Designing a Filming Device

Design brief

• Film possesses the controlled ability to consciously move the viewer through a determined arrangement of space which is not visibly possible from the average day to day movements our eyes capture.
• The aim of this stage of my project is to construct a filming device which moves and records a process of moving through space and acts as a tool to design space.
• The device is a tool, and the film is just a part of the device as opposed to it being the outcome. What results from the device has a spatial quality which works as a spatial tool to then go on to design space.
• The device will need to be used in a series of differing spaces, and therefore must be adaptive towards the space it is within, i.e. the nature of the space will determine how the device records that space.
• Try to incorporate a connection between content, form and media, to enable the combination of constructing and filming to continue and strengthen the project.

Series of Sites

I see the device as something which can be constructed and used in a series of spaces. At this stage I have decided to locate this series of spaces within the Chelsea College grounds to enable initial experimentation. The device needs to adapt to the space it is positioned within and therefore initial thoughts are to deal with the height of a space being the varying factor. Using height also enables me to consider voids - empty spaces which can be seen but not physically walked through and therefore creating less tangible films.

The following are images of possible sites to use the device:

3 Storey void by library

Void by reception

Fire Exit Stairwell

Canteen

+ Triangle space

Each of these possible sites have varying heights, light conditions, textures, materiality and activity at different levels to produce varying results through the use of one device.

I see the activity within the spaces as something which could animate and narrate the films as the device moves through the space (like the bicycle movement in Sacrifice and Joe King's Seascape which triggers the flow of the shot). I also recently saw a clip of Louise and Jane Wilson's 1999 Turner Prize entry Gamma, in which there is a clip of a trap door opening, revealing a corridor below, which is then animated by someone walking along it. This activity encourages the viewer to then want to visualise this corridor below.

Proposal

Continuing with the spiralling qualities inherent throughout my project, I visualise a spiralling track which can be fixed within a space which a camera will then spiral down, recording the surrounding space as it descends.

The spiral should be flexible, essentially like a huge spring, so that it can be stretched and expanded into spaces of great height and reduced into low height spaces. Therefore adapting the tracking path for the camera depending on the height of the space and producing altering results where gravity becomes involved.

As well as the device recording the space it descends through, it would be good to integrate into the design a way of recording the device in action, since the shape of the device has been judged by the height of the space. The following sketch shows the integration of two cameras and the possibility of two spiralling paths.

The problem this design faces is finding a material for the track which will act as both an expandable spring, yet hold the weight of a camera. The following sketch illustrates a camera moving down a central pole, this camera is fixed, with a rigid frame, to the camera winding its way down the spiral. The central pole takes the weight of the camera on the spiral track, reducing the need for the spiral to hold the camera's weight. There is then the issue of constructing an extendable rigid pole which a camera can slide down?

The following is a rough sketch illustrating the idea of using activity on floors to animate spaces and give the film a narrative as the camera descends.

The proposed device considers a camera which spirals down a track, perhaps at times it is travelling at a fairly rapid speed. The camera also follows a route alien to that of a handheld camera and therefore I am considering the use of an action camera. The following action camera 'Allows us to experience death deifying feats that most of us are too scared to experience for ourselves.'

Rush, Martin Ruegg

Image from Gagettastic website

These cameras are small and lightweight, and pretty expensive! The lower the price, the worse the quality of the film footage. Perhaps however, a lesser quality of footage for the spiralling camera device would be fitting?

The following sketches illustrate the possibility of lowering the central camera with wire rope, the central camera is then attached to the spiralling camera with a rigid connection. The descent of the wire rope could be controlled, hence controlling the descent of both cameras. This would mean that there would need to be a way of attaching the top of the spiral and an eye pulley for the wire rope to the ceiling or a banister rail.

Materials

Copper tube spiral (8mm) - expandable into a long spiral, retractable into a low spiral and holds its shape. However fairly malleable meaning that their is the worry of the spiral being permanently deformed.

Coil PEX/PVC pipe (10mm) - expandable into a long spiral, retractable into a low spiral but does not hold its shape. (Used for dolly tracks in low budget film production)

Poly tubing (12.5mm) - expandable into a long spiral, retractable into a low spiral but does not hold its shape.

Experimentation

This is an experimental model I made in the workshop. The spiral track is manufactured from a rolled piece of steel rod. I experimented with rolling the rod into a natural spiral and also controlling it into a coil and then stretching it out from there. The steel rod has minimal flexibility and therefore such a track could only be designed for a single height space.

