In a flash of brilliance, Ray Burns (Justin King) produces a masterpiece of modern North American photography, Still from Blazer #715. Award-winning short film inspired by true event leaves viewers in awe.
Release Date: March 23, 2023
Hardcover / 516 pages / 14 x 10 inches
801 Photographs
Blazer, a film almost entirely of still photography, is a fictional retelling of how one of the most amazing pictures came to be.
Told through fictional prose and 801 chronophotographic pictures, in a flash of brilliance, Ray Burns creates the greatest photograph of all time, inspired by a true event.
Blazer has two adaptations: immersive gallery installation and short film with original score. The book can be thought of as a companion piece to the short film.
Special collector’s edition of the book is limited to 50 signed and numbered hardcover copies.
“Just this week, we have read the news about three ‘wrong address’ shootings across the country. We live through a regular drumbeat of mass shootings and mourn the lives of too many people lost to gun violence.
I responded to the work titled “Blazer.” Inspired by a true event, the work recreates and reframes a similar event and presents it as film stills. The production level, the lighting, and the casting all lend to this gruesome event a certain polish and gloss, enticing us to linger and to look for a little longer.
These images not only prompt us to think on current events but also draw attention to the struggles our nation faces.”
Ciné-roman in the form of a short film, art installation, and book.
In his latest release, led by actor Justin King, Rocky and a cast of six actors shot more than 12,000 large-format images to complete his ciné-roman entitled Blazer.
Release date: March 23, 2023 (Blazer ciné-roman book version)
Running time: 801 still photographs
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Presentation
Country: United States
Language: English
100MP Ultra High Definition
Music by Tristan de Liège & Ben Hill
Rated R
English Subtitles
English Audio Descriptions
Written and directed by Rocky
Pictures by Rocky
Cinematography by Rocky
Colorist ... Rocky
Film editing by Bryan Hewitt
Book design by Rocky
Memoji design by Rodrigo Varejão
Typefaces by Atipo Foundry
Original score by Tristan de Liège & Ben Hill
Sound design/mix by Tristan de Liège & Ben Hill
Additional sound design by Tristan de Liège & Ben Hill
Principal Cast
Ray Burns … Justin King
Gérard Majax … Raul Delarosa
Aileen Bowlin … Fechi Nkwocha
Vincent Doubt … Max Doubt
Ava Bowlin … NJ Mvondo
Rommel Olivia … Payat Mishra
Production
The film had a bafflingly huge scope and was daunting to materialize. Led by actor Justin King, a cast of six actors and I shot more than 12,000 high resolution images over two days to create this volume of work, realistically only 8,000-plus of those were actually usable. The vast majority (95 percent or so, who’s to say exactly) were shot chronologically over two days. Before then, the pandemic had turned this project to concrete. When Justin and I saw a path to completion, we ran full speed at it. Justin essentially lived with me for two days in August. I tediously set up the lighting—one location at a time. We did test shots, walked through the current scene, and shot urgently. We’d then pack everything up (lights, power packs, props, clothing) and meet the next actor for the subsequent part of the script.
The prose is the first and last draft, without any changes, apart from the correction of literal or literary errors. I only eliminated one, or three, very forgettable, overly pretentious sentences from the original writing. My haste was motivated by keeping the composition unrefined, matching the imperfect visual aesthetic throughout the volume. Phenomenally, the number of sentences contained in the 4000-word short story synced with the imagery, allowing the ciné-roman experiment to live on.
Wrap Photo (Left to right): NJ Mvondo, Fechi Nkwocha, Max Doubt, Rocky McCorkle, Justin King, Payat Mishra