The history of motion pictures is, in many ways, the history of technological innovation. As science and industry progress toward ever-greater heights in their ceaseless quest for a better tomorrow, miraculous new devices become available to filmmakers, who are able to present their audiences with visions that would have been impossible, even unthinkable, in the past. When the engineers at Toyota added a backup camera to the Prius, they were probably thinking, “This will help people avoid accidents while driving in reverse, probably while backing out of driveways or parking spaces.” They probably weren’t considering the creative possibilities of the technology. But that is where art and creativity enter the picture. A Los Angeles sketch comedy troupe called Mommy certainly gets the most of its backup camera in an intriguing new mockumentary posted to YouTube.
The six-and-a-half-minute video purports to document the chaotic making of a fictional film called Check Your Surroundings For Safety, supposedly the first full-length feature ever shot entirely out the back window of an energy-efficient Toyota Prius. The ludicrous producer (Paul Brooks) is completely convinced that this represents a breakthrough in cinema history, no matter how impractical it may seem: “Alfred Hitchcock. Stanley Kubrick. Orson Welles. None of these guys has even thought about shooting a film on a Prius backup camera.” This movie’s director, the wildly enthusiastic Mateo St. Portugal (Andrew Heder), is utterly sold on the concept as well. The cast and crew, however, have some qualms. The lead actor (Amy Bury) is in constant danger of being run over. The screenwriter (Ryan Kelly) is miffed that his dialogue is being lost in the shuffle. And the cinematographer (Greg Santos) is constantly falling asleep at the wheel while eating donuts. But these are the hazards one faces when blazing new trails in entertainment history.
[via Laughing Squid]