Described as video that experiments with new ideas and/or techniques, often characterized by the absence of a linear narrative, the Vimeo awards experimental category this year sees 4 films breaking moulds with some original approaches to filmmaking, whilst providing some genuinely ground-breaking viewing experiences.
PHASEONE – SUGAR BY VADIM GERSHMAN & RYAN POWELL
Ryan Powell & Vadim Gershman take Phaseone’s laid-back track Sugar and combine it with it images of a car journey and a text conversation to create an experimental narrative of two ex lovers failing to reconnect. It’s a fascinating watch, as you find yourself immediately drawn to the text conversation in the middle of screen and quickly become engrossed in the uncomfortable dialogue unwinding between the two halves of the failed relationship. Meanwhile, the black and white car journey unravels beneath the text and Phaseone’s subtle track rumbles on, both almost unnoticed at times, but both adding to a totally immersive viewing experience.
GOLDEN AGE – SOMEWHERE BY PAUL NICHOLLS
Paul Nicholls has made his name working with his production studio Factory Fifteen (Gamma), alongside directors Kibwe Tavares (Robots of Brixton) and Jonathan Gales (Megalomania), with their backgrounds in architecture, 3d visualisation, engineering, animation and photography helping them develop a truly distinctive approach to filmmaking. In Golden Age – Somewhere Nicholls present an incredibly detailed and well-considered vision of the future where the boundaries between what is real and what is simulated are blurred. The director’s architecture experience arms him with a useful tool in creating a visionary universe for his film and makes Golden Age – Somewhere a unique science fiction short that feels like it could have only come from the Factory Fifteen stable.
MOMENTS (2007-2010) BY IAN GAMESTER
Inspired by David Hockney’s joiners and how they seemed to capture so much more of the “moment” than conventional photography, filmmaker, artist & photographer Ian Gamester layers video clips shot between 2007-2010 to build his own captured moments of life. Created by shooting multiple 10 second shots of the same event (or ‘moment’) from slightly different angles and then layering them together in Photoshop, all accompanied by a bare soundtrack created in Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers’ Bloom app. Moments (2007-2010) takes the age old idea of capturing glimpses from our lives and presents them in a new and innovative fashion, giving a brand new perspective on some of the everyday experiences we encounter.
PRIE DIEU BY COKAU
French filmmaking duo Achille Coquerel and Thomas Kauffmann formed Cokau in early 2010 with the goal of experimenting with shooting, editing, motion design and sound design. Their latest film Prie Dieu (which literally translates from French as Pray [to] God) introduces its viewers to a world where insects are connected to a divine power by threads until they decide to commit the sin and break this link. Shot on Canon and Lumix DSLR’s, using real insects (check out the behind the scenes video if you don’t believe me), with all the threads added in post-production, Cokau have created an unsettling alien universe in, Prie Dieu featuring creatures that can rival those created in CGI by some of Hollywood’s largest productions.
