I have just returned from a trip overseas, where I perused England's finest gallows, gothic architecture, greasy spoons and Wetherspoons. If you hear any rumors about a new plague going around, just know that it was already there when I arrived, and I had nothing to do with it.
The occasion for the trip was to attend this year's Cine-Excess Film Festival and Conference in Birmingham, England. The theme of this year's conference was "Re-Animated: Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects" and I was invited to present at the in-person symposium, on the panel "Multimedia Excess: Animation, Television and Theatre".
I presented a 20 minute paper entitled “Ghosts of Televisions Past: Horror Hosting and Nostalgia in the Internet Age” where I discussed the tradition of horror hosting, its characteristics and the ways that it is being adopted by modern-day creators, who use nostalgia and retro media practices as a means of resisting or counteracting the effects of streaming and the internet on media.
I do apologize for the lack of connection from my channel as of recent weeks
(although I have always adored the sound of TV static). I have been enjoying
a sojourn in my home of the red velvet void and have only recently emerged
back into this world. Pay no mind to the fresh notches carved into my
pistol, as they are entirely unrelated.
You may be concerned that I have gone into hiding due to some grave
embarrassment or threat to my livelihood. While I regret to disappoint, my
absence can instead be explained by the overexertion that total excellence
can often cause. I would like to share with you some of the achievements
(some fresh and some quite stale) that have brought me steps closer to the
realization of my wicked plan (wouldn't you like to know?).
Today I present you with a video I made explaining the history of horror hosting in under 5 minutes. I made this video for a few reasons, the most basic being to test cameras against each other. I filmed the video twice with the same setup but different cameras (Lumix GH5 vs Canon T7i) to decide what would work best for me. I found that the T7i was better in its audio recording capabilities, being able to monitor sound while you film is definitely a plus. It also has 4k quality, multiple lenses, and a lot of fancy settings. Those fancy settings are probably useful if you know a lot about cameras. But I don't, so it just made setting things up a lot more confusing. The T7i is much more familiar to me as I've used it in multiple projects in the past. It's pretty user friendly, but it doesn't have live sound monitoring, only films in HD, and is less customizable.
This is your captain speaking. I have returned from my vacation in the world of no deadlines, and I'm finally back to work on the Shockwave. To absolutely no one's surprise, it's easier said than done to get started on a huge culminating project for which you are solely responsible. I made some progress over break on my project website and its features, which you can see here. Specifically, I finished the horror host timeline which I'm really proud of. I've been having a lot of fun doing stuff with design and research and I could work on it forever. But in the end, that stuff is not really helpful for my final project and I've probably just been using it as a way to procrastinate.
First, please update us on your Proof of Concept project. How are things coming along? Have you created it already, and if so, how do you feel about what you've created? If not, what are your plans and are you on track to achieve this project successfully?
Unfortunately, I have not yet gotten to film my proof of concept project and wasn’t able to check out equipment before break (which is entirely my fault for not prioritizing it above other assignments). At this point, I am hoping that I can put together some archival footage, voiceover etc. over break, and film the interview on the Monday we get back from break to edit and turn it in by its final due date on Tuesday. If I am not able to film new content before Tuesday, my backup plan is to put together the interview that I made for my initial media with archival footage, voiceover and maybe some animations or other fun content. This would give me the chance to practice correcting some issues I had with my initial footage, and combining elements, which are useful skills too. If I have to take this path, I will still check out my equipment later and practice the skills I was planning to practice for this assignment. It would not be ideal (and can be blamed on poor planning on my part), but I think my backup plan would still contribute to the skills I need for my project.
I'm halfway though the semester! Here are my reflections on the project so far.
How do you feel your research progress is meeting the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester? What research milestone(s) are you especially proud of so far?
I think that my research has been going well so far. This is the first time I’ve researched a topic that doesn’t already have established criticism or analysis around it, so it has been challenging but also very rewarding. It’s definitely a different approach trying to build a theoretical framework and make new connections to build theory, but I think I’ve made a lot of progress so far and I’m excited to keep going. I want to publish an article on this topic once I’m satisfied with my analysis, and I’m looking forward to that process too. When it comes to the archival side of my research, I’ve made a lot of progress and am feeling more and more confident with my understanding and knowledge of the topic, in terms of the size and scope of the trend and its major players. I’m preparing to begin the bulk of the archival materials gathering soon. So far I’m proud that I’ve been able to synthesize some new ways of thinking about my topic, because I didn’t go into that process with a lot of confidence. I think that theoretically I definitely have enough for my project and paper already, but I will definitely continue to write and research so that I can work towards publishing something!
My working title currently is Home Sweet Unhomely: Local Horror Hosts and their Fan Communities. My preferred title would be ‘Ghouls Next Door’ but that is being used as the title of a podcast which is also based in Philly, so I’m afraid I can’t use it. A final title is still in development and being actively brainstormed.
Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion is a 2009 documentary discussing the history of horror hosting in Virginia and Washington DC. The film interviews producers on horror hosting shows, horror host fans, as well as the hosts themselves, speaking about what it was like to be a part of creating the shows, and to participate in the culture around them. Virginia Creepers addresses a very similar topic to my project, since it explores horror hosting on a local level. However, the film has a more narrow focus, on the hosts in just one state, while I am hoping to pull examples from around the country to provide a more holistic view of the trend's impacts across local communities. The form and medium are also very similar, it combines interviews and archival footage/sound/images in the way that I am planning to. I have been brainstorming ways to make the form of my documentary connect to the subject matter of horror hosting, to make it more original and engaging. I was thinking of having the documentary be presented by a horror host, who could guide the audience through the content. I was interested to find that Virginia Creepers had a similar idea. The film opens with Mr. Lobo, a Virginian horror host who introduces the subject and appears throughout the film to map out topics, just like the horror hosts did on their shows. I don't want to copy their format entirely, but I would still like to incorporate a similar idea with my own spin on it. Overall, I really liked Virginia Creepers, it was clearly very well-researched and did a good job balancing the history of the genre with stories about how it impacted people, and it captured the charm of producing a low-budget show for devoted fans. Some things about the film's production felt a little bit outdated, namely the design of the on-screen text and the transitions chosen. I am hoping to create something that is more stylized and unique in form, while also maintaining the quality/integrity of the research and interview content.
My plan for my MA project is to create a documentary film on the topic of "horror hosting", focusing on the interactivity and cultural specificity of the trend and how those factors impacted local communities. I will also provide a background/brief history of the topic including how the trend is being continued today. I am hoping to interview former and current local horror hosts as well as broadcasting professionals, and potentially audience members/fans from across the country to get their perspectives on what it was like to be part of the trend, how it impacted their lives, and how it was impactful to their community. I will gather as much archive footage as I can find to show examples of the trend and illustrate its local connections. I am also considering writing about my thesis topic in my Communication Research methods class so that I can generate resources and information to help me frame my project. The framing, structure, and generally the approach to producing the documentary aren't yet clear to me, but I think that with research I'll figure it out.
