The highlight of 2007 in the Magic Kingdom was undoubtedly the reopening in September of the new, improved Haunted Mansion. This video looks at the changes and additions, then offers a full, multi camera experience from entrance to exit. Interior video has been enhanced to bring out virtually each detail as the eye would see it without resorting to nightvision. The audio was all recorded live by external stereo directional mic to capture the ambiance of the new sound system, and the narration was also recorded live to capture the new total surround effect. Hu-rry ba-ck!!

• published: 08 Nov 2008
• views: 2215

A short film in collage about the ghosts that live in our memories.

• published: 23 Nov 2015
• views: 0

Birgit W was a former prisoner of the Stasi. Her full- length, original language interview can be found at: http://vimeo.com/28556261 Following is the transcript of this segment, telling of the first day of her confinement, when she realized they wouldn't let her out and she didn't know where her little daughter was. 1 - Transcript, subtitles: It got later and later: 3, 4, 6 o' clock and I knew the Kindergarten was closing. The interrogator stopped talking and had me locked into a cell. I banged against the door. Of course, I cried. You are in a sutation that you can't handle at all. 2 - Transcript, original language: Und es wurde immer später und später an dem Tag, es war dann 15 Uhr, 16 Uhr, irgendwann war's 18 Uhr, und ich wusste, der Kindergarten macht zu. Der Typ sagte dann gar nichts mehr, sondern liess mich in eine Zelle zurück sperren. Ja, und dann saß ich da, in so einer Zelle. Bis, weiß ich, abends um 9, 10. Dann hab ich an die Tür gebummert. Ich hab natürlich geheult weil, man ist da einer Situation ausgesetzt, mit der man überhaupt nicht umgehen kann. This video is an animated sketch for an installation organized by http://kulturpark.org at Plänterwald, Berlin. Video produced by: www.when6is9.de Background and Concept of the Installation: 1 The park reminds me of locations in Tarkovski’s film The Stalker – an abandoned area, which, under a pretense and for no apparent reason, is forbidden to enter. In the Stalker, people enter the “Zone” for a thrill – they seek to become alive by confronting their subconscious. That relates as much to an amusement parks’ thrill- rides, as to the viewing of art. Walking through the deserted Plänterwald, I became aware that I was moving through a territory which is haunted by shadows of its past. 2 The park with its garishly happy displays is the visible top- layer. As a painter, I connect to the layers below. As a film- maker, I observe the process leading to its final form. I’ve always been fascinated by sites where activities of the past are in a slumber – like Japan’s Hashima or Brooklyn’s former industrial Williamsburg- waterfront. Entering them creates a feeling of an illegal activity, perhaps because you don’t want to disturb their ghosts. It is my interest to wake up the sleeping ghosts of Plänterwald, to question our perception, or suppression, of reality at different times. 3 Aside from the Ferris wheel, Plänterwald has only three structures today, which originate from the GDR: Two ticket booths and the red stage. I’d project the silhouette of a former GDR teacher who took school- kids to Plänterwald into the white ticket booth. Excitedly, still, she speaks about that happy experience. Right across, I’d project the silhouette of a former Stasi prisoner on to the red stage. School children were taken to the nearby Soviet War Memorial, to pledge that they’d carry arms. Afterwards, they were taken to the park for amusement. She describes how that day changed her life, eventually leading to a haunting passage through some of the toughest GDR prisons. Both women speak as silhouettes, suggesting the potential illegality of their words. With removable, non- toxic black paint I’ll add silhouettes to the surrounding areas. I’ll call this piece the Haunted House. 001 – Stage, from afar, with former prisoner Birgit W’s silhouette: The stage at the bottom of the Ferris wheel is visible from the outside, through the fence, as well as from the train. Anonymous silhouettes are painted into the surrounding landscape with non- toxic, removable paint. During the park’s GDR phase, from 1969 to 1989, the stage featured 200 yearly events. “Official” bands like the Puhdys and Karat, but, apparently, also others like Renft or Nina Hagen (before her flight to the West) played here. 002 – Stage, from the side: The silhouette of Birgit W. talks about the roller- coaster ride of her GDR experience - among it, incidentally, about the fact that, during a Stasi interrogation, her Nina Hagen records were played back for her and she was told that if she’d submit, she’d be free to hear them again. 003 – Stage, frontal: An animated video- sketch of the Haunted House’s red- stage area, with a brief excerpt from Birgit W’s interview. 004 – Stage, back view: Black silhouettes, painted with removable paint, surround the stage. Their shapes echo the landscape with its branches, like something inevitable. 005 – Ticket booth: The silhouetted interview of a former school teacher is projected into the ticket booth. As a passageway, a ticket booth provides admission to an otherwise closed- off area. It’s a place that can sell fantasies in the form of movies or lottery- tickets, amusement- park rides, bus or train travels. In their initial stages, totalitarian systems tend to lure people into their web with sentences similar to: “If you don’t buy it, you don’t get to see or experience

• published: 03 Nov 2011
• views: 261