Coffin Cruisin’, the documentary short film I produced as a student of the Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University, is now on YouTube after being screened at film festivals around the country.
Films
Abscission is a four channel, non-fiction video art installation. Filmed in Winston-Salem, NC and on the campus of Wake Forest University, Fall 2012.
Description
Every Autumn people appreciate the natural beauty of the leaves changing color and falling from the trees. However as soon as the leaves hit the ground, they create a mess that takes a massive amount of work to clean up.
Installation
The film was exhibited in an empty room off of the basement garage of Albert Hall, a former manufacturing plant for Prince Albert Tobacco in Winston-Salem, NC on the evening of December 1st, 2012.
START Gallery
Abscission was selected to be a part of the Wake Forest student art gallery’s year end STARTist Selections exhibit, “Let it Show! Let it Show! Let it Show!” The film will be displayed in a two-channel format at START Gallery in Reynolda Village (Winston-Salem, NC) from December 6th, 2012 through January 19th, 2013.
Related Links
Why Do Leaves Really Fall Off Trees? from NPR
The City of Winston-Salem Sanitation Department’s Guide to Leaf Collection
“Pizza, Power, and Provocation” is a two-channel video art project produced, directed, shot, and edited by Brenton Richardson.
Description
Jim Moury uses the electronic sign in front of his business to promote his pizza restaurant and air his grievances with city hall in defiance of the local government’s sign ordinance.
Backstory
Free speech debates emerge as digital technologies offer new and modern means of making your opinion known. Arguments occur over how devices should be used and if electronic self-expression can or should be regulated. How does the First Amendment apply to new technology?
I’ve been interested in the variable-message sign in front of Upper Crust Pizza along busy Silas Creek Parkway since I moved to Winston-Salem in 2010. In between the standard advertising you’d expect from a pizzeria (announcements of deals, “we match competitors coupons,” etc.), the sign was used by the owner to air his grievances with the local government using a combination of crass language and the advanced LED’s flashy effects and transitions. I learned the small business owner, Jim Moury was being confrontational with his sign in protest of the City of Winston-Salem’s sign ordinance. The history of the sign goes back further and Jim’s issues with City Hall are more complex than I could have anticipated. Driver safety is the city’s stated reason for banning motion graphics on this type of sign, while Mr. Moury says that restricting what he can do with his $53,000 sign is a violation of his civil rights.
Installation
The film was on exhibit the evening of October 14th, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M., displayed digitally at the base of the roadside sign.
Related links
- Watch the TV news piece WFMY 2 aired on the sign in September 2011 with comments from Mayor Allen Joines
- City of Winston-Salem sign ordinances
- Traffic Safety Studies from the International Sign Association Online Electronic Message Center Resource Center
- In 2010, Jim was one of six viewers chosen to ride The Daily Show‘s “Sanity Bus” to the “Rally to Restore Sanity (and/or Fear).” The Daily Show: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Jim’s video blog: Part 1, Part 2
Meet the harmonizing, tap dancing Andrews Sisters Tribute Show, dedicated to carrying on the legacy of the 1940s most popular female singing group. As “America’s Wartime Sweethearts” were known for their USO shows, entertaining troops abroad, the trio continues this tradition of honoring military service today by performing for veteran organizations. Follow the Tribute Show as they bring back memories for those nostalgic for a bygone era and introduce the hit music of the Andrews Sisters to new audiences.
Featuring the Andrews Sisters Tribute Show of First in Flight Entertainment.
Produced by Sana Haq and Brenton Richardson at Wake Forest University’s Documentary Film Program.
Brenton Richardson 