While I may not be the most artistic of people, occasionally I create something that I feel is worth talking about.

“Beware Thursday” was a viral style promo video for thElement’s camp: Pink Limousines and a Locust Loving History. The idea was to promote a mystery event happening on Thursday during the week of camp. The mystery event began as a relay that turned into a food war, and each team was told to bring ammunition coordinating with their teams color.

As I began planning out this short, I wanted to it to be fast paced and uncomfortable. The large gaps of black were meant to make the viewer uneasy and anxious. No information is supplied as to why this person was being chased, or who was pursing him. The setting and story is intentionally vague.  It was shot on the iPhone 3GS’ native camera application, stylistically using the Blair Witch and Cloverfield as inspiration. The final shot of the man getting hit was purposeful. It was red apple sauce, meant to hint at a food fight, but chosen to make the viewer think we were going for blood.

David Cording (who also makes a cameo part way though the short) did all of the editing and did a wonderful job with the pacing. He edited it exactly how I imagined while we were filming. It was done very minimal, using iMovie on his Macbook Pro which was surprisingly versatile given what we were trying to do. The distorted song at the end is “Pink Limousines” by Root Beer, using a few filters in Adobe Audition to create the “50′s radio” effect. The song was the official “unofficial” theme of camp, and was placed to connect the video to it’s purpose, promoting the camp.

I loved filming this short because there really is a story behind it. The character is in the middle of this giant food fight, never knowing where the next person with food will jump out. He’s the last member of his team and being pursued by the elite Red Team, he’s the last chance for victory and the only one standing in the way of defeat. Never life threatening, but he truly is trying to win against these odds. Clearly, it’s not Of Mice and Men, but I tried to convey the feelings that would come with that situation: anxiety, fear, excitement. It was a blast filming, all the while never telling the student what Thursday actually was.

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