User:LucaO/Methods

What, How & Why

LEGACY

The project LEGACY shows everyday garbage, old furniture, garbage bags filled to the brim and whatever you can think about thrown or dumped onto the sidewalk, streets, parks and in general just all over city, no matter how big or small. The remains of a bbq dumped into nature and hang from a tree, old furniture just thrown onto the sidewalk, old newspapers, still wrapped and bound together, just sitting on a street corner left to rot - just to name some examples of the portrayed scenes shown in the project.

Through traveling to different cities around Germany and walking the streets of those cities, photographing scenes more than places, scenes you could most likely find in any city, I tried to portray the ubiquity of trash in public places. The final selection of images, a mixture of digital and analog photography using a multitude of cameras and film stocks, is shown in form of a photo book and was originally shown with an installation of the book in an exhibition. The exhibition showed the book, in an unbound form, suspended from thin wires and arranged in a grid surrounding a center piece, containing a larger framed photograph.

The project tries to show how little we as a society care about what and how we leave things behind for upcoming generations especially when it comes to public places. Most people are focused on themselves and their way through the day or through life, the bigger the city the more its about oneself most of the time. When we move around our home, our own property, we are very delicate with thrash and how we leave our space, but when it comes to public spaces no one feels responsible and nobody cares about how a place is left behind or where trash is dumped. The ubiquity of littering and trash in public places shall be looked at, actively perceived and accepted as what it is, omnipresent. It is about showing the things we want to forgot and trying to portray them in a romanticized way that makes us think about how we perceive garbage and trash in public places, when most of the time we wouldn’t even think to look at it for more than a second.

EDITED VERSION:

The project LEGACY shows trash, old furniture, garbage bags filled to the brim and whatever you can think about thrown or dumped onto the sidewalk, streets, parks and in general just all over city, no matter how big or small. The remains of a bbq dumped into nature and hang from a tree, old furniture just thrown onto the sidewalk, old newspapers, still wrapped and bound together, just sitting on a street corner left to rot - just to name some examples of the portrayed scenes shown in the project.

Through traveling to different cities around Germany and walking the streets of those cities, photographing scenes more than places, scenes you could most likely find in any city, I tried to portray the ubiquity of trash in public places. The final selection of images, a mixture of digital and analog photography using a multitude of cameras and film stocks, is shown in form of a photo book and was originally shown with an installation of the book in an exhibition. The exhibition showed the book, in an unbound form, suspended from thin wires and arranged in a grid surrounding a center piece, containing a larger framed photograph.

The project tries to show how little we as a society care about what and how we leave things behind for upcoming generations especially when it comes to public places. Most people are focused on themselves and their way through the day or through life, the bigger the city the more its about oneself most of the time. When we move around our home, our own property, we are very delicate with thrash and how we leave our space, but when it comes to public spaces no one feels responsible and nobody cares about how a place is left behind or where trash is dumped. The ubiquity of littering and trash in public places shall be looked at, actively perceived and accepted as what it is, omnipresent. It is about showing the things we want to forgot and trying to portray them in a romanticized way that makes us think about how we perceive garbage and trash in public places, when most of the time we wouldn’t even think to look at it for more than a second.

P A R A D I E S

P A R A D I E S, which literally means paradise in German, is the name of my last photographic project, a photo series portraying the town of Mannheim, through my eyes and experiences. It consists of around 50 images, showing everyday scenes around the city, images that try to portray a sense of ZEITGEIST and freedom in a world of covid-lockdowns and regulations, and is supposed to end up as a book or magazine publication.

Some of the imagery originates from having my camera, slung around my neck or packed inside a bag, with me all the times I went out and just photographing what catches my eye and makes me actually stop and turn back. The other part of the images are more on the conceptual side of going out with a plan of taking a specific or multiple photographs, more often than not scenes I drove or walked by multiple times and that got stuck inside my head and linked to some kind of feeling or image.

Trying to cope with the impact of the covid related lockdowns and regulations in Germany I tried to form and build a world in which the definition of the word paradise is as crooked as the world it tries to describe. Being unable to meet up, socialize, go on events, parties, festivals combined with being forced inside for long periods and being stripped of basic human rights in some regards really made me feel powerless and locked up inside my own head which further amplified this weird dystopian feeling I got every time I walked around out side just trying to break free.

