Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now
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By Salman Shaffi
I had wanted to make films for some time but did not find a method or form which accurately translated my ideas on paper. After exposure to experimental film, mainly 1960s New York amateur film, I had a better idea of how to make a film with the equipment I had: a DSLR camera and paint.
I shot the film in Hebden Bridge, at Lyme Park in Stockport and in Manchester. Before I began filming I explored the core concepts I had in mind for the film. Through writing a story for the main character, which included themes of meditation and anxiety in freefall within the mind, manifesting through movements in nature. At this point, the film began to develop.
Next, I began painting the animation sections on 8x8mm grids on transparent paper to achieve an effect akin to painting directly on super 8 film. This encouraged me to look at how frames per second (fps) would affect the rhythm of the film. With this in mind, I took a closer look at the frames in the video shots at 24fps and the frames in animations converted from photographs. The overall effect of these different rhythms combined – painting, photographs and video – allowed me to create a visual atmosphere with specificity as I could break down the given 24fps and take control of frames through a series of continuous or slightly altered photographs.
The film lacks a conventional narrative. I wanted to embrace the visual quality of a film, so including the main character in the simple form of a laugh provided space for a visual narrative told through nature. The narrative then takes form in multiple layers and imposes a visual concentration on the viewer. Louis Palfrey, an MA student and Lo-fi musician, worked on creating atmospheric music through every draft of the film to create sounds flowing with the film, which allowed an audio-visual relationship that worked. Music for the film was composed by mouthless.bandcamp.com
Salman Shaffi is currently studying English at Manchester Met. He is writing his dissertation on how visual language operates in a film to explore inner spaces and consciousness. He released his first film in February and is currently working on a new film ‘A Wanderer’s Meditations’ composed almost entirely of animated paint.
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