Over the last couple years I have been getting back in analogue photography. I’d forgotten how much the limitation on the number of shots and the development process itself really makes you think about the image you are taking before taking the photograph itself. I’ve also found the camera itself (I’ve been using a Widelux) promotes a dialogue with the general public – one that wouldn’t happen say if I was just using my phone.
New Brighton lighthouse
I also think that film itself has a certain delicate softer feel than this often harsher 4K world. I suppose I could achieve a similar feel with a certain amount of digital processing, but I like the element of surprise and potential for unexpected flaws that can add to the feel of an image. Similar to the way in which a record can pick up flaws and scratches that become unique to the listening experience.
New Brighton Lighthouse Cyanotype Print
I’ve been experimenting with different types of printing, mostly Cyanotype as it has proved to be the most practical at homeland I love the scratches and defects that can added (intentionally or not) to the process. I also love the way you can print on all sorts of found materials and objects which can create a whole new meaning to the work. I’m interested in exploring these ideas further, hopefully on a larger scale.
I collaborated with MDI’s group for over 50s, Men! Dancing! last year to create a video work, filmed on location at Liverpool Cathedral. The film was funded by HOP (Happy Older People) and explores the idea of harmony and the workers who built the cathedral.
Screened for the first time this year at the first HOP gathering of 2020 at FACT in Liverpool you can now see the film below. I’m hoping to continue working with the group, exploring dance in alternative spaces in future projects, with the idea of taking back our public spaces as we age.
We’ve been continuing with our #cameramoves experiments over at MDI studio for a few weeks now. It’s been great working with the different groups who have been open and interested in our experiments and it’s been fantastic working with Jennie Hale to develop the idea.
I was initially nervous about how people would take to the idea – it’s an unusual concept, crossing movement and camera work but everyone we have worked with so far has really run with the idea.
Marketing the open call out sessions proved harder that anticipated, mainly I reckon because we are working with two different disciplines, film making and performance. These genres are usually kept separate, so bringing them both together in an experimental workshop may have made some people wary of getting involved. Once people are able to see how the process works and the collaborative nature of it, they got it.
It’s been particularly interesting working with the different age range and seeing what people make of the opportunity. With each group you can really feel the concentration in the room after shouting ‘Action’.
Camera Moves
There’s also been lot’s of interesting discussions around how it feels to be creating something in a room with so many cameras. It seems that when lot’s of people are filming, it takes the pressure off – it’s impossible to avoid the camera – it’s everywhere, so you just have to go with it.
What has been interesting is taking the footage from each of the sessions and mixing them up. As most of them have been shot in the same location, it looks as though everyone has been performing together.
We’re having a final showcase event this Friday 5th July at METAL in Liverpool from 6pm – 8pm to show some of the footage we’ve collected and chat about our findings. We’ll also be running another workshop with live music provided by Germanger – it’s free – you should come – and you can book tickets here.
Last year, I was lucky enough to do a short ‘Time & Space’ residency at METAL in Liverpool which I used to explore ideas I had been floating around for a while based on connection, loneliness and solitude and how mostly the idea of being alone is regarded as something to fear.
I think I’ve always been a bit of an introvert so one of the things that attracted me to filmmaking was it enabled me to dip into new worlds and collaborate with different people while remaining safely at a distance behind the camera. In fact, I have often thought of the camera as ‘The Shield’, a way to be part of something while remaining at a safe distance.
As the residency came to a close, one of the ideas I chose to develop (with METAL’s generous support) became ‘Camera Moves’. The concept is a simple one. Everyone involved has a camera and is either filming each other or a particular performer/event. I’ve filmed performances and music gigs before as part of a team, trying to keep each other out of the frame – there’s a certain amount of excitement and energy that goes into that collective approach. This is different – it’s about keeping everybody in the frame, no hiding. It’s an attempt to break down barriers between filmmaker and subject, audience and artist.
I also wanted a quick turn around time for watching the completed film, so rather than use conventional editing techniques, I’ve been working with live editing software Isadora which uses a database to hold the footage (rather than a timeline) and where clips can be selected in different random ways, such as audio or movement.
I thought it would be good to collaborate with someone skilled in movement and dance and I approached Jennie Hale at Taciturn who was keen to get involved. We then put the project to the Arts Council and we’ve been given a small grant to develop the idea and run a few small workshops. Our first session at METAL proved fruitful, just in terms of testing out the tech and how feasible this all was, but also just in terms of how it felt.
Some of the things we noted during the tests were:-
When everyone has a camera the energy in the room becomes very concentrated and about chance encounter.
People tended to explore the environment but were generally respectful of each others space.
We were all trying to create some form of creative visual connection.
There was some interesting discussions with regards to how much time we spend looking at our devices rather than at the real world.
If you are wearing a cameras such as a GoPro, the experience is completely different to using one hand held.
Watching the live edit is very addictive, there’s some often beautiful moments that may never be repeated.
Next week, we are running a couple more free workshops at MDI, one of them being an open session, so if you want to come along, book a slot now at the link below. Be interesting too see how this develops with different groups.
I’ve been working again with Artist Laurence Payot in a project collaboration with the Universities of York and Sheffield, Bedford Creative Arts, and Tate Liverpool. We travelled to York before Christmas to with some Scientists in the form of an art-science encounter, drawing parallels between the artworks/audiences/participants relations and symbiotic relationships in nature. This video gives a little feel of the workshop. I found it fascinating, just from the form the the language the scientists were using to talk about the experiments. It was like being in a different world.
