Tuesday, August 12, 2014

INSERT TITLE HERE

Over the past year, I've collaborated with Éric Boivin and fourthousandblackbirds, two very talented local sound artists, to bring you the "Untitled" series.

photo by Svetla Atanasova

The concept of these pieces is symmetry.

 Our process is that they send me a temp track and I edit something that was inspired by it. I then send the piece back to them and they build upon that. It's a really great way to collaborate because I let their sounds inspire me, and what I come up with, inspires them in return.They play their equipment, whilst facing each other, feeding off of what the other is doing, in a kind of organic improvisation.

Our fourth collaboration will be presented this Thursday evening, at Casa Del Popolo in Montreal, Canada. Information about the event can be found here.

In the meantime, here are our first three collaborations.

Eric Boivin + fourthousandblackbirds + Dominic F. Marceau
Untitled #1
Untitled #1 from F Squared Media on Vimeo.
Live performance at Laboratoire Phénomena 5,May 5th 2013 @ Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, QC, Canada.


Eric Boivin + fourthousandblackbirds + Rachel Ní Chuinn + Dominic F. Marceau
Untitled #2
Untitled #2 from F Squared Media on Vimeo.
Official Selection: "Synthesis III: Motion" at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin, Ireland - January 2014.


Eric Boivin + fourthousandblackbirds + Dominic F. Marceau
Untitled #3
Untitled #3 from F Squared Media on Vimeo.
Live performance at BBAM! Gallery, May 25th 2014, in Montreal, QC, Canada.


To see more of my videos and experimental short films, 
please visit my Vimeo and Facebook pages. 
Thanks!


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

MS PAIN(T)

I figured it was now time for me to come out of the proverbial closet.

 

Calm down, it’s NOT what you think.

(Were you really thinking that? Is it because I’m not a big sports guy? Seriously? Hmmm…)


Last year, I was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS). The diagnostic took over one year to be finalized. From a slipped disc to Sciatica, we all thought it was something benign, something else. I was tested, poked, probed, prodded, scanned, x-rayed, you name it. The bitch about MS is that there are no unique signs. It’s by ruling everything else out, combined with MRI and brain scans, that one can deduct that you have it. When my neurologist saw my scan, there was no denying it. I have so many lesions on my brain and spine that it appears that I have had this thing for more than TEN YEARS. Over time, I’ve lost about 85% of the strength in my left leg, making work, household chores, or simply walking around a mother***ing Ordeal (with a capital O). My balance and overall mobility have been on the decline since my diagnosis. Luckily, I'm not in constant pain but when I hurt, I freaking hurt. The weakness and dizzies, however, are certainly constant. I have to rely on my darling Kate for pretty much everything. I have to give myself an injection every day and take pills every 12 hours. Sadly, the treatment hasn’t really worked for me (in fact, my symptoms have become far worse), therefore, I am on the verge of switching treatments for something much more potent: a monthly intravenous injection. I’m keeping all appendages crossed that this one will take and won’t be too rough for ol’ Dom here.

 

But why, other than Narcissism, am I telling you all this?

 

As you probably know, a few years ago, I directed my second feature film “Conversion”. It was a bitch to get through, shooting evenings and weekends while still working a full time job. Luckily, my employer at the time was fully cooperative (he had to be: most of his staff also worked on our film!). Anyway, it’s old news and you can read Kate’s detailed blog about it here. After “Conversion”, I directed a few music videos that were a lot of fun to do, and also found some corporate gigs to be a great challenge. But with my declining health, and constant trips to the hospital, I couldn’t do it anymore. I even had to turn down one of my dear friends who had a very exciting photography project for me. I just couldn’t. Around that time, I started messing around with public domain footage, just to do something creative. Anything. I contacted some of my music friends and came up with a series of seven short films called “Domaines Publics”. It was an homage to one of my heroes Bruce Conner (who did collage videos for David Byrne & Brian Eno, Devo, and others) but also a way to teach myself to use Final Cut Pro. Hey! I’m old! I learned how to edit film on a Steenbeck! What surprised me is the reaction that these vids generated. I wasn’t really expecting people to like them that much. I was just doing them as a kind of lifesaver. And then, a funny thing happened. My buddy Rich (of electro pioneers ORPHX) said he’d be interested in me doing a video utilizing this technique. 


And that’s when that bug bit me. 


As my health (and mobility) became more and more limited, my visual output became greater. I met kindred spirits, like Steel Hook Prostheses, Compactor and Valvegod (all of whom I want to work with until I am old and grey), whose appreciation and constant thumbs up have given me the emotional strength to compensate for what is lacking physically. I wasn’t just a f***ing cripple. I had a purpose in life. When you can’t really walk, that’s huge! Your sense of self-worth is among the first things to go when you can’t walk…

 

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past year. That’s why I pester you every time I have something new to show. These little visual distractions are my lifeline. But rest assured: I’ll be able to go out and shoot something new and original soon enough. That’s my light at the end of this tunnel.

 

So, check out my vids here or here. Rent or buy “Conversion” here. You’ll be glad you did. And I'll be glad you did. Everybody wins.

Friday, March 15, 2013

The Illustrated Song.


A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.


