Belonging Without Belonging - Maria Maarbjerg

I started this piece of work to sit as part of the work in the Companion Project. During some of my previous work in the Companion Project I was taking images of bread in the Wicklow Mountains, while there I recorded short clips in case I would need them in the future. I had been playing around the idea of making a video to discuss my ideas around the companion project and the medium of bread. I started to look at other artists work and came across this piece by Maria Maarbjerg. I was intirigued by how this was mainly made up of 35mm images with the artist discussing lock down over them. I like that idea of found imagery in video and wanted to experiment with how I could combine the imagery and visuals I already had as part of the project along with future works.

Bread Making - My Own Work

I decided to record myself making bread and to mix this with the images I had taken of myself making bread previously along with bread in different contexts. The video was really rough as it was more just to figure out shots and timing. In reflection and discussions with lecturer and classmates we felt that the video and images together was too busy. That they are separate works that should stand on their own. I decided to re-shoot my footage tailored as a single piece of work.

Video stills

35mm photo

Bread Making - My Own Work

In the second shoot I think the lighting was better because I started early in the morning and didn’t need external lighting towards the end. However I didn’t really like the colours of the counter which I was working on. I decided to change the footage to black and white and felt that worked better. https://vimeo.com/548758581 Recommended clips at: 00:00 - 00:35, 8:30 - 9:00, 10:15 - 10:45

Video stills

Bread Making - My Own Work

I also placed text over the footage inspired by this video opening as seen above. I felt the text gave it a new level and allowed me to discuss my thoughts without having to speak them. I was much happier with the video at this point.

Reference

Experimenting with text in video

The Clock - Christian Marclay

I had started an AEMI Visual Culture class shortly after beginning this work. During this module we participated in a lot of discussings around found footage works, this included ‘The Clock’ by Christian Marclay. I found that the footage was a lot more interesting as well as the process of finding and connecting the footage. I decided to try take this method instead for making my video piece.

Sans Soleil - Chris Marker

This is another piece of found footage video work we were introduced to as part of the class. I really liked how the artist’s all set out with ideas in mind and go to different areas to find these pieces of footage. I think it makes a very interesting collection and different unpredictable outcomes, a theme which I was exploring in the Companion Project.

Bread Video From Found Footage - My Own Work

I stitched together different footage from different contexts and backgrounds I found on YouTube. I wanted to do this quickly as an experiment so that I could discuss and reflect on it crit I had that week before expanding on the work. I was really interested in the visuals especially ones with manipulated imagery. I thought the footage was a lot more interesting and while there were mixed opinions about which was better - found footage or my own. It came up that it was important where I found the footage and what the imagery symbolised. I decided to plan where to look for my footage. https://vimeo.com/548758749 This is the link for the test video I made. Recommended clips at: 00:00 - 00:30, 3:30 - 3:47

Found footage still

Dream English Kid 1964-1999 - Mark Leckey

Another piece of footage we were introduced to was this work by Mark Leckey. I really enjoyed this footage for the contrasting historical footage to the quite futuristic and Utopian pieces. I felt it would be a lot more interesting to do something like this in my work especially because bread had been seen as the future in so many contexts and eras.

Patrick - Luke Fowler

When I first filmed myself making the bread I really wanted to try doing this using 16mm. I was intrigued by the materiality of this and how it is very experimental in how it can be devloped and manipulated. I was also intrigued by the process of recording, developing and digitising 16mm film and the outcomes that can be acheived by using 16mm including the look and feel of the footage, how it has picked up the light, subjects of the film etc. Patrick by Luke Fowler was a piece that I really enjoyed and I felt showcased the possibilities and beauty to using 16mm. Using 16mm however, didn’t look possible until college had reopened after lockdown. Luckily college reopened soon after starting this work and I was able to use the facilities to try this.

A Month Of Single Frames - Lynne Sachs

I also again wanted to add text to discuss my ideas similar to this footage as I thought it worked beautifully. I am unsure about sound yet. The 16mm is silent but I have borrowed a sound recorder to just record background sound of myself making bread to see what it is like. I did think about the possibility of doing a voiceover but was also open to keeping it silent to focus on the text.

