FROM THE ARCHIVES EDITING WITH RYAN MCGINLEY

Ryan McGinley was commissioned by ACNE Studios, to making something for their underwear range. He was in the midst of his Yearbook project and brought that proces along. One day, kinda outta the blue, he dropped off a hard drive full of footage to see what we might make out of it. I started putting music on selects, but it all felt a bit “on the nose.” I was thinking of recording dialogue, using old sound clips from interviews or going out onto the street and eavesdropping on other people’s conversations. Back then there were seemingly more blogs and more accessible, odd places around the internet where people were just posting odd knickknacks online. I found this one archivist who collected old voicemail audio cassette tapes he found in boxes at the Goodwill and at other second-hand stores. He had this whole archive of recordings he’d digitized. I reached out to him and he gave me the green light to use whatever I wanted.

Ryan loved the idea. Presenting to ACNE was a little different though. Initially they were worried that the comedy might not travel. Apparently they saw the light.

Still one of my favorite projects. Especially since it was so unexpected in every way.