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Status: Completed 11th August 2004
This was my entry for the Nokia Shorts Competition 2004. Basically, they were asking for short films that ran for 15 seconds (with an additional 8 seconds for opening titles and end credits). So it was a bit of fun and a test to see if I could come up with something to show and say in 15 seconds. You could do anything you wanted, but as I was in the early stages of pre-production at the time on my debut horror film �my NIGHTMARE�, and had been location scouting a few days before I came across this competition, I decided to use some of the footage I had shot while exploring the prospective locations.
As my friend and lead for the film gave me a guided tour of his area, I noticed that everywhere I turned there was decay simply everywhere. What kicked off this observation was coming across a Buick Riviera (a huge American car from the 1970�s) which was literally rusted through. What was once a magnificent poster car for American engineering and the �big is better� ideal they work to, was now a rusted heap which had long since died and was in little hope of restoration. The chrome bumpers were spotted with rust, the bodywork was no longer black (there was one small strip of original paint still visible on the rear left wing); but thick brown rust. The windows were thick with dirt; completely blacked out. The interior was again thick with dirt and the bulky engine was a mere sad reflection of what it was once in its prime. Not only was it sad to see such a car in such a state, but it was also quite a bizarre novelty to come across this dilapidated American beast rotting in an old barn on a farm in the middle of the English countryside on the verge of the Welsh border. Just imagine what sort of back story it has.
As we progressed I was shown around another barn which was the typical sight on a run down farm. As my friend put it, it was the quintessential �Chainsaw Massacre� setting. It was again drowning under a sea of years worth of dirt, the windows were cracked, their sills inches thick in uncountable layers of cobwebs and mess. A dilapidated camp bed was found on the second floor, which really did add to the chainsaw massacre vibe of the shed. In the surrounding grass were old cars, caravans and trucks. Amidst the sea of knee length grass were a series of dead car batteries and across from this was an open air shed of sorts which housed all manners of junk. From a massive pile of old tires spread a veritable sea of rotting artefacts.
Around the corner was an old cow milking or feeding shed. Rusted chains hung from a metal structure next to a feeding trough. The overhead windows in the metal sheet ceiling were either missing or thick with filth or shattered. There were even the �scary lampshades� as my friend put it; again giving a vibe of a chainsaw massacre � dirty bulbs hanging from metal lampshades draped with cobwebs.
Finally in another field close by was a disused cow shed. Again, rather dilapidated and not looked after, there were pieces of old farm machinery left to rot amidst old bails of hay amidst which rats had made their home. Various junk lay strewn across the floor from rolls of barbed wire to aged bottles of cow medicine. The place for holding the cows itself was creepy. It had once been in constant use, but now it was quiet, still and without life. In this setting there was even the bizarre sight of a baby sheep � long since dead which had been rotting for quite some time. On one hand it was sad to see this dead baby sheep (which had been grotesquely ripped apart by foxes so that it now resembled either modern art of a Francis Bacon vision) alone in this huge barn and on the other it was sort of poetic in a way. It capped off the idea of natural decay I was witnessing around me as we researched possible shooting locations for my horror movie. However, I didn�t include the dead sheep in any version of �Decay� which I made prior to sending off my final piece. I felt that would have been too much and unsuitable for this short. However, it will be in my horror film where that sort of horrific vision is suitable. I�m not being exploitative or sick, as I said, it capped off my experience of witnessing so much rot and decay in such a small amount of time.
And that is what my 15 second short was about. The sights of natural, inevitable and unstoppable decay. The shots of the American car and other machinery being the most poignant � how what we make can end up useless and rotting within years of being produced.
As for the actual sound design for the film, I used this as a testing ground of sorts for the sound I will be using in �my NIGHTMARE�. The soundtrack of �Decay� is a mix of water running into a lake, birdsong and some other things which I created myself from the most ordinary of things. The final product therefore has this warped and twisted sound which has many subtle layers within it. The perfect background track to create atmosphere for the visuals.
