Monday, January 07, 2008

Them Lonely Bottles

Recently, I went on an empty D train and videotaped 50 empty glass bottles rolling around the subway car.

Before I could do that though, I had to buy 50 bottles of mostly Snapple with some other brands and genres (note the jar of peanuts) thrown in for visual variation.





I needed empty bottles though.

So I began the very dubious and guilt-inducing task of pouring out fresh bottles of Snapple. Why didn't I have a container to save the various flavored teas and Banana drinks? Because I like to keep my kitchen clutter-free. Also, I am still a bad cook and don't think to make things like pitchers of ice tea.

Still, I did have one container.



Not the milk. The one to the left of the milk.

Sadly, it was only enough to fit the contents of 10 bottles. I had some friends drink about 3 more bottles worth. But the remaining 37 snapples got maybe a brief sip before being poured down the drain. I'm not proud of this feat. Nor am I proud of the pot of blended snapple that resides in my refrigerator - so blended, it transcends the term flavor.



It is the un-flavor. It is what happens when you mix banana drink with orangeade and diet peach tea.I predict it would be good with alcohol. But I am afeared.



The video of all those bottles rolling around was going to go on the end of this video:



But I thought it took away from the documentary-like feel that gives that video a consistent tone. I've been sitting on this footage for 2 years. I shot it originally with Ian Savage on an epic 4 hour journey to Canarsie on the L train, switching to the F, and looping out to Coney Island and back. We watched 2 bottles bop around the car which really meant watching them sit still for long stretches of time before just barely catching them roll into someone's foot or a pole.

It's hard to document natural occurrences. But rewarding once you start editing.

The song is by The Chief Smiles - friends of mine from Kerhonkson, NY. It's called "The Dance Went On Too Long." If live music is more your bag, check out the concert footage I shot of them at Arlene's Grocery about a year ago:



Big props to Ben Fried, Dallas, Jessie W, Sydney and Will for the supreme bottle management and subway wrangling.

1 Comments:

Blogger so damn random! said...

you mean to tell me you don't have one persons foot attempting to stop one of the bottles due to the annoying click clacking?

wow. intresting clip. :-)

11:47 AM  

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