The Thing That Happened

Details

Location

Antrim

Year

2020

Date

Length

02min 42sec

Audio

sound

Format

Digital

colour

Source

Mark McKeown

Courtesy

Mark McKeown

Rights Holder

Mark McKeown

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

The Thing That Happened is a mixed-media digital science fiction short that blends documentary-style interviews with surreal animation to create a playful yet unsettling exploration of memory and time. Directed by Mark McKeown and produced during the COVID-19 lockdown, the film captures an offbeat interview with Terry Blender, frontman of the cult punk band Snide Effects, and the Professor, played by Jonny Porter.
The film bends the lines between reality and fiction as Terry recalls a strange, possibly fabricated event when “time went wonky.” What begins as a nostalgic reflection on the anarchic early days of punk spirals into a chaotic tale involving time loops, mobile phones, internet satellites, and the enigmatic Time Wave Collider. Terry’s story invites the audience to question whether his story is a metaphorical expression of cultural disillusionment or something far stranger.

Kinetic animations accompany Terry’s narration, giving form to his fractured memories and blurring the boundary between his inner world and the film’s visual reality. A pulsing soundtrack, blending punk and industrial music composed by Neil Burns, heightens the film’s frenetic energy, amplifying its disorienting journey through time and consciousness.

The Thing That Happened explores how subcultures like punk not only challenge societal norms but also mythologise themselves, distorting their own histories. The film reflects on nostalgia, the unreliability of memory, and the strange comfort of embracing chaos in uncertain times.

Credits

Story & Images Montage - Mark McKeown

Music & Sound Design - Neil Burns

The "Professor" - Jonny Porter

theeHyperstation 2020 

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