Sound Colour Vibration (Music | Art | Film | Technology | Science | Culture)

Harmony Korine has become somewhat of an elusive/loved yet hated relic in the world of independent cinema. Whether you are introduced to his work via his first script for Kids, or through his directorial 1999 debut, Gummo, you can tell he’s not your average artist. Harmony presents taboo subject matter in his films that most people are not comfortable witnessing. Yet, his cinematic presence is incredibly powerful and infamous because of this. Look at history, when Harmony was 18 he wrote Kids, a film depicting the gritty rape culture found in the east coast. Even in the news today, rape culture has become underlined and it should be noted that Harmony tried to universally embrace this cold topic in his script for Kids, almost 20 years ago! The organic and psychological approach that Korine takes to his films are always heavy and leave you thinking about the subjects for days, sometimes months, hopefully years. Harmony’s closest followers have noticed that he has been preparing for something big. Over the past couple years Korine has been releasing raw and intrusive short films, the most notable one “Umshini Wam” which featured acting and music from Die Antwoord. Another short he did with the guys from the Black Keys. Some may say that these short films were sort of a ‘test run’ for this spectacular new feature that Harmony was preparing for. The spectacle being none other than Spring Breakers, a film about a feeling; rather than an expose on youth. The sheer craft that is found in Spring Breakers is proof that Harmony Korine is constantly evolving in his storytelling. The film is about 4 girls, but throughout the film it truly feels as if these 4 female characters are one entity. They all represent the same brutally honest angst that’s found deep inside today’s youth. In the film, the girls come up with dangerous ways of stealing money in order to travel to spring break mecca, St. Petersburg Florida. Harmony has created a motion picture that truly encapsulates the feeling of spring break. The film literally looks like it was lit by skittles, the colors bleed through and are literally candy to your eyes. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t a digital production, Spring Breakers was filmed on 35mm film so perfectly it’s honestly a mindfuck. Thanks to cinematographer, Benoît Debie (who has worked on all of French auteur Gaspar Noe’s films) Spring Breakers should be shown in film schools around the world. Between the lighting, cinematography, and colors I truly feel as if film students can learn from Spring Breakers. Not to mention the all-too-human feeling of the film’s editing, catapulting scenes into the viewer’s psyche. This is an exceptional production and a masterful piece of film making by Harmony Korine, someone who is so extremely hated and so undeniably loved simultaneously in the film world. Thank you Harmony, for teaching us something new about cinema and the lessons we can learn from taboo subject matter.

http://springbreakersfilm.com/

Outliers is a special breed of documentary, what some may be so bold as to call an “art-doc” – which does not simply imply that it is a doc about art. Art-genre prefixes are as uncommon as the creative genres that they lend a hand towards describing.

Open Mike Eagle has coined the ambiguous, if not illusive, term “art-rap.” On one of Mike Eagle’s tracks Hannibal Buress jests, “If there’s art-rap then there’s gotta be art in other genres…“

Art-doc seems to best explain Outliers’ alternative approach to defining what a documentary can be. This is part of what makes it so strong as a documentary. In other words the creativity of the doc best delineates the creative record that it is trying to establish.

The foundation of the film is built by a multitude of creatives: two diametric photographers, a film collective and one musician. From here we have a four man film crew including the two main photographers Tim Navis and Kim Høltermand, Los Angeles based Mush Recording artist Deru and the Chicago film collective known as Scenic (Anthony Ciannamea, Mark Wisniowski, and Ryan Sievert). The narrative of the doc chooses to neglect directly mentioning the cameras and the men operating them; who are as much apart of the creativity of the film as the other three more renowned subjects.

The two professional photographers come from very different backgrounds and have very different fathers to their style. Denmark based Kim Høltermand shoots isolated landscapes with a bleak gloaming form that radiates a hidden beauty both in architecture and land alike. On the other end, both stylistically and geographically, is the sun washed portrait photography of Tim Navis from Los Angeles.

