Ronni Thomas - Midnight Archive

 



Egzotično, čudno, tajanstveno, ekscentrično i posebno!! Bolje od pizze i nogometa!
Izvrsni kratki video-dokumentarci o mumijama kućnih ljubimaca, taksidermiji, kolekciji muzičkih automata, kirurgu koji je transplantirao glave, carstvu smrti, ginjolima i stravi, radovima u vosku, ouija pločama, opskurnosti, okultizmu i umjetnosti itd.

 
www.themidnightarchive.com/

Teaser

Episode 1 - Modern Day Mummies - - Thank you for coming to check out the first of many episodes of The Midnight Archive. This week - meet The Sorceress Cagliastro. When Joanna (Brooklyn Observatory, Morbid Anatomy Library) informed me that The Observatory was giving Mummification lessons, i knew right away that the instructor had to be the first segment of this series. Me and my crew arrived at her temporary 'laboratory' in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (a neighborhood i am very familiar with) and we were greeted by a menagerie of her canine followers. After sharing a glass of a mutual favorite spirit (green chartreuse) we got into what it takes to make a mummy. As charming as she is intelligent, meet The Sorceress and of course for more information on her and her work which goes far beyond mummifying pets please visit www.sorceresscagliastro.com or email her at cagliastro@sorceresscagliastro.com.

Executive Producer: Ian Karr - Producer Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography: Robbie Renfrow - B-roll and Sound: Jay Bones - Music: Gerardo Giraldo - Title Theme: Stephen Coates (The Real Tuesday Weld) - Title Graphics: Matt McCleod - Directed and Edited by Ronni Thomas

EPISODE 02 : Occult NY Part 1 -- The master or all things intriguing, Mitch Horowitz, takes us on a virtual tour of a city not very often associated with the Occult historically; my home town, New York City. Mitch is, among many other fantastic things, the author of Occult America (which can and should be purchaseD HERE) -- In this - part 1 of the tour - we learn about our old time New York pals talking to spirits, channeling the dead and getting in touch with our ascended masters. If you are in NYC Mitchey-boy gives a fabulous live walking tour through The Brooklyn Observatory (hosted by the fabulous Pam Grossman ofphantasmaphile.com). Its worth the schlep... this is just a little taste. Later in the series Mitch is going to take us to Grand Central Station, The Fred F. French Building and the most significant place in new york's occult history - "The Lamasery" --- For more on Mr. Horowitz please visit his website at www.mitchhorowitz.com . Executive Producer: Ian Karr - Producer Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography: Robbie Renfrow - B-roll and Sound: Jay Bones - Music: Gerardo Giraldo - Title Theme: Stephen Coates (The Real Tuesday Weld) - Title Graphics: Matt McCleod - Directed and Edited by Ronni Thomas

EPISODE 03 : Anthropomorphic Taxidermy -- This episode brings us the cutest little thing ever to rip the guts out of a dead cadaver. I was very grateful when Sue Jeiven, a tattoo artist of East River Tattoo in brooklyn agreed to let me film her to chat about turning mice into little men. Here we discuss the history and process and facination behind a very old and very odd artform; anthropomorphic Taxidermy. As sue will explain, its the process of taking an animal's skin, preparing it, and putting it in a human-like setting. It sounds much more charming coming from sue. So have a look and if you are interested, she is planning a book on taxidermy in addition to occasionally teaching students how to 'DIY' their own little mouse or squirrel. Check in at the Brooklyn Observatory in hopes she adds another class in the future!

Executive Producer: Ian Karr - Producer Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography: Robbie Renfrow - B-roll and Sound: Jay Bones - Music: Gerardo Giraldo - Title Theme: Stephen Coates (The Real Tuesday Weld) - Title Graphics: Matt McCleod - Directed and Edited by Ronni Thomas

EPISODE 04 : The Automata And Automatic Music -- Tucked away, in a quiet and pleasant suberb of New Jersey, there exists one of the most fascinating collections of artistic engineering ever collected. The collection belonged to Murtogh Guiness, of the Guiness Brewering company. Its contents are, what i can only desrcibe as the early days of robotics, engineered for our ancestor's entertainment. Dolls that perform incredible tasks, full orchestras in the middle of your parlor, and my favorite of course, a banjo that plays itself. The collection is maintaned and managed by Jere Ryder who began his interest at a very early age. He is now entrusted to the collection at the Morris Museum located in Morristown New Jersey. Keep your eyes on The Brooklyn Observatory as they occasionally take a field trip out. The museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road Morristown, NJ And well worth the trip if you are nearby - Jere is not only very knowlageable on the subject but also a fantastic tour guide... thanks a ton, mr. ryder, we'll see you soon no doubt!
Executive Producer: Ian Karr - Producer Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography: Robbie Renfrow - B-roll and Sound: Jay Bones - Music: Gerardo Giraldo - Title Theme: Stephen Coates (The Real Tuesday Weld) - Title Graphics: Matt McCleod - Directed and Edited by Ronni Thomas