EDITED VERSION:

 P A R A D I E S, which literally means paradise in German, is the name of my last photographic project, a photo series portraying the town of Mannheim, through my eyes and experiences. It consists of around 50 images, showing everyday scenes around the city, people sitting in small groups on a sunset filled field next to the river, an asian restaurant with closed shutters early in the morning, a tram just driving by across the bridge, a swarm of birds gliding through the cloud filled sky, images that try to portray a sense of ZEITGEIST and freedom in a world of covid-lockdowns and regulations, and is supposed to end up as a book or magazine publication.

Some of the imagery originates from having my camera, slung around my neck or packed inside a bag, with me all the times I went out and just photographing what catches my eye and makes me actually stop and turn back. The other part of the images are more on the conceptual side of going out with a plan of taking a specific or multiple photographs, more often than not scenes I drove or walked by multiple times and that got stuck inside my head and linked to some kind of feeling or image. 

Trying to cope with the impact of the covid related lockdowns and regulations in Germany I tried to form and build a world in which the definition of the word paradise is as crooked as the world it tries to describe. Being unable to meet up, socialize, go on events, parties, festivals combined with being forced inside for long periods and being stripped of basic human rights in some regards really made me feel powerless and locked up inside my own head which further amplified this weird dystopian feeling I got every time I walked around out side just trying to break free. 

do_humans_dream_of_sheep

The title of this project “do_humans_dream_of_sheep” is a play on the name of the book “do androids dream of electric sheep” and the thoughts of being programmed and stuck in a life, commanded by others and robbed off our free will by the shackles of society. It is supposed to be a short film or video essay, of about 10 minutes, following no specific fictional or non fictional story rather than following an unknown character through his life and his perception of it.

The final video is meant to be a mix of looped video recordings of everyday scenes and people going on with their life, repeating over and over, trying to convey a feeling of being stuck in a loop and in a way also in life, and video footage that portrays a distinct start and ending point, also showing everyday life and scenes but from more of a first person perspective, trying to convey freedom and the power of free will, contrasting the looped video and quite literally showing both sides of the same coin. Using different views and imagery to convey being stuck and feeling free and of free will through using the same subject matter from a different point of view. The portrayed characters are to be used as mirror images of a modern society, so it is not about who they are as an individual it is about their part in society. They are shown as being stuck in this portrayed form of reality, unable to escape their loop of going on with their lives. The whole video is meant to play out as a sequence of a mix of these looped and normal scenes, layered with environmental sound recordings and on screen text, talking about being stuck, of free will and the characters on screen.

Society, and more noticeable how it plays out in everyday life, concepts of free will and freedom as well as our part in society as an individual is where the idea for this project originated from. Wanting to play with ones self reflection on his own space and sense of freedom in our modern day society is how it came to be a video project containing looped imagery of everyday life. Contrasting it with scenes of a similar subject matter, whilst trying to convey an opposite from what the loops are meant to be conveying by trying to show the scenes from another point of view, and in this way trying to amplify that it is about what we define as freedom ourselves.

EDITED VERSION:

The title of this project “do_humans_dream_of_sheep” is a play on the name of the book “do androids dream of electric sheep” and  the thoughts of being programmed and stuck in a life, commanded by others and robbed of our free will by the shackles of society. It is supposed to be a short film or video essay, of about 10 minutes, following no specific fictional or non fictional story rather than following an unknown character through his life and his perception of it. 

