Engineering an Apocalypse :: The Life of the Traegorn

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Engineering an Apocalypse
Posted Feb 1, 2010 - 8:28:53

So for the three of you who might read this who don't follow No Brand Con news, this year the convention's theme is "The No Brand Apocalypse." For those who haven't checked the No Brand Con website, it's related Facebook/Twitter accounts, or even my Youtube channel, the first plot video for this year has gone online.

You can watch it here.

When I talked about filming a video for this year's con way back in September, I was actually referring to the SECOND video (although twelve seconds of that footage does find itself in this installment). That's the video that takes place AFTER the No Brand Apocalypse. Writing and filming comedic post-Apocalyptic material is easy. For this video though, I had to establish the actual event and end the world in the first place (along with set up that this story is happening AFTER the convention). Not only that, but since this is by far the darkest premise we've ever done, I had to make sure that it wasn't too dark... so the lighter tone of the next video doesn't feel strange for people.

Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me.

It was always my plan to use public domain stock footage for my end of the world. I used a few old newsreel films on earthquakes and floods, along with the classic Vincent Price movie "The Last Man on Earth." Ironically, the footage that seemed too dark to use, that I had the least ability to use, was the latter fictional portrayal. "The Last Man on Earth" footage involved a lot of (fake) dead bodies, but mixed in with the REAL footage, people might assume they were real as well...

...and then any chance at humor would be destroyed.

I wrote a voice over in a few minutes, the only thing I'd prepared before hand was the acronym M.A.C.G.U.F.F.I.N. for the simple opening joke. I also recorded a new song for this video, which took some time as well. If you really want an MP3 of the song, you can have it. I call the song "The End of the World" and it's sort of our musical theme for this plot. You'll hear elements from it in the music for the second video as well.

I said it before, but I'll say it again: This is by far the most ambitious project we've ever embarked on for No Brand Con plot videos. It's likely my finale as a producer for these videos (having taken over the duty starting with No Brand Con 5), so I want to make it count. I'll be leaving the future in good hands though, so I look forward to watching videos next year instead of spending six hours on a Saturday editing them.
- Traegorn