TE2/1973/93 DESCRIPTION
Building tour and exploration. Begins with a handheld, zoomed-in shot of building exterior from across Sauchiehall Street, an open archway and car parked to the left of the foreground. There is a light tracking line across the footage that reaches underneath a "For Sale" sign. Silent up until this point, the sounds of the street cut in at the 12 sec mark, a man is heard speaking, "This is Tom McGrath, Video tape 5..." As he tries to get the building in focus, McGrath's narration explains the purchase of the property in shot is by Scottish Arts Council for a new arts centre. Pedestrians and cars pass the frame. A cut at the 34 seconds mark reveals an out-of-focus zoomed-in shot of man in with dark hair and a beard. There is a slight curvature to the bottom of the lens here, as McGrath remarks of the darkness of the surrounding lighting. At the 1 min, 12 sec mark, there is a cut to the exterior of the building again, McGrath comments on the building as a "Greek Thompson", panning the shop front and street as he engages with pedestrians. He converses with a woman as he crosses a street towards the building. The film cuts to interior again, McGrath talks about the possible utilisation of the new space as he walks up the stairs and further into the recesses of the building. For a while, there are a lot of darkened shots, conversation with McGrath's wife as they explore the space and fumble with the mechanics of the camera. There is a focus on looking out from the window and down onto the surrounding shops, restaurants and pubs below. McGrath remarks on the importance or relevance of documenting a building on video. At the 12 minute, 48 second mark, the film cuts to a street level exterior shot again, "looking down Sauchiehall Street towards the pedestrian precinct". At the 14 min, 38 sec mark, the films cuts to the interior of a building, 5 women in a cluttered, office-like space, conversing, photocopying, sitting and smoking. At the 16 min, 23 sec mark, there is a cut to a seated woman (Marie) holding a baby (Elba) in a white knit cap. There is a women at a filing cabinet in the background and a man with shoulder-length hair and a moustache in the same office space. At the 17 min, 57 sec mark, there is a static cut to the same room, later, with 2 men and 2 women, the 1 man speaking into a phone. At the 18 min, 44 sec mark, another tracking wave cuts to reveal a little boy in a cap (Christopher) standing next the women with the baby from earlier. At the 19 min, 36 sec mark, a cut to a man hovering over a women sitting at a desk in the office, they wander, conversing and laughing with McGrath. At the 23 min, 47 sec mark, there is a cut to another interior, a white-washed and wood-panelled room where a rehearsal seems to be taking place. There is a close-up on 5 women mid-dialogue. The rest of the film cuts and follows parts of this rehearsal, during which a male character is introduced and awkward zooms and pans ensue as stage directions are suggested and adjusted. There is a cut to noisy static at the 27 min, 52 sec mark, a cut back to image at 28 min, 02 sec to show a man and woman kissing, laughter. Ends on a zoomed-in shot of a seated woman with shoulder-length wavy hair and a scarf as she looks at the camera. The footage cuts mid-sentence as McGrath remarks "Yes, before you...", soundless static picture until film ends at 30 min, 18 sec.
It seems that this tape was made close to or just after the purchase of the building in Sauchiehall St. Tom McGrath enters the building through what is now Hely’s Hairdressers and he talks of purchasing that site but that never happened. The tape is of particular interest as he talks the viewer through the building in terms of how it could be used as an arts centre. There is also a brief shot of McGrath filming and his wife (who was carrying the camera battery) in a wall length mirror in the building.