The final video is meant to be a mix of looped video recordings of everyday scenes and people going on with their life, repeating over and over, trying to convey a feeling of being stuck in a loop and in a way also in life, and video footage that portrays a distinct start and ending point in itself, also showing everyday life and scenes but from more of a first person perspective, trying to convey freedom and the power of free will, contrasting the looped video and showing both sides of the same coin. An example for a looped part of the whole video would be - looking at an intersection in the early morning, lights turning green cars driving out of frame, lights turn red again, the same cars pull up to the intersection. A contrasting non looping part of the video could be - just walking down a city street at night, filled with people going on with their day, having a beer, having dinner. Using different views and imagery to convey being stuck and feeling free and of free will through using the same subject matter from a different point of view. The portrayed characters are to be used as mirror images of a modern society, so it is not about who they are as an individual it is about their part in society. They are shown as being stuck in this portrayed form of reality, unable to escape their loop of going on with their lives. The whole video is meant to play out as a sequence of a mix of these looped and normal scenes, layered with environmental sound recordings and on screen text, talking about being stuck, of free will and the characters on screen. 

Society, and more noticeable how it plays out in everyday life, concepts of free will and freedom as well as our part in society as an individual is where the idea for this project originated from. Wanting to play with ones self reflection on his own space and sense of freedom in our modern day society is how it came to be a video project containing looped imagery of everyday life. Contrasting it with scenes of a similar subject matter, whilst trying to convey an opposite from what the loops are meant to be conveying by trying to show the scenes from another point of view, and in this way trying to amplify that it is about what we define as freedom ourselves. 

INTERVIEW

Hello, would you please describe your practice in a couple of sentences?:

Most of my projects and ideas originate from me seeing something, like a little detail or how the light falls onto a scene, that keeps me attached and thinking about it. Then having a lot of these small ideas get stuck in my head and just keep developing and driving them. The ideas I can't forget and can’t keep working on are mostly the ideas I try to pursue in some way and try to get hands on with and see where it takes me. So it is often about getting started with doing stuff and figuring it out during the process of creating rather than getting hung up on perfectionism or planning and all the other small things. I often don’t know the exact outcome, form, medium or even question behind a project till I am at a certain point.

And what is it that are you making right now?:

Oh it is different from a lot of my previous work and at the same time kinda similar too. My practice in the past evolved around matters of either society or how I see and perceive society. For me it was about questions along the line of “why do we act in a certain way”, “how do the places we built effect and express us as a society?”: where with my current project it is more about the question “Where do I see myself in society?”. The outlines of the project are at the moment still very vague so take it with a grain of salt. I am asking myself questions about how we behave both as a society in general as well as a part of a society, whilst trying to incorporate personal mental issues and struggles about feeling stuck, out of control and not being able act out of free will - and making what ever comes out of all that into a short film.

OK thank you, another question would be WHY, why do you make it or why do you think it is important to be made?:

On the one hand it is inspired by my interest in psychology and philosophy, and the thoughts about the how and why we act in a certain way, especially focused around the concept of society, and on the other hand it originates from within me, from my own thoughts and fears, uncertainties, problems and struggles.

It was one of those ideas that just hit me different and from the first second on stuck with me in a way where I couldn’t even avoid thinking about it.

With it being a project that is, at least partly, really personal and close to me and on the other hand also one that tackles aspects and thematics that a lot of people in our modern day society can, in my opinion, relate to, I want to get the people to think about themselves and their own position and sights on the topics and positions stated in the project.

what are the most significant choices that you made to your current project recently:

You know, with getting the project of its feet right now and really starting to find some kind of form to pursue, it is a lot about changing things up constantly, trying out new ways and just taking side roads wherever they come up. I think I changed the whole thing twice in the last two weeks, from what I thought I wanted it to be before compared to what I wanted it to be then. Right now I am sticking with one direction, I might chase a slightly different one tomorrow but the outlines of my project start taking form, so the bigger changes are also gonna start being less frequent, even though I will always keep throwing stuff out and adding new things. I'm not in the state where, you know, there's a definitely finished product in front of my eyes, till then I'm just gonna keep changing stuff over and over 'cause that's how I work, it might be chaotic to some but I thrive when working with chaos and especially with this project being just full of chaos to figure out and find my way through. It is about finding a way to a point where I can tell myself what the final thing is gonna be like. That is mostly the point where I will try to not throw everything out again and again. Until then it is just about getting stuff done and creating for me.

