John Perrine, Dirty Rotten Double Crosser (dir. Brendon Connelly)
qt here: clips2.vimeo.com
Embedded vimeo-flash video of Dirty Rotten Double Crosser can be found here: filmick.blogspot.com
EDIT: Any feedback? I, perhaps rather inncoently, expected some. Please do give me your thoughts on the film in the comments section.
The film is a modern-day silent film. It was commissioned by John Perrine, who performs the live, semi-improvised soundtrack. The soundtrack as you will hear it here was recorded at the film's premiere.
In the so-called silent-era, filmmaking was expensive, and not as democratic a form as today. To that end, Dirty Rotten Double Crosser was shot only with domestic equipment and on a budget of a little over twenty dollars. These politics informed the narrative of the film somewhat, also.
Again, in the silent-era, the musical accompaniment of a film was not directed in the way it is today, with the mute film going out into the world to meet it's soundtrack only upon screening. Similarly, there were no explicit instructions given to John Perrine on how to handle or approach his music, with any information, clues or suggestions to guide him worked into the film, it's editing, the actions performed.
Pleasingly, he picked up on around of three quarters of these "clues" very clearly, as well as developing the score into unexpected areas occasionally.
I am particularly proud of this film as, as well as it's own particular story and ideas, it proves once again that film is a collaborative medium, and that the marriage of sound and image - which is what this site is all about - is almost endlessly rich in possibility.
