Sound: The Garment District
Visuals: Nicole Czapinski
I really love the challenge of jumping into a project without much preparation or idea of how things should look/work. I showed up to the Nike site for the first time in Jennifer’s car (blue 1988 Volvo 240DL). For this first shoot I didn’t bring anything except my iPhone. Jennifer drove us so we had the resources of her car which were plenty: old books, vintage dresses, instruments, a roll of tape. I like making do. I get this trait from my dad. I’ve worked on many projects with him as he’s helped me design and build a lot of my work. He knows how to make do and is an excellent creative problem solver. His methods and techniques are MacGyver-like (which is a show we watched together when I was a kid). He inherited his father’s tools and so our garage at home is crammed full of old odds and ends, tiny drawers full of screws, coffee cans filled with small tools and nails and so before he goes and buys anything from a store he roots around in the garage because he usually already has the thing or something close to the thing that will work. I get the sense that he does this not only because he likes to save money, but that it’s more fun to “make do” and enjoys a creative challenge. There is a kind of triumph, perhaps rooted in anti-capitalism, in being creative with what you already have so you don’t have to buy the thing you think you need.
Without very many tools you’re left using more of your surroundings which creates unexpected results. An iPhone taped to a rusty folding chair and stacked on a book as a makeshift tripod. Finding a puddle of water and seeing the reflection of the dome in the water and using the water as a filter or screen.
For the second video shoot, I brought along a large piece of green paper and a crystal prism to experiment with creating a green screen portal and was excited to test this out. The first part of the video is a green screen portal of Jennifer that cuts away to show the slow drive up to the Nike site revealing a weathered sign that reads “Seat belts will be worn at all times” The sign feels like a warning or a threat. Who is enforcing this rule? I wanted this part of the video to feel tense and a bit eerie with a slight buildup that mirrors the instrumental introduction of the song.
The second part of the video is where we “enter” the portal or enter the Nike site. I created four separate videos that play alongside each other for the duration of the song. Each time I shoot, the results are always slightly different and produce different effects, compositions, juxtapositions and colors. I hope to perform live alongside The Garment District and would love the opportunity to respond in real time to the music; it would be an exciting way to improvise visuals to sound.
Jennifer energizes a project with an enthusiasm that I find extremely motivating. Because of her openness and eagerness to experiment she is an excellent collaborator. It’s important especially early on in the creative process to work without inhibitions. This informed the video in so many ways. We feed off of each other’s energy in a really generative way and we share a deep appreciation for and fascination with the analog, handmade, do-it-yourself, and old-school technologies.