Fay's 12 Days of Christmas is a 30 minute video piece I made in the early 90's for children (of all ages). It takes its form from the dog alphabet and numbers I created using my dog Fay Ray and three of her puppies Batty, Chundo, and Crooky.
I used the simple trick of running the track backwards to make it appear as though the dogs fell all by themselves into these number configurations. As I recall, I had the hardest time getting the devilish Crooky to lie flat for any length of time. If you look closely you can see her fidgeting.
As the countdown proceeds to the big day we see the Fay family (in full dress prepare) in various ways. Fay makes fruitcake, other family members wrap presents, make cookies, cards, popcorn chains etc. Of course to accomplish these complicated tasks the dogs would need human hands. For that, my assistants Andrea, Jason, Lisa, and my sister Pam delivered them superbly and hilariously. For the arm/hand providers this is not an easy task, for they have to keep hidden from the camera while performing. It has always amazed me what a convincing illusion this is. I wish you could have seen it. It is even more amazing live than on tape. Oh well, perhaps another time. But that is not likely. There was only one Fay Ray.
Or were there two?