Are you reading any literature or articles that are related to your current project:

I’m reading a lot of essays, sometimes philosophical sometimes psychological. Mostly articles that are at least semi related to my current project. Right now I am working with some books and essays surrounding mental health, society and the concept of free will and feeling free. Even though I might read a lot on the topic, there is a good possibility of it not ending up in the final film ,at all, it is more about input and getting an understanding of what I am trying to talk about. Right now that is primarily focused on the constructs of modern day society and the pressure and expectations every individual has to fulfil.

Thank you

Annotation 1

Please bring THREE items with you (1) A video OR film clip OR art work

(2) A text (book OR article)

3) A laptop (if possible)

Method: two people will make annotations (notes, links, handy references) of each presentation on this pad.

14:05 Presenter: Luis

Annotators: Kotryna & Luca

I saw a brief glimpse of beauty

Ive never understood real life, Ive never understood real people - a personal autobiographical speech

Jonas Mekas (Lithuanian: [ˈjonɐs ˈmækɐs]; December 24,[1] 1922 – January 23, 2019)[2] was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema" on many occasions. His work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwide

Chapter one; incoherent, experimental visuals, different times, scenes, thematics, talking about the images and their relations to each other, brief memories, order of its own in disorder, without understanding for oder in it self, not understanding 'the real life", "the real people", doesn't want to understand them; summers of central park, scenes of people sitting in a park, sharing a meal, two adults and a baby, having a picnic; cuts to a group of women walking down the street; cuts to a close up of feed in female shoes walking by; rain; storm and splashing water; a calming melody starts, someone walks down a street, talking inaudibly to the camera; cuts to home movie scenes; different short clips of trips, moments, nostalgia,

not knowing the artist or his work Luis found a connection it the work itself and in its thoughts and perspectives; reflecting on memories, unchronological; how does it affect the work Luis makes: learned that he has to try to find a narrative in his work; maybe it has its upsides to not understand the others;

A nostalgic collage of footage, I'm not sure if it's personal footage or found. piano music plays over weirdly coloured 8mm/16mm motion picture. More feeling than fact.

Theres love and intimacy in this play. A tension between his personal memories and the naivety of the audience. negation of cinema.

R.wilbur- the writer. nautical imagery and language, suggesting a sense of travel or a journey , 'gunwale... cargo... a lucky passage'

Jonas Mekas, diaristic video, 
father of the avant garde filmmaking
first thoughts of him really connected to Luis, 
looking from his own perspective, coming from scientce background
how it affects Luis: 
    he's documenting moments in the shelter.
    he unintentionally is looking for a narrative, 
    but 

relating to what the V.O. says: i dont understand life no need to understand the work, its more experiencing reflecting on his life, pieces pieces together of archival footage Question: can we get away with this nowadays?

Poem by Richard Wilbur The Writer american writer.Affirmations with writing. Importance if the father figure , importance of making a living by making art. Artists talking (or not) about the struggle of making . Steve: peom captures Inhabiting eachothers life, domestic everyday moments, intimacy.

In her room at the prow of the house Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden, My daughter is writing a story. I pause in the stairwell, hearing From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys Like a chain hauled over a gunwale. Young as she is, the stuff Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy: I wish her a lucky passage. But now it is she who pauses, As if to reject my thought and its easy figure. A stillness greatens, in which The whole house seems to be thinking, And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor Of strokes, and again is silent. I remember the dazed starling Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago; How we stole in, lifted a sash And retreated, not to affright it; And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door, We watched the sleek, wild, dark And iridescent creature Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove To the hard floor, or the desk-top, And wait then, humped and bloody, For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits Rose when, suddenly sure, It lifted off from a chair-back, Beating a smooth course for the right window And clearing the sill of the world. It is always a matter, my darling, Of life or death, as I had forgotten. I wish What I wished you before, but harder.

15:45 Presenter: Luca

Annotators: Garvan + Pelle

Edward hopper - Nighthawks

Anonymity of figures within Hopper's paintings. The figures do not interact. Cinematic ratio to the window. Film noir aesthetic. 1942, dark streets to hide buildings to make bombing of buildings more difficult. old bar staff suggest the lack of youth. Possibly fictionalised architecture, it captures loneliness within populated spaces . HE negates the painting of glass within his structures, perhaps to enhance the lighting dynamics within his paintings.

