presents
THE OFFICIAL CHIASM REFORM EDIT
Emileigh Rohn
Written and Directed by Brian Sullivan
SITE UPDATED: 08 SEPTEMBER 2008
EXTINGUISH is the short experimental film that resulted from Brian Sullivan's spontaneous involvement in the Detroit Filmmakers Coalition 1997 Super-8 Saturday event. Under the event's mandate of a strict twenty-four hour limit in which to complete the project, EXTINGUISH was edited entirely in-camera on Super-8mm film; no rehearsal, no dailies, and no second takes. The impromptu shoot took place in the suitably gloomy basement of the now-defunct Ascension UK, a magnificent (and sorely missed) coffeehouse/meeting place for Detroit's darker set.
EXTINGUISH features the screen debut of Emileigh Rohn, alpha-component of her one-woman Detroit electronica music project CHIASM, as the solitary character in the film's dark little world, and her remarkable improvisation of the subject matter carries the project brilliantly.
The first and only viewing of EXTINGUISH prior to its appearance here was at the DFC Super-8 Saturday Film Festival in 1997, where it was met with stunned silence and muffled gasps. To say Brian and Emileigh were "overly delighted" with the reaction would be an understatement.
Ten years and two digital transfers later, it's Brian's sincere pleasure to finally be able to present it to you, the global online audience.
With the exception of the beginning and end titles, EXTINGUISH is presented exactly as it was filmed, uncut and unedited.
EXTINGUISH RETROSPECTIVE - WRITER / DIRECTOR BRIAN SULLIVAN
I first met Emileigh at Ascension UK, which was this fantastic meeting place in downtown Detroit for artists, writers, musicians, all sorts of darker-minded individuals. She was playing keyboards for a band called Dragon Tears Descending and she had this incredible sense of presence about her. When the Super-8 Saturday thing happened, I called her out of the blue and asked her if she wanted to be in this little experimental film thingy and she agreed right away, thankfully!
I then checked with Lee Runchey, the owner of Ascension UK and a very supportive and creative individual in her own right, about using the basement and she gave us full clearance. She said it was actually haunted and that weird things happened down there every once in a while, but aside from some creepy vibes we didn't experience anything ghostly. There were a lot of weird, creepy rooms down there and we chose one of the less sinister feeling ones. The day of the shoot we swung by a local Salvation Army store and Emileigh picked out a nice white slip for her character, then we headed to Ascension and got things under way.
Extinguish was never meant to be a downer or anything, in fact the short story itself was more about a vampyre girl who wanted to end her own life and winds up doing so with the assistance of the morning sun in a big, dusty attic. But with only a few hours to shoot the film and very limited resources, we just sort of went with the basic theme and had fun with it.
I think part of the reason Extinguish is so effective in its own way is the minimalist nature of how we did it. It was Emileigh in front of the camera, me behind it, Jamie Sonderman working the one single light source we had down there, a dirty afghan rug, some weird coffee cup, a kitchen knife, and that's it. Emileigh's performance made it work far better than I could have ever imagined. I was extraordinarily lucky that she agreed to participate in the project. So finally a week later Jamie, Emileigh and I attend the screening; Extinguish came toward the end and the majority of the shorts were all guys goofing around, some stop motion animation with G.I. Joe dolls, etc, and then ours comes up and the place goes quiet. The DFC guys had some moody piano and synth instrumental track for our temp score, which actually worked out pretty good... everyone in the small theatre just sat there and stared at the screen, not sure where this was going or what was gonna happen next. At the part where Emileigh presses the very real knife blade to her wrist, there were several murmurs and nervous hisses from the audience. And we just sat there grinning.
Now, a full decade later, Extinguish has come full circle. With the September 2008 release of Chiasm's latest full length album REFORM, it gives me great pleasure to present this "Official Chiasm Reform Edit" of Extinguish, newly remastered and sporting a decidedly "low-tech" retro-future makeover to match the electro aesthetic of Emileigh's music. This end result is truly the definitive version of Extinguish on all counts, and is my personal favorite of all previous versions and incarnations. To say that I've been very fortunate to have had Emileigh's continuing participation in the project would be a gross understatement; I can safely say that without her involvement Extinguish would have never become what it is. And realistically, without the experience that Extinguish has provided me, I doubt I'd be where I am now.
It will always have a special place in my heart.
: C O N T A C T :
BRIAN SULLIVAN : WRITER / DIRECTOR
818-472-5397
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