Origins: Instant Videos

Flashback to Lullaby for G. Filmed in one take inside a meticulously arranged garage with symbolic totems of childhood and learning. The ever present television set...and of course little Georgia not even a year old. Being "put to sleep" by Tammy this way while singing a song she composed for the baby.

I remember setting the camera and turning around so that I wouldn't actually see the live performance. The audio recorded for this was also from the camera mic so it has the hollow sound.

We are presenting some rarely seen gems from the video vault while we enjoy our hiatus from the weekly riot of creation. We are starting again in under two weeks time so hold on to your horses... We are presenting a little "origins" mini-series of flashbacks in the meantime. This is from 2003. Notice the painted backdrops that would later appear in Instant Video #7.

Will be back soon. Goodnight. Sweet dreams.



Lullaby for G
by Tammy Lin Foreman

This light of mine
Gonna let it shine
Gonna let it shine
This light of mine
Makes no difference
What you say
I'm gonna be happy
Come what may
Have you ever
felt that way?

Have you ever
felt that way?

Won't hide, no
Gonna let it show
Gonna let it glow

Makes no difference
What they say
I'm gonna be happy
Come what may
Have you ever
felt that way?

Oh, this light that shines in me
Shine your light for all eternity
and in my darkest hour
Shine so bright with all your power

Makes no difference
What they say
I'm gonna be happy
Come what may
Have you ever
felt that way?

Have you ever
felt that way?

Twirl in a Film Festival!

I recently found Twirl (2003) in the Original Plastic archives and submitted it to the 3rd annual Millbrook International 3-Minute Film Festival where it was short-listed tonight and was projected six-feet high and luminous.

I was bemused to see Twirl was the one selected by the jury out of three under-3-minute films I submitted to the festival this year. You can never ever tell these things. It came as a surprise and a boost!

Maybe it just struck a chord. Maybe someone was just talking about that Nostradamus special on the History Channel about his predictions for the year 2012 over donuts and roll-up-the-rim-tim Tims.

Maybe they were just feeling appropriately apocalyptic when they popped the DVD into the player. Their decision gives us a glimpse of what it might have been like in that room with the jury as they deliberated to come up with 24 finalists out of 81 entries.

Whoa! I was impressed with a one minute film from Suberg, Switzerland directed by Simon Banmann called A Cigarette for Two which I'm so happy is on YouTube so can share it here. Genius.



The Black Diamond Golf Club was standing room only. No awards went to Twirl or Cigarette for Two and many other great films.

I didn't think there was a chance, but I had a speech in mind. Just in case. I just made it up.

"The other half of this award, of course, belongs to my Better Half - Tammy Lin Foreman, whose grace and music continues to inspire me to become a better person every day."



Twirl is a blast from the past. The festival selection makes it the natural choice for a YouTube premiere to fill-in this week while we brainstorm and regenerate for the next 76 Instant Videos to come. Something to tide you over.

Originally part of the Labours of Love series of music videos we made one week at a time and uploaded (on dial-up) to ZeD way back in the early 21st century. This is the roots of Instant Videos.

The video was foretold in a prophecy: it will be uploaded three times in the lifetime of the internet and each time the moon will be blotted out of the sky by a heart-shaped shadow.



Twirl
by Tammy Lin Foreman

c'mon love give me a twirl
waiting for the end of the world
c'mon put your hand in mine
'til the end of time

destination: i don't know
still i'm anxious to go
as long as my view
includes you
charlie, i don't mind

waiting for the end of the world



STAY TUNED.