Edgar Allen Poe - Dream-Land

Bottomless vales and boundless floods,

And chasms, and caves, and Titan woods,

With forms that no man can discover

For the tears that drip all over;

Mountains toppling evermore

Into seas without a shore;

Seas that restlessly aspire,

Surging, unto skies of fire;

Lakes that endlessly outspread

Their lone waters—lone and dead,—

Their still waters—still and chilly

With the snows of the lolling lily.

Visual words, melancholy. Not everything about him is clear, his notes are muddled from a combination of mental illness and opium addiction,

"Nothingness". Diary Hopper: New York. He made up the architecture? Steve thought this painting was made from a photograph. Luca: It's often about light. Pelle: reminds me of the work of Erwin Olaf. Garvan: the image is often re-used. He rarely makes windows visible. There is a fiction film about Allen Poe. He wrote a lot for newspapers, he was an editor. He used to make puzzles and little cryptic texts. The fall of the house of Usher.

referenced a lot in pop culture: used in episode of the Simpsons

Synopsis

[text and author]

Cinema's destined role is a chapter from Andrey Tarkovsky's Sculpting in time - Reflections on Cinema.

Excerpt from Chapter IV

CHAPTERIV

Cinema's destined role

Each of the arts has its own poetic meaning, and cinema is no exception. It has a particular role, its own destiny—it came into being in order to express a specific area of life, the meaning of which up till then had not found expression in any existing art form. Everything new in art emerged in answer to a spiritual need and its function is to ask those questions which are supremely relevant to our epoch. In this connection I am reminded of a curious observation of Father Pavel Florensky's13 in his book, The konostasis. He says that the inverted perspective in the works of that period was not the result of Russian icon-painters being unaware of the optical laws which had been assimilated by the Italian Renaissance, after being developed in Italy by Leon Battista Alberti.14 Florensky argues, convincingly, that it was not possible to observe nature without discovering perspective, it was bound to be noticed. For the time being, however, it might not be needed—it could be ignored. So the inverted perspective in ancient Russian painting, the denial of Renaissance perspective, expresses the need to throw light on certain spiritual problems which Russian painters, unlike their Italian counterparts of the Quattrocento, had taken upon themselves. (One account has it, incidentally, that Andrey Rublyov had actually visited Venice, in which case he must have been aware of what Italian painters had been doing with perspective.) If we round off its date of birth, cinema can be said to be contemporary with the twentieth century. That is no accident. It means that about a hundred years ago the point was reached when a new muse had to emerge. Cinema was the first art form to come into being as a result of a technological invention, in answer to a vital need. It was the instrument which humanity had to have in order to increase its mastery over the real world. For the domain of any art form is limited to one aspect of our spiritual and emotional discovery of surrounding reality. As he buys his ticket, it's as if the cinema-goer were seeking to make up for the gaps in his own experience, throwing himself into a 82 search for 'lost time'. In other words he seeks to fill that spiritual vacuum which has formed as a result of the specific conditions of his modern existence: constant activity, curtailment of human contact, and the materialist bent of modern education. Of course one can say that the inadequacy of a person's spiritual experience may also be made good through the other arts and through literature. (As soon as one thinks of looking for 'lost time', of course one is reminded of the title of Proust's volumes.) But not one of the old and 'respectable' arts has such a mass audience as cinema. Perhaps the rhythm, the way in which cinema conveys to its audience that condensed experience which the author wants to share, corresponds most closely with the rhythms of modern life and their time deficiency. Perhaps it would even be true to say that the public have been caught up in the cinema's own dynamic, not merely swept away by the excitement it generates? (One thing, however, is certain: the mass audience can only be a mixed blessing, for it is always the inert sections of the public that are most easily impressed by excitement and novelty.) Modern audience reactions to any film are different in principle from the impressions produced by the works of the 'twenties and 'thirties. When thousands of people in Russia went to see Chapayev,iS for instance, the impression, or rather, the inspiration, produced by the picture was exactly appropriate, as it seemed then, to its quality: audiences were being offered a work of art, but it attracted them principally because it was an example of a new and unfamiliar genre. We now have a situation where audiences very often prefer