Afréttur

September 28th, 2009 → 8:33 am @ admin


http://www.vimeo.com/4441969

Afréttur is a 52 minutes documentary shot in Iceland between 2004-2007. The film is in post-production and will be premier in Reykjavik, the 9th of October. The aim is to immersiv experience.

five

Larus and Palmi

As Hitchcock was stating ´better to start from a cliché than to arrive to one´. I should say that the best way to look at Afréttur would be to follow the flow of time and therefore to adopt a classical narrative script that would start some hours before the beginning of Afréttur and that would end 24 hours after. It is the essence of Afréttur  that implies to follow a certain path to build the documentary. In fact, Afréttur (called transhumance in French/English ) is of those phenomenon that witness nature as a whole, it shows this crucial notion: mankind is (a part of) nature just as sheep, dogs, horses. They are expressions of nature’s voice. Wind, sky, stones would then be the notes of this opera.

I would qualify this film as an immersive documentary (the term comes from the world of virtual reality ) which goal is to make the audience BE there, live the experience as if he or she was a shepherd. This does not mean that the film will not have a value as a document but it means that we decide that a part of the information will be transmitted through immersion experience and that being on a horse in the middle of the plain is an important fact in Afréttur.

The wind, the traveling on a horse or on a quad, all sequences that are considered as immersive will articulate the film. This is to say that it will document the experience of being there rather than a piece describing Afréttur from the outside. There are many arguments in the favor of such a choice. An abstract one is sincerity. In fact, it is pointless to pretend to describe a phenomenon from the outside since you are always a part of it . By placing our view ‘inside’ we start with a path that should be right.
The second reason is that Afréttur is nature at work (men, sheep, dogs, horse but also wind, river, lava…) the result of hundreds of years of evolution, yet something of a prehistorical [3] activity (involving ancient feelings/instincts). So by immersion, we can aim at those instincts, which are present in the spectator and consequently establish a real link between what Afréttur is and the audience. We can add that buy trying to talk to those feelings with such modern means we reflect the notion of evolution and permanence.
The third reason, a pragmatic one, is that the shots made on horses and on quad are a large part of the material used for editing and that they describe with accuracy some part of Afréttur. We should also keep in mind that those are not stolen images since protagonists of the documentary know about the camera.
This said, it comes quickly to light that it is an obligation, in a first step, to get the spectator to be willing to get into the experience, secondly to keep him / her there during the length of the movie while describing Afréttur with as much precision as possible.
The first step, asks for a precise and didactic introduction:
· Environment and culture. Present the main protagonists (men but also animals), the main places so the spectator is a known universe and can focus on the experience.
· The program. Same intent, the introduction presents what is going to happens, why, when and where. We will follow this plan all along the movie.
· A soft start into the matter. We do not want to put them right away on a quad or on a horse.
For the second step, the main issue is I guess to keep the spectator’s interest and attention while allowing him to relax and enjoy the journey . Firstly by avoiding that he/she gets lost in the course of Afréttur. It implies to inform him on what is happening, why, on what is the time, the weather (cold, rain coming…), and for example where are the other members. Of course, a little feeling of being lost can be good. Secondly, to inform him about the ´big picture´ which mean about where in Afréttur we are situated. This central part is technical:  using the right processes on the right place at the right time which implies of course a good workflow as well as framework (a set of concepts and practices we decide to use).
When the journey comes to an end, the audience has to leave smoothly the universe that he entrusted his emotions to. Consequently it is a matter of respect to create a space at the end where feelings created by the movie can live softly lend .
As Hitchcock was stating ´better to start from a cliché than to arrive to one´. I should say that the best way to look at Afréttur would be to follow the flow of time and therefore to adopt a classical narrative script that would start some hours before the beginning of Afréttur and that would end 24 hours after. It is the essence of Afréttur  that implies to follow a certain path to build the documentary. In fact, Afréttur (called transhumance in French/English ) is of those phenomenon that witness nature as a whole, it shows this crucial notion: mankind is (a part of) nature just as sheep, dogs, horses. They are expressions of nature’s voice. Wind, sky, stones would then be the notes of this opera.
I would qualify this film as an immersive documentary (the term comes from the world of virtual reality ) which goal is to make the audience BE there, live the experience as if he or she was a shepherd. This does not mean that the film will not have a value as a document but it means that we decide that a part of the information will be transmitted through immersion experience and that being on a horse in the middle of the plain is an important fact in Afréttur.
three
Horse eating during the last day
The wind, the traveling on a horse or on a quad, all sequences that are considered as immersive will articulate the film. This is to say that it will document the experience of being there rather than a piece describing Afréttur from the outside. There are many arguments in the favor of such a choice. An abstract one is sincerity. In fact, it is pointless to pretend to describe a phenomenon from the outside since you are always a part of it . By placing our view ‘inside’ we start with a path that should be right.
The second reason is that Afréttur is nature at work (men, sheep, dogs, horse but also wind, river, lava…) the result of hundreds of years of evolution, yet something of a prehistorical [3] activity (involving ancient feelings/instincts). So by immersion, we can aim at those instincts, which are present in the spectator and consequently establish a real link between what Afréttur is and the audience. We can add that buy trying to talk to those feelings with such modern means we reflect the notion of evolution and permanence.
The third reason, a pragmatic one, is that the shots made on horses and on quad are a large part of the material used for editing and that they describe with accuracy some part of Afréttur. We should also keep in mind that those are not stolen images since protagonists of the documentary know about the camera.
This said, it comes quickly to light that it is an obligation, in a first step, to get the spectator to be willing to get into the experience, secondly to keep him / her there during the length of the movie while describing Afréttur with as much precision as possible.
The first step, asks for a precise and didactic introduction:
  • Environment and culture. Present the main protagonists (men but also animals), the main places so the spectator is a known universe and can focus on the experience.
  • The program. Same intent, the introduction presents what is going to happens, why, when and where. We will follow this plan all along the movie.
  • A soft start into the matter. We do not want to put them right away on a quad or on a horse.
six

Palmi riding norh

For the second step, the main issue is I guess to keep the spectator’s interest and attention while allowing him to relax and enjoy the journey . Firstly by avoiding that he/she gets lost in the course of Afréttur. It implies to inform him on what is happening, why, on what is the time, the weather (cold, rain coming…), and for example where are the other members. Of course, a little feeling of being lost can be good. Secondly, to inform him about the ´big picture´ which mean about where in Afréttur we are situated. This central part is technical:  using the right processes on the right place at the right time which implies of course a good workflow as well as framework (a set of concepts and practices we decide to use).
When the journey comes to an end, the audience has to leave smoothly the universe that he entrusted his emotions to. Consequently it is a matter of respect to create a space at the end where feelings created by the movie can live softly lend .
one

Crossing the river

The essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity.
Definition of transhumance : seasonal migration of livestock to summer pastures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersive_digital_environment

Moreover, see quantum mechanics : the more you try to observe a phenomenon ‘closely’ the more you disturb it. It is therefor better to postulate from the beginning that you are a part of it.
Birth of agriculture -10 000 BC.
This is clearly for me the time where farmers draft the sheep in the réttir. This is a great opportunity to get connected to reality again.

By realistic we mean as descriptive point of view. Shots that describ what is happening.