Maestoso: Majestically

Marcel Pecott, a prior film professor at Humboldt State University, once advised us to edit a film while listening to a piece of music. She wanted us to follow the beats of a song that best represented our theme. Hours later I found myself editing a 16mm film to the tempo of Orestes.

[The story follows a woman and man who were having
troubles. The relationship had been compromised by a
prior incident initiated by the man. At the beach the man
decided to tell her and that is when she became mad. She
tried to walk away but he grabbed which made her irate.]

I decided to title this film Medicated Moment due to the lyrics of the song. It was also given that title because the song influenced the way the film was cut. It was very similar to being under the influence of medication, letting the drug affect the mind and body.

Not realizing it at the time, I was using a method that Eisenstein had first experimented with. He was one of the first directors to cut film to a rhythm of pre-existent music. Most early directors used music or composed it to match the film. This method can be seen in Alexander Nevsky.

Eisenstein is also considered to be the father of montage. His editing techniques were identified as metric, rhythmic, tonal, over-tonal and intellectual. When October was released, critics believed that Eisenstein showed a lack of interest in the simple mechanics of storytelling. Yet he does slam the audience with a collision of rhythmic shots. Eisenstein mixed shots to create new meaning. In Strike! a shot of a workers’ rebellion being put down is juxtaposed with a shot of cattle being slaughtered; the new meaning being that workers are cattle.

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Orestes
by Perfect Circle

Metaphor for a missing moment
Pull me in to your perfect circle

One womb
One shame
One resolve

Liberate this will
To release us all

Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue that's
Keeping me from killing you

And from pulling you down with me in here
I can almost hear you scream

One more medicated peaceful moment
Give Me
One more medicated peaceful moment

And I don't wanna feel this overwhelming
Hostility
I don't wanna feel this overwhelming
Hostility

Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue

Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue that's
Keeping me from killing you

Snip away and sever this

Keeping me from killing you
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