The third frontman of the journey is LA based electronic musician Deru, born Benjamin Wynn. Deru curates the audio visual shoulders which the film carries you on. He scores the film with astounding audio bits that he recorded throughout the trip: rocks falling down a mountain, water washing ashore, wind blowing, and other naturally occurring trip specific noises. He is also responsible for bringing together a handful of electronic musicians who have donated their songs to the project. The philanthropic musical lineup includes: Asura, Goldmund, A Lull, Shigeto, Sweatson Klank, Joby Talbot, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eskmo, loscil, Son Lux, Heathered Pearls, and Opiate.

The doc is the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign headed by Scenic for a series of short art films to be shot in Iceland. The doc seamlessly jumps from brief biographical narratives to musical short films. These short films verge on the edge of music videos, picture a music video made by National Geographic but throw in some abstract CGI design work and some beautiful electronic music compositions.

The succinct briefness of the narrative allows the viewer to maintain a sense of familiarity without lessening the aesthetic of the Icelandic countryside. There are very few narrative moments in which the artists have to talk about or explain themselves. In fact nearly all of the interviews are shot on location, outdoors in Iceland. Finally, there is the scarce, sobering narration provided by Deru to tie the film together.

This art-doc excels at focusing more on the artistic exposition of Iceland than it tries to focus superficially (perhaps pretentiously) on the simple fact that theses are artists in Iceland. The film successfully places the viewer next to the artist, which allows the viewer to share a glimpse inside the artistic perspective. From inspiration to creation, the audience is invited on a rare trip through the artistic processes of seven very different artists.

It is extremely rare to be able to accompany an artist on their creative quest. This invites the audience to come a step closer to understanding how creators transpose obscurities into art.

Take this for example, we see the creators on a rocky shore. We see a rocky overhang then we see Tim snap a photo. Next, Tim’s photos of the same location fills the screen. In this instance we see the artist approach the natural beauty, then we see him frame his shot and finally we can meditate on the result of his creativity. It’s the over-the-artists’ shoulder moments like these that allow us to vicariously enjoy the art of the land; but more importantly to start to see the art for ourselves. The brain nearly ponders, “What photo would I have taken?“

The viewer is transposed from the theater into this limitless world of creative beauty. The doc does not suffocate the viewer with an onslaught of the artists perspective, instead it provides just enough to suggest their perspective but still allow the inner artist in the viewer to shine.

The doc is shot on an array of cameras. From tiny Gopros-weather resistant action cameras-which can be seen littered throughout the film, attached to cars, gear, and musical instruments; To dslrs that are both photographing and filming the journey. There are even brief moments of 8mm film thrown into the mix. Sadly, the motion film is not taken nearly as seriously as Tim’s Hasseblad is. The 8mm footage seems to be treated more as a novelty than as a tool in the artists kit.

Deru’s words, taken from the film, best explain the filmmakers’ perspectives and goals of the trip:

“…I’m with six other guys and everyone is capturing everything everywhere we go. So we get to a location and everybody has a job to do and they all take out their cameras, or their video camera or in my case my field recorders and we just go, and we kind of like carpet bomb the place. Just, capture everything we can, you know. That’s why we’re there. And that’s been interesting because it’s just like taking all this input from our environment.”

The innovative execution of this contemporary doc allows it to fit just as well in a museum as it would in a theater or even a living room. Definitely worth supporting if you can. We need more genre bending film and art projects in our lives like Outliers, Vol 1: Iceland.

by Erick Wilczynski

http://www.outliersiceland.com/
http://www.facebook.com/OutliersIceland

Teaser Trailers

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Outliers Soundtrack Info

*** Download the first single here, FREE ***

Deru is curating a full-length soundtrack compilation of tracks contributed specifically for the film.  Artists include:

