THE WOMAN FROM THE END OF THE SEAS (INTERVIEW)
Explain in a few words what your short film is about.
It’s 1901 – the press report a startling find in as yet uncharted seas. They tell of a team of explorers who, after weeks of seemingly aimless wandering, arrive in a mysterious country and make an extraordinary discovery: a fantasy being: half nymph, half witch. The discovery of this strange creature becomes a legend: “The Woman from the End of the Seas”. Or is she only a myth, an illusion, the hoax of the century! Who knows…
Produced in a similar format to a contemporary music video, the film references the style of the Edwardian ‘La Belle Epoque’ freak shows, here presenting “The Woman from the End of the Seas” : a travelling oddity, a circus exhibit. The film presents a woman, both intriguing and frightening, and the tale that surrounds her.
Where did you get that idea?
I’ve been experimenting with the short film genre for a few years, creating fictional narratives using live performance, stop motion and conceptual animation. In this short film I wanted to immerse the viewer in the world of 'La Belle Epoque' at the turn of the 20th Century. I’ve always been fascinated by this french era and the creation of myths which took place across many genres. The work of Georges Méliès and the use of cinema as a fairground attraction is of particular interest for me.
What was your budget?
The film was self-produced, with a minimal budget.
How was the writing of the script and the voice-over?
The narrative plot is inspired by an authentic event of the 19th Century. Phineas Barnum (originator of the freak show) exhibited a remarkable stuffed mermaid to the gullible public of New York and London. The mermaid was in fact a hoax.
In writing the plot I have also drawn on fantasy literature in the style of Jules Verne, fairy tales and legends. What interests me in the language of tales is the oral tradition, the use of a stylised narrative, of repetition, connecting into the subconscious. The narrator is present in the telling of tales and legends. This is something I draw on in the film, giving the tale a gravity like the grandiose storytelling of the showman.
Your film is mostly worked on the visual aspect.
How did you work your shooting? We get the impression that there are a lot of photos on the screen.
My work largely focuses on visual experimentation : image, form, drawing, video combined with sculptural manipulation. The film came out of a series of photographs taken of a scale model I’d built: the Palace of Sea Foam. The photographs were then edited and enlarged. The idea was not to hide the reality of the model in minature but to emphasise the visual, the make-believe, the illusion, the hoax. The set is like a character, I want it to have its own shimmering presence. In creating these images I’m producing the illusion of a faerie world. The image transforms the narrative, giving it magical form. I have to research, build, create form and out of that comes the story.
Was the shooting done in a conventional way?
The shooting was intuitive and experimental to start with because what I was filming was not yet written up into a plot. My intuition is very visual rather than plot-led and I’m open about that. I’m playing with the image, with colour, light, shape; reading the subtext and the references as they come to me. The story comes out of that freedom of expression.
In what format did you shoot? Digital? Film?
The work was filmed in two parts: with a conventional camera for the black & white section and with a digital camera for the section in colour. I’m drawn to film and would like to experiment further with this medium.
We feel a real artistic work. Where do you get this passion for this formal aspect of collage, picture editing?
Absolutely, the image is a strong presence in all my work. I studied graphic design at "l'Ecole Nationale et Supérieure des Beaux-Arts", and quickly acquired an understanding of the power of imagery, of composition, archetypes, symbolism. I’ve always been drawn to collage and photo-montage: the magical depth of possibility in photo-montage. The power of an image created from images, its ability to build an imaginary world. This is illusion: making tangible places that don’t truly exist.
What are your references? We could equate your work to that of Bertrand Mandico, what do you think?
Certainly, the cinematic work of Bertrand Mandico’s fascinates me, his use of image, costume, set design and sound. I’m drawn into his craft of film making. But not only him! I’m also fascinated by the work of Georges Méliès and the pre-cinema era. Through cinematographie, Méliès perpetuates previous entertainement: the magic lantern, photography, sketches, magic acts, pantomime, illusion. His films are for me an eternal source of inspiration and wonder.
I also draw inspiration from the films of Federico Fellini, Jean Cocteau, Jacques Demy and the animated storytelling of Michel Ocelot. And beyond the world of film, I’m drawn to theatre and live productions (eg. Philippe Quesne, Michel Fau) to visual artists (Pierrick Sorin, Pauline Curnier-Jardin, Miquel Barceló, Joan Fontcuberta). And many more…
You are involved in the various stages of creating your film. Is it important for you to touch all areas? (Directing, editing, sound design, etc.)
Certainly, at this stage it’s still really important for me to be involved in all aspects of creating a short film: image, design, production, sets, costume, sound and editing. Every aspect helps me to develop and give life to my ideas.
I’ve also been working on set design on other films, series and shorts. Working alongside other creators helps me develop my own ideas around design and develop my understanding about each area..
Concerning the soundtrack that is quite rich and sensory, what precise effects were you looking for the viewer?
With the soundtrack I’m seeking to produce both distance and coherence between sound and image. I invent archive images drawn from this era immediately preceding the age of cinema. But I’m blending that with a rich, cinematographic sound. The way I use sound is far more contemporary in contrast to the re-creation of a pre-cinematic exploration of image.
The sound dimension is vital in my work, it renders the story into credible form, in builds the back scene. The sound is as important as the image, in fact its immersive power is even stronger.
Did you have a clear idea for the editing at the beginning of the project? How did you work this step?
Editing is the most satisfying part of the work. I don’t really have a concrete, solid idea of how the work will finally be complete. The period of editing allows me to re-write, re-form the story. At this point I become the magician, I create the Isle Chiaroscuro, there’s a childish pleasure to all this.
It is an abundant, visual and rhythmic montage that I wanted to be close to the music video. There is an aesthetic of special effects, of do-it-yourself: the effects are deliberately put on the same plane. Like a collage, the superpositions do not allow depth: a blurring that gives the impression of a single layer. It's also close to the format of the trailer and the opening credits, which I find very rich graphically.
Was the idea of titles appearing in yellow letters to indicate places planned?
Exactly, I wanted to bring a graphic element to the short film. I’ve come from graphic design and I bring that with me here. I love the dynamic between text and image in the trailer or the opening credits of films. In this short film the visual text creates both a rhythm and a rupture to the narration of the film. I’m also seeking to add a literary feel. The caption – The Isle Chiaroscuro, The Palace of Sea Foam, The Woman from the End of the Seas are all literary forms, included them as captions on the image is more contemporary.
In the end, how long did it take you to make this movie?
Since I was principally working alone, the production overall took me about six months, six months of intensive work. The filming did take a long time because I was using an experimental technique. Altoghether, I spent two months editing a five minute short.
At what point do you think the film is finalized ?
I’m not sure the creative process is ever finished but you have to stop. The way I do that is to look at the rushes without the sound and to listen to the sound without the image. If I’m happy with both elements each in isolation then the film is ready to be screened.
© Elsa Parisot
Has your film already been screened?
My short has already been screened at a number of film festivals.
Do you have any other project ideas?
Over time I’d like to put together a specific video technique encompassing sound, production, set design. Building a toolkit /handbook inspired by the films of Georges Méliès. In the longterm I’d like to create an entirely immersive offer, a form of art that would encompass all the viewes senses: sight and sound, but also touch and smell. A complete form of art, of illusion; like a magic show bringing together a wide range of artistic mediums: sculpture, video, image, graphics, sound, screenplay, etc.
By Hallucinea Film Festival
