RED 4K Cinematography: Jason Bognacki
Archival Footage Provided by:

The Lipsky Family
The Oldham Family
The Skrimstead Family

Production: Brian Bowman & Digital Kitchen
My Role: Live Action Director, Motion Design, Animator, Compositor, and Editor

Lifecycle was made for and presented as part of my F5 presentation (NYC, 4/16/2009).

Lifecycle is conceptually focused on utopian ideology particularly in relation to architectural practice. My argument is that utopia finds itself in a constant state of failure and reinvention; urban futurism vs Epcot, housing tower vs Cabrini Green, etc. Hence, the cycle of utopian ideology is the application of ideology, the failure of application, re-assimilation of failure, and thus a revision of original ideology. The result of this ideological loop are the speculations for new kinds of conceptual hybrids.

Two hybrids I speculated on (through a film) are a fertility spa where reproductive technology becomes an aesthetic experience and a vertical tomb where the graveyard becomes a tower and an anonymous beacon to the city.

Special thanks to DOSC who created the soundtrack and did the sound design.