We Made Our Own Disaster
a study of fascism in late 20th Century Democracies
- Format
- Feature-length video / 66 minutes / Dolby 5.1 / stereo
- Label
- Optronica / PIAS / NESTA / BFI
- Artist
- Robin Mahoney & Si Begg
Promo. The full 66-minute film is available for screenings and festival programmes on request.
On Demand TV Killed The Video Star
We Made Our Own Disaster is the debut audiovisual album from film-maker Robin Mahoney (Glastonbury The Movie, Ho-Fun, Sus) and electronic producer and DJ Si Begg. Sixty-six minutes of electronica, retro video cut-up and observational film-making.
It was made as music and image were moving closer together. Electronic artists were releasing albums on DVD and turning live shows into multimedia events. Long-time Noodles Foundation collaborators, Mahoney and Begg set out to make a record you watch as well as hear. It was researched and assembled for The Noodles Foundation. Full biographies and references available on request.
The material is footage that nobody valued: NASA film, training films, public information films, test commercials, corporate reels, 1950s military films and features long out of print. The images run from 1930s nitrate to 1990s video. Every frame was cleared or out of copyright.
Picture and sound were made together, passed back and forth between Mahoney and Begg until each sequence held. Begg’s score moves through glitch, breakbeat and warped ambience, in full 5.1 surround and stereo. The tone is humorous and eclectic, and the footage makes its own case about media, power and democracy. Mahoney has described the work as television dying, with its whole life flashing before its eyes.
The album was commissioned by Addictive TV, the London audiovisual artists who coined the name Optronica for this kind of work and staged two sell-out Optronica festivals at BFI Southbank and the London IMAX. It was executive produced by Nick Clarke, with support from NESTA and the BFI, and first released on DVD in 2010 on the Optronica label through PIAS UK.
Full biographies and references Listen to the audio-only remixes on Bandcamp
“Like an Adam Curtis documentary remixed by Llamasoft.”
DVD Times
“Robin Mahoney and Si Begg transcend bedroom-remix standards… a mesmerising end product.”
Joel McIver, DVD & Blu-ray Review ★★★★
“A revealing document.”
Groove, Germany
“Visually… at times stunning and gripping.”
Subba Culture
“A notch above many of the video mixtapes now abundant online.”
Skynoise, Australia
“The music is pretty much spot on throughout.”
Drew Bass, Total Music
“Movie is unbelievable and music is killa man.”
Freddy Fresh
| Created by | Robin Mahoney and Si Begg |
|---|---|
| Picture and edit | Robin Mahoney |
| Music and sound | Si Begg |
| Executive producer | Nick Clarke, Addictive TV |
| Label | Optronica |
| Distribution | PIAS UK |
| Supported by | NESTA |
| Sound | Dolby 5.1 and stereo |
| Running time | 66 minutes |
| Certificate | E (exempt) |
| Released | 2010 |
| UK premiere | East End Film Festival, London, 2010 |
| Available formats | DVD, Blu-ray, MP4, 2K DCP and broadcast MXF |
NASA footage, training films, public information films, test commercials, corporate and industrial films.
