I've just found a 'Visual Label' called AntiVJ.
It looks like it is all based around installations, projections, new technologies, VJing, visual mapping etc etc.

http://www.antivj.com/

The intro page really drew me in, and I have watched the intro video about 4-5 times because I am just in awe of it all! I will definitely be doing a lot more research into this visual label, and take a look as to which visual artists are involved etc.

I researched Brian Eno for my self-directed project. i looked into his ambient music pieces and used one of his tracks, 'Slow Water' in the final edit of my piece.
Whilst researching this man, i found out that he is probably the most recognised music producer in the last 25 years, but that was the only area I thought he worked in - Music. I discovered that he also produces his own artwork. He has used his creativity to produce art installations - Three dimensional works designed to transform the perception of a space.

One of his most recent installations is called 77 million paintings - this is because this piece of work constantly changes in both sound and images gradually fading in and out. 300 of Eno's hand drawn images have been sliced and re-arranged to form new compositions and variations. It is completely random, which makes each composition different everytime. to complete the piece of work, layers of ambient sounds blend together to create a full piece of music.

I looked at an art review of the piece, and this quote sums up why I am so attracted to this type of work:

'Think of Eno as a Sunday painter for the digital age, a maker of electronic mandalas who wants nothing more than to leave viewers free to daydream.'
David Pagel
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/09/brian-eno-77-million-paintings-cal-state-long-beach-university-art-museum-.html

I really do like the idea of allowing the audience to daydream, and to just be lost in a piece of work, to enter a different world - an act of escapism really appeals to me.

The video below shows sections of 77 million paintings with the voice of Brian Eno commentating over the top of it providing detailed information about his piece of work.

Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.

I am VERY impressed with this animation, it is not a piece of professional work, it isn't for a client or anything like that - it is just someones student project.
Apparently it took 2 years to finish. Each frame, is an individual painting (digital) and the whole piece is made up of 6000 paintings.
The amount of dedication to create a piece of work like this is incredible along with the patience to go with it!
The narrative of the piece is very good ... BUT The section that I like the best, is the ver end! Dont get me wrong, the whole piece is amazing, but it is the final section where the credits are showing that I feel is just beautiful. It goes back to my love for mark making, and the experimental process and happy accidents you can get out of it.

CCTV Ink TV Commercial - Directed by Niko Tziopanos from Troublemakers.tv on Vimeo.

I found this Advert for CCTV (Central China Television) and was drawn to it immediately. I have always been drawn to the use of Ink dropped in water, I like how unpredictable it is and the different shapes and marks it creates. Obviously in this Ad, there have been some effects used, but it all flows perfectly together. It keeps its audiences attention by moving from one transition to the next, keeping our attention by wanting to see what the shapes will turn into next. A fish? A train? etc.
The agency is MMIA - A leading advertising television company in Beijing, China. I also think that the music they used for the advert goes extremely well with the visuals. The music and sound design were done by Supreme Music, Florian Lakenmacher.

I decided to send Max Hattler an email - I have included his work that I am interested in, in a previous post.
I know that he is an extremely busy guy, but I thought I would give it a shot and ask him about his work, I wasn't expecting a reply back from him, so it was such a delight to see he took time out to email me back!
This is what I wrote to him:
Hello max,

I am currently in my final year of a Moving Image degree.
I have realised I work best with experimental footage and a lot of your work has influenced me!

I especially enjoy 'Drift' as I am working on a project at the moment all to do with representing the body using extreme close-ups in mysterious and confusing ways.
It is a self-directed project, which i am enjoying as I have the freedom to do whatever I like really!

I would just like to ask you where your inspiration comes from and what influences you to begin an experimental film?

Also, I would be very grateful if you could give me some advice on how to take my first step in the industry, how did you go about getting your name recognised?

Thank you for your time, Jenny

Jenny Huddart, Stockport College BA(HONS) MOVING IMAGE: 3rd YEAR.

This is what Max replied back to me:
hi jenny,

thanks for getting in touch. it’s nice to hear that my films are an inspiration for you :)

it’s difficult to say where influences come from for me. I think a lot of it is to do with what I DON’T like, or what I don’t want to do (i.e. narrative, characters). i’m more interested in atmospheres and aesthetics, and using film in the way that painting works, but over time. I came to animation with a background/interest in painting and graphic expression, and also music and sound production. so the way I work is a combination of that, and not so much aspiring to ‘film’ film.

I usually just start out with an idea (i.e. “I want to make a film about the body as a foreign landscape; get so close to it that it becomes almost unrecognizable and alien”, or “I want to make a film about the conflict between islam and the west, my looking at both sides through the lense of abstraction, pointing out similarities, rather than difference between both ‘systems’”.)

I go about it the same way I used to make music... to start somewhere, anywhere, and then build, and experiment. a lot of my work is to do with editing, trial and error, throwing things away if they don’t work, or modifying them to make them work. eventually, the finished film will emerge...

also, sound is very important for me. sometimes I work on sound and image at the same time, so that both can influence and feed off each other right from the start. sound is so important, and shouldn’t be left til last.

alright, I hope this helps.
let me know if you have more questions :)

cheers,
max

I am so grateful that he took the time to send a long email to me - it proves that he is a decent guy who is happy to help anyone (including students) in any way he can!
I feel that after reading through the email, his ideas and the way he processes things are very similar to my own way of thinking - He is more interested in atmospheres, as am I. I've realised that I work better playing around with experimental ideas compared to narrative filmmaking. It catches my imagination more and I feel comfortable working in that type of environment.
Max also mentions that he experiments a lot until he gets the finished film - I have touched upon this method when working in my most recent project - Even in past projects aswell though, I feel like it is one of the best methods to work on as you will come across happy accidents etc.

Something else that Max wrote in his reply, made me look at how I am going about my own work. He mentions sound, and how it is important to him, and also how it shouldn't be left til last. He works on sound and image at the same time. . . . . I had not tried this method, even though it seems quite obvious now, I hadn't started my experiments like this - I had developed the footage first, then went off to try and find the best type of music that would go with the footage I had put together. As soon as I read Max's email, it encouraged me to work with both footage and sound both at the same time, it seems like such a more obvious way of experimenting and it makes a lot more sense. So I have him to thank for changing my ways of how I'm approaching this project!

Hi Jenn ,

Many thanks for your post..I'm agree with you, it is a great advert and it is quite similar to my idea.

i've decided to improve my golden bird's idea in someway for other subject, hopefully it would be more relevant in compare with itv1 ident.

thanks again and good luck with your project.

Tahere

Hi Jenn ,

Many thanks for your post..I'm agree with you, it is a great advert and it is quite similar to my idea.

i've decided to improve my golden bird's idea in someway for other subject, hopefully it would be more relevant in compare with itv1 ident.

i have seen the video that i think it is technically familiar to your idea about Confusing Body Movement.

thanks again and good luck with your project.

I went to a screening on Thursday 1st October at Revolution in Manchester and saw some really nice, entertaining short films.