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Scott RyserUnit Training Film 1, Warm Moving Bodies (1980)

The Units were one of America's first electronic new wave bands, they are widely cited (along with The Screamers from L.A.) as pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk."

The “Unit Training Film #1”, produced by Scott Ryser and Rachel Webber in 1980, was compiled from films that the band projected during their live performances. The films were satirical, instructional films critical of conformity and consumerism, compiled from found footage, home movies, and obsolete instructional shorts. In 1979 and 1980, Rick Prelinger was a frequent contributor and occasional projectionist at the band’s live performances in San Francisco.

The film was also shown sans band in movie theaters around the San Francisco Bay Area including the Roxie Cinema, Cinematheque, Intersection Theater and the Mill Valley Film Festival .

There was never a set length or definitive “finished version” of the original Unit Training Film. Just the current version. The film varied in length from about 10 to 45 minutes, depending on how long the Units set was on any particular night. Clips were constantly being added and others were deleted and discarded once their condition became too poor to project any longer. The film was constantly breaking, and the projectionists always kept a roll of Scotch Tape nearby for timely repairs.

This 5 minute version, compiled by Scott Ryser, includes some clips of the band playing along with a brief interview by a very young Fred Willard during the period 1980 - 1982.


This movie is part of the collection: Open Source Movies

Producer: Scott Ryser
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Language: English
Keywords: The Units ; Unit Training Film ; Training Films ; Punk ; Synthpunk
Contact Information: scott@scottryser.com

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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