An extract from 'Moon Story'

We watched the wind dislodge the top layers of paper from the precarious temporary sculpture of cans, newsprint, food wrappers and wastes piled to over flow on the rubbish bin right next to the closed-up Kebab Burger Soft Drink & Fries Van…

What will happen? I said.

We watched the papers skid and slide intermittently on the paving slabs, uncertain of their newfound freedom in space.

Not-Ahmed said; Art is a place that speaks vividly, that speaks language back to life, that re-animates ideas, turns them round, turns them over. Art is a place that breaks an old idea, breaks it open, makes a new one in it. Art is a tool for navigation, better than GPS. It’s a weapon also better than a petrol bomb.

Performance? I said.

I believe in that, he said. Performance creates a space in which different kinds of contact are possible, different kinds of conversations. It is a place to step out of, side step from the general tendency to commodified lust wrapped, crushed and hidden in panic and terror.

We sat a while longer.

Then Not-Ahmed made to go.

The moon was full. You could see and hear everything. The city lights, the distant traffic, the litter skidding and the moon on the water.^*

* An extract from Moon Story,

Tim Etchells, Sheffield, 2012

Etchell’s interdisciplinary practice shifts between performance, visual art and fiction. He has worked in a wide variety of contexts, notably as the leader of the world-renowned performance group Forced Entertainment.

                 http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/blog/2012/12/14/a-new-piece-of-critical-writing-from-tim-etchells/

New Work

2013 is bringing with it a whole load of new work. I am excited to be in the early stages of a concept design for Finnish Director Antti Jussi Annila. His films, Jade Warrior and Sauna, are visual feasts so it's a real joy to be involved.

I cannot share this art publicly. I'm sure though with this work feeding my creativity my use of this blog will shift as well. I wonder what work is to come...

Check out AJ Anilla's work here and find a copy of his last film Sauna at Aro Video. very cool stuff.
IMDB AJ Annila

The Art of Slow Information

The information age allows access to all information, all the time. Media is accessible everywhere, anytime. The media we absorb, mostly, is our choice.  Through these images we create an understanding of our world.

We are wonderfully able to absorb information quickly that now more than ever the art and design of the image is of vital significance. In the past the designed image, be it painting or film, carried meaning, metaphor and as I have discussed before held a place for imagination. Look for example at early German expressionist films such as 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari' or the films celebrated in Scorsese's recent homage to this era 'Hugo'.  These images were immediately stunning and entertaining but the absorption of the ideas and meaning behind them were slow.  It might take someone days, weeks even years to comprehend their significance and depth.  The images created by our most revered painters have been celebrated for centuries. Celebrated not because the tell us something clearly. On the contrary these images guide us to form understanding and comprehension of our own.

Today our media is literal, factual or information in the form of symbol. This information is easy to digest and understand quickly.  It is necessary to communicate this way to access the technology that has become integral to our society. This form of design is the realm of the communicator not the artist. The role of the artist is to work in 'the art of slow information'. Slow information comes in the form of metaphor and poetry. This form of art is less prevalent in our film and media today and it shouldn't be. Audiences are hungry for films that we return to time after time in our imaginations rather than forget as soon as we leave the multiplex.  

The Gift

Art is not an Argument. Art is a Conversation

The 20th century was one of movements. Impressionism, cubism, dadaist to surrealist, abstraction through to modernism and post modernism.  In our modern context it is far too easy to see these movements as arguments.  Each movement trying to top the other, to win the argument, to be superior. It might appear that each movement aimed to see the world in the 'truest' way.  The concept that art is an argument is a misconception that is totally unsustainable and counter productive to making work.

Art is not an argument. Art is a conversation.  To produce more of the art we need artists must build a better relationship toward 'conversation'.

Conversation means building a discussion without knowing where it might lead. In a conversation one contributes only what is necessary to generate the next response. This is how art works. What we produce is in reference to what has come before and it is expressed to allow what might come next. This approach allows for complexity to grow far beyond the ability of the individual. These great movements were the result of great conversation.

In an argument each person knows exactly where they want it to lead - with them being right. This approach results in artists who are closed, defensive and ultimately creating work which lacks depth and soul.

The irony of the conversation is that by removing the pressure to be right it creates the freedom of expression necessary for great work.

Summer Sketchbook P.4

The Woods.

'Earthquakes' - Costume sketches 2.

Film Industry and Education alignment p.2

There are a large number of film schools in NZ. Their focus is on short intensive ‘real life’ skills working alongside part time tutors who are active film practitioners.  This model allows for wonderful practical experience. There is no better way to learn than alongside artists in their work.

The issue though is the large number of graduates seeking work are finding extremely high competition for very few roles in NZ. The student is trained for existing industry positions. Once ever position is filled what is left for the other graduates? Nothing? Nothing except the opportunity to create new work and new industry.

Greater attention then can be directed to giving students the skills to create the positions that don’t exist. The ability to create work, to create industry is a far more vital skill than being able to work within the existing one.

