THE STORY...

This is one of my favorite Super 8mm films and is essentially a landscape portrait of a place called "American Flats", an eerie secret spot that was near where I grew up as a kid. It is essentially an abandoned and in ruin silver processing plant from the big mining “Bonanza” of the late 1800’s. It is located near Virginia City Nevada, a very historically important western town that is just littered with relics from a now distant era. The plant itself actually is a very dangerous place due to open shafts that people have fallen in, the decaying state of the structures, and a ground cover of broken beer bottles. Many years ago you were able to roam freely around and climb on the structures but as injuries and liabilities have increased so the accessibility has decreased. So much so the last report that I heard was that it was fenced off, under regular patrol and actually against the law to visit.

I’m sure it can be noticed from the film that American Flats is a very haunting landscape. I should note that I’ve been told many stories of paranormal activities in this area. I did have one strange experience here as a little kid where I remember crawling in a dark underground tunnel with some other kids and saw some strange light flash and heard a demonic noise. To be honest though it was so long ago I can’t decipher whether it was a reality or a childish delusion. I’ve not had any other face to face encounters with an apparition, demon, or other otherworldly force here but in fact every time I’ve been to American Flats the hair on the back of my neck has stood straight up at least once from a haunting chill.

PRODUCTION...

This film was shot on Kodak Tri-X using my beloved Canon 1014XL-S and has been professionally telecined. It is in fact one roll of film (50ft) and is presented as the original “in camera” edit (except for the titling). In camera editing is a linear technique that takes place inside the camera and is one that I usually adhere to when I’m shooting Super 8mm. That means you have to get your shot the first time as all takes will be on the film unless otherwise edited out later. Although you can edit Super 8mm film by hand I think it’s always fun to try and achieve a film on one or two reels without ever having to literally cut it. I know for me it helps focus on exactly what I’m doing and as well often produces interesting results.

The music of course was added later and is an excerpt from a track by experimental jazz composer Sun-Ra called “Atlantis”. I chose this because I thought the haunting “sci-fi” sound of the song, the improv nature, and the raw recording values would marry the picture well. Ironically I just dropped it in without synchronizing to anything and that was it, no editing - just like the picture.

One last thought, the typewriter font of the title was chosen for Sam Clemens better known as Mark Twain who lived in Virginia City and worked at the newspaper just a mile from where this was filmed.

TRT: 3:20min

Filmed in 2002

SHOT LIST

I thought a narrative for an abstract film might be interesting this one time...

1) This is a shot of the south west corner of the main structure. It is hard to make out but there is an overhang that I thought was cool.

2) This is a zoomed in shot of the last one focused primarily on the timelapse of clouds and the moon (difficult to see) which passes up into the right corner. I like the Lens Cloud that appears and disappears in this shot much like a UFO.

3) Back to the main structure. This is a failed pan shot. Some people think it was intentional to stop but it was not.

4) Again, since this film was edited “in camera” this is a re-take of shot #3. Interestingly there is a play off the white graffiti that says “coroner” in which the structure reminds me of the rows of drawers that they keep bodies in. That is what perhaps the guy thought as well who wrote the word, who knows. Anyhow the lighting was perfect for this and I thought a nice steady pan would capture it.

5) This is another pan from a similar position. This time however when I was on site I noticed that someone had written “Led Zeppelin” on part of the building which seemingly takes the shape of an animal which is feeding from the ruins...

6) This basically is a shot that I took of two crosses. I've noticed that the natural occurrences of symbols appear much more often in black and white than they do in color. I guess that is part of the reason B&W is so much more iconic. They were there so I shot them.

7) There really is no abstract manifesto here... I saw graffiti of the “Misfits” logo so I had to shoot it being a fan and all.

9) This is my favorite shot of the film. I also borrowed this one for my film “Red Mamba”. This one fools a lot of people and has raised some questions at a few labs. It is not a pyramid but simply a gable wall through a window. I had just seen an exhibit on the artist Magritte in San Francisco, this is my tribute to him.

10) This is a long shot of the building where I took the previous shot. This one took a while... I think the intervalometer was set to 1/10 sec. as those are very high clouds.

11) Now, back to that “haunting chill”... the only reason I took this shot is because I thought I might capture a ghost in that weird spot which looked like some sort of haunted promenade.

12) Same as #11 with a zoom.

13) Now this is the “establishing” shot of the property. Didn’t Hitchcock say something about putting the “establishing” shot some place other than as the first???

14) Segue into the “Psycho” house snap zoom.

15) Two for good measure.

16) TL of the Psycho house, framing practice.

17) More high clouds rolled in so I had to shoot them.

18) Attacked by ghosts...

-James Jackson