GREEN SMOKE
My movie is a comedy. A satire/parody of advertising that preys on people's concerns about environmental issues by using words like "green", "zero emissions", "eco-", "bio-", "clean energy", et cetera, as catchy phrases, forming appealing claims; assertions unescorted by the initial concept that environmentally motivated practices should be... environmentally sound.
The film begins simply enough with snapshots evoking negative images of human impact, establishing the need for a solution to our pollution. And Thomas Ed from Green Con. is here to tell us all about an exciting new way to cure our plight. But will an effortless wave from his magic wand of green science actually address the underlining causes or merely supply us with a fresh emblem to rally around and assuage our apprehensions. Doubts may arise, but no one can question the honor and near patriotic loyalty of Joe, the hands-on employee, who despite his own uncertainties struggles inexorably through the physical adversities (and a surreal dream sequence) of the green smoke to fulfill his part and yield up the much awaited green power, clean electricity.
A few vital tidbits about this film. It gets a bit gory towards the end. And although I intentionally did the gory effects in an over-the-top manner to fit with the general sense of comedy in the film, it could very well scare kids. Also, this film contains both visual and audio clips that I did not create myself. If this submission is accepted and chosen for the event (and I'd be tickled pink if it was!) it would probably be best not to use it for promotional purposes. I simply wanted to make the film for the event and show it to friends and family. This is a no-budget film.
Mark Glaeser...
Well, let's see. I'm a 45 year old male currently unemployed, with no college degree, and have a lot of time on my hands. Formerly I spent a lot of time in restaurants. I started washing dishes at fifteen, and worked my way up in the kitchen to the position of chef (or at least a tolerably close facsimile, there, of the person who has their name attached to everything that goes on in the restaurant). About ten years ago health issues caused me to seek a different profession. And, with what was probably the last attempt in my life to find a career through a formal education, by dint of having no knack at all for attaining degrees, even the most minor and inconsequential of ones available at a JC, I fell into gardening/landscaping with my brother-in-law. Health issues arose again, some old, some new, and that line of work had to be abandoned too.
I've been interested in video and film for quite a long time however. Yet, I always considered my interest to be a fancy and not something I would ever consider taking the time to pursue, even as a hobby. I did once shoot a very short video/film (about eight years ago) but lacking the means to capture and edit the footage, I left it on tape till recently. I like to fiddle around with stop motion animation and have put together a short involving clay characters, however I consider that one to be more or less and exercise, or experiment, in the mechanics of animation and story telling rather than a finished piece. "Green Smoke" is pretty much my second film. Yes, and it too is more or less an exercise, or experiment, but it looks at least, slightly, finished.
I have not yet found another line of work that meets either my abilities or needs, but in the meantime I have begun fiddling around with a camera and computer, developing an interesting, if not gainful, pastime.
My stuff so far has tended to have sinister undertones mixed with subtle and/or overt layers of humor. In writing this, I was about to eschew the term dark comedy (by claiming outright that my film/video was not dark comedy) due to the truth that I don't like labels to begin with, and didn't have a clear definition of that one. But after finding a page on wikipedia titled Black Comedy, I have to admit that most of my works/experiments to date fit pretty snugly under that term. Ack! What can I say? Damn the torpedos... full steam ahead?
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