Decasia is a 2002 found footage film by Bill Morrison excerpt 1 and 2

Descasia (2002) is found footage film by Bill Morrison. The soundtrack is created by Micheal Gordon.

The film has a number of found film stock and photographic prints that has decayed or discolored from natural causes. It has been enhanced during the production by the use of video editing on computers to create more abstract imagery.

The musical soundtrack of the film has several de tuned pianos and an orchestra that is featured in the film. Soundtrack is playing through out adding a fractured and decomposing soundtrack to the film.

Ramsgate Location Shoot

Saturday 7th November 2009

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Points to continue with my research.

Items that need to be researched after both location photography shoots.

Research based

• Organise a focus group have set questions about different items about local urban decay such as locations, causes, movement and future.
• Activate a online survey on the blog and ask surfers opinions on urban decay.
• Research locally about public planning for building new construction ‘West wood Cross” and deconstruction ‘Margate Sea Front”.
• Gather photographs of the local from 50 years ago such as plans and other buildings that have disappeared.

Practical Research Methods

• Set a experiment with several items of materials and assess how long it will take to decay. (1-2 weeks test time)
• Have a camera set up for a time lapse experiment how item decay in the open elements natural vs man made.

Margate Location Shoot

Tuesday 27th October 2009

Margate a Thanet was seen as the perfect seaside retreat for many families over the years, but the seaside has been in terminal decline since the late 1980s-early 1990s.

In its heyday, Margate – which sits on the north-east Kent coast – and its Grade II listed roller coaster attracted tens of thousands of day-trippers each year from Kent and London. Tourists came for old-fashioned seaside amusements, donkey rides on the beach and Punch and Judy shows on the sweeping promenade.

But by the mid-1990s, because of  better accessibility to the Continent and budget holiday packages resulted in a tourist exodus. Today, Margate is a shadow of its former self since it hey days of the earlier 20th century. But because of this exodus of the tourist trade Margate has seen of unemployment and crime levels spiraling above average national levels and this has brought huge social deprivation to some parts of the local community.

The local authorities Thanet District Council and Kent County Council hope that the opening of the gallery Turner Contemporary – named after the Romantic landscape painter Joseph M. W. Turner, who at one time lived in Margate and who painted along Thanet Coast line. Because of this the coucils hope that this will some how revive the town’s fortunes of previous times.  The gallery hopes to exhibit work from a range of local and international artists, which they hope will transform Margate into a creative vibrate community.

Margate’s Scenic Railway Britain’s oldest roller coaster went up in smoke in April, 2008 due to controversial circumstances, because of this many felt the regeneration hopes went up in smoke as well. But several Margate groups has also made a funding bids under the Sea Change Programme, a Government grant to fund regeneration, to  create a new historical theme park on the former site of the Dreamland amusement park.
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How the recession turned Margate into a ghost town

Go Margate Go

A video my friend uploaded 2 years ago on You Tube. The video is first 1 minute of a promotional film made in 1970 about my home town of Margate. How things change.

2 million visitors in 1970, the town is economically run donw now and has one of the highest rates of unemployment, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse in the country.