88 pages highlighting works created between 2010 & 2017. Printed QR code gives access to full streamable film online. Includes: Catastrophe & Convenience, Song for Koko, Let’s Make a Movie, Awe and Dread, Song for the Pain-body, Lemon and more. Thank you for your support!!
SIDE ONE • works from 2010 - 2017
“I highly recommend the original melodies, wry humor, and filmic intelligence embedded in the irresistible narratives” - Craig Baldwin
“Becker teases out profound gems of wisdom from the dark, murky corners of human psychology…learning tools for progressive young minds and contemporary ballads for aging punks.” - Shapeshifters Cinema
“Becker’s pieces sift through contemporary sites of existential malaise with indefatigable humor and a touch of world-weary wisdom.” - Steve Polta, SF Cinematheque
“Like dreaams, Becker’s works collect and meld disparate and dissonant elements into expressions of lasting emotional resonance.” - John Massier, Visual Arts Curator
Video, Music & Text: written, recorded, edited & performed by Tommy Becker. Vocals, guitars, keys & drum programming by Tommy Becker
Catastrophe & Convenience | DV | 2016 | 07:00 mins
An out of breath man struggles to complete his weekend to-do list as Black Friday shoppers find themselves trapped in their frenzy. Weapons discharge in the solitude of nature as a boy's day dream becomes an epiphany revealing a catastrophe of convenience.
Video, Music & Text: written, recorded, edited & performed by Tommy Becker©2016.
Voice over work by Tricia Brioux. Marionette performances by Billy Mark.
Screening History: Ann Arbor Film Festival (2018), Alchemy Film & Moving Image Festival (2018), Particle + Wave Media Arts Festival (2019), Currents New Media (2018), Experiments in Cinema 14.2, Cyclop Video Poetry Festival (2017), Other Cinema’s Optronica, Shapeshifters Cinema, The Box at Wexner Center for the Arts (2018)
Post production completed at The Wexner Center for the Arts. Found footage sourced from the Prelinger Archives.
Let’s Make a Movie (clip) | HDV, SD, 16mm direct & archival | 2014 | 04min50sec
Love for the cinema, love for others.
Jean Seberg: was an American Actress who starred in the 1960 movie Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Goddard. Pronounced use of the jump cut is utilized in a scene where the camera focuses on the back of Seberg's neck as she travels by car through the streets of Paris. Sherwood Forest: is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. It is famous for its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Gene Kelly: was an American dancer, actor, singer and choreographer who starred in the 1952 movie, "Sing in the Rain". In the movie, one of the most popular dance scenes ever brought to film focuses on Gene Kelly as he dances alone down the street in the pouring rain proclaiming his love after a kiss goodnight. The Tramp: was actor Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character. In the 1931 movie, City Lights, The Tramp falls in love with a Flower Girl after discovering she is blind when she cannot find a dropped flower. Bonnie Parker: was an American outlaw who traveled the country with Clyde Barrow robbing banks, small stores and gas stations during the Great Depression. The story of Bonnie and Clyde was brought to film in 1967. The film's iconic ending depicts the couple being gunned down in slow motion. An Affair to Remember: is a 1957 film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr and is considered one of the most romantic of all time. From Here to Eternity: is a 1953 drama film starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. The film won eight Academy Awards out of 13 nominations, including Best Picture. The movie is famous for its romantic beach scene between these two actors whose embrace in the crashing Hawaiian waves was considered illicit for the times.
prelude & song for THE PAIN-BODY (clip) | DV | 2014 | 2:30 of 6:10 min
The term “pain-body” was introduced by philosopher and author Eckhart Tolle in his book A New Earth. The Pain-body is the collective manifestation of all the pain, misery, and sorrow a person has ever experienced in their life. This lingering energy field of pain can be triggered when we encounter fear, anger, and anxiety in our daily lives. The truly tragic state of David Banner is his high, almost enlightened level of self-awareness but his inability to subvert the outcomes of his pain-body.
