[singlepic id=598 w=320 h=240 float=right]Ryan Loredo
A&E Editor
The night of Nov. 10 was one filled with the falling leaves of autumn’s final moments coupled with countless film students braving the nightly winds walking towards the Putnam Lecture Hall. They were walking in droves filing into the continuous rows of seats until all were filled and students had to make do with the aisles. The reason behind this mass congregation was that this night was the Music Video Night sponsored by the Film Society. The night was a premiere night in which five student-made films would be presented to many students, film majors, and professors who were proud of their students’ works on screen.
Music hits from past and present blasted from speakers in a mix of energetic bass and voice which greeted the energetic crowd in the lecture hall. As the lights dimmed and the music died, KSC junior Caitlen Brown walked onto the main floor of the lecture hall and greeted the students. “I am like so surprised that this is a full house,” Brown said during her greeting. “The videos that are going to play tonight were made by Production 1 students and also students from the Intro to Video class. They are awesome.”
After her speech KSC student Joshua Demeule gave an introduction speech to his music video “Shakira,” which was the first video played that night. The video began with three buff guys dragging a not very appealing teen to a house party. When they entered the house the teen spotted a beautiful girl and at that moment Shakira’s “She Wolf” was playing in the audio foreground. The not so appealing boy and the incredibly attractive girl soon walked out of the house, the teen giving a reluctant thumb up to his buff companions as he departed.
They made their way to the dock edge in the backyard, the guy turned to the girl and attempted to kiss her, then the teen saw his once attractive date is now a werewolf. The teen is chased around by her in a Scooby-Doo-like fashion until he finally fell victim to the she wolf. “They just had a werewolf come out of the closest, just like the chorus says,” Demeule said, commenting on his video.
The crowd gave a laughing ovation and they welcomed the next director, Jeremiah Miller, to introduce his video “The Offspring.” The video opens with a make-shift band performing Offspring’s song, “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid.” The screen then shifted to a classroom of tired teens sitting, with occasional scenes of the main character in fights with the antagonist dressed in black. After several fights with his foe the protagonist finally has his enemy subdued and as the vocalist sang, “Hit him right between the eyes,” he let his foe go and walked into the men’s room. He washes his face, looks up to the mirror, and gazes into the dark reflection of what he would have become if he had hit his enemy while he had the chance. The video ends and the audience gave multiple energetic cheers and whistles.
These sounds continued even when KSC student Kev Kelsey introduced his film “Smash Mouth.” The video began with the whistling intro to Smash Mouth’s hit “All Star” and a lone man in a single apartment waking up. He then creates and posts several fliers declaring his search for a roommate. He finds one with plenty of money for rent but he turns out to be the biggest geek in the world. The two get into various arguments all leading to a final showdown with light sabers thusly ending the video.
The crowd again showed laughingly their appreciation to the video and continued to clap until Caitlen Brown introduced her video “Moonface.” The video opened with multiple images of bugs and butterflies all in a fast pace as the music began. A lone girl began walking with a jar atop the ruins of a dark dreamy staircase. The video then shifted gears to the jar woman sleeping and entering a dream world filled with romantic images of her and another man and also shots of her looking for something in the dark world. She traveled on canoe in dark still waters and shredded her way through a web of confusion and finally sees the enthroned dream queen with her male companion lying in front of her either asleep or dead.
The jar woman is later forcefully escorted away from the dream queen and wakes up without her male companion. The movie was possibly the trippiest and most abstract film of the night. “There really wasn’t a theme,” Brown said. “It was a story within a story within a giant day dream and it just came together. You just have to watch it. I really can’t explain.”
With a booming ovation the lights brightened and allowed for the next director, student John Derba, to present his film as the finale for the night. “Daft Punk” began with two lust-struck lovers falling into bed after a night of dance and magic. In the morning the man finds himself alone. He then cracks a smile, looks to the camera, and mouths the words, “one more time” to the audience. The crowd could barely hold their laughter at that moment and burst out in an array of laughter. The man later followed his one night companion and continually looked at her smiling and saying his line. From the library stacks to her parent’s home to even the shower he stalked her with Daft Punk’s electric beats accompanying him. One final night he finally asks her again while in company with her friends. She lifted her fingers and put them together signifying why he wasn’t given a second chance. He then turns away, disappointed and ashamed.
After the final video was screened, people left to re-enter the cold November night. When asked how the film night went, student producer Kev Kelsey said, “It’s the best we’ve ever done. We top ourselves every year.” In previous years the MVNs were held in another theater; however, because of safety reasons, the events had to be placed in the Putnam. Professor Lance Levesque, one of the major film professors responsible for the films presented that night, said the night’s audience was a surprise as to how many people were there and how the event has grown as a whole.
Ryan Loredo can be contacted at rloredo@keene-equinox.com