commercial trash to Bergman's Persona or Bresson's L'Argent. Professionals find themselves shrugging, and predicting that serious, significant works will have no success with the general public . . . What is the explanation? Decline of taste or impoverishment of repertoire? Neither and both. It is simply that cinema now exists, and is evolving, under new conditions. That total, enthralling impression which once overwhelmed the audiences of the 'thirties was explained by the universal delight of those who were witnessing and rejoicing over the birth of a new art form, which furthermore had recently acquired sound. By the very fact of its existence this new art, which displayed a new kind of wholeness, a new kind of image, and 83 revealed hitherto unexplored areas of reality, could not but astound its audiences and turn them into passionate enthusiasts. Less than twenty years now separate us from the twenty-first century. In the course of its existence, through its peaks and troughs, cinema has travelled a long and tortuous path. The relationship that has grown up between artistic films and the commercial cinema is not an easy one, and the gulf between the two becomes wider every day. Nonetheless, films arc being made all the time that are undoubtedly landmarks in the history of cinema. Audiences have become more discerning in their attitude to films. Cinema as such long ago ceased to amaze them as a new and original phenomenon; and at the same time it is expected to answer a far wider range of individual needs. Audiences have developed their likes and dislikes. That means that the film-maker in turn has an audience that is constant, his own circle. Divergence of taste on the part of audiences can be extreme, and this is in no way regrettable or alarming; the fact that people have their own aesthetic criteria indicates a growth of self-awareness. Directors are going deeper into the areas which concern them. There are faithful audiences and favourite directors, so that there is no question of thinking in terms of unqualified success with the public—that is, if one is talking about cinema not as commercial entertainment but as art. Indeed, mass popularity suggests what is known as mass culture, and not art. The pundits of Soviet cinema maintain that mass culture lives and flourishes in the West, while Soviet artists are called to hold sway over 'true art for the people'; in fact they are interested in making films of mass appeal, and while they speak grandiloquently of the development of 'the true realistic traditions' of Soviet cinema, they are in fact quietly giving the go-ahead to films far removed from the real world and from those problems with which the people actually live. Pointing at the success of the Soviet cinema in the 'thirties, they dream of mass audiences here and now, doing their damnedest to pretend that nothing has changed in the meantime in the relationship between film and public. However, the past—mercifully—cannot be brought back; individual self-awareness and the status of personal views on life are becoming more important. Cinema is therefore evolving, its form becoming more complex, its arguments deeper; it is exploring questions which bring together widely divergent people with 84 different histories, contrasting characters and dissimilar temperaments. One can no longer imagine a unanimous reaction to even the least controversial artistic work, however profound, vivid or talented. The collective consciousness propagated by the new socialist ideology has been forced by the pressures of real life to give way to personal self-awareness. The opportunity is now there for filmmaker and audience to engage in constructive and purposeful dialogue of the kind that both sides desire and need. The two are united by common interests and inclinations, closeness of attitude, even spiritual kinship. Without these things even the most interesting individuals are in danger of boring each other, of arousing antipathy or mutual irritation. That is normal; it is obvious that even the classics do not occupy an identical place in each person's subjective experience. Anybody capable of appreciating art will naturally limit the range of his favourite works according to his own deepest inclinations. Nobody who is capable of making his own judgement and selection is omnivorous. Nor, for the person with a developed aesthetic sense, can there be any stereotype, objective evaluation. (Who are these judges who have placed themselves above general opinion for the purpose of making objective judgements?) However, the present relationship between artist and audience is proof of the subjective interest in art of an enormously wide range of people. In cinema, works of art seek to form a kind of concentration of experience, materialised by the artist in his film: as it were an illusion of the truth, its image. The director's personality defines the pattern of his relationship with the world and limits his connections with it; and his choice of those connections only makes the world he reflects the more subjective.

