After joining Paracelsus Films on a comically
immersive film shoot just a few weeks ago – leaving me with distinct memories
of a mind control contest, musings about why Sauron (The Dark Lord from ‘The
Lord of the Rings’) was misunderstood in his time, and a corrupt senator
spilling the beans about what exactly happened to his secretary – I have avidly
followed the Production Crew’s progress in filming their new feature ‘How
to Win the Internet: And Other Questionable Endeavors.’ Let’s cut to present day:
EXT.
EMPTY FIELD – DAY
Dennis
Hurley stands, dressed in a tight, red, full-body suit, holding and waving a
somewhat decrepit cardboard sign over his head that says ‘DONATE.’ Flailing his legs side to side haphazardly,
and quietly singing ‘How to Win the Internet’ repeatedly to himself with a
subtle waiver of nervousness in his voice, we CUT TO Vincent C. Morreale
standing opposite - a frozen look of disappointed shock in his face, and a
camera in his hands.
Of course this is just their newest
Promo. Paracelsus Films proves that
their hilarity-driven productions are nothing short of all-encompassing;
reaching even to this scene in their new video.
The appeal video – a reflection of Paracelsus' own quirky hilarity - was
produced with no budget, filmed in under two hours, and was primarily written
on the spot. Serving as a hilarious
short as well as a motivated promotion for their feature film and the funding
for its completion, the video utilizes elements of darkly humorous
self-reflection, palpable traces of satire about the crew’s own process, and
comically audible punch-lines in their timing. Continuing to write, direct,
film, edit and produce with a miniscule amount of funding, the crew members
somehow take time to produce this hysterical video, essentially using their
time away from filming …to begin filming. That, right there folks, is a
true mark of sincerity and passion; taking an active pause to allow propulsion,
and filling proverbial and literal empty space with creative motion. In this
way, a pause ceases to remain a pause, but rather a drive, with consistency and
determination creating a synergistic catalyst of momentum. By these standards, Paracelsus films and
filmmakers with this similar sense of drive create something out of
nothing. To rephrase the cliché; a void
becomes void itself. To rephrase the wordy quasi-poetry: Donate!
After watching the promotional video, I
immediately felt the urge to write about and comment on it, asking Vincent C. Morreale
– the artistic director for Paracelsus Films – exactly what the promo video
cost to make. He responded verbatim; “As
for the budget, well...add in actor costs, props and locations... carry the
one...Nothing.”
With a list of incentives for
donations – my personal favorite being combat training – Paracelsus Films
continues to urge viewers, patrons, and otherwise to contribute through their IndieGoGo site, which you can find here
And
if you’re interested in checking out an example of their fight choreography,
you can watch their short film “Chess Mates” here
And
you can watch their appeal video here
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