Taken from the album "Dreaming In Earth, Dissolving In Light"
Available from Ant-Zen audio & visual arts
ant-zen.com
Paul Hogeterp: Violin
Rich Oddie: Guitar
Aron West: Electronics
Recorded July 2006 @ The Pit - Dundas, Ontario, Canada
Edited and mastered throughout 2011 @ The Hills - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Ⓟ2011 Ant-Zen audio & visual arts
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2013 F Squared Media




Official Video for "Sadomedica" by Steel Hook Prostheses.
Taken from the forthcoming album The Empirics Guild.
Out Winter 2013 on Malignant Records
malignantrecords.com
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2013 Malignant Records




Featured on "ten - a [walnut + locust] 10 year celebration"
25 tracks free download compilation.
Available on [walnut + locust]
walnutlocust.com 
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2013 F Squared Media




Official video for "Cut Through" by Orphx.
Taken from the "Hunger Knows No Law" EP, available NOW through Sonic Groove. sonicgroove.com/
Written and Produced by Richard Oddie and Christina Sealey.
Mastered by Jeremy Greenspan
Recorded in Canada.
Performed by Orphx 
orphx.com/ 
orphx.bandcamp.com/
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau

Ⓟ2012 Sonic Groove





Official video for "These Aren't the Drones You're Looking For" by Wiggler !?! and the Tiny Humans.
From the "Scornucopia" EP, released on November 23, 2012.
Download "Scornucopia" for free at wiggler.ca/album/scornucopia.
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
© 2012 Third Nipple World Domination



Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Ocean of Tears


THE OCEAN OF TEARS
Written & Performed by November Növelet
Courtesy of Galakthorroe
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media


(Special Thanks to Anton Corbjin for the inspiration.)

Saturday, November 17, 2012

GETTING ALRIGHT

A few months ago, I was asked by a friend of mine if I'd be interested in directing a music video for a local band on STOMP Records. I, of course, jumped on the opportunity. Ever since wrapping Conversion, my directing "oeuvre" had been limited to little experiments with my iPhone, or tinkering with public-domain footage. To do something more or less legitimate was something that was definitely music to my ears (pun intended).

When I heard the song, "Get Alright" by Ska•Soul•Rock'n'Roll sensation The Fundamentals, I was immediately hooked (as was every single person within earshot). Along with the song, I was forwarded the band's concept notes, in the form of crude storyboards. These, while ambitious, were not the most interesting I'd seen (it reminded me of the plethora of SoCal Ska-Punk videos produced in the past 20 years). The song was begging for something different. All I knew is that the band were dead-set on featuring their van in the video. Good. Something to start from. I decided to contact the band's sole XX chromosome carrier: Julia Gellman - trumpet player/second vocalist.

I shared my apprehension towards the storyboards they had given me. She, thankfully, told me that these weren't to be taken all that seriously and that I was free to let the song inspire me and come up with something completely new. Good, because I already had. The song is all about having a good time. Julia reiterated that they wanted the video to feature their van, a clunker of sorts that still managed to make it all the way across the Great (not so) White North. That's when I told her about my concept:

"The van breaks down in a bad part of town. They try everything but it just won't turn over. Deciding to make the best of a bad situation, they set up a makeshift campsite and "Get Alright". After a few days of frisbee, BBQ, and awkward sleeping arrangements, they decide to plug their instruments into the van's battery and revive their infamous carriage through the power of their rocking..."

They were an absolute dream to work with and I'm happy to report that you will soon be able to see our second video together!

In the meantime, GET ALRIGHT!

Official video for "Get Alright" by The Fundamentals. From the album Get Alright, available NOW from Stomp Records!

Directed & Edited by Dominic F. Marceau
Concept by Dominic F. Marceau & The Fundamentals
Director of Photography: Josh Usheroff
Produced by Frédéric Tremblay
© 2012 Stomp Records

Saturday, November 3, 2012

NSFW


Video projections created by DFM for a September 15th performance by Theologian @ The Acheron
57 Waterbury street in Brooklyn, New York.


ABANDON ALL HOPE by Theologian 
from THE CHASMS OF MY HEART CD, 
available on Crucial Blast.

VIDEO PROJECTION edited & directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media


WE CAN'T ALL BE VICTIMS by Theologian 
from THE CHASMS OF MY HEART CD, 
available on Crucial Blast.

VIDEO PROJECTION edited & directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media


(These works were all created in September 2012 and are the propriety of Original Author and Copyright Owner F Squared Media / Dominic F. Marceau.)



Wednesday, October 31, 2012

::DOMAINES PUBLICS::


Works in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable. The term is not normally applied to situations when the creator of a work retains residual rights, in which case use of the work is referred to as "under license" or with permission.

In informal usage, the public domain consists of works that are publicly available; while according to the formal definition it consists of works that are unavailable for private ownership or are available for public use.

Once placed in the public domain, the Work may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, used, modified, built upon, or otherwise exploited by anyone for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, and in any way, including by methods that have not yet been invented or conceived...



1. I DID IT FOR YOU
Written & Performed by Haus Arafna
Courtesy of Galakthorroe
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #1

2. COPING
Written by Albert Fisch
Performed by Subliminal
Courtesy of Galakthorroe
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #2


3. TEMPO MORTO
Written by Tairy Ceron
Performed by AIT!
Courtesy of Punch Records
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #3


4. ZERO
Performed by Theologian
(Contact Annihilvs Power Electronix @ www.annihilvs.org)
Courtesy of Crucial Blast
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #4


5. DEATH TO DESIRE. DESIRE IS DEATH.
Courtesy of Annihilvs Power Electronix @ www.annihilvs.org
Written & Performed by Navicon Torture Technologies
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #5


6. TODAY YOU DIED [did you know who I am]
Written, Performed & Produced by Haus Arafna
Courtesy of Galakthorroe
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #6


7. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Written by Albert Fisch
Performed by Subliminal
Courtesy of Galakthorroe
Edited & Directed by Dominic F. Marceau
©2012 F Squared Media - Domaines Publics #7    

(These works were all created between May and September 2012 and are the propriety of Original Author and Copyright Owner F Squared Media / Dominic F. Marceau.)