EPISODE 05 : SPECIAL FILM - A. HEAD B. BODY -- This week we have a very special film presentation. Directed by my good friend Jim Fields (End of the Century, Time Online) - The film is about the late Dr. White, a neurosurgeon... who did a head transplant. Yes. Took the head of an ape, cut it off, and stitched it onto the body of another ape. Successfully. And its all here... All the gory details. The film was actually produced a few years back. But due to the extreme nature of some of the visuals (though i am not sure what the big deal is) it didn't get much exposure at first. But the brave have certainly made it something of a docu-cult classic. We are honored to be able to have it as a special entry in the Midnight Archive. Jim can be found twiddling his thumbs at the Time Magazine offices weekly and drinking heavily after hours. For more on his work visit jimfields.tv - oh and I did some of the music in the piece... so little talent... so much time... wait a minute - scratch that... reverse!
A FILM BY JIM FIELDS - Presented by The Midnight Archive
 

  EPISODE 06 : The Empire Of Death - Art In Human Bone -- The episode introduces us to Paul Koudounaris who traveled the world in search of ossuaries and charnel houses. He managed to find more than 70 of these wonderfully elaborate houses of death and photographed them for his book The Empire Of Death. Its a travelogue for the macabre and the curious - but - as a catholic with a great aapreciation for the veneration of the dead - i think its much more than that as Paul will explain. His book in not to be missed - it contains not only some of the most striking visuals, in some cases NEVER photographed, but contains some very interesting and in alot of cases hilarious anecdotes. A few of those anecdotes will be available on our facebook page this month as bonus material. For more information on Paul's travels or to purchase his book - visit - EMPIRE DE LA MORT, Paul's personal website.
Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Jessica Gallant - Graphics - Jay Bones
 

  EPISODE 07 : the Grand Guignol - Theater of Terror -- I have to admit - before i began this whole thing - i had no idea what the Grand Guignol theater was... I was raised on a magnificent diet of blood and gore as a kid. (For Christ's sake - i gave up my career as an adjunct professor to work for less than minimum wage at Troma films...) But - as always - the unsung bastard of this artform was a sleazy theatre in paris where eyes were gouged out - faces were burnt off - and torturous agony was displayed before some of the wealthiest and most affluent aristocrats while visiting the fabulous city of blights... (lights). In this episode - Mel Gordon - the man who LITERALLY wrote the book on the Grand Guignol gives us a brief explanation of what it was and what it meant to society, the world and all those other things i could care less about... I knew nothing about the theater before i started this as i've stated - and i've learned about 3 minutes more than that as i hope you will... enjoy... and please consider chopping up your neighbor as a fun tribute.
Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Anthony Moran - Music - Stephen Coates
 

  EPISODE 08 : Occult NYC part 2 -- We return to NYC as Mitch Horowitz, Author of Occult America, takes us to some of the more mysterious places in this fine city. We'll learn about Madame Blavatsky's midtown occult salon, get some insight into Grand Central's mystic design, and in my case at least - become acquainted with the occult stylings of Fred F. French. Make sure to keep aware of Mitch's walking tour which is hosted by The Brooklyn Observatory and Pam Grossman. and don't forget to pick up Mitch's book at amazon.com. Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography
- Robbie Renfrow - Music - Gerardo Giraldo 

EPISODE 09 : WAX -- A long standing obsession of mine has always been wax... I am honored to have someone I genuinely consider a true artist as part of our series - Ms. Sigrid Sarda. From our first meeting i knew we'd have a ton of things to talk about. The charmingly perverse Sarda has taught herself the ancient art of sculpting in wax and it is every bit as creepy and interesting as you might expect. Her home (where we shot the episode - is LITTERED with her creations. Its a scene out of one of my all time favorite films "Tourist Trap' minus a creepy cross dressing Chuck Connors. Take a look at the art behind the wax. Its truly a fascinating medium. And Sig is truly a fascinating artist. Stay tuned as she is working on a maze called Welcome To Hegemony which is sort of a super speed 'haunted' maze which will feature many of her wax friends - HOPEFULLY including the wax figure she is making of yours truly! Enjoy!

Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale - Music - Stephen Coates
 

  EPISODE 10 : 3D Victorian Horror -- This episode brings this whole series and experience full circle. In alot of ways, the topic here - 'death and devil's in 3d' is what brought me to this even bigger world. a few years back, i'd given my first 'lecture' at the Brooklyn Observatory at the request of my friend Joanna. Assuming nobody would show up, i agreed and was promptly shocked and inspired by just how amazing the turnout had been. All to see my collection of 19th century 3d devil tissues... and more than that - the crowd was a delightful mixed bag. From MENSA to Princeton to the street punks and dregs, from the curious to the satanic... Truly inspiring. And so here is my own entry into the archive - please be kind - i hate being on camera - but - what the "hell"... I'm particularlly proud of the way we treated the slides. The idea was to give more of the 3d/color effect to the diableries than simple scans would give you. My ultimate dream is to film the entire series in 3d and set it to music (wink wink at the Real Tuesday Weld) - kept it breif and informal - i am aware of a very comprehensive book currently in the works on the series being done in part by Brian May (Queen's Guitar player and avid stereoscopic fan) so keep your eyes opened! enjoy - also - I've somehow messed up my facebook admin status so if anyone out there can help - please hit me up!! Thank you all!!
Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale - Visual Effects - Martin Murphy
Music - Stephen Coates

