Un Chien Andalou, the 1929 film directed by Luis Buñuel with ideas from Buñuel and Salvador Dali, is one of the earliest examples of surrealism in film. It, together with their 1930 collaboration L’Age d’Or helped shape the movement and influence a wide variety of art to this day. Originally I planned to pay tribute to that by setting footage from the films in contrast with the works they influenced. It was set to the song Debaser by The Pixies, which was written about Un Chien Andalou. However, I decided early in the process that that would be far too straightforward to be a true tribute to these masterworks of surrealism. Instead I fit together surreal imagery from independent black and white films, hollywood blockbusters, hit tv shows, and animation. My choices were carefully considered, but my process was not. I simply went with what felt right, my goal was to bowl over anyone who watches with a barrage of imagery ranging from serene and dreamlike to truly nightmarish. Some cuts I chose to time very carefully to the music, while others were dropped in at random. I included some rapidfire still images, one or two gentle transitions, and an ending completely out of tune with the rest of the video, all in the hopes of making a disconcerting experience.
