Owen McCarty

Category: My Films

  • night

    https://youtu.be/wfdEDi26XYQ?si=-46FMaFsqLBTMj4p

    There’s something I find really compelling about nighttime. Everything’s both more quiet but more alive, and when the lights are turned on you can really see how the city glows. Subsequently taking walks at night is one of my favorite activities. Going around, observing the people up late, wondering what they’re up to. I think trying to capture my perception in the camera is difficult because there’s so many factors that aren’t exactly replicatable in film, but trying to find a close approximate becomes a journey in itself.

    When I was out shooting this film, I became particularly interested with two men walking down the street, pushing a cart loaded up with broken mannequin torsos, picking through the trash for plastic to collect. They didn’t much mind my presence, and so I followed them till they finished for the night. I found this to be a very compelling narrative to interweave between the rest of what I filmed that night, placing these people in the context of where they exist in. As for the music, this is one of my favorite songs and type of music to listen to at times like this. Perhaps it seems overly violent or angry, but I felt any softer music wouldn’t fully remind the viewer of the isolation that exists within spaces like this, at night.

  • touch

    new movie! you can watch it at this link: https://youtu.be/0mNxSvq2uoY?si=MZ-2s2MIlJJnVhkq

    After a little while not filming anything, my hands get itchy. So really this film was something born out of a desire to create something, rather than a desire to bring this specific idea into the world. I actually asked the girl who stars in the film, Min, if she would act in a film of mine before I even knew what it would be about. I think she has a great look, and maybe if my Chinese was a little better maybe I could better channel it. Making the film was a little tricky, as I don’t have any of my usual filmmaking friends here in China (even when they’re around we still struggle cough cough The Typerwriter). But by keeping the film simple it turned out okay. I was able to experiment with some stuff I’ve wanted to mess around with for a while, namely some slow motion—which I think had a fantastic result.

    As for the meaning of the film, I wanted to convey the feeling after a breakup when everything still feels strange and frustrating. All the familiar locations are somewhat affected by the memory of your past relationship, and it’s really the act of denying those memories that signifies you’re moving on. I also wanted to play around with more dialogue-less work, as I feel dialogue should really be a complement to whatever the story is. If it doesn’t work without dialogue, it won’t work with dialogue. I almost want to expand upon this story further, develop it a bit more, since as it is it feels a little abstract and underdeveloped. One of my friends told me I should try doing some more scripted work, which isn’t a terrible idea. I feel like I’m reaching a point with abstract works that I’m not really exploring new territory for the moment, just rehashing old space. And into new grounds I must go!