I made a small trolley for the camera to sit on which hangs from an acetal resin sheave (used as wheels on dolly tracks) which ensures smooth movement down the spiral. The aluminium trolley is bolted to the sheave, initially the trolley was falling off the track so I added some weight to it which helped it keep balance. Problems: ensuring it stays on the track and I need to slow it down! Treacle?!?

This is my next subsequent design for the camera trolley, involving two sheaves which sit either side of the spiral track, ensuring it cannot fall off the track. Also if I create a tight fit between the sheaves and the spiral tube, maybe this will cause some friction and slow the trolley. I must also bare in mind the central camera which can be used to control the descent speed.

Insert: I have been thinking about the cameras and film/photographic footage for the device and following my research into the work of Simon Starling and Zilvinas Kempinas, I think it could be interesting to try to incorporate 35mm film into the project as a recording method to then be incorporated into the subsequent next stage of the project.

I headed over to Flints Theatrical Chandlers to source some 8mm sheaves for the device and also had a discussion with them about the logistics of my proposal. They were extremely helpful and commented that in order to incorporate the spiral into the device I should definitely ensure that a central pole/ wire rope takes the weight of the spiralling camera. They also suggested another way of creating a similar effect without a spiral.

The idea uses a lazy susan which causes the spiralling motion and threading which allows a controlled descent of the cameras. The problem with this however is that the gradient of the spiralling motion is always constant and not dependant upon the room that the device sits within.

This is the following experimental device I manufactured and set up in the studio for testing:

The device consists of a copper spiral which is attached to the services trays on the ceiling of the studio, and descends to the ground. The spiral track is copper, with the idea that it can be expanded and retracted to fit into different height spaces. A pulley is attached to the services trays in the centre of the spiral, and a rope runs through the pulley. Attached to the end of the rope is a camera , affixed to this is a Steel L-shape which then attaches to the trolley element which sits on the spiral track and holds the other camera. The idea being that as the spiralling camera descends through gravity, the central camera (attached to the rope) will gradually drop. The pulley should allow for a smooth decent of the central camera and allow for control over the descent if necessary (sketches above).

Putting it into practice...it pretty much failed!...but testing has informed me and I can draw from the faults...it's got a long way to go!...

Device in situ

Film generated by device

Results:

• The flexible attributes of the copper tube meant that as the weight of the camera descended down the spiral, it took the copper spiral with it, meaning that the spiral track swung all over the place.
• The rope kept getting stuck in the pulley and therefore bringing the device to a stop.
• The addition of the central descending camera had no control over the camera spiralling down the copper pipe, it only encouraged the weight to be thrown all over the place.
• The central camera did not descend in a uniform vertical straight line.
• The device descended pretty swiftly down the track.
• The film generated by the device puts the space upside-down, due to the manufacture of the device.
• The film generated is fairly jolty, as the weight of the camera seems to swing a bit in its descent.
• The film is pretty fast and therefore the space is a bit of a blur.

Conclusions:

• The spiral track needs to be a rigid structure to avoid the swing of the track as the filming device descends, this will make the camera footage smoother and more consistent. Therefore the idea of a expanding and retractable track for different spaces is unlikely. I need to get it working in one space first, and it would be good if the device was tailored to its site.
• The rope needs scrapping and replacing with a rigid pole to produce more control. Perhaps try testing without the central element.
• I like the fact the produced footage is upturned.
• The distribution of the weight of the camera on the spiral as it descends needs to be considered, to avoid it swinging.
• Reduce the speed of the descending camera, although I still would like gravity to play a part in its descent.

Subsequently I decided to test the device without the central camera and thus removed the steel L-shape and central rope, so that the camera could descend freely down the spiral.

Device in situ

Film generated by device

Many of the results and conclusions from the previous experiment apply to this test experiment, however in addition and on a positive note, the elimination of the central camera meant that the camera device spiralled the entire way down the track and was not restricted by the pulley. It is clear however that the flexible copper tube track is totally inappropriate for the device and therefore I shall test this camera trolley with the sturdy rolled steel rod spiral I used in the initial test.

Device in situ

Film generated by device

The film footage which resulted from this experiment is short due to the length of the spiral, however it clearly shows that there is still a great deal of swinging movement of the camera as it descends the spiral track, due to the weight of the camera.

The following detailed drawings show possible solutions to restrict and control the movement of the camera to the shape of the spiral track, through implementation of a central pole.

Spiral slit down central pole guides and controls camera down spiral rod

Rigid elements slide and rotate down central pole guiding and controlling camera down spiral rod

Camera dolly

This series of experiments has proven to me that I am overcomplicating the process of creating this spiralling camera footage, and the prospective of actually being able to implement this device into an extensive height space is fairly minimal. I therefore need to rethink the device, draw positives from the experiments and see the past experiments as tests and knowledge I can refer back to throughout the project.

