5)Domestic Violence a Deafening Silence
TITLE: Domestic Violence a Deafening Silence
STATUS/DATE: 2005
GENRE: PSA (Public Service Announcement)
APPROX LENGTH: Approx 7 min
LOCATION: Filmed and Produced in Columbia South Carolina and surrounding areas
WHAT IS:
A USC campus domestic violence public service announcement for the USC Office for Sexual Health and Violence Prevention.
INCLUDED ELEMENTS:
Identification: How to spot domestic violence in a relationship you might be in and how to spot the signs of abuse in relationships of others.
Definitions of: physical abuse, threats of abuse, emotional abuse
Resources: provided information for assistance or referrals though physical and web addresses as well as emergency telephone contacts
PRODUCTION:
This was the first time I made a body mounted rig (it's a camera rig that attaches to the actor and faces them). It was popularized by the movie "PI" but has many applications one of which I found was to make a spouse appear more abusive than classical tripod or moving angles. It produced a savory and intense psychological reaction. At the time I wasn’t crazy about the idea of playing an abusive spouse, but almost like a miracle I was recipient of a brutal beating after walking through “a nice” neighborhood at night. The bruises and broken blood vessels in my face and eyes looked horrible, but it looked better on camera than even the highest paid professional make-up job. It was the type of thing that most make up artists would have used as a photo of for reference.
SOUNDTRACK: “Inertia Strings” by Matt Chellini
This was the first time that I would realize how this song goes well with so much in many different contexts. It wouldn’t be the last time I use this piece.
