#ImagesPlymouth

[brandonjohnbarnard]

Production history around: After Images

Time for another look into one of my films, ‘After Images’.

This was filmed in the nightclub ‘Images’ which is in Plymouth city centre. I only started going there this year (2024), and it’s a cool place to meet alternative and inclusive people. It is funny that a lot of alternative people can look quite scary on the outside, but are some of the sweetest people you can ever meet. That is often the case I think though.

The club represents, to me, many of the people I have met so far in my art journey these past 6 months. I won’t name names for privacy reasons, but there are a few that go there who I have met through Imperfect Cinema, some from my current university course, some from Anime society, etc. It feels like a great encapsulation of my life post-joining my MA Experience Design degree, which is a far cry from my life prior.

How this film came to be: for a few of the previous events I attended it happened to be quite dark. This was mostly because they took place in a club setting — like Noodlez and Hell-o-weenie’s drag event which I attended at Images 2 months prior.

(Noodlez at the drag event mentioned above.)

I took SO MANY photos at this event, and maybe only 10% of them were not a blurry mess. So, I used this night as an excuse to play with my camera and finally learn how to take good photos in poorly lit rooms. Like anyone trying to learn a skill, I passed my camera to my wife and asked if she could figure it out.

(Isobel the technology king.)

Isobel both made the camera take long exposure photos, as well as making the camera rapid-fire. We had no intention of creating a video from this, it was purely us playing around with the silly settings she had landed on.

This combination of long exposure and rapid images, when combined with the music weirdly replicates the experiences of drinking on a night out very well. Also, the jumping between different scenes replicates the gaps in memory people can have when thinking back to a night. Maybe this is just me telling on myself though for being a irresponsible drunk.

(A very responsible adult acting dignified and full of grace.)

I really like that a film like this records a moment in time and place. I know this could apply to any film, but this is more personal to me. The idea that Images has been saved in my work, like a boy scout sewing a patch, that represents an experience, to their sash is really exciting. I like that when I die (hopefully a long time from now) someone can look through my filmography and make informed guesses about my life. The fact that tiny parts of me that I do not personally intend to share fall off and get stuck in the frame is a nice way for one’s soul to exist in their work.

(My films as of 18/09/2024 — they are all slowly building a picture of what I have done, what I have read, who I have met, where I have been, etc. My journey is captured within.)

One of my favourite elements of this piece is the double meaning in the title:

After ‘Images’: the film goes through a night at the club ‘Images’, as well as what happens after being at Images.

Afterimages: this is an image that persists in one’s eye. By having the long exposure be the predominant feature of the piece, it in a way creates an afterimage trail of where the light was a few seconds prior.

You could also go into memories being after images too, and this night being a positive memory to me away from the filming aspect.

The piece ending with us catching the Sundial in town filled with bubbles is a nice touch. A classic Plymouth tradition being stumbled upon while on a night out. Many moons ago I was making a documentary on the Sundial, so it has a big place in my heart (I read too many articles on it and now its part of my DNA).

The music used in the film is ‘Big Room House’ by Paul Stitz — whenever I rewatch this thing, I am always jamming to the song. It was a lot of fun to edit to because it had lots of sharp beats that I used to control the pacing of the production. This adds a nice level of anticipation, moving on the music.

And that’s all I have to say on it I think. Hope this was an interesting read. Have a great day!

XOXO Gossip Girl