• Shigeto (Ghostly International)
• Loscil (Kranky)
• Goldmund (Unseen)
• Asura (NonProjects / Leaving Records)
• Tycho (ISO50 / Ghostly International)
• Joby Talbot
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
• Take (Alpha Pup)
• Thomas Knak/Opiate (Co-Producer of Björk’s Vespertine)
• Heathered Pearls
• Eskmo (Ninja Tune / Warp)
• Son Lux (Anticon)

By now most of you are familiar with the European acrobatic-contortionist travelling mega-group, Cirque du Soleil. When you hear the name Cirque du Soleil, what often comes to mind is Las Vegas, bright lights, high jumps, enormous stunts and plenty of “ooh’s” and “aah’s.” In a sense, they are taking the carnival experience and turning it into something new, expensive and a little more thrilling. Performances by the Cirque group are always gravity-defying, nerve-wracking but ultimately beautiful styles of dance and acrobatics. One minute you are watching a performer swing from a 100-foot rope diving into a pool on stage, the next minute there could be performers balancing on a swinging life-sized boat onstage. The stunts tend to get real serious but definitely worth the time and amazement that one invests. If you are the type that is not as financially adventurous, yet your family still begs for a chance to witness the marvel of Cirque du Soleil; your time has come. Filmmaker Andrew Adamson and team have captured and delivered the glory and thrill of this European circus with the brand new 3D movie, Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away. Now if you’ve seen any of the live action shows by Cirque, the 3D movie Worlds Away brings back some fond memories…and then some. Worlds Away is a fine cinematic journey that blends the wonder and hard work of all the Cirque du Soleil performers, giving the audience a chance to experience these captivating stunts/performances first-hand. Instead of being in a big tent hundreds of feet away from the action, this film takes it one step further and invites you to take place in the magic of Cirque du Soleil. Andrew Adamson and team have done a tremendous job with 3D technology to truly bring this magic to life. In theaters now.

Holy Motors, by french filmmaker Léos Carax, is this year’s most riveting ‘arthouse’ foreign film. Holy Motors is a type of cinema that begs the audience for them to absolutely invest in every emotion possible the minute they sit in their seat. The 24-hour odyssey that film auteur Leos Carax encapsulates in a mere 115-minute running time is just straight-up groundbreaking. When you have talent such as the multi-tasking brilliance of actor Denis Lavant, there is really no denying that your final product will be anything less than exceptional. The film begins and ends within the life of a certain being of existence, a male being simply named “DL.” What then proceeds is 24 hours in the life of this being and the extraordinary obstacles/tasks/roles that he must complete throughout the day. There is something very visceral about this type of story-telling. The dream-like photography of Yves Cape & Caroline Champetier paired with the film’s surreal music truly creates a sort of ethereal cinematic experience. I don’t remember the last time a film has created this certain sort of innate feeling that Carax and his team somehow conjures up. If you are interested in the study of certain human emotions, a certain shade of id that exists in all of us, then Holy Motors is definitely a film to invest yourself in.

by Pouya G. Asadi

all photography by Yves Cape & Caroline Champetier

There comes a time in one’s life when they feel the need to live their very own dreams. It’s a certain time where one will realize that in this present day, pretty much anything is possible. After watching Ang Lee’s latest masterpiece, Life of Pi, I came to the conclusion that Lee has found this certain something. Whether one likes adventure films or not; the digital innovation showcased in Life of Pi portrays an urgently paced dream-like journey for all to see. The story is about a family of zookeepers who decide to transfer their zoo from India to North America by boat. The tale revolves around their intelligent and opportunistic son, Pi. His path is a very long and brutal one, but a beautiful journey nonetheless. The digital work in the film is truly ground-breaking and will absolutely win countless awards. The lush colors of everyday life, the terrifying power of a freak storm, all these types of incredible cinematic moments are brilliantly captured and created by Lee and his team. Life of Pi not only captivates the audience but inspires people to stay forward and keep searching for your dreams. Thank you Ang Lee, and thank you to the entire team behind Life of Pi, for teaching us something new about cinema.
by Pouya G. Asadi