REMIX

My latest project for Media foundation was entitled remix. Fred Astaire was the inspiration for my movie; I explored his background in Vaudeville and later Broadway, then Tap Dancing. Did you know he performed from the age of five? Yes it's true! Here's little Fred and his sister Adele Astaire. ca. 1906.
The actual idea for the remix came from various artists/film makers. I was inspired by the work of Candice Breitz and Christian Marclay, epsecially excited about the way they had cut up and remixed film and sounds, then compiled them all into one piece. More recently, I was suggested by my tutor to have a look at a film called Breathless, by Jean Luc-Goddard, who shows beautifully the effects of jump-cuts.

I decided, out of interest (and for research purposes), to have a look at some of Astaire's films, so I bought three on DVD. My favourite (and probably the "happiest musical ever made") was Easter Parade, starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. So now I had a film, all I needed to do was find an interesting way to put across my personal interpretation of the film, my remix, so to speak. What I did was, I kept a notebook and wrote down and sketched all possible ideas for the film. I thought deep about it, and asked myself "why do I like this film? why am I so amazed by Fred Astaire; what is it I like about Easter Parade, as a film?" I came to the conclusion that it was the feet, the music and the rhythm of the tap steps that were glued to my brain, tickling my enthusiasm for film and dance. Here is the result (starring myself and my good friend Olivia).

fin.