Security Camera.

Latest visit

It’s been an ongoing thing with this security camera housed in an undisclosed bar 30 Kilometers south of Los Angeles. Ever since my cousin and I discovered it back in 2007 I have always visited its possibilities. Security cameras have a distinct language when plugged into a context of observation. I could just sit and stare at security footage for hours, imagining the strangest things arise and disappear. Anonymous, very anonymous. Sometimes when I go to a grocery store or one of those big wholesale mega stores, I imagine what the mundane looks like through the cameras hanging above – and wonder what it would look like had a horse walked by the dairy section. Or take an airport environ; the endless potential. Anything, and everything is possible when it comes to security cameras. Some find them threatening, and rightfully so – I suppose. Yes, they come off as creepy floating orbs potentially turning a world view into a dark offensive theory. Yet, why look at it like that?
Using security camera footage as a comedic canvass isn’t anything new or cutting edge. Guy Ritchie and Tim Maurice-Jones decided to run the Rabbi introduction in SNATCH through the eyes of the security camera, a decision that left a deep mark in its potential. I think the guys at Jackass used it to screen a person dressed in a panda costume existing in a normal mundane environment, waiting in line. It makes the random so acceptable.
This past summer a mob of us took the streets and had a San Clemente freak out. Once we came into the undisclosed bar my cousin and I brought up the security camera gag. Like wildfire the rest of the crew wanted in. While staging the photos someone took offense to what we were up to (I admit its bizarre behavior) – at one point he wanted to take a swing at me; I was not explaining a damn thing to the drunk bastard. I mean, it’s a pretty elaborate process, especially when the bar is packed – which gives the overall effect more juice. I can only imagine what someone would be thinking: freaks running in and out from the bar, laughing and pushing people out-of-the-way. Yet, once key people with a healthy sense of humor catch on, you should see the amazement on their faces. We’re turning an offense into a laugh. Nothing new, just keeping the torch of comedy burning even in a small unassuming bar.

Here are a couple of examples of that specific security camera. I wish I could tell you the name of the bar, but, I’d like to keep it a secret.

This is where the camera is located behind the bar

People started to wonder what we were up to

This was taken while a drunken bar goer began heckling me about our behavior. I think he just wanted to be part of the fun and couldn’t understand it at the same time.

This was a recent visit

Latest visit

Here is a film I shot in the SECURITY CAMERA vernacular while waiting for my flight in Amsterdam (Schipol International Airport: 3am)

http://player.vimeo.com/video/15188693?color=ff0179