Production history around: Arc
This article will be going over the events that led to the creation of ‘Arc’, a short film I made recently.
For a few months now I have wanted to make a film about or in nature — mainly focussing on mushrooms (because they are cool). There are several reasons why I wanted to make a ‘nature’ film. Firstly, I want to push myself to do different genres and motifs. With every film I learn something new, and there are so many wells out there, so why not dip my toes into as many as I can. Secondly, Devon is wonderful for the outdoors, so it feels like a wasted opportunity not to. Recently I saw some dome videography work by Dr Kayla Parker and Dr Stuart Moore during their screening of ‘River Visions’ at the Immersive Vision Theatre. This partly pushed my search into the area more so.
Thirdly, when it comes to galleries and screenings, nature and the environment is a common theme. It feels good to have a film available for each occasion, so submission guidelines do not act as a barrier.
In early October, I stumbled upon an Instagram post by Fotonow CIC.
It had the following brief: “Join artist and folklorist Abigail Tinnion on a photo adventure across the moors exploring collaborative image making, playful visual storytelling, connecting to the landscape and our long lost feral creativity. This workshop is for anyone who wants to make some pictures and connect with the Dartmoor landscape through play. Here, the process is more important than the outcome.”
Two aspects jumped out at me — play is a large part of my ‘chance in filmmaking’ PhD, so I thought it may be a useful academic experience, and secondly, it was a good excuse to finally film the nature piece which had been nagging me recently.
My only other time having been on Dartmoor was during my BA Education Studies degree in 2017. I remember we walked alongside a river for most of that, with trees all around us. It was very wet and overgrown — so I thought ‘perfect for mushrooms’.
I had invited my wife and our friend Ana along with us. I did feel a bit guilty about taking up so many of the limited spaces myself, but it was the first of these types of events I had been on, so honestly I was a little nervous before arriving. Also, I am very unfit, so I did not want to be left to die in the moors. I really appreciate the photos the two of them took of me. Often I am the person taking photos at events, so it sometimes appears that I was never there!
Before arriving at the designated meetup spot, one of the first things I noticed (other than all the adorable Dartmoor ponies) was a massive structure pointing up to the heavens. Later I learnt that it was the North Hessary Tor transmitting station. It kept reappearing on the walk, so I decided this would be the antagonist of the film.
We met everyone at a carpark in Princetown where we were given a brief overview of the day. Abigail did a great job of leading the session.
During this rundown, we were handed prompts of what we could be thinking about during the trip. The quick readthrough of this pamphlet painted my vision of what to expect.
Partly due to prompts being a large part of my practice, I instantly thought this unexpected element was a cool inclusion. It is like reading a book and finding a reference that fits perfectly into your essay. I had not thought about a collection of prompts painting a theme before, like a mental mood board. The idea of ‘prompts with purpose’.
Thinking about it in terms of folklore, I feel it makes total sense to include. The way in which I view the moors would be totally different to someone who grew up around them, hearing different stories about spiritual elements, and who has a better understanding of one’s connection to nature. The prompts, in a way, act as a shorthand to put you into that wavelength. Using prompts in this way feels like a clever way to start any activity. A mental readjustment.
The day was great, and the lighting was perfect for filming. The area was way more flat than I was expecting. This is not a bad thing, its just that upon arrival, I realised that my moist film about mushrooms had to shift into something else. The aforementioned prompts helped with that tremendously.
We only got hit by the rain for a short period, but this was already after we took a few introduction shots, and before we reached our basecamp. In a way the rain allowed us to push through the area quicker, so we had good light for the primary location. It was lucky in a way. What wasn’t as lucky was Isobel’s coat breaking (zipper busted), so she was affected by the elements more than some of us.
Everyone we met at the event was very nice. It is great how many cool people you can meet through a free event on Instagram. It was nice being able to hop from conversation to conversation, as well as to just run away and take some pictures. I have the complex with my filmmaking that I am making everyone wait up for me, but in this scenario everyone was always occupied with their own things, so I never felt like I was taking up too much time. It was nice.
Also one of the photographers brought along their dog, which was an instant highlight. They were the best boy at the event, hands down.
As a result of the prompts, I kept seeing portals everywhere. I had thoughts of ‘if I went through them, would I be in a world slightly different from my own?’. Alternatively, ‘what, from somewhere else, could travel here?’ — this became part of the premise of the film. A spirit, linked to the radio tower, which travelled through portals.
Our base was at the ruins of Foggintor Quarry. This location made me think about the connection between the present and the past, and how some elements of the past are in the present. As a result of these thoughts, I originally I wanted to call the film ‘Current’, as in electricity, and now. Instead I chose ‘Arc’, as in electricity, circle (portal), and the developing of a narrative.
I also thought about another interesting element regarding ‘time’ on this trip. That, to the untrained eye, it is hard to know what is 100 years old, or 5000 years old. The idea that the past becomes an ambiguous clump of information, with it hard to discern it all apart. We are so certain though, that ‘now is now’, and we are certain that the ‘future is later’, but should we be?
The prompts also asked that we ‘find spirits’, which shaped a lot of my thinking on the day. I thought that there could be a spirit linked to the transmission tower looming over us. Maybe using the tower to travel, maybe being upset that the tower exists in the landscape, like a God versus Babel situation, maybe both. There were also thoughts that the portals are what allow the spirit to appear. In a sense, the portals within these ruins, or those formed by ancient stone circles (or our little on on the floor), served as gateways, enabling the spirit to traverse time and emerge from the past into the present.
This ‘travelling through electricity’ made me think about my film ‘Disseminate’, where once something is made and put out into the world, it exists as its own entity. So the thought of me playing the main character in ‘Disseminate’ and ‘Arc’ made me think about a weird link between these films. This, on top of the thought that time may not be as linear as humans like to think, made me imagine a scenario where one of the films leads to the other. It is funny though, that in reality this is kind of true..
The mask was created by Abigail when she was younger for a school project (I cannot remember if it was GCSE or A-levels) — The prop was handed to me, and I decided to take this as a chance event. Even though there were other masks available, this would be the one I used. Cannot miss an excuse for degree and artistic relevance.
Below are some of the other props that were brought along. After the event, I had a look through Abigail’s portfolio, and it is cool to see that many of these pieces were used in some of her other works. She is talented, so I recommend you check her stuff out.
I do like the world of known vs. unknown. Often I meet people, not knowing at all how talented they are. The unknown being a time to ‘meet the person’ I feel is very important and healthy. Also, a lot of creators can get paralysed if they feel a ‘quality’ or ‘professionalism’ disconnect between them and the people they are working with. I feel it’s best to remove that whenever possible, as people are more likely to play, have fun, and create great works as a result.
For the song I used a snippet of ‘Auld’ by Casonika — I wanted something human, full of mistakes, and kind of folksy. The music also had an electrical interference to it which I felt matched the themes of the piece.
‘Auld Lang Syne’ means ‘long long ago’, which I felt also matched the themes around time I was thinking about while making this piece.
I think that’s all I have to say about the piece and the history around it so far! This is my first time writing an article so close to the release of the film (the next day). It does change a lot. Many of the details are clearer, but it also means that there is less history and reception to build upon. I may make a second article on its life once it has had time to exist, but we shall see. Thanks for reading.
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