Hands Correspondence - Asako Iwama, Iris Lacoudre, and Camille Sineau

I came across this footage in which they discuss the importance of hands in cooking. In all of the photos and videos I had taken I have found hands very interesting. I liked that hint of interaction and a human presence. As well as the anonymity of it. In my footage I hoped to be behind the camera with the lens only focusing on my hands making the bread.

Softening Cultures - Ben Goldner and Emma Leigh Macdonald

I also came across this video discussing the bacteria introduced into food when fermenting. This video was quite fantasy based and talked about the bacteria in our kitchens and who we share out kitchen with human and non-human. I really loved the themes of this video as well as the fantasy or dream like style of text, I wanted to include elements like this over my footage discussing the bread.

May amnesia never kiss you on the mouth - Ruanne About-Rahme and Basel Abbas

While thinking about displaying this video on the website which I was making for the Companion Project I wanted it to be more interesting than just a clip with a play button. One of my lecturers had shared this work with us and I really like how the work is split into different sections and can be played at different times. As well as how it an be layered on top of each other. I felt like it creates an interesting interactive experience that is often lost when viewing video work online.

Bread Making - My Own Work

I felt it would be interesting to split the film into clips that can be played together or individually as the clips will already be split up to fit into the 3 minutes of 16mm film. The text in the video is also very important and I thought it would be interesting visually while also showcasing the ideas I was trying to convey. I played around with designs similar to ‘May amnesia never kiss you on the mouth’

Experimenting with layouts

Bread Making - My Own Work

I placed my clips into the design I made and was happy with the design but was looking forward to re-shooting my video and adjusting the design when I had more complete material.

Experimenting with layouts

Bread Making - My Own Work

I had recently moved and really like the light in each of the rooms and felt that it would be interesting to focus on this light as an actor showing time passing. I also prefer the texture of the kitchen surface more than the original video. I decided to story board my shots. Both with making the bread but also including shots of light throughout the day as an actor of time passing in the production of bread.

Location shot

Bread Making - My Own Work

As timing was so limited with the 16mm film I planned my shots through time to make sure I would have enough film with 2 rolls. I also decided to work backwards starting towards the end of the bread making process including the baking etc. With this I could pre-make the dough before filming and save time waiting for it to rise.

Planning shots

Bread Making - My Own Work

Once I had all my shots I then moved to developing and digitising the film. While the developing went really well I ran into difficulty with the digitising as both projectors would not display the film properly. The first projector looked as if the film was jumping. The second projector looked as if the film was slipping and racing by. Me and a technician spent the next two days trying to fix the projectors but had no luck. With this I thought it would be best to try and rent a projector as I would only need it for a day.

I reached out to some past lecturers as well as searched around Dublin and online. However, this again proved very difficult with places not wanting to rent out ones they had because of how delicate they were. Others wanted huge deposits in case of damage.

I was reluctant to get my film digitized but found a place in town that could do it for me within a few days so I would at least have something to work with.

Developing and scanning the film

Bread Making - My Own Work

These are video stills that I got back from the digitising company. I asked for them to leave it in a negative as they were scanning it as colour film which resulted in a very red hue over the film. I really liked the colour of the negative film and decided I was going to keep some of the film like this in the final work.

Video stills

Bread Making - My Own Work

I split the film up into different elements as I felt they would be lost in one film. With this I was able to look at the bread making as one piece. The passage of time through light as another along with my narrating text as well as the negative film. I was really happy with how they sat together and felt they complimented each other but could also stand as individual pieces.

Further experimenting with layouts

Bread Making - My Own Work

Towards the end of making this piece during a crit it came up that this approach of separating the clips and having that amount was too busy however and that the work should be simplified as it would sit stronger. With this I kept the video of just the process of making bread. I then combined some of the clips of the light moving as well as the clips I felt worked really well uninverted. I then sat the both together the same size with a smaller text underneath.

In reflection I felt this worked a lot better and allowed the viewer to take in enough that isn’t over whelming. While still allowing me to include the different pieces of film I really liked and themes and ideas I wanted to showcase.

Video still