blion project

the blion video from last year is now uploaded on youtube, have a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCz2geiSbJo

start of a new film idea

The following piece of text will be recited by a dummy which I started making for a completely different film idea than the one i will be filming. I have forgotten the original idea, but the concept in this new idea is about how actions, however small, can effect the next stage of your existence. I was recording things i had done, was doing and was going to do on paper after, simultaneously and before i had done them which eventually confused me a lot and gave me a feeling i was travelling through time. I was also predicting what i would be doing next but then changing what i had plotted by making very small and seemingly insignificant decisions. In this short story i created i always intended it to be read by the dummy but as it progressed it became the dummy who was writing the story. I have still to decipher the complete meaning behind this exercise (and thats exactly what it is) because i haven't completed it yet. The next stage will be to set up camera and have the dummy tell the story and see if there is any relevance in what it says. Here is what i began to write down and the dummy finished:

Roughly an hour of my life

 

I had an idea.

 

This happened after I had been to a meeting.

 

I came back from the meeting and made a cup of tea for my house mate and myself. I came upstairs with the intention of making a dummy for film purposes which I started but then I had an idea to write down what I was doing, so I put a cd on which was The Clash and sat down to write about what I’d already done. But my pen didn’t work so I scribbled for a bit, then swore then ran down stairs to get another and shouted to my housemate “I’ve got an idea!”

 

Then I went to the shop to get some quavers. Although the thing is I haven’t yet, it’s just I’m writing it now as I know it’s going to happen when I’ve finished writing this. Actually I’m going to re write this last bit. I finished my cup of tea, which I haven’t yet, then I went to buy a pack of quavers from the shop in the sleet.

 

I finished my tea, which had lumps of congealed milk in it then I went to the shop to get some quavers, which I haven’t done yet). Although saying that I did actually get some quavers from the shop I am going to after the meeting when I was getting milk for the cup of tea I have just drunk. But the thing is I didn’t go to the shop to get quavers, I went to the shop to get milk and salt and vinegars.

 

And now I am going to the shop.

 

When I went to the shop I saw two men obviously dealing drugs and they both looked at me and I got the impression that they didn’t care that I was going to the shop. I also realised that they had no idea about the significance of them being there and becoming part of my story. When I got to the shop I had ruined the plot of the story because I didn’t buy quavers I bought a mars bar, a pack of salt and vinegar and some flaming hot monster munch which I have just finished eating. When I asked for a mars bar, (which you have to because they are behind a Perspex shield) the young man serving tried to hide a cigarette which he was smoking illegally behind the counter. But I think he then decided that I didn’t care about him smoking behind the counter so he took another drag and asked me for one pound fifty which I gave him. As I turned to go I said “I like your style” in respect of him not obliging to the smoking law, but I immediately realised as he gave me a discerning look that he didn’t care that I liked his style because it probably wasn’t anything to do with style to him, in fact I think he was smoking indoors illegally because it was sleeting outside.

 

When I got back from the shop I finished making myself. Then I put myself in a cupboard. Then I thought about what you would think about everything I’ve just said.

Individual tutorial/review

I think it's decided that I am ready to stop experimenting across different mediums and develope my ideas and concepts in one, which will be film.

I would eventually like to make a short feature film with scripted characters and multiple camera angles. obviously this will take a lot of time and is a very ambitious plan so as to keep my general practice of film up while i am developing this idea i will be making short films of different content and concepts.

one idea is to deliberatly create events/happenings in real life and film them in a documentry style way, for example i might take some people into a public space which has laws/rules/regs that i disagree with and test them out by breaking them, repeatedly, then compiling the footage to make a film. this will mean collecting volunteers who are willing to be tossers on purpose in public....

another issue bought up in the review was my reluctance to revisit an idea or even remake a whole film, the film in question being my most recent. doing this is a reality in the film world and is something i need to get used to however tiresome it might be going over things. research is also something which should be integral to my practice and over the last week i have been looking at film makers such as Guy Maddin and Peter Greenaway which has had a positive effect if not a strange effect on my dreams...

so the next step is to continue research, develope a fast idea for a documentary style film and start the long process of a feature film which probably will not take shape until early summer.

peace

this is a question i sent out to random people in uni, just a few answers here

Hi I am a fine art student doing a project about peoples emotion while existing in a public place be it city or countryside. If you could choose one word to describe how you feel in a public space what would it be? e.g free, watched, constrained

if you could reply to this email i would greatly appreciate it, thanks

In a city entrapped.

In the country – free.

Regards,

Alistair

Robert
You need to define the public space – if I am out in the open with no-one around then I would use the word content

Nervous

Free

Comfortable

Reserved

watched!

Free

Well, I feel alive and at peace visiting the countryside, but in the city it's usually busy and no one notices you that much so I tend to just get by easily but definitely not as safe as the country.
Good luck on your project.

review feb 15

I had positive feedback at the review with Rick and Miguel and have a clear sense of direction about where i will be taking my practice over the next few weeks. i was made aware of a film maker David Greenaway who i am researching. it was agreed the quality of sound and dialogue in my video needs to be improved but as this was my first video in a while it came as no surprise. i will be prosposing a new script very soon which will be a development of the ideas i am currently exploring. peace

martin has something to say...

new video confronting the hypocrisy of everyday life. check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQTFiqzAq00

Collaboration

I have finished shooting footage for a film about freedom in public spaces. I used two people to help make the film. One (who had no previous acting experience) to act the two characters and another who had make-up experince to apply the make-up to one of the characters. It was difficult from a directorial point of view to get my ideas across to Martin who played a clown and a drunkerd. We sat down a dicussed the script i had given him for some time making changes to better suit him. He did extrodinarily well remembering lines and improvising in some places. He improvised more toward the end of filming as he got more and more into character. I'm lucky to have found someone who could see the story from my point of view and understand the concepts behind it all. Liz had previous experience in face painting so she volunteered as make-up artist and did a great job. Something she did which i would have not picked up on was to use red make up for the eye of the clown which, when filmed in black and white, gave a good contrast and looked perfect for what i wanted. I gained invaluable experience filming this and look forward to the editing side.

I am in the process of getting volunteer work at the Bluecoat gallery and am expecting an offer in the next few days.

I will start filming with local skateboarders next week for a film about the use of public space. It will be another exciting collaboration this time with people I am unaquainted with.

Check back soon for a link to my new film, peace

Collaboration

Looking to get volunteering work at the blue coat in the near future to get some contacts and open up doors for possible employment over the summer.

I will also be collaborating with local skateboarders to make a short documentry film about skating in the public domain in liverpool which will go hand in hand with my current project.

last week

start of new painting about questioning public space, this is just the drawing up stage using an ohp

this is edge hill bowl which doesn't look like it's been used for years. next time we're going armed with brooms and spades to get rid of the mud and glass,

. A photograher from the guardian turned up and and took some shots of us which was pretty cool.