Simon Starling

Fabricated and manufactured in the metal workshops of Wihelm Noack oHG in Berlin, this artwork was made both with and about this famous metal fabricator. The film and sculpture installation cleverly integrates its media to its message. The filmic component of the installation consists of a four minute looping projection onto the wall of the gallery which reveals the construction and manufacturing within the metal factory, whilst the spiralling sculpture feeds the projector with the 35mm film, fantastically travelling throughout the sculpture before being projected onto the wall.

Image from Percolator Magazine website

Image from Brian Sibley's blog

This Visual Arts Review by Robin Laurence, gives a detailed description of the installation on show at the Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver:

'Starling, a Turner Prize–winning British artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen, is admired for projects that combine sculpture and performance and exhibit a high degree of craftsmanship. His work examines architectural history and revisits early-modernist forms, strategies, and technologies. Wilhelm Noack oHG is a film-and-sculpture installation that marries its media to its message in an extraordinary way.

The film component of Noack , projected onto a wall of the gallery, ranges through the century-old metal workshop in Berlin after which the piece is named . For much of the film, Starling's camera is mounted on a dolly trundling along the workshop floor past gatherings of tools, machinery, materials, and parts. The continuously looping film also features still photographs, sketches, and drawings of some of Noack's acclaimed products, including the tubular steel frame of the Barcelona chair, an icon of modernist design.

One work in progress glimpsed at the Noack workshop is the sculptural component of Starling's mixed-media installation. It's a tall, helix form, built in tubular steel and suggestive of a spiral staircase. It is reminiscent, too, of Marcel Duchamp's 1911 painting Nude Descending a Staircase , and of Vladimir Tatlin's 1919–20 Monument to the Third International , also considered modernist landmarks.

The gasp-inducing strategy here is that this kinetic sculpture is also the projector: the 35mm film travels the long and complex route of the entire structure before passing between light and lens. It's a wondrous work, filled with multiple allusions. Wow.'

- Straight.com website

Spiral Obsession

My project seems to have an underlying, ongoing involvement with spiralling, twisting forms which encourage movement and flow. The following artworks stood out to me whilst researching.

Experiencing the Void, JDS Architects

I have previously mentioned Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, which consists of an inverted ziggurat with a unique spiralling ramp twisting down its interior. Central to this ramp is a huge empty void which leads up to a large skylight, flooding the space with light. The design of the building provides a unique setting for the presentation of contemporary art, driving visitors directly up to the top of the building in a lift, in order for them to view the art on a spiralling descent, whilst leaving prime viewing area as a huge void.

Image from JMG Galleries Website

To mark the 50th Anniversary of the building the Guggenheim Museum invited artists, architects and designers to 'imagine their dream interventions in the space for the exhibition Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum..... to leave practicality or even reality behind in conjuring their proposals for the space. In this exhibition of ideal projects, certain themes emerge, including the return to nature in its primordial state, the desire to climb the building, the interplay of light and space, the interest in diaphanous effects as a counterpoint to the concrete structure, and the impact of sound on the environment..... Contemplating the Void confirms how truly catalytic the architecture of the Guggenheim can be.'

- Guggenheim website

The following proposal by JDS/Julien de Smedt architects is noteworthy, for its interaction with the architecture of the building into governing and enhancing how the viewer experiences and moves through the void space.

Image from JDS Architects blog

'Architecture turned into enjoyment and participation. Instead of contemplating the void we propose to experience it by letting a trampoline net spiral down the Rotunda space. The experience plays on Wright's original scenography for the Guggenheim to visit the exhibition downwards.'

- JDS/Julien de Smedt Architects

Spiral Staircase, Peter Coffin

I found this piece of work relevant to my research not only for its use of the spiral, but for the connection between content, form and media. This has been previously discussed in the work of Tacita Dean and the looped Spiral film I created. Peter coffin cleverly translates the notion of the spiral, encompassing a connection between content, form and media into the design of this piece of constantly circling and spiralling sculptural artwork.

Untitled (Spiral Staircase), Peter Coffin

2007

Aluminium and Steel

670.6 x 670.6 x 213.4 cm

Image from Saatchi Gallery website

'Coffin’s Untitled (Spiral Staircase) takes the idea of a simple architectural fitting to an absurd extreme. Reminiscent of Escher’s Infinite Staircase, Coffin’s winding steps are moulded into a circle, inexhaustibly twisting in impossible logic made real. By remodeling the steps, Coffin strips the staircase of its function, turning a thing which is normally engaged with physicality into a dizzying conceptual game. Through his humorous constructions, Coffin bridges art history and everyday experience, subverting the preconceptions of both.'

