
Rob Gawthrop
2021Coastal Calls
Rob Gawthrop
"Coastal Calls is a film which deals with primary filmic elements and produces constantly shifting relationships between them. The film is made up of four 100ft rolls/takes of slow pans of a beach and its surrounding landscape with focus and exposure in constant change. The sound is that of space (sea, wind) alternating with that of a wind instrument (Shawm). Only at specific instances do focus and exposure match to give an image that is readable in illusionistic terms, so that any attempt to 'place' oneself is subverted by the constant perceptual shift applied to the image ... never gathered into representation but only crossing points of unstabilised representation, as if by accident." - Michael Maziere, Undercut.
Coastal Calls
Distancing
Rob Gawthrop
Transparency, objectivity, focus and illusion are the main concerns of this film. Shot from the interior of a room from which can be seen a plant, a person’s head, raindrops on the window, houses, the sea and the horizon. The point of focus and the film’s exposure are continually changed and are set into flux with each other while simultaneously the image is superimposed onto itself allowing even the slightest difference between sequences (of time and image) noticeable, bringing into question the very act and accuracy of cinematic depiction.
Distancing