Robert Young (DJ Rob FATAL) 

Deus Ex Machina (2004) Trailer screening

Exit Productions
USA 2004
Produced, Directed and Written by Robert Young

If music is universal language, then why are music cultures often segregated? Different racial and social stereotypes come to mind when you say, “Opera,” “Jazz” or “Hip Hop,” and certain social taboos come to light when musicians and listeners cross barriers of genre. In Deus Ex Machina (2004), a stranger gives three record store owners the tools to literally scratch out the social barriers that plague their society. Through genre breaking scratch DJ compositions created and performed by DJ Pone (89 Scratch Gangstaz) and the rhythmic film editing of Ben Schwartz, Deus Ex Machina attacks racial, social and musical segregation using Turntablist (scratch DJ) music: music that is fueled by the diversity of the genres it samples from. Deus Ex Machina is written, produced and directed by Robert Young.

For questions or comments regarding the film or to book screenings for this film e-mail director Robert Young at: SHONUP159@AOL.COM

Biography

Robert Young (AKA DJ ROB FATAL) is a 20-year-old film maker/Turntablist DJ from Sacramento, California majoring in Digital Video Communications at the California State University of Sacramento. His love for film is rivaled only by a taste for scratch DJ music, a taste he acquired in high school when he saw Mix Master Mike (Invibsibl Skratch Pikilz) perform with the Deftones. The range of music incorporated by Mix Master Mike (Hip Hop, traditional Mexican music, even music from the band Rush) captivated Young and sparked his creativity. This new and revolutionary type of music, Turntablism, and its philosophy of diversity and constant innovation is the cornerstone of Young's style of film and music making.

“Powering Up/Powering Down” is sponsored in part by the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts (UCIRA), the Center for Research in Computing and the Arts (CRCA), and the UC San Diego Department of Music in connection with the departments of Visual Arts, Music, and Literature at UCSD along with the UC Riverside and Los Angeles campuses.