Frame, Lens (2012)
2-channel HD video
4K video and Super 16mm film transferred to HD video, silent, colour, 3:50 mins
Frame, Lens (2012) is a two-channel moving image work that seeks to interrogate the temporal and spatial possibilities of two cameras in one location: the relationship of lens to frame to action. Shot simultaneously on a 16mm film camera from 1975 and a contemporary digital cinema camera, the actions of the director and the movements of the apparatus explore the physical space of an interior room. The two cameras act as both capture device and subject matter, their age, mechanics, optics and recording media delivering a unique perspective to each channel.
The room within the film becomes a space to explore cinematic language reduced to its most basic, that of composition and montage. The director operates the action from within the frame, while controlling the tension between the camera-object and the camera-angle. Frame, Lens sets up a reflexive loop where the role of each device is reversed on the opposing screen. The circular forms of each lens appear in compositional contrast to the rectangular frames of the screens. This geometry is doubled within the set: a black circle and a black rectangle in the 16:9 ratio of an image frame.