Screen Test (Australiana) — Suicidal Synthesis
2005 – 2006
Project Description
Screen Test (Australiana) — Suicidal Synthesis
Screen Test #4 (Australiana) and Screen Test #5 (Australiana) together form Screen Test (Australiana) — Suicidal Synthesis which reinterprets a sequence of events in the 1971 films Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg) and Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff), embodying a ravaged masculinity and a self-destructive psychosis in the Australian landscape.
In reviving the aesthetic of cheap Australian TV Dramas of the 60s and 70s, Douglas foregrounds narratives that lay buried deep in the past. The exaggerated crudeness of these screen tests disrupts the narrative structures inherent in the original films, shifting the role of the artist to an aberration of the self mirrored on the screen and displaying a ravaged masculinity in the Australian landscape.
Production Credits
Screen Test #4 (Australiana)
Performer: John A Douglas
Location Sound: Vera Hong
HD Video Camera: Tristan Kenyon
Large Format Camera: Craig Bender
Production Stills: Vera Hong
Sound Mixing and Sound Effects: John A Douglas
Costume Design: John A Douglas
Hair and Make Up: Vera Hong
Set Design, Props and Production: John A Douglas
Theatrical Armourer, Pyrotechnics and Stunt Coach: Tony Garland at The Stockade
Thanks to: Kimbriki Recycling Depot, Terrey Hills Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade, Warringah Shire Council.
Screen Test #5 (Australiana)
Performer: John A Douglas
Sound Samples: Wake In Fright ( Dir Ted Kotcheff, United Artists, 1971)
HD Video Camera: Tristan Kenyon
Large Format Camera: Alex Kershaw
Location Sound Recordist: Melanie Ryan
Special Effects Make Up: Melanie Ryan
Performance Coach: Chris Ryan
Sound and Video Editing: John A Douglas
Set Design, Props and Costume: John A Douglas
Thanks to: Blue Mountains City Council
MFA thesis Abstract: Aberrations of Self: Manifestations in Cinema Histories