NOMINATIONS

“Best Indie Music Video”  Yahoo.com annual “Veddy Awards” 2007

FILM FESTIVALS

New York City Horror Film Festival 2008 (12/12/08)

ABOUT “MIRROR MIRROR”

Log Line: A self projected antagonist appears as a menacing trickster, acting out mental delusions, dualistic emotions and spiritual dilemmas in classic vaudevillian-like fashion ... or is this the presence of phantom spirit conjured by the main character in his own room...

In September 2006 I made my debut as producer, director and editor with Mirror Mirror, the first music video from Otherworld. In early 2007 (St. Patrick’s Day) I found out it was nominated for Best Indie Music Video at Yahoo’s annual “Veddy Awards”. I didn’t realize that my video had been featured on the Yahoo main page until I was nominated. It happened so fast it made my head spin. It was a great accomplishment since “Mirror Mirror” was my debut video. I was grateful for the exposure as an upcoming filmmaker. In 2008 my video was selected to screen at The New York City Horror Film Festival. It made it’s screening debut at the opening events party. 

"MIRROR MIRROR" was shot Labor Day weekend September 2006. It was a successful 2 day shoot, considering I was incredibly ill. The footage came out great! This is my first time producing, directing, art directing and editing my own music video, not to mention story boarding, sound, costumes and make-up, etc., etc... Damn, about time! But, it isn't my first time doing production. I have accumulated many professional hours in theater, in front of the camera as an actress, in film, TV, video and stage production as a director, assistant director, talent coordinator, art director, production manager, stage manager, lighting designer, prop & scenic artist, set designer & dresser, costumer, wardrobe assist, make-up artist, electrician, grip, fx stage hand, rock n' roll roadie... and the list goes on.

I am currently in post production  editing a new music video titled “11:11”, one of the featured songs from my new vocal demo Lepers of Wisdom. 

“MIRROR MIRROR” COMMENTARY

Okay, where do I start for the conceptual inspiration for this video... German Expressionist films, vintage black and white silent films, silent film actors, vintage hand cranked cameras, black and white vintage pin hole photography, surrealist and avant-garde directors and artists, photographers and filmmakers and animated short films from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. I am inspired by black and white foreign cinema that pulls it's visual language from historical fine art movements and experimental theater. Some of the films that mesmerized me and still do are "The Seashell and The Clergyman" by Germaine Dulac, "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" by Robert Wiene, Nesferatu by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, "Metrolpolis" and "M" by Fritz Lang, "Un Chien Andulou" by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel, "Ballet Mechanique" by Ferdinand Lege, "The Blood of A Poet" by Jean Cocteau and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" by Carl Theodor Dreyer. On a side note I just have to mention another film that pulled at my heart, "Les Enfants du Paradis" by Marcel CarnÈ, starring Jean-Louis Barrault one of my acting heroes from the avant-garde theater movement in France and the list goes on. To read more about these filmmakers go to ubu.com

The main character in this video I call "The Host" had to be wicked, maniacal, mysterious, scary, fantastic, macabre and androgynous - a kind of dark rogue with vaudevillian - like showmanship.

I am fascinated by personal mythic story-lines, purging shadows of the psyche that hold the keys to spiritual mysteries, mystical awakenings and bringing our darker selves into the light for cleansing and healing. Black and white film to me is where the light and darks of the psyche meet, do battle, mix and have equal visual symbolic importance. I have a disciplined background in movement arts starting in dance, theater and musical theater, and as a fine art model and character movement specialist for the animation industry. In film and on stage I have always been attracted to avant-garde, surreal, abstract and unconventional movement, masks, expression, classical and dramatic gesture, experimental lighting, juxtaposition, spatial relationships, counter rhythms, abstract images and surreal symbols.

As a stage performer it's important not be afraid of looking ugly, especially for the sake of the story. In music video and film there has always been the term "Star Pose" or maybe I just use it. It's the overuse of the best facial angle, lighting and make-up possible to keep the actor or performing artist recognizable as a persona, celebrity or commodity if you will.  The opportunity for the artist to tell an intriguing visual story and make their mark as a dramatic visual artist gets lost in the process. There are exceptions out there and we know who they are. It's funny, a while ago I was watching a compilation of Mark Romanek's videos and one of his commentaries touched upon the same thought. It's true. You can't be afraid of marring the surface for greater expression for drama or even comedic story telling. It may take you places you to places you were meant to experience as an artist.