hunger for success

WE LOVE ELASTIC. ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL. THEY ARE LEGENDS IN OUR WORLD. WE never expected, HOWEVER, THAT THEY WOULD INVITE US TO COLLABORATE ON A RYAN MURPHY ‘AMERICAN HORROR STORIES’ MAIN TITLE. AFTER OUR INITIAL SURPRISE, WE OF COURSE SAID 'HELL YES!  WHERE DO WE SIGN'?!!

MURPHY STIPULATES THAT EACH AHS EPISODE BEGIN WITH A BESPOKE TITLE sequence TEASING THAT WEEK’S STORYLINE. IN THIS CASE, WE WERE ASSIGNED A story CALLED ‘TAPEWORM’ [S3, E3].   THE BRIEF WAS… WELL… BRIEF. “AN UP-AND-COMING MODEL WILL STOP AT NOTHING IN HER HUNGER FOR SUCCESS” — AND AWAY WE WENT.

THE PROCESS WAS seamless, ELASTIC AND RYAN MURPHY PRODUCTIONS LET US DO OUR THING AND we believe THE RESULTS SHOW. WE’RE VERY PROUD OF THE WORK. A BIG THANKS to ELASTIC FOR THE INVITE, WE’D DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT.

DARKROOM

our concept is A NIGHTMARISH DESCENT INTO THE HARSH, DEHUMANIZING CHASM OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY’S EDITorial PROCESS. WE USE TRADITIONAL CONTACT SHEETS AS OUR keystone VISUAL DEVICE, DRIVING THE NARRATIVE INTO A SHADOWY ABYSS WHERE AESTHETICS SUCCUMB TO ANARCHY.

it begins WITH KINETIC PAN-AND-SCANs ACROSS CONTACT SHEETS, CAPTURING THE RIGID BEAUTY OF VARIOUS FASHION MODELS. THROUGH SUDDEN REARRANGEMENTS AND ODD COMBINATIONS, WE CREATE DISCORDANT MOMENTS THAT JAR VIEWERs INTO AWARENESS OF IMPENDING HORROR.

AS the SEQUENCE ESCALATES, WE EMPLOY off-kilter CROPPING, DUPLICATION AND FRENETIC JUMP-CUTS, WARPING BEAUTY INTO GROTESQUERIE. THE IMAGES ARE MANIPULATED BEYOND RECOGNITION, FOCUSING INTENTLY ON THE HORRIFIC, interspersed with GRAPHIC ultrasound scans OF PARASITIC TAPEWORMS and RAMPANT BINGE EATING.

the CONTACT SHEETS DEGRADE OVER TIME, DECOMPOSING AND DISFIGURING OUR MODELS. DUPLICATION, REPETITION AND CLEVERLY APPLIED OFFSETS PRODUCE EXTRA LIMBS, STRETCHED AND SMEARED FACES. OUR MODELS ARE CONTORTED, DISTORTED, AND MANIPULATED INTO UNNERVING ASSEMBLAGES OF MISMATCHED BODY PARTS, PRESENTING A HORRIFIC TABLEAU THAT REMAINs SEARED INTO THE VIEWER’S PSYCHE.