[thesis]

Tarkovskij is talking about the time and place in which cinema was, back in the 70s and 80s, not only in soviet Russia but in general, as well as where, in his opinion, it is headed in the future. He talks about the impact of the technological inventions and the needs they answered and answer in connection to cinema, the influence audiences have on artists and their work, not mentioning cinema as a whole, and the relationships that emerge, between filmmaker and viewer, art and commercial worlds. In his opinion cinema had to fill a void, tailor to a need, offer inspiration, guidance and escapism to "increase our mastery over the real world", to experience experiences we otherwise could never take a part in. On that note he gets into talking about the part the audience or viewer plays regarding the making of movies. How the likes and dislikes of people can challenge filmmakers to be forced, in some way, to tailor to peoples self developed aesthetic criteria. How the developement of peoples perception of cinema helped in that sense to amplify its form, help evolve and explore the depth of the medium; and therefore cinema, as Tarkowskij perceived it, is this ever evolving form of exploration and inspiration that is only becoming more and more complex with time passing and peoples interests and capabilities of perceiving stories and visuals evolving simultaniously.

[context]

In Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky sets down his thoughts and his memories, revealing for the first time the original inspirations for his extraordinary films.

[relation to my own practice]

The thought of how other peoples perception of my own work and how that influences my creating the work always interested me. When reading another book about Tarkowskijs I first got interested in his work and views on the medium in general. When it comes to my own work I am always out to show off/ give insight into my own mindset or the idea I am trying to bring to the viewer. How the viewers sight on a piece or body of work and Tarkovskys thoughts regarding the topic interested me in general.

draft 'text on practice'

Methods lens based 23.03.22

Questions: Who and what can help me? Definition of being stuck, possibly give an example? Form of VR-World ?

Describe your recent work:

My most recent piece of work "do humans dream of sheep", a diaristic short film about my own struggling with the feeling of being stuck in a loop, shot on my iPhone with an anamorphic lens adapter, shows these struggles through a series of rather daunting scenes building up to a point of relief where the imagery changes and visually describes these moments of relief, just to be thrown back into the main characters loop. Society, and more noticeable how it plays out in everyday life, concepts of free will and freedom as well as our part in society as an individual is where the idea for this project originated from. The title of this project “do humans dream of sheep” is a play on the name of the book “do androids dream of electric sheep” and the thoughts of being programmed and stuck in a life, commanded by others and robbed of our free will by the shackles of society.

Describe your current work:

With my current project, project title "HEY, HOW ARE YOU", I am trying to depict the emotions and struggles related to addiction and societal issues, regarding work ethics and the pressure felt to be caused by society, by using a virtual world, in the form of VR, as the drug of choice, further amplifying the main characters need to escape his world. Scenes of addiction and the corresponding happiness and downwards spiral of being in a happy place.

Describe the relation between your recent and current work (how are they similar):

Both, my most recent and current work, deal with mental and societal issues linked with the status quo our society implements and imprints on oneself. They are both rather personal topics I can relate to in some ways and feel like a lot of people in our modern day society can. Escapism, romanticisation, nostalgia, the seeking out to have that feeling you used to have.

Describe the differences between your recent and current work:

Even though both of them are short film projects the scope of them differs as well as the type of film and approach to storytelling. With my current project I am trying to tell a narrative story through traditional means of cinema and cinematography, compared to my most recent work, where the main character was the camera and the story told through a voiceover. Next to the obvious technological differences from shooting on an iPhone to shooting on a cinema camera, a lot of other parts of my process with developing the movie differ from my previous project. Even though I still work through experimenting and figuring stuff out on the way, I am a lot more meticulous with crafting the story and feeling of my current project beforehand rather than trying to find parts of its meaning later on during the process.

Future work. What do you wanna do next?

I want to further experiment with different forms and ways of making movies and motion picture related projects in general, maybe get into doing some more commercial work, but mainly wanting to keep doing work and projects that have a meaning and can influence people, show them my views and possibly show them theirs.

Who can help you and how can they help you? Which expertise?

The thing I am struggling with the most is actually getting the idea from my mind to the paper, writing a script or story from what I am imagining. More often than not an idea starts with an image or a series of images, often describing a feeling or thought, for me. I know the feeling I am trying to get across but I often wouldn't know how to approach getting there. So someone who could help with that. LOL.