Joe Clark

https://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/Clark/media/Clark_AssetManagement#6_2012_JCL0099/Resources/Clark_AssetManagement#6_2012_JCL0099.mov Photographic materials sourced in the anti-atlas plain in Morocco at the Atlas film studios near the filmmaking town of Ouarzazate are the foundation for this film, which is really more of a durational photograph. The camera rotates through 360º over 5 minutes then seamlessly loops. Its simple view of the empty moon-like plain and clear blue sky is interrupted by sheets of semi translucent reflective material, which produce a somewhat kaleidoscopic effect. The empty environment which would sometimes be used as the background for a film is reconfigured into a constantly shifting composition. Technical -the video is 16:9 1080p. -Its actually an animation made in a 3d package called Cinema4D. -The starting point is a workflow which is now commonly used in special effects for films and car advertising- etc. Like the rest of the Asset Management series -A 'Spherical' image is captured in situ. In my case this was done using a special tripod head and stitched using automatic software. Three exposures per frame are blended, so that the full dynamic range of the image is represented. -This is enough data to now accurately represent a CGI model of a car, or spaceship or whatever and the refections and lighting generated by the sphere will all be consistent with the scene. -I have moved in a different direction from this point and made a simple formal play with the medium. A virtual camera is inside the sphere looking outwards from the same position the original images were captured from. Over the course of the film, it rotates through 360º so the loop will appear to be seamless. As it moves through its loop, it is also tilted from left to right- slowly altering the composition over time. - As with other recent works, the horizon is rotated to perform a simple graphic composition within the frame. Playfully flattening the pictorial space. - In addition I have placed a virtual piece of glass in front of the lens. My goal was to keep it simple so it could conceivably have been shot in situ. The piece of glass seems more real because only the reflection is in focus and the glass itself is blurred because of its proximity to the lens. -The glass interferes with the simple composition of the horizon. Again, changing slowly over time. -I have added 35mm film grain, again to give the impression that it could potentially have been shot it situ, rather than animated. This would be most visible on the uncompressed 1080p version. Location - The location is the Anti-Atlas plain which is the strip of land south of the atlas mountains, before the desert starts to kick in properly. There are two film studios at the nearby town of ouarzazate which have served as the location for many films. - I was there in December 2011 when I did a road trip while I was in the country researching my piece for the Marrakech Biennale. I shot the stills for The Blue of the Distance at the same time.