The corruption of innocence can inspired fear into humans. Broken down dolls, creepy children, and childish objects present in very adult scenes sends chills down the spine. Mark Baniewicz, PSHS senior, utilizes this is in his video “Lost Lullaby’s.”
“I love being scared. I love anything horror,” Baniewicz said. He has watched horror movies with his dad from a young age, and has a collection of vintage dolls. He uses these dolls as props often, and they are a focal point for much of the video.
Melanie Martinez, a popular singer and songwriter, is another big inspiration for Baniewicz. She shares his tendency to mix typically childish things with more adult topics. He decided her songs “Tag You’re It” and “Milk and Cookies” would be perfect for his short film.
“I thought it would be really cool to bring, not just what I see, but what the songs depict, to life” Baniewicz says. The songs describe a young girl getting kidnapped by a masked man, then escaping by poisoning him.
Baniewicz used a wolf mask and other red riding hood imagery to tell his story, even placing a toy lamb that stares eerily into the camera as the wolf drinks the poison milk.
“The two years I’ve had him, he always had a hobby of taking vintage looking photos but now he has more direction, more depth behind his work” Brooke Twohil, art teacher, said. She has had him for the past two years and he sites her as a strong mentor for his photography work.
Baniewicz was not always sure photography was for him however. It was not until high school he discovered his talent.
“I never looked at myself as being a photographer. I just looked at myself as being an artist. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Baniewicz said.
He dabbled in sketching and painting, wanting a way to express his creativity, but in the end was much more happy with a camera in his hands.
“I hope I can do [photography] forever,” Braniewicz said. In the future he would like to make a horror movie or short film, and I personally cannot wait to see it.