Brett Lyda: Video

The first promotional clip for the new Evangenitals album "Everlovin" (2007). Several extended Genital family members assembled for a photo shoot for the record's artwork and I thought it would be really cool to make a video with so many folks on hand. After the session wrapped we had 15 minutes left to make a video so we hit "play" and sang along to the record 3 times over and this is what we came up with. ENJOY!

Here's me and my band the Evangenitals being interviewed on the radio. I whittled this hourlong program into a taut fifteen minutes and synched it with the actual broadcast audio so that one can hear the call-in guests yuk it up with the band. A night's work. Shot by Patrick Ian Moore.

This was a fun little piece Fausto Caceres came up with starring an anonymous Brett Lyda. Recently "restored" and reedited for a better rhythm and retro vibe.

This was an interesting project I produced during my tenure at Video Symphony. My instructor, Mike Sale, gave me a wild topic to build a short film around- "a postcard to my friends". The catch is that I was not allowed to use any actual moving film images, just motion graphics and titles. He gave me a little heat for the "racist remarks" but oh well. Oh, special thanks to Geof Brandin and The Vanduras for the sweet music.

This video montage was made especially for the Cal State Universities Summer Arts Film Festival and went on to win top honors and the Francis Ford Coppolla sponsored Rosebud Award. It was aired on PBS several times both domestic and internationally. Contrary to popular belief, "Kappos" does not feature any computer animation but rather employs reflected light and video feedback to create the "all-natural" kaleidoscopic images seen.

I'm still a little embarrassed with my choice of music however it did suit the tempo of the piece quite well. Plus, I suspected the judges were fond of 80's goth pop and this weighed in on my decision as I really wanted to see if I could actually win.

Another assignment from Mike Sale, one of the top instructors at Video Symphony. He didn't care for this one much either but I think it has a nice vibe and its heart is in the right place.

This favorite was another collaboration with uber-artiste Fausto Caceres and David Hamma (who both do a fine job of defining the films "50's aesthetic).

My uncle had bought a shiny new meat slicer from a yard sale and I became fascinated by it's existence. Whose dark postwar vision manifested such a beautiful violent, household appliance?

As with our first film "Yesterday Is Here", we commenced shooting without a script and it wasn't long before we were in trouble. The antiquated future aesthetic was in place but we still needed a story. It was Fausto who suggested we use the included meat slicer guide as our script. He began reading from the pamphlet in the dryest of docu-drama voices and I damn near wet myself. He had found the solution already composed and waiting quietly for us in the bottom of the packaging.

This is the first in a series of old Super 8 movies of mine that I've recently digitized and restored. Starring the divinely talented David Hamma, my goal was simple- capture him in the process of creating one of his found art sculptures. I remember there were moments when David had real doubts about our collaboration. But we soldiered on throught the night and this is what we came up with. During the editing process, I asked David to choose some music and he responded with Tom Waits' "Yesterday Is Here"- an excellent choice given the film looks and feels 40 years older than it is. We agreed the song would also serve as the title to our film. During the restoration, it was VERY tempting to do a complete re-edit as I've learned so much since 1991. Ultimately, I came to my senses and agreed to respect the past for what it is.

My film teacher at PCC, Mr. Zingale, proclaimed we could make any film we wanted EXCEPT a music video (which didn't qualify as "real" filmmaking). But Pillbox was playing a show in November and I simply couldn't resist. Needless to say, this little ditty was frowned upon at viewing time.