2009''s Film: "CONTROLLED BLEEDING" is now online

A link to the film on YouTube is provided below

Psychotropic Films™ presents “Controlled Bleeding – A Nation’s Nightmare”, a film about the biggest industry on earth, addiction, and dreams turned to nightmares. Experimental filmmaker Bart Santello applies his signature psycho-active filmmaking style to perceptions of recent history, using his collection of documentaries recorded on decades old VHS tape. In this highly stylized film, symbolic media images, imbued with a sense of tragic irony, and metaphor, portray repeating cycles of dysfunctional human behavior guiding nation-states in the pursuit of power that only a finite resource can bring - Oil.

Concept:

This film came about when thinking about how the media I choose to provide me with information, shapes my perception of reality.  In this case, the geopolitics oil, our choice to be dependent on this finite resource, and the implications thereof.

Idea:

The ‘idea’ behind “Controlled Bleeding” was essentially motivated by a found-footage project, where VHS video tapes of documentary programs I had recorded over the years on the history of oil, Middle East conflicts, wars over oil and the impact of oil on all aspects of life, were reviewed for relevant content.

Background:

The way I create an experimental film is the gather interesting visual media that supports the ‘concept’ for the film.  Then through a subconscious process of assembling this inspired media clips, my perception of events is expressed through the film. 

FILM SYNOPSIS:

Psychotropic Films™ presents “Controlled Bleeding – A Nation’s Nightmare”, a film about the biggest industry on earth, addiction, and dreams turned to nightmares. Experimental filmmaker Bart Santello applies his signature psycho-active filmmaking style to perceptions of recent history. In this film, symbolic media images, imbued with a sense of tragic irony, metaphor portray repeating cycles of dysfunctional human behavior, guiding nation-states in the pursuit of power that only a finite resource can bring - Oil.

Link to film here;  For best viewing, watch on YouTube (link at bottom right), and be sure to set resolution to 720P (click gear - bottom right on YouTube player).  For best sound, wear earbuds or headphones.

Run time: 17:13 min

  “CONTROLLED BLEEDING - A NATION’S NIGHTMARE” 

               a PSYCHOTROPIC FILMS  digital release

 Soundscape by APRODUCE and RUBEN GARCIA. 

Digital postproduction at Dome Studio - ARIVACA, ARIZONA

Concept, Editing and Direction by BART SANTELLO

Years of production: 2007-2009

"OBLIVARA - Beauty to Oblivion" Selected for April 2026 Arizona International Film Festival

Bart Santello and Psychotropic Films are proud to announce that a new short work: "OBLIVARA - Beauty to Oblivion" has been selected for the 2026 Arizona International Film Festival, and will be presented on 20 April - 6pm at the Screening Room, Congress Street in Tucson.  Arizona International Film Festival : Oblivara - Beauty to Oblivion

The origin of this short work was discussed in this September 2025 post [scroll down on this blog's page, or, click this link :First idea on OBLIVARA (Post)

SYNOPSIS: "Human memories, suspended on 8mm film emulsion, are subject to the ravages of time, revealing the nature of life's impermanence and a recognition of mortality.  In this liminal space of chemical chaos, artistic beauty belies a transitional state, where vestiges of ghost are left to temporarily linger in the shadows, before their final descent onto oblivion."

Music for this film was selected for its psychoactive interplay with the imagery from the album KALENDIS, by OXIA PALACE [Brian McWilliams and Jan Roos] on  2024 Geophonic Records.

Decayed 8mm Film Presents a Creative Opportunity

My grandfather kept his family 8mm films in a shoebox in a damp basement.  Over the years mold attacked the film's emulsion, essentially obliterating the film's images.  

Four reels were sent to me by my cousin who claimed them after my grandfather's passing. I had the film scanned in high resolution knowing results would be disappointing but in case a section of the movie could be salvaged, or, a frame saved for still image as if a photograph.  

Below are a few frames illustrating the state of decay.  It's a wedding but not our family's, possibly a friend of my grandfather's at the time. The people are thus unknown, but the date is believed to be 1957 from notes written on the film's box for the small 8mm reel.

When the film arrived from the scanning company (ArchivalWorks), I was stunned by the beauty of the decay. Most frames had no image except the decayed emulsion, but it was beautifully artistic.  As I moved through the digital file frame-by-frame, every so often a human face would appear as if the human form was making one last attempt to be remembered before vanishing forever.

OBLIVARA: Vestiges of a Forgotten Wedding

"OBLIVARA: Vestiges of a Forgotten Wedding" Is the title of a short experimental film I would like to develop from this decayed film.  Like my previous work "Intangible" using fragments of 8mm film to invoke memories from the past, "Oblivara" would explore the nature of life's impermanence and ghosts left to linger in the shadows of their own mortality.

