Me and Faysal set out on a days shooting people in groups of three. We had the idea to just pick people we see in groups of three whilst we wander around the local area. It was supposed to feel slightly awkward, with the subjects looking directly in the camera, like in a still photograph, but moving. This was to allow the method of scratching out the middle person to become simpler and also was for subtlety, to avoid overwhelming the spectator in our installation with loads of moving imagery.
To our suprise, not many groups of three were to be found! We got a few people, some kids, professional types on lunch break, that sort of thing. But the most successful was probably of three butchers. We may chop these up or leave just one of them as the loop. We decided however, that we should postpone handing in the footage for a week as it gives us time to gather more shots in this way.
I later discovered an old english folk story about three butchers who decide to fight of some rapists in order to rescue a woman. It involves the two butchers wanting to run away, whilst the third insists on fighting but is rewarded by the woman stabbing him to death. Perhaps this is the ill fated one? However, a nice reference to the kind of 'old wives tales' and superstitious beliefs that this shoot is dealing with.
Super 8 shoot 2
Black and White 35mm
We set out to develop the Black and White 35mm immediately, however...when we got into the dark rooms we felt a bit out of our depths having not used the equipment for quite some time.
It was decided that we wouldn't do it until later, when we could read up on it a bit or receive help from friends more acquainted with the dark rooms.
While I was at work, the day after the shoot, we thought that we should just go for it. James and Faysal went into uni and did a great job in the dark room and printing. After I finished work they showed me the prints and I am very happy with the way that they have turned out. I am kind of dissapointed that I didn't get to do it with them as I would have liked to have got involved in the dark rooms. It is, however, important we get this stuff done so it is out of the way in time for building and because I work two days a week it is unavoidable that I will miss out on some things.
The Shoot
The shoot went really well and we shot 4 rolls of 110, just under a minutes worth of super 8 and a few rolls of slide/black and white 35mm stills.
In the morning we got to Uni about an hour before all the actors were due to arrive. A room was booked so we used it to lay out costumes and had a small selection of sandwiches for the actors. We had to start early as Dave Turner needed to be away by 12. When he turned up we were ready to go, which meant he wasn't waiting around and we got straight to it.
In costume everyone looked great, Faysal took control of Tin Foil hatting people whilst I discussed with Dave and the actors the shot we needed and James set up the camera positions. The super-8 shoot was a collaborative process between us all with James and Faysal manning the camera whilst I directed the actors. Whoever wasn't on camera, got in shot, face down as background filler. After the initial super 8 shot, Faysal and James shot some black and white 35mm of the same scene.
Running up to the Shoot
So we have the main actor now, which is great, however we are finding it difficult to get many of our friends to stay on board during this critical time in their degree's. We have cemented about 8 people however and feel this will work, the cult was always in our minds as fairly small and close-knit anyway.
Dave Turner is confirmed and we have a suit and glasses for him to wear which came from the boot fair.
Props have been assembled into suitably weird contraptions.
A location has been chosen; the woods next to Northwick Park hospital.
image
We have shot here before and achieved great results, the particular area we have in mind is a clearing just in front of a concrete wall, suggestive of a compound, which could be the cult's settlement. This particular spot has recently been visited by the council, who have left a bunch of chopped down tree segments which form a nice semi-circle around the clearing. It reminds me of a camp, circled around a fire, sat on logs...perfect for our shoot.
We decided that we would improvise the majority of shots in an attempt to create a snapshot aesthetic that feels authentic and not staged. We have bought all the film we need, including the super 8mm cartridge from the Widescreen Centre in Baker St.
wimbledon Car Boot 5
Quite a promising boot fair this time, we also had access to James' parents car as they were in London for the weekend, so filled it to the brim.
Our main finds included:
A kids bike, which we will take apart and use the wheel-and-chain mechanism for the base of the praxinoscope.
A box of clothes. This was free and will be used for costumes on next weeks shoot.
Various electronic parts/tubing and other such oddities which will be utilised as the paranormal activity research cult's crude detectors/transmitters.
Search for Actors
For the shoot involving the paranormal research group narrative we decided it would look interesting if it was a collective of young people led by a much older man. We wanted to create the idea of the father figure which many cult leaders assume the role of. An example of this is Jim Jones, famous for being the leader of The Peoples Temple and instigating one of the biggest recorded mass suicides to date; the Jonestown massacre.
It will be easy for us to obtain a reasonable amount of actors to play the roles of the cult, apart from the leader, through using friends. For the role of the leader we searched online databases and have identified a few potential actors who are the right age and appearance.
After sending out various messages we received a few promising replies and have decided to work with an actor named Dave Turner. He seems very interested in our idea and looks great for the part.
Shoot ideas
We have been thinking about the shoots and batting around ideas on what exactly we could film and have come up with two ideas for two separate super 8mm loops.
The first stems from our earlier research into the idea of three people in a photograph meaning the inevitable early death of the middle person. It will involve a shot of three people, and we will scratch out on each individual frame the face of the middle person. If we can, this could be presented in the shape of a triangle to match the theme of three.
The second is a sort-of side narrative. It involves a cult-like 'paranormal activity research group' who have sensed activity in the area of the room which we are creating. They approach our character one day and notice the blueprints over his shoulder as he answers the door to them. Overexcited they try to enter the house but our character refuses and shuts them out. After obsessing over whether they hold the answer to the blueprints meaning he eventually decides to head out to their camp, which he had earlier noticed. On arrival he finds them all dead from an organised mass suicide in the style of the 1978 Jonestown massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown). Why? Our character does not know, however here he finds their bizarre equipment and research, which he steals and tries to decipher their relevance to his machines.
The footage itself will be of the aftermath that our character discovers, it will involve a quick pan of the group lying face down and clearly dead. It should look as if it is the point of view of our character, either footage he shot himself or a memory that is repeated again and again in his mind (as it will be presented as a loop)
Boiler Strip
Today we stripped the foam off of the boiler and underneath the copper looks great.
IMAGE
After this we sawed off the bottom so that the praxinoscope will be able to fit inside. When doing this we were encountered by a wave of turquoise sludge and crystals, which we assumed to be a serious case of limescale! We intend to get a mop and clean it up so that it is fully hygienic and also does not flake during the installation. Inside the copper has turned a nice green colour and hopefully this will colour the light inside the machine.
The Space
We have moved into an artists studio in Hackney. It is part of the 'Old Peanut Factory' complex, which James and Faysal are already familiar with as they have a friend who lives there.
It is obviously a step back from the original intention of building the installation in a derelict and empty space, however it was necessary at this late stage. We will continue to pursue the goal of moving into such a space, but for the sake of this project and the deadline we decided it would be better to cement a definite location and concentrate on the project itself.
We had a choice between two studios, one which was 230 sq ft but in an inconvenient location, below a bedroom and surrounded only by thin plasterboard walls and a 190 sq ft room which is obviously smaller but has a second room next door which is 90 sq ft for our use and has solid concrete walls and ceiling meaning us making noise will not be a problem. For this reason, we decided to go for the 190 sq ft room and we are confident it will house the installation well.
Here is a link to see this space http://www.amazing-space.org.uk/e3oldford-280.htm the pictures currently show it with screen printing equipment but this will be moved out very soon.