Watch
Redbirds:
Q&A with
Nicolas Umpierrez
Redbirds is a supercut compilation of early 2000s New York City using found footage gathered from various YouTube accounts. The film is an archive, capturing the city's pre-9/11 optimism and solidifying moments in time. Ultimately, it evokes nostalgia and underscores the value of memory in a constantly evolving world. (via NoBudge)
“I was born in New York City in 1996 and I grew up in the eastern Queens neighborhood of Hillcrest. I used public transportation to go everywhere, which offered me a lot of time to think and look around, often about my immediate surroundings: the trains, stations, and the people there.” NU
NU: I was a child during the early 2000s. My first memories formed during this time, and viewing these different videos felt like I was accessing those memories. I wouldn’t say that working on this project affected my personal view of the city or the era, as I have always been fascinated with the year 2000. I think that's because I often thought of the hopes people must've had about entering the new millennium or their worries about Y2K. How rare the change in millennium comes around and the fact that we were all alive during that moment, although I didn’t really experience it. I wanted to go back and see if I could get a sense of what that was like, distill it and put it into a 10-minute short.
NU: This project initially manifested as a short video I did for an experimental film class I took during college. I can’t remember the initial prompt, but I knew it was a project I wanted to return to. Never forgetting about it, I eventually reworked it to make the edit tighter. I kept some old clips and sourced some new clips, intending to make the passage of time more prevalent so that the sense of a year passing was more apparent.
The recurrence of the subway was definitely on purpose, and on one level, that's what the whole piece is about; the video goes back and forth between recording interactions, observations, and rides on the train. This is how the unnamed protagonist gets to and from everywhere that's shown. Even the title of the piece comes from the nickname MTA workers gave to the old subway cars painted a deep red shade in the late 90s and early 00s. It's impossible to get around New York City without riding the subway; it is a tether for the five boroughs and myself, whether rushing over my head or rumbling beneath my feet.
“I was totally at the mercy of the quality of these videos; they were all shot either on videotape or early digital cameras. The data quality did worry me a little bit whenever it was screened. Still, it turned out fine enough to view, and I think the audience is forgiving of any pixelization, considering the context of when/how this footage was shot. Part of me feels that pixelization/loss of data is appropriate as it mirrors the decay of memories over time. If I think about riding the train with my mom back then, it also appears grainy and blurry.” NU
NU: I don’t think I would want to do another found footage piece. I’m more drawn to recording/filming, so I’d like to do more of that, but I am fascinated by NYC's history and subcultures. If the inspiration ever strikes or the opportunity presents itself, I’d love to make more narrative work. I often think about adapting Redbirds into a more traditional story with characters and narrative arcs, maybe having it follow a few high school kids and focus it more on Queens; however, it’d remain a project about a specific time and place.
Style Wars (Tony Silver, 1983)
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
Lost Book Found (Jem Cohen, 1996)
This interview was conducted in October 2024. Follow Nicolas @ nicotype
S-C-A Q&As feature the perspectives of NYC subway users. Feel free to message us if you or someone you know would like to contribute to this series.
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