Project proposal:
How do you propose to interpret the basic theoretical framework?
I will use a variety of media methods to create a video – currently, I intend to use digital film, analogue film, large-format photography, microscopy, scans, contact prints and photograms, all of which will be scanned and put together as a video.
What additional theories do you propose to use to inform your project?
The psychological and sociopolitical theories of Kafka, the idea of the ‘Kafkaesque Nightmare’ as presented in ‘The Trial’, and the concepts of abstraction to use representational images.
What image-makers have inspired your project?
William Klein’s use of portraits and abstract photography; David Bate, with his use of colour and abstraction in photography; John Holden’s use of abstract and non-abstract photography, used to create extremely visually-interesting images; Russell Miller’s landscapes; Richard Hollis’ graphic design.
What is the concept behind your project and how does it relate to the theme of ‘Analogue-Digital-Memory?
A visual storytelling of Franz Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis,’ using the above media formats to create a visually interesting moving- and still-image retelling of the novella, underscored with a musical track that aids the narrative, and with use of text, dialogue snippets from productions of Steven Berkoff’s live adaptation, and audio ambiance to support this. This links to memory on a personal level, as Metamorphosis was one of the first ‘proper‘ plays I was in, but for this project I will use the ideas of historical memory to link to the context of the book – Kafka was Jewish and wrote during the height of antisemitism in Europe, reflecting the prejudice he felt at the time onto the character of Gregor, his transformation onto a cockroach showing both fragility and also the perception of disgust Kafka felt in the late 1910s. I intend to use snippets from old newspapers from the time in order to add this context visually, sparking memory and creating a sense of verfumdungseffekt for a viewer, momentarily splitting them from the action to remember that these are the thoughts of a deeply pained man.
What equipment, software, production processes do you intend to use?
The video will ultimately be put together in Adobe Premier Pro, but I will make use of Photoshop, Lightroom , Audition, Capture One, Avid Pro Tools, and Epson Scanners to pull visual and audible media together. To create these, I intend to use microscopes, analogue and digital cameras, photograms, newspapers, and a Tascam recorder to gather materials.
Inspiration references & examples:
William Klein:
John Holden: (John Holden’s self-published book ‘interference’ is a big inspiration, but the are the only images of it I can find online. I took stylistic inspiration from him for my project ‘photo.graphic’)
David Bate:
Russell Miller:
Russell Hollis: (To be honest, this is probably less useful for this project, but I do think this sort of style is cool.)
Other inspiration:
The title sequence for the David Fincher film ‘Se7en’:
This is also some musical inspiration — Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.