In his first year at Indie Grits, Benjamin Moore, known in the artistic realm as Fart.pdf, gave his creative insight to two featured projects. First, as an art director, he brought nostalgic elements to "The Checkout Line," a teen romance film with a very specific aesthetic.
“They were going for a very nostalgic but timeless movie ... and a very color-oriented movie," Moore said.
This is Moore's first time working in this position. He described his meeting with Ethan Hanson, director of "The Checkout Line," as a chance encounter, and his relatively novice position made it an easier job to do.
"I'm not nervous about presenting it. I know my role in it, I know what we're after," Moore said. "I'm really happy to see it in the film festival."
Aside from working with color and sentimentality to bring the love story of "The Checkout Line" to life, Moore also worked on his own project as a member of the fellowship at Indie Grits Labs. The theme for this year was "Tale of Two Cities," focused on highlighting the contrasts between Main Street and North Main Street, Columbia. The art show features people from all backgrounds working in their choice of media. Moore chose to create a short film, look book and an installation. He focused on the real lives of the people, including audio recordings of voices and the installation setup of a living room, allowing viewers to experience life through another person’s eyes.
“I think this is a great time, a great way, to alter the perception that people may have of this area ... It’s important to make projects that you can give back to the people that are involved,” he said.
Moore’s short film also focuses on the everyday lives of people. It depicts his process of gathering information for his project and interacting with his subjects, getting to know the area and people as best he could.
“It’s very hard to get photos in this area, so if you get a photo that means that you’re really connecting with someone on a level where they trust you,” he said.
Because of the challenge to snap photos, Moore chose to focus more on audio, gathering recordings of voices within the community to tell a story.
“I found that audio helped paint a picture better than photos that I would’ve been able to get," he said.
Moore thinks it would be useful to show the audio and visual pieces separately, though they will be shown together at Indie Grits. He hopes to emphasize the audio recordings more in the future.
“The audio will put you in a place and then the visuals will kind of guide you, but I was curious to see people’s reaction [separately],” he said.
Both of Moore’s pieces will be available to view at Indie Grits, along with work from other filmmakers and fellowship members.
“I feel like this year has a different kind of presence than last year ... I’m just excited to experience it just like everyone else," Moore said.