We’ve all done it, scrolled through the never-ending feed of information just before bed. Telling yourself you’ll go to sleep after one more video, one more post, one more scroll. In Cairnie Glaister’s Doomscrolling the director exposes the endless pit of stuff that comes with one more swipe.
Premiering at AirTV’s annual awards night on May 8, this isn’t just Glaister’s first ATVA- it’s her first film ever. Speaking to Brig, Glaister said she hoped, and perhaps feared, audiences would recognise the habit she portrays in the film.
“I think everyone’s aware of the term doomscrolling where basically, you just go to find escapism on the internet. But then actually go and end up like hating yourself more, or just not enjoying it at all.” She said.
The film which clocks in at around two minutes and 30 seconds is the shortest of this year’s ATVA entries. But Glaister said this was a purposeful choice and only added another layer to the film.
“I actually wanted that. You’re getting so much short-form content online. I wanted to be the shortest film but feel like you’re getting hit in the face with so much content.”
Less like a hit and more like a full-body blow, Doomscrolling takes you through the internet in less time than it takes to load up the app formally known as Twitter.
“There were a lot of topics I wanted to cover, particularly overconsumption or rather over-advertisement. It feels like if you aren’t getting the newest thing you’re missing out or you’re behind. And I love that idea.” Glaister said.
If that wasn’t challenging enough, Glaister also set herself the challenge of using mixed media to tell her story. The third-year Film and Journalism student only used five live-action shots in the film, instead using stop motion for the rest.
“I thank my mum’s printer in the credits for not blowing up on me. I printed out so many frames on sheets to draw and print and cut stuff out.” She joked.
“It’s very much a difficult process but editing it all together and seeing still frames come alive is so fun. That process is amazing. You feel so fulfilled with it.”
Glaister explained that once again her tools held a much deeper meaning on paper. She said: “I loved the idea of talking about doomscrolling which is so modern and technological using something like paper. That kind of old newspaper feel talking about something so modern.”
It’s not all doom and gloom though. As much as Glaister has something to say she knows it wouldn’t be the internet without a bit of irony.
“I wanted it to be a serious kind of film, but also there’s a bit of humour because, at the end of the day, the internet is bonkers. The stuff that gets published is just wild.
Glaister took a deep dive into the weirdest corners of the internet, wading through different subcultures and memes. A hard undertaking, especially when it starts to get dark.
“It was the worst thing having to go on TikTok and train my algorithm to be ugly. It was trying to get to the finance bro section and the redacted Andrew Tait section. These people are putting this out unironically. So, I got a lot of people in AirTV to create their own TikToks to be like, this is ironic.”
With a tiny runtime, extensive research and the long hours associated with stop motion you’d assume the difficulties would end there.
“I think honestly, the biggest challenge was not getting overwhelmed. I think that the overstimulation of content is kind of the purpose of it.” Glaister said.
“I didn’t want it to be such a blatant, ‘the internet’s bad,’ because it’s not you know? I’ve also put in positive things. You find so much community online and if you find the people you love on it, it can be such an amazing place. I didn’t want it to be such a blanket statement.”
Doomscrolling premieres on 8th May at Macrobert Arts Centre. Tickets for the ATVAs are available to buy here. To read more on this year’s ATVA entrants visit Brignews.com
Image credit: Cairn Glaister
Film and Tv Editor at Brig Newspaper. Currently studying Journalism and English at the University of Stirling
