"nature is alive"
A lockdown portfolio.
Creativity is changing. As our society has been put on pause, we return home as individuals once more. No creative teams and no high-budget studios. Yet, as the world hibernates, certain parts of life flourish once more. We can hear the birds chirp again, with no loud trucks or manic shopping centres to muffle nature. This project will focus on the sudden change of dynamic in the creative industry, with a shift towards DIY attitudes and digital connections with others. This uncertain and challenging environment is inevitably contrasted with the resurgence of nature due to the decrease in human consumption and pollution.
With this video, I tried to maintain a disorientating and messy aesthetic, reminiscent of a warped home movie. This home movie would show what life was previously like in a fuzzy blend of memories. I wanted the video to be as homemade as possible to resemble the isolation of producing media during a quarantine. So, I recorded the music using modular synthesis from scratch and almost all of the footage is recorded from my iPhone (except for some 80s commercials).
With all this sudden free time on our hands, I decided to learn a new skill. 3-D modelling is a slightly overwhelming, complex software with many different directions to head in. It was frustrating at times, with many different files that I would consider to be "undisputed failures". However, after numerous attempts at just making basic shapes, I began to get the knack. I started to create various objects and creatures, giving them an intentional low resolution as a nod to old CGI graphics. I also began to recreate album covers I like with a low-poly, surreal look. This simple, yet distorted feel reflects the attempt to create something out of nothing without the aid of teaching or reference (except for the album cover). These images, among others, have all been posted on a new Instagram account that I created over lockdown.
During this time of DIY and isolation, collaboration with others is made exceptionally more difficult, forcing us to resort to online communication and social media. A friend of mine, Natalie, has been in the process of writing and recording an EP on the subject of sudden loneliness and online communication called "Keeping Up Appearances". I have co-written and produced one of the songs on the EP called "No Landing" which focuses on the struggle of an unexpected limbo stage that our generation has faced regarding future studies and connection with friends and family. Which, keeping up with this new age of collaboration, was entirely created via sending project files back and forth and communicating via text message. I also designed the cover for the album, in which I tried to emphasise the constant relationship we have with social media and online messaging.
As we are secluded in our homes, we are forced to appreciate our local surroundings more and we are able to pay attention to certain things we may normally overlook. So here in these videos, I have filmed some areas that would usually be considered irrelevant and tried to compose some interesting textures to further reinforce the idea that you don't need a pretty environment for visuals. I also produced the music in the background, trying to achieve a more ambient sound for reflection.
Chromatic is the title of my friend (Andy Yates) and I's self produced EP dedicated to our experience with quarantine. The cover was shot using a thermal imaging camera commercially designed for measuring temperatures during this period, to see whether someone has symptoms of Covid-19. The EP focusses on themes of isolation, laziness and regret; among happier topics of course. The entirety of this project was written, produced, arranged, mixed and mastered during this lockdown.