[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 21:27:17 03/15/08
Noises and Faces is not deceptively simple in its title – it is, in fact, a piece centering on one man making faces, and making noises to go along with them. Filmmaker Keith Tassick simply videotaped a friend (Doug Staas) with nearly cartoonish facial features making a series of funny facial expressions. Staas then dubbed in equally funny noises to match the faces.
Taped in black and white with Staas against a black background, the piece is simple and focused. The faces start out defined and often elongated; as the piece progresses, they become quicker and more punctuated, and the editing does likewise. At a critical point, the noises become a human beatbox sequence, and the cuts become a rapidfire, music video-style montage. After a bit of rhythmic pulsing, the sound effects die down; the face that closes the piece betrays a bit of fatigue in the actor – and it's no wonder.