- Saatchi Gallery website

Conrad Shawcross

Loop System, 2006

Image from Artnet website

Palindrome, 2007

Image from Victoria Miro website

Filming Devices

The application of a moving camera in film is of utmost importance in gaining the correct cinematic experience, therefore it seems suitable to study various existing devices and tools used in film making.

Whilst researching the topic I came across this noteworthy article by Mike Jones titled Camera In Motion - Mode, Means and Method, which concerns a 'structure for providing the filmmaker with a clear mechanism for devising solutions to problems of movement'. The article discusses filming means in relation to the execution of the camera movement and intended idea and concept. These are all valuable factors to consider in the design of my filming device.

I shall briefly mention the Tripod, which allows a camera to be set at a fixed height, and then allows the camera to be moved in two planes of motion - panning and tilting, from a fixed position. Whilst the Handheld method of filming is free in its spatial direction, yet limited to human scale and subsequent to influence of the operators jolty and shaky movements. There is a strong awareness of the presence of the operator and hence the viewer in resulting film.

Camera Dolly

This piece of film equipment is designed to be able to film smooth camera movements from one location to another. The camera is mounted on a dolly which then often sits on a track, a ‘dolly grip’ then controls the camera along the track. There is also commonly a hydraulic arm which allows the camera to move on a vertical axis, such two-way motions are know as compound movements. Dollies may also be operated without a track if the surface is smooth enough. The devices can have numerous steering mechanisms to allow them to move in smooth circles, diagonally etc.

Image from Free Patents Online website

The Dolly track is usually made from steel or aluminium, this enables long track elements to be laid straight, and curved elements to be fabricated. Plastic tubing tracks can be used on cheaper budgeted productions, whilst improvised wheelchairs or skateboards can be used and achieve dollying effects also on a low budget.

Image from Storm Force Pictures website

The use of dollies in films can influence mood and pace within a shot, allowing for long uninterrupted shots to be created. The camera, sitting at a distance from the scene, acts as an observer, following and revealing the happenings. The following clip of the making of the final scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's film The Sacrifice, shows how this shot was captured through the use of a camera dolly.

This was also the process by which Joe King captured Seachange (previously discussed on blog), and parallels can be drawn between the content and filming process.

Steadicam

Steadicam is a handheld device which isolates the camera from the operators movements, the device's framework absorbs the shakes, jerks and bumps of the operators movements, allowing smooth free-flowing film shots to be captured. The operator has the freedom of movement of a handheld camera, whilst producing the smooth results of a dolly without the need for a track. This means that the Steadicam can be used to film continuous winding shots over uneven surfaces, tackling stairs etc.

The Steadicam comprises of 3 major elements:

• An iso-elastic arm
• A supportive vest/harness
• A 'sled' which holds the camera equipment

Image from How Stuff Works website

Mounted at opposing ends of the sled is the camera and a counterbalance (battery with monitor), the sled is connected to the iso-elastic arm by a gimbal just above the centre of gravity of the pole to avoid the camera tilting in any direction, which is then attached to the vest which the operator wears. The cameraman usually holds the sled pole around the centre of gravity to control the device. The gimbal ensures the camera is kept level, whilst the distributed weight of the sled means that the camera is kept balanced. When the cameraman moves, the base of the iso-elastic arm moves also, whilst the spring system in the arm governs for the weight of the sled, and thus the camera smoothly moves into position. The positioning of the camera and monitor and battery can be reversed to capture low angle shots.

The Steadicam has been previously mentioned for its implementation in filming Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

Dan Graham

Cinematic Experiments which address a relationship between the viewer, performer and the artwork itself:

Two Correlated Rotations

'Two filmmakers holding their cameras as viewfinders are eye extensions spiral counter-directionally, the outside performer walking outward while his opposite walks inside towards the centre. The filming ends when the inside walker approaches the inward limits of the centre of his spiral. As they walk their 'aim' is to as nearly as possible be continually centring their cameras (and eyes) view on the frontal eye position of the other.

Each one's moves (and image of the other) reflects the other's in the reciprocal information feedback necessary to achieve continuous 'aim' or image read by the spectator.'

- Tate

Annotated photograph of a performance to Two Correlated Rotations

1970-1972

Two Correlated Rotations

1970-1972

Images from Tate website

Roll

Roll, Filming process: staged publicity photographs of rehearsal

1970

Image from ArtNet website