Breath

1974
Country: UK
Duration: 15 mins
col,
Sound: Opt.
Ratio: 4:3
Available Format/s: 16mm/ HD digital file
Original Format: 16mm Film

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Breath William Raban
Breath William Raban

The procedure: the filming location was a remote part of Dartmoor. A central position was selected in the landscape and a tape recorder was left here to record (using an automatic level control).
Three camera operators were each given a camera loaded with 100′ of Kodachrome 11 and two of them were each given a whistle of different pitches; the third person had no whistle.
Instructions were given to walk away from the tape recorder in a ‘Y’ configuration After 8 minutes, the three camera operators would stop, turn l8Odegrees, and begin their convergence towards the starting point. First camera was instructed to film for the duration of a ‘breath, whilst blowing his whistle as a synchronizing signal for the other two, At the end of the first whistle, the second camera was instructed to film in the same manner. I operated the third camera and filled the time space between the second whistle and the first whistle. The filming ended just after all three cameras converged on the tape recorder, and when film had run out of all three cameras.
The original and uncut soundtrack was used to score the cutting and reassembly of the picture. – W.R

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