Berkeley Poole, Stephen Smith and Sarah Paul

“I Want To See” is an experimental video illustrating the indecisive, and yet, passionate
and dramatic nature of a young woman falling in love. The layering of
imagery and colour in the piece references the layers of emotion and meaning in
romantic relationships. To articulate the emotions of an indecisive girl, confronted
with the prospect of new love, Berkeley found a quote from the movie “À bout de
souffle” (Breathless) by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard:
“It’s silly, but I love you. I wanted to see you, to see if I’d want to see you.”
The quote for our project came from the movie “À bout de souffle” (Breathless)
by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard. Godard’s films embody the
youthful iconoclasm and experimental film-making of the Nouvelle Vague movement.
Additionally, Breathless is distinctly known for its unconventional narrative,
bold visual style and unique editing use of jump cuts, which also served as inspiration
for our project. Similar to the film, our project depicts the waffly desires
of a young girl, in and out of love, and the confusion that arises from courtship.
The word “see” was projected, traced and cut out of paper to represent the layers
of the girl’s personality. These letters created an interactive space by adding
dimension and allowing our model to interact with the letters. Additionally, the
model would play and wrap herself in the sheets of text, further illustrating the
idea of falling in and out of love.
The use of colour throughout the piece is a crucial element used to establish mood
and atmosphere. The feminine nature of the colours also boldly contrast the staccato
beat of the music, heightening the viewer’s anticipation. The layering of colour
creates dizzying visuals depicting the indecisive nature of the young woman.
As she feels more and more, she becomes consumed by her emotions. Similarly, as
the video progresses, the colours become stronger and more saturated.
The music was created using recordings of simple “home-made” sounds and
instruments. Using the dream-like sounds of a Sansula Kalimba alongside the
quicker paced pitter patter of a hand beat, we created a driving momentum to accompany
whimiscal visuals.