  EPISODE 11 : Ouija: The Talking Board -- And we're back - with the fascinating Mitch Horowitz (see Occult Ny Parts 1 and 2) and the incredible history of The Ouija Board. Learn about its early roots as a sort of 'telegraph' to the other side - to its evolution into the board game to outsell Monopoly. Get a haunting glimpse into some of the celbrities who used the board and learn about its ominous warning to poet Syliva Plath. Its more than just a toy and a Morrissey song. So enjoy this latest installment and make sure to 'like' us on Facebook. Also for a more detailed history make sure to check out Mitch's book Occult America (which can and should be purchased HERE)
Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale
Music - Stephen Coates

EPISODE 12 : Old Machines - the Tim Mullen Collection -- This episode takes a look at the collection of NYC's Tim Mullen, an engineer with a soft spot for Antique Machinery... His amazing apartment is LITTERED with Machines from before the turn of the century and onwards. The scope of it was pretty hard to capture on film but i hope we did a good job of it. X-Ray Machines, Vicotrian hospital devices, Old TVs and Radios, and my favorite - a funeral fan (complete with burning jesus lighting) are just a few of the many amazing items in this electirfying collection. Tim is always on the lookout for 'new' old stuff so if you have anything in your basement - drop him a line!
Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale
Music - Stephen Coates
 

EPISODE 13 : Morbid Anatomy - Of Death And Beauty -- It is an honor to present in this episode my friend and a huge inspiration to me - Joanna Ebenstein whose Morbid Anatomy blog (morbidanatomy.blogspot.com) is sort of the online Bible of the macabre and the sublime (making Mademoiselle Ebenstein - as i call her - the Patron Saint of Odd). Here she discusses the thinking behind her research, her views on death and beauty and the institution she has created. If you are not already a huge fan - make sure to visit morbidanatomy.blogspot.com AND check out more amazing photography from our girl at astropop.com/secretmuseum and astropop.com/anatomical
Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale
Music - Stephen Coates

ISODE 14 : Dealing In Obscurity -- It is a pleasure to have Evan Michelson, owner of the NYC epicenter of the odd 'Obscura' and star of Science Channel's 'Oddities' as a guest on our series. In what is certainly our most abstract and experimental episode, she quite eloquently puts into words why some of us are so drawn to certain objects, the dark, and the disturbing. Her house is, as she puts it, a literal library of the strange and esoteric. Each artifact houses a special story and emotion for its possessor. So enjoy a very psychedelic and surreal episode of the series and please make sure to like our facebook page at http://facebook.com/themidnightarchive for random tidbits of macabre history and events around the world! And be sure if in NYC or visiting to check our Obscura Antiques on the Lower East side - you will not be disapointed!

Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale
Music - Stephen Coates

EPISODE 15 : Art And The Occult -- the very venerable Pam Grossman (phantasmaphile.com) shares her views on the 'Magic of Art'. A noted voice in the world of the esoteric and the art scene, you'll learn about her very unique and compelling perspective on how there is a magical transference when viewing particualr works of art. For more information and far more images, visit www.phantasmaphile.com and if you are in Brooklyn, check out her events at The Brooklyn Observatory

Created By - Ronni Thomas - Exec. Producer - Ian Karr - Producer - Joanna Ebenstein - Cinematography - Robert Carnevale
Music - Stephen Coates



The Midnight Archive is a new web series which aims to document the exotic, the strange, the eccentric and the truly unique. Often dark and always on the fringe, the series puts an honest look into some of the most fascinating people, places and artifacts that many people are wildly unfamiliar with. From a woman who mummifies pets to the largest collection of automata, the idea is for the subject matter to tell its own story and give the viewer just a taste of something 'unusual'. No dramatic stings, no editorial drama - just the facts.

The series' creator was inspired by an institution in his hometown called The Brooklyn Observatory. In 2010 he was asked to lecture there on his collection of mid-19th century 3D Demonic Stereo-Tissues and was amazed at both the variety and the number of people that came to the event. Talking to Joanna Ebenstein - one of the proprietors of the space and creator of the Morbid Anatomy Library (morbidanatomy.blogspot.com), it seemed that there was a growing interest in the esoteric. So after much back and forth - they decide to undertake filming short pieces using the Observatory as their home-base.
The series was created by Ronni Thomas a Brooklyn NY Native who has had a longtime fascination with the bizarre and the unknown. His films have shown round the world and he has written for numerous film and arts magazines (occasionally under the silly post-punk nickname Ronni Raygun). The Midnight Archive is the first series to be produced by a new online 'network' hellobox.tv.