New (unlisted) video essay & other updates

Hey guys! it's been a minute but I have a new video to share. This weekend, my friend James DeLisio and I participated in a video essay jam—kind of like a game jam but for video essays. Over 48 hours, we collaborated on a pair of video essays exploring the somatosensory and durational experience of several documentaries (and a few narrative films). I took the lead on the video above, and James cut together another essay which you can check out right here. We took different approaches (I used VO and James opted for on-screen text) but I think the essays work really nicely together.

I may or may not tweak this video a bit and give it a proper release, but it's going to remain unlisted for now. I didn't get to revise the script too much given the time constraint, but there are a couple claims I make that I feel need a little more clarity. For instance, I mention that most docs privilege language over other sounds, but it should probably be noted that for many subjects, that choice makes perfect sense. Additionally, I talk about the colors used in the 1925 film Grass, but it's also the case that, as was normal for the time, several different prints of the film exist using different colors for certain sequences.

Speaking of film color, I'm in the middle of working on a longer project about color in early silent films, so I was excited to talk about tinting and toning here. I don't have a date for it yet, but that should be the next thing on the channel.

And finally, last year I made a (sort of avant-garde?) video essay about queen and trans identity in the 2021 film We're All Going to the World's Fair, directed by Jane Schoenbrun (you may have also seen their recent film I Saw the TV Glow, which had a wider release). I'm excited to announce that that essay was accepted for publication by the horror journal Monstrum, and it should be coming out in the next few weeks. I'll be sure to update here when it's out.

Thanks as always for your support!