Synopsis: The King of Merriment is a film that explores the happiness and beauty of Coney Island and its regular visitors in full winter charm - mashed up and juxtaposed with archival footage from Coney in its heyday of the 1940s and 50s.
Why did I spend my winter on a snowy beach?
Initially, I wanted this piece to be more than just cool shots slapped against a commercial music track. I wanted the cool shots, but to have them relate and interact with imagery that was shot a long time ago. I think that this relationship and dynamic are interesting - the stark contrast between the vacantness of a summer hotspot in the winter, and the bustling days of old Coney in the summer. Putting these side by side, and intermixing these scenes enables the viewer to extract more feeling about the environments, notice more, and have a greater understanding of the mood. This helped me evoke emotion, but I wanted to tell more because I believe art is emotion, that it should trigger emotion, it should mean something. Coney Island means so much to its regular visitors. They are dreamers perhaps. They will go there no matter what season or temperature or condition - it makes them feel at peace, at ease, it makes them feel happy. There is no other happier place. I wanted to communicate this through the beauty of the scenery, and further the appreciation for those who would have never thought to go to Coney Island in the winter.
Initially, I wanted this piece to be more than just cool shots slapped against a commercial music track. I wanted the cool shots, but to have them relate and interact with imagery that was shot a long time ago. I think that this relationship and dynamic are interesting - the stark contrast between the vacantness of a summer hotspot in the winter, and the bustling days of old Coney in the summer. Putting these side by side, and intermixing these scenes enables the viewer to extract more feeling about the environments, notice more, and have a greater understanding of the mood. This helped me evoke emotion, but I wanted to tell more because I believe art is emotion, that it should trigger emotion, it should mean something. Coney Island means so much to its regular visitors. They are dreamers perhaps. They will go there no matter what season or temperature or condition - it makes them feel at peace, at ease, it makes them feel happy. There is no other happier place. I wanted to communicate this through the beauty of the scenery, and further the appreciation for those who would have never thought to go to Coney Island in the winter.