Video, Music & Text: written, recorded, edited & performed by Tommy Becker • 2014 • Vocals, guitar, synths, drum programming by Tommy Becker • Prelude piano sample from "The Lonely Man Theme" by Joe Harnell • Prelude voice over by Gloria Rios • Additional backing vocal by Derric Oliver • Appropriated footage from The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV series) • Found footage from the Prelinger Archive • A huge thanks to participating students: Oscar, Jake, Hugo, Sean, Marlon, Veronica, Daniella, Asha, Miguel, Rae, Josh & Others!!
Prelude & Song for KOKO | DV | 2015 | 02:30 & 04:00 mins
Video & Music & Text: written, recorded, edited, and performed by ©TommyBecker, 2015 / Voice over work on prelude by Gloria Rios
An elephant escapes from the circus and begins a rampage down a city street. His trunk tosses aside everything in his path. We cheer for him. Why? A man sits on an alligator and attempts to tie his mouth shut. The alligator contorts his body, throwing the man off before turning to bite. We are unsympathetic. Why? A life force is being held against its will or once again running wild through the streets. The moment the lion lunges at the tamer we understand his motives. We relate viscerally to his oppression as we connect to the soul of its being.
Presentations: San Francisco Cinematheque’s Crossroads Film Festival SF, CA; Antimatter, Victoria, BC; Milwaukee Underground FF, Milwaukee, WI; “Curious Poses” at Southern Exposure, SF, CA; Experiments in Cinema, Albuquerque, NM; Regional Support Network, Toronto, Canada; Open City Cinema, Winnipeg, Canada; Northampton Film Festival, MA; Out of Focus Video Festival, Oakland, CA. Shapeshifters Cinema, Oakland, CA, Other Cinema, Optronica, SF CA
prelude & song for the LEMONS (clip) | DV | 2013 | 01:30 & 05:30 mins
The lemon, often utilized by famed still-life painters was rarely the focus of a composition. More typically, it was being abused for its compositional qualities. Its ovoid form of highly saturated yellow was used to balance the more dominant piling of apples, oranges and pears. The lemon, I felt, never got its day in the sun. This video is a visual lesson plan and my tribute to the lemon.
Video, Music & Text: written, recorded, edited and performed by Tommy Becker 2013. Vocals, synths & drum programming by Tommy Becker. Special thanks to Daniel, Austin, Chris, Camille, Jaime, Gustavo, Miguel, Tayanna, Nic, Ramon, Julia, Zane & Dante and everyone in my Art 9 class for their fervent chanting!
OUR AQUARIUM | DV | 2016 | 07:00 mins
We know the importance of our physical body to our being, but there are also those invisible, external elements that sustain life that we know nothing about and others that we recognize, but are in the process of destroying. Symbiosis is the mutually advantageous relationship between two organisms that live in close association with one another.
Video, Music & Text: written, recorded, edited and performed by Tommy Becker 2016.
prelude & song for AWE & DREAD | DV | 2015 | 02:40min & 7 min
Song for Awe & Dread is a contemporary take on the vanitas paintings of the 17th century and an investigation into the emotional duality of our existence. It is AWEsome to be human and to be alive, but the evolution of human intelligence has also burdened our species with a self-awareness of life’s impermanence. The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard called these two uniquely human emotions, awe, and dread. Through its symbolic meditation on mortality, this work attempts to find meaning between the fleeting flavors of bubblegum and cultural programming that entrenches us in our denial of death.
Video & Music & Text: written, recorded, edited & performed by Tommy Becker 2015. Instructional poetry read by - Don Johnson. Skeleton performances by Billy Mark. Backing vocals by Rosie Harald. Bubble gum chanting & sticking by Gateway High School students, THANK YOU!! public domain footage from the Prelinger Archives.
Presentations: San Francisco Cinematheque's Crossroads FF; Experiments in Cinema v11.4, Albuquerque, NM; Athens International Film and Video Festival, Athens, Ohio; Montreal Underground FF, Montreal Canada; Other Cinema's Optronica, SF, CA; Visible Verse FF, Vancouver, Canada; Cyclop Video Poetry Festival, Kiev, Ukraine