NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM - " ACTION THEATER "

Through the inimitable Squint Opera I was asked to direct a mixed media video installation for the National Army Museum, in Chelsea, London.

The brief was to recreate as much as we could the feeling of an individual soldier before, during, and after a combat encounter. We drew from personal accounts and letters of soldiers from the last five hundred years, combined historical battle scenes with go-pro footage of infantrymen, and used actors voices to recreate the emotions and thoughts of the individual soldiers as they experienced their fears, emotions, and sensations.

We used a variety of techniques for this film. The challenge was unite a wide range of client material into one continuous narrative. We used the classic "2.5d" technique, also known as 'parallax', to imbue historical paintings with more cinematic qualities. Through the separation of foreground, mid-ground and background and careful recreation of any 'holes' in the artworks we were able to insert a digital camera and explore the artworks in unique and unconventional ways.

To further unite cinematic painting explorations with actual video footage and photography we introduced a digital "low-poly" effect, mirroring the layout of the theater space and allowing for modern, dynamic transitions between artworks.

The final film forms part of the thought-provoking and wide-ranging permanent exhibition at the museum, visit it if you are ever in London.

/