It might be easy enough to guide students in this direction but to give greatest value the students should model off practitioners. Currently they model of artists who make for an industry. Who is there to model off on how to create industry yet to exist?

This a territory that can be best filled by full time academic staff. Research by academic staff should give focus toward new ways of working. Exploring new territory, which is not dominated already by existing industry. The students do not need to be part of creating this work but rather be exposed to the staff member’s practice of it. It is the practice of exploration that is of value here not just the findings of the research.

Potential areas of research are numerous. Narrative and storytelling models based upon NZ Maori oral history could offer a wealth of innovations for NZ film practice. Exploration of how to devise for film is much safer within an academic institution.  Studios use viral campaigning heavily but very little information exists on effective ways to distribute and market films in the digital market place outside of existing distributors. Where is film knowledge not being applied that it could offer greater benefit? The filmed live performance of the Met Opera is a hugely successful exercise in taking film into once forbidden territory. What live performance in NZ could be better utilized through film?

The wealth and depth of talent in the film industry is driving the technology of storytelling. Who though is driving how we will tell stories in the future? Across what formats? What stories will be relevant to us? This high-risk exploration of film is best undertaken in the safety of an institution. The hope of course is that this work becomes of greater value and can lead to new financial markets.  In any case there is huge benefit to the student working alongside such exploration in that they might themselves make the breakthrough necessary to create new work in NZ. 

Film Industry and Education alignment p.1

Is the NZ film industry, NZ film education and research aligned to create the best work possible? To discuss this I will identify the film and TV landscape in NZ, the education landscape as well as the areas of research and innovation across both.  There will be a bit to write so I will split my thoughts over the next few days. I begin with the Film landscape before moving on to Education, Research and opportunities of future work and innovation.

THE NZ FILM AND TELEVISION LANDSCAPE

The industry is currently strong in a number of areas and of course weak in others. Weekly low budget television drama which run for 5 plus seasons are strong. Think Go Girls, Nothing Trivial or Outrageous Fortune as examples. Any series running for less than 5 seasons in NZ is unlikely to return a profit. The result being little room for NZ made high concept television. High concepts are costly and high risk for audience attention. If they fail to be picked up beyond a second or third season they cannot recoup their costs.   Our market isn't big enough to risk making HBO quality TV. High concept TV does exist though from American producers for the American cable networks in the form of 'Spartacus' or the likes of 'Legends of the Seeker'. A series called 'Noir' looked to be produced here last year.

We continue to generate low budget films through the NZ Film Commission rarely exceeding 10million in budget.  Louis Sutherland and Mark Albiston's film 'Shopping' is a recent successful example and has been invited to screen at Sundance in 2013. There has been a noticeable trend in the low budget territory since 'Whale Rider' to make coming of age stories.  It should be noted that NZ's first international successful film, Vincent Ward's 'Vigil', has placed the coming of age story as central to NZ's film making identity. This genre should be continually revisited as a way of national self reflection not though at the expense of all other forms of film.

Medium budget films above 10 million are likely to be American produced, American stories filmed in and around Auckland.

Large Budget films are strong out of Wellington with the likes of Peter Jackson and James Cameron leading the way. The recent films from these two men and those planned in the future follow a growing trend of large budget Hollywood films that follow a Myth, or Hero journey narrative. This form of narrative has a proven success that gives a level of security to the large investment these men and their films attract.  It is in this territory of large budget filmmaking that the greatest contribution to innovation of film technology is happening. Digital film, 3D, digital effects, surround sound and higher frame rates are all being pushed into new territory by Jackson and Cameron to the benefit of filmmakers globally.

Where we in NZ are currently weak is character driven drama and genre films.  A member of the Film Commission recently termed this territory 'Heightened Genre'. This term aims to describe genre films of art house quality.  It is a territory that in the past we have been strong at but in recent times less film makers have been venturing.

In the past we have had success with Sci fi - Vincent Wards 'The Navigator - A Medieval Odyssey', Geoff Murphy's 'A quiet Earth' and Roger Donaldson's 'Seeping Dogs'. Horror was represented with Peter Jackson's 'Braindead'  & 'Frighteners' and Gaylene Preston's 'Mr Wrong'. Character Drama's such as Lee Tamahori's 'Once were Warrior's' or Roger Donaldson's 'Smash Palace' or Jane Campion's Period Dramas 'An Angel at my Table' or 'The Piano'. Suspense Drama such as Peter Jackson's 'Heavenly Creatures' was a pinnacle of NZ film Making.

In the past 10 years though there has been a noticeable absence of films like these. A recent film of note to buck that trend and tackle this wide open territory is Mike Wallis' 'Good For Nothing'. Worth mention is also Toa Fraser's 'Dean Spanley' which stepped outside the norm to bring together wonderful character studies in the exploration of the nature of the soul in Edwardian England. I suspect we will see a bold return to this territory from NZ film makers very soon.

In a following blog I will discuss the film education landscape also. I hope that by discussing industry, education and research of film in relation to each other we can identify how each can better align itself to the other.   Where one territory in this Field of work is lacking potentially the other can strengthen. The hope is greater work across the board.