Musician and music video director Max Farrell spent almost 8 years gathering footage for what became a roughly half-hour short film that supports the release of Blessings Infinity’s latest album, Season One.

With a specific interest in experimental imagery, he crafted the film’s sections into meticulously layered collages of landscapes wild, cultivated, and urban, and although the final work is in HD, for the limited VHS edition, he recomposed the widescreen footage to suit the standard 4:3 ratio of a CRT monitor – the optimum way to enjoy VHS.

Whether you prefer to sample Season One or any of Farrell’s video work before or after the podcast is up to you; you can listen to our conversation as an audio-only podcast via Libsyn, or as a visually enhanced version on YouTube.

In addition to the current Editor's Blog at Big Head Amusements, I’ll have a separate blog about creating the visuals for the YouTube version, as well as the workflow used to transfer digital to analogue tape, but here are the necessary links to Farrell’s work:

Max Farrell’s Website:

https://fakoandro.world/

Blessings Infinity: Season One - Full Length Video

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPl2nNWk2of/?igsh=MjJkcnd0bmFlZ2xh

Blessings Infinity - Season One on bandcamp:

https://blessingsinfinity.bandcamp.com/

Other videos mentioned in podcast:

COLA - “Water Table”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzT9QJbEssU

Karen Ng - “Tactile Black”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPl2nNWk2of/?igsh=MjJkcnd0bmFlZ2xh

Additional Music Videos by Max Farrell on YouTube:

Bodywash - “Kind of Light” (khotin remix):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0WD1ce_S7g

COLA – “Blank Curtain”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odpAsB6Umf0

Phyla – “Run Until the Sky”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeY5qwF_yoc

Reves Sonores – “Mondial”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTHytya3Tds

Connect with BHA+ on Facebook and Instagram for further info on the latest posts, blogs, and podcasts at BHA+ - the Patreon-sponsored media channel specializing in reviewing & using vintage video gear in short, narrative, and experimental works - and to inquire about custom audio & video services at Big Head Amusements.

--- MRH (2026)

When Canadian filmmaker and musician Schnudlbug was making his short film Roach, part of the end goal was to produce a 3D film with very specific visual and sonic palettes, and a limited edition VHS release.

In our lengthy conversation we touch upon the making of his film, which draws upon both cinematic influences and a background rich in practical skills, including editing, visual effects, sound design, and composing music with a special affection for noise. Also discussed is sourcing the physical elements to create a VHS release, and the thrill of presenting the film to audiences after meticulous production & post-production stages.

--- MRH (2024)

Announcing the soft launch of BHA+ - my Patreon-sponsored media channel where I review vintage consumer, prosumer, and broadcast video gear; offer practical user info for filmmakers; feature test footage featurettes; publish podcast interviews in blog, audio-only, and visual versions; and feature serialized, historical examinations of unique gear. 

This podcast is both an Introduction to BHA+, and maps out my mandate to showcase, inform, contextualize, and support the preservation and creative use of vintage video gear from the 1970s thru the 2000s.

Coming next: a podcast interview with filmmaker-composer-musician Schnudlbug (https://www.instagram.com/schnoodlevideo/) and the making of his 3D experimental short film "Roach" (https://linktr.ee/schnoodlevideo) and its limited VHS release!

Links to mentions, affiliates, sponsors, and sundry in Episode 02:

Affiliate Coffee Break MBA: https://comedywriting.samcart.com/referral/Zow9uSZG/EoXGMu5RTUNkHApw

Bay Street Video: http://www.baystreetvideo.com/

High Fidelity Magazine, March 1971: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/70s/High-Fidelity-1971-03.pdf

NFB short film "Around is Around": https://www.nfb.ca/film/around_is_around/

NFB short film "Begone Dull Care": https://www.nfb.ca/film/begone_dull_care/

CBC News article "Why are Canadians’ cellphone bills higher than other countries?”: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-high-cell-phone-bills-1.6711205

YouTube Skylabs Audio "Should You Replace Capacitors in Vintage Electronics?": https://www.youtube.com/@skylabsaudio

YouTube Alan Zweig's 2000 documentary "Vinyl": https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=10672 

Canadian Museum of Broadcast Technology: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1081181336258390

BHA+ Official Sponsor Hamza Mughal, specializing in saving and re-homing vintage broadcast video gear: hbetamax2000@gmail.com / +1 (416) 891-4500

Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram for further info on the latest posts, blogs, and podcasts at BHA+ - the Patreon channel specializing in reviewing & using vintage video gear in short, narrative, and experimental works - and to inquire about custom audio & video services at Big Head Amusements.

--- MRH (2024)

--- MRH (2024)

Following the April 18, 2018, screening of I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) at Toronto's Revue Cinema for National Canadian Film Day, writer-director Patricia Rozema discussed her feature film debut with cléo journal’s Kiva Reardon.

Topics include the casting of Sheila McCarthy, developing the story, filming in Toronto, a short bit on Harvey Weinstein, Calvinist self-discipline, and Rozema’s latest work, Mouthpiece.

Bookending the podcast are some thoughts on my shifting tastes since 1987, and at KQEK.com I've posted additional thoughts on the film, related links, and reviews of Rozema's first two features, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing and White Room  (1990).

If you enjoyed this bonus podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Julia Marchese discusses directing Out of Print (2014), a passionate documentary on the New Beverly Cinema, the feisty, independent rep cinema renowned for programming rare slices of film history; and the increasing difficulty for programmers to access and screen 35mm film prints in an age of digital projections and DCPs.

Visit KQEK.com for a film review of Out of Print, which was recently released on DVD from Level 33 Entertainment, and thematically related reviews of Cinemania (2002),  The Dying of the Light (2016), Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-In Movie (2013), and Side by Side (2012).

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Visit KQEK.com for additional film reviews, soundtrack reviews, interviews, and read the Editor's Blog by Mark R. Hasan for additional info and related links.

Craig Atkinson discusses his directorial debut, Do Not Resist (2016), an unsettling documentary on the militarization of local police departments. Filmed just as the violence in Ferguson began to erupt, Atkinson details the overuse of S.W.A.T. for mundane search warrants, and the current government grants that enable departments to buy army surplus vehicles.

Visit KQEK.com for a film review of Do Not Resist, which recently screened at Toronto's Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, and Detropia (2015), filmed and co-produced by Atkinson.

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Visit KQEK.com for additional film reviews, soundtrack reviews, interviews, and read the Editor's Blog by Mark R. Hasan for additional info and related links.

Jared Scott discusses his latest film, The Age of Consequences (2016), a provocative documentary on climate change, featuring many former military officials who add deeper credence to the correlation between extreme shifts in climate, mass population migration, and war.

Scott also touches upon the film's themes, and his storytelling technique which includes the use of chapters, moments of respite for audiences, and Malcolm Francis’ excellent score.

Visit KQEK.com for a film review of Age of Consequences, which recently screened at Toronto's Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Visit KQEK.com for additional film reviews, soundtrack reviews, interviews, and read the Editor's Blog by Mark R. Hasan for additional info and related links.

Victor Kanefsky discusses the art of editing, structure, balance, and pacing in a conversation that spans both his latest directorial work, Art Bastard (2016), a lively documentary on painter Robert Cenedella, and his lengthy career as an editor in many genres, including horror (Ganja & Hess) and documentary (Style Wars).

Visit KQEK.com for a film review of Art Bastard, which recently screened at Toronto's Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, plus some related review links.

If you enjoyed this podcast, connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Visit KQEK.com for additional film reviews, soundtrack reviews, interviews, and read the Editor's Blog by Mark R. Hasan for additional info and related links.