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Film photography
Film photography
Sander Houtkruijer
December 5, 2016
Sander Houtkruijer is always looking for new creative approaches to his film making. In the video to the song Don Juan Enterprise by Kid Simius he makes use of individual images and the Summicron-M 1:2/35 mm Asph. Houtkruijer explains in an interview how he came up with this idea, and why the Leica Q would be a good camera for this kind of technique.
What were the considerations behind the Don Juan Enterprise Video?
As a film maker you always work with a crew, it’s always a team effort, which is great. But I was interested in doing a project by myself from beginning to end, so I could try out things spontaneously and work more experimentally. Then came the idea of shooting with a photo camera in burst mode, creating small looping scenes. On top of that I’ve always had a fascination for looping videos, gifs, vines. So the video was an experiment and for that I decided to shoot in a visually rich location.
And where was that location?
The main part of the video is shot at the Lotte World Amusement Park and at the Lotte Aquarium. Lotte World is a major recreation complex in Seoul, South Korea and includes the world's largest indoor theme park. Since I was carrying my camera around everywhere, I also added a couple of spontaneous scenes that I shot at other locations in Seoul.
Were there any surprises during the filming?
I think the real surprise came afterwords in post-production. It’s very different to work with the quality of still images, because the resolution is much higher than with video material. The images are much more refined, which immediately sets a very specific mood.
Would you like to do it again, and with what equipment?
Yes, I definitely want to do more work based on this technique. I think it would be a great way to explore narrative possibilities, something I haven’t really done in this video. With ten images per second, the Leica Q would be a great camera for this technique!
The video combines elements of film and of photography. You are primarily a film maker. What influence does photography have on your work?
I always think in movement and structure so my main influence comes from cinema, from directors like Claire Denis or Leos Carax. But I once started out as a painter, so still images have always been a part of my references. For example the painter Michael Borrëmans has a big influence on me. In photography the work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia really fascinates me.
What were the considerations behind the Don Juan Enterprise Video?
As a film maker you always work with a crew, it’s always a team effort, which is great. But I was interested in doing a project by myself from beginning to end, so I could try out things spontaneously and work more experimentally. Then came the idea of shooting with a photo camera in burst mode, creating small looping scenes. On top of that I’ve always had a fascination for looping videos, gifs, vines. So the video was an experiment and for that I decided to shoot in a visually rich location.
And where was that location?
The main part of the video is shot at the Lotte World Amusement Park and at the Lotte Aquarium. Lotte World is a major recreation complex in Seoul, South Korea and includes the world's largest indoor theme park. Since I was carrying my camera around everywhere, I also added a couple of spontaneous scenes that I shot at other locations in Seoul.
Were there any surprises during the filming?
I think the real surprise came afterwords in post-production. It’s very different to work with the quality of still images, because the resolution is much higher than with video material. The images are much more refined, which immediately sets a very specific mood.
Would you like to do it again, and with what equipment?
Yes, I definitely want to do more work based on this technique. I think it would be a great way to explore narrative possibilities, something I haven’t really done in this video. With ten images per second, the Leica Q would be a great camera for this technique!
The video combines elements of film and of photography. You are primarily a film maker. What influence does photography have on your work?
I always think in movement and structure so my main influence comes from cinema, from directors like Claire Denis or Leos Carax. But I once started out as a painter, so still images have always been a part of my references. For example the painter Michael Borrëmans has a big influence on me. In photography the work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia really fascinates me.
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Sander Houtkruijer
Sander Houtkruijer+-
The Dutchman Sander Houtkruijer works as a film maker and video artist in Berlin. He got his degree at the University of Art there in 2012. Originally involved primarily in the artistic area, in more recent years he has been working increasingly as a director of music videos and promotional films for artists and brands such as Floating Points, Thomas Azier, Asaf Avidan, Marteria, Lexus, Volkswagen and Nike. More