But like my short film "Intangible", "Oblivara" would need the appropriate music accompaniment to provide a psycho-dynamic texture to the work.  The woven texture of imagery and sound will be utilized to extract memories-of-meaning, hidden then suddenly revealed between the realms of light and shadow.

This is a surprise opportunity to again create something unique and original.  I was telling a friend the other day that I don't think of films to make; rather the opportunities appear and I recognize their potential.

Creating a Framework for Speculation using Visualizations.

 YOU SEND ME THE MESSAGE

a film concept by Bast Santello

"You Send Me The Message": The name for an experimental film under development by writer/director Bart Santello and Psychotropic Films (TM).  This 'concept visualization' is how I build a film, by creating micro-films along the process as memory aides of how the film ultimately will be envisioned.  Rather than writing a story, I visualize the story.    A visual presentation along with inspired sound design, serve to inspire and at the same time guide the look and feel of the film.

Images in this piece were first curated and created to represent visual ideograms; meaning the image as a 'symbol', represents an inspired idea to be contemplated or developed further in support of the film. These images represent various concepts or elements; examples: a character to be developed; an artistic mood or texture to be replicated; or from a still an entire scene to be imagined based on the idea presented the visual.

These visual ideograms were first saved as digital JPEG files, then transferred to a cell phone, required to develop an instant print using Polaroid Lab. A couple of images in this work were time-lapses of the Polaroids as they were developing a frame every 2-seconds. From these analog-film prints are used for story-boarding, but as discussed previously, not as a step-by-step for the film, rather a framework for speculation of possibilities for the film.                                                                                                     

 Partial Synopsis:  A psychic mastermind conducts an experiment on an unwitting colleague in order to prove a theory that 'consciousness' is non-local and transcends time.  Events take place in the turbulent early 1970's and under a present-day surveillance state.

Will AI Replace us as Creators?

REGARDING AI in FILM CREATION

I thought to myself that I would only use AI as a tool.  The photo below is an AI generated scene I tasked the AI create to illustrate an idea I'm considering for a film project - Storyboarding in a way. 

My instructions were simply: "Illustrate a scene where a middle-aged woman, who finds herself in a lucid dream, sees a man in the distance as she is walking along tree-lined canopy path under a full moon"

The AI rendered the idea in my mind perfectly.  However, notice the old woman to the left, seemingly pointing the way along the path where she will meet the man in the distance.  That woman wasn't in my original intent for the dream scene, or, in the description I provided the AI.  

However, I thought the addition was a brilliant creative inclusion to my idea for the scene by the AI.  It actually would enhance the scene, as the old woman could be a 'shamanic-type' figure and in a film this could be portrayed very artistically.  

Thus, the AI conceivably, is now a contributor to my film concept.  Is this a good thing?  When my film is done, will I feel that it was truly my creation?   Original and unique are the terms which define my artistic intent and what I try to achieve in all my film projects. Can I say that now?

Scene Visualizations: Storyboarding using AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) looks to be a promising tool when it comes to storyboard visualizations for independent filmmakers.  Since my illustration talents peak at stick figures, the advent of  'text-to-image' AI generation has opened new opportunities to communicate to the production team and talent, the look-and-feel of the scene to be filmed.  

The few experiments I have tried using words to convey the visual I am looking for, have resulted in spot-on AI creations (powered by DALL-E3) that I can add to my storyboard.  

EXAMPLE 1:

TEXT: "Create an image from the following description: "A middle-aged woman takes a walk along a wetlands path around sunset.  She wanders from the trail into a tall forest of Black-eyed Susan flower stalks and appears to be disappearing into those flower stalks."

IMAGES CREATED BY THE AI:

EXAMPLE 2:

TEXT: "illustrate an in image of an older blonde woman standing twilight, on a narrow boardwalk in a desert Cienega marsh and staring-up at a small surveillance drone photographing her directly for purposes of monitoring by the state."

IMAGE CREATED BY THE AI:

EXAMPLE 3:

TEXT: "Illustrate a middle-aged woman in a lucid dream environment, being introduced to a dream character, who is waiting along a moonlit path canopied with trees"

IMAGES CREATED BY THE AI:

Besides the practical storyboarding assistance with the AI generated visuals, some of the resulting images have provided me new ideas that I can add to the story and/or creative suggestions on how the scene can be shot from a cinematic perspective.

NETHER LAND to Screen in Tucson

Bart Santello and Psychotropic Films are proud to announce that NETHER LAND will be screening on April 27th, 7:30PM at the Hotel Congress in Tucson as part of the 30th Arizona International Film Festival.  See link here: http://filmfestivalarizona.